Trucker’s Hitch.
This is Dave Vick, IATSE #274 Master Carpenter, Flyman, Rigger. We thank Dave for his contribution to our site. “These knots brought to you courtesy of a tattooed rigger-type guy on the flyrail.
In this case, a batten needs to be secured, to keep it from swinging. Here’s a length of 3/8″ cotton sash cord, which was clove-hitched to the pipe. We’ll tie it off to the rail, breasting it slightly upstage as we go… These hitches are normally tied 4-5′ from the securing point, to provide adjustment range. For this demo, I’ll tie it ~3′ above the rail, so I can fit it into the camera frame.
Grasping the bight of the line, twist two or three turns in it, forming a loop.
Pull the bight _below_ the loop you formed through the loop, forming yet another loop. This is the “tie-off” loop that’ll do the actual work; the first loop merely secures this one in the line.
Pass the working end of the line around whatever fixture you’re tying off to. In this case, since the line is ~100′ long, I’ll use another loop in lieu of a bitter end. (the following photos will clarify this.) This has no detrimental effect on the strength or ease of operation of the hitch.
Pass the working end/loop of the line through the loop formed in steps 2 & 3.
Pull on the working end/loop to put tension in the lines. The mechanics of the hitch work along the same lines as a block & fall…
Once the desired amount of tension is applied to the lines, secure it by tying two half-hitches around the working part of the lines, below the working loop.…And there you have it!
