Oy
Hello all,
This one has the potential to be an endless thread, like the one that Dan linked us to. My take is that most of the people who posted over there were doing what worked for them, but I didn't hear any compelling analysis about the details. As it happens we've just completed a video on basic knots, including belays, and I come out in favor of a hitch at the end, ASSUMING that the first turn is jam-proof, and that a sufficiency of figure 8's are applied that no load can come onto the hitch, so it can't jam. I add that hitch, at least to long-term belays, because I have seen unsecured ends get knocked or washed off; seems like cheap insurance. For short-term belays, as in sheets under way, I generally don't bother. I like to think that my preferences are based on the behavior of the rope on the belay, not on how many of what size boats I've sailed on, or whether the Royal Yachting Association approves.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss
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