Knot in Lifesling bridle?

[Brion Toss]

Originally Posted by Dan Lehman

Whoa! I'm surprised at this from you, Brion, for what they have is a bowline
caught in just the whiz-bang Overhand-noose tying method you've presented
in Rigger's Apprentice (p.65, Fig.3-24

Of course a Bowline is structurally analogous to a Sheet Bend, with the former being a loop, and the latter a bend. When distinguishing between the two I look at how things are loaded. In this case, as I understand it, the part that goes up and the one that goes right connect out of frame at the harness, forming a loop. Hence, I think, your identifying the structure as a Bowline. But it wouldn't be, exactly, because what should be the standing part is going off to the harness. I was looking at it as a bend, thinking in terms of the stitching failing. Granted, it would also be a weird, side-loaded bend, so maybe we could call this a Bowline-like or Sheet Bend-like structure.




[/quote]But HMPE (is Spectra emerging again, vs. Dyneema --thought USMil. had consumed
the lot for vests, a rumor) is more costly, and I'm guessing that handling the line is
considered desireable -- think thickness. How can you critique the grade of PP?
Heck, first time I've seen it in 12-strand, anyway. (Looking over commercial-fishing
stuff, there seems a good bit of PP that is much better at UV resistance than much
of what is about more casually (I've got some black fat 1/4" laid stuff outside in
sometimes-sun for 5? years w/o much sign of degradation).)[/quote]

There are some polypro's I might trust here, but I've seen too many brittle bits on Life Slings. As someone pointed out above, the poly is not meant to pick the person out, but it should be able to, I think, or at least not part before the lifting line is attached...

[/quote]One could simply tie the Bowline correctly/better. Make it Ashley's so-called "left-handed"
variety -- to better resist spilling if ring-loaded (all load in eye, knot essentially
joining ends, thus) -- and seize/stitch the tail to the right part, an eye leg. Alternatively,
make the "rabbit-goes-around-tree-&-back-into-hole" maneuver with the tail around the
S.Part-side leg of the eye, and then seize the the end to the S.Part (this gets you an
extra diameter in the central, nipping loop, for strength boost & security).

I think that this knot should be able to be *abnormally* loaded -- ring-loaded,
as I mentioned above, and any other way. No telling what some circumstance might
put on it in a rescue situation, snagging who-knows-what. And in this regard, splices
will be inferior to knots, I think -- they're directionally optimized.[/quote]

I agree that there are a number of better ways to tie this knot, but I still would prefer a splice, partly because of maximum strength, but mostly because it doesn't matter how much load comes on which leg(s); capsize is impossible.

[/quote]ps: "bitter end" : hmmm, this was originated allegedly to denote the "end"
of the line at the bitts, as opposed to the other end; that sense is degraded
by current usage wanting "the very end". Occam's Razor leaves "end"
to serve amply well here.[/quote]

Oh, I don't know. It has been used as the end of a rode secured to a ringbolt in the chain locker, for instance, as well as the end that gets belayed to the bitts. I like the distinction, because it removes confusion about which end we are speaking of.
Thanks for the thought-provoking take on this, Dan.
Fair leads,
Brion