Spliced eye in rigging line?

[emr]

I spliced an eye in the end of a 3 strand rigging line that we used and it just always seemed to get in the way. We just bought a new 9/16" double braid rigging line and we took the old one out of regular service. There is no reason not to use the old one, it just sort of shrunk over the last 2 years. I was thinking about putting an eye in one end of the old line to use as a floating anchor, a huge rigging sling, maybe still use it for a rigging line every once and a while. Do any of you have an eye in the end of your dbl braid rigging lines? If so, do you like it What size eye do you have in it?

[FJR]

I have a spliced eye in a 5/8" double braid that I use quite a bit. It is extremely handy to me. I use it when I can't reach a high rigging point in the bucket with a standard block and sling, and I also use it with my chicago grip when doing static cabling. What size is the 3 strand? If you are going to use it for a false crotch, you have to make sure it is with in the correct ratio to the rigging line you use in that setup. Sean(Bounce) helped me out on that when I had ordered mine.

[SouthSoundTree]

For negative blocking trunk wood, you can tie a half hitch, then push a bight through the eye, roll the eye, and effectively form a girth hitch, so you end up with a half hitch and girth hitch, rather than having a half hitch with a tied knot such as a running bowline.

I use eye for a carabiner for clipping to slings for "knotless rigging" (girth hitching a sling to a limb).

[emr]

Sean, thats what we did with the 3 strand and it worked well when we used it that way. However the problem was when we just wanted to tie a bowline or clove hitch or whatever, the splice got in the way. I know we could have used the other end, but again, what a pain to pull all of the rope out of the bag. Maybe there is no perfect setup and we just have to be prepared to use multiple ropes.

Fred, Our 3 strand was 1/2". We do all of our rigging with 9/16" rope or 1/2" for the smaller stuff. Our rigging slings for the blocks and porty is 5/8". Aside from the random loopies and endless slings that's about what we rig with. Opps I forgot the GRCS that we just got. Have I mentioned that before? I am still amazed that we actually own one. I am still like a kid at Christmas time.

[SouthSoundTree]

Swapping ends is a bit of a pain, but spreads your wear on the rope. I usually just have a longer tail with the eye's end.

On a different note Eric, I used your/ my double pulley in conjunction with a double pulley I had for my now dedicated MA system yesterday to counteract lean toward the house, and was able to ground fell a tree rather than climb it. Then since I had it set-up, used it to pull over another hemlock spar. Putting it to work. It will be useful with the POW for lifting limbs, until I too am like a kid at Christmas with a Red Rider BB Gun...I mean GRCS.

[emr]

Nice, I am glad its working out for you. Our MA is actually made out of those CMI stainless steel pulleys. The Petzl ones are way nicer but we only had one of those and 2 of the dbl CMI pulleys. So you ended up getting the one that I really wanted.... go figure.

[simplypete]

I presently don't have one but wish I did.

[Bounce]

I don't splice my rigging lines. If I'm doing knotless rigging with slings on each branch, I just tie a bowline to clip into. Having the eye would save me a small amount of time in that situation because I wouldn't have to tie the bowline (once), but in negative blocking scenarios it would cost me a lot more time trying to tie a running bowline with the spliced end.

Sean - I don't understand how you would girth hitch a spliced eye onto a top? Wouldn't you have to slide the rope over the top of the chunk?

[bill22]

I had a 1/2" rope with an eye,didn't really care for it. I prefer either a running bowline or clove hitch for limbs and tops. For tailing trunk wood i use a chain hitch.

[tophopper]

Tried it, hated it.

Im not a fan of knotless rigging. The last thing I need on a big technical takedown, is to be dragging additional equipment around.
And rigging lines are more multi- purpose than say a climbing line.... to me, adding a splice would make the line less versatile. I would use the splice 1 out of 10 times, the other 9 times it would just be a hassle to work around. I go through rigging lines too fast to fuss with a splice anyway. I easily go through 2 to 3 heavy bull ropes a year.

[brendonv]

I never felt the need or want. I fee like it's limited it's use somehow.

I use a bowline, clove, or timber hitch.

[SouthSoundTree]

Sean - I don't understand how you would girth hitch a spliced eye onto a top? Wouldn't you have to slide the rope over the top of the chunk?

Not for the top, but once the top is dropped, and you are rigging down the bole.


I can agree that it can get in the way sometimes.

[stig]

I like it on the thin line, used for small stuff.
For small conifre takedowns, where we send bunches of branches down at one time, it is way faster.
On the thicher lines, I prefer to tie a knot.

[Peter]

I have always preferred knots, for several reasons, but always justified tieing knots on the basis that I could always tie them quick enough to not hold up the ground crew at all.

Then someone pointed out to me that often it took (some) groundies ages to get the knots untied, even using simple knots, so I switched to using a biner tied on with a double fishermans for rigging out limbs. I still go back to knots for negative blocking trunks though.

[Old Monkey]

I have a splice eye on one end of my 5/8ths line. I like it and use it quite a bit. One good/bad thing about it is that it doesn't readily go through a block. So if some dork on the ground ties a bad knot on my return line, the bull line won't go flying through the block.

[tophopper]

Yeah but if the block is 30 (or 50) feet above you, and your groundie doesn't put the stopper knot in the appropriate place or it comes undone, you still have to go up to the block to retrieve it. Not really any less of a pain in the ass than re-threading the block altogether.

[Bodean]

I think the idea of a spliced eye in the rigging would be in the way.

Once in a great while if I'm doing something with a million branches I'll tie a carabiner on.

[pantheraba]

I use this to hang a block if I want to anchor from the ground (false crotch)...an oogly splice but it works.

I did splice an eye into the old 1/2 inch line beside it which I use sometimes with a biner to choke the piece to be lowered.

[Old Monkey]

The spliced eye does mean having to leave a longer tail than I like when I switch back to tying knots.

[flushcut]

until I too am like a kid at Christmas with a Red Rider BB Gun...I mean GRCS.
"You'll shoot your eye out kid!"