Yeh, but mine's a little more permanent...and the visual is not quite as "fluid." Does this make you feel better... It was my garden. Deer can jump the fence, so I gave up after all that work. I now call it "When Weeds Go Bad." Many come in, few escape.
The latter. It's a loop. As it snugs up, everything gets very tight with just a final pull down of the tail, and push up of the hitch.
Thanks. As you can see in the pic it worked out well. It's been a very windy day (and a windy evening with gusts of 20MPH) and the thing does not budge. I used your knot. I did struggle with dressing it properly. I pulled some of them together as best I could. It's a 3/16" rope, and the 2 thumb loops acted as though they were fixed...I could not get them to budge one iota when trying to finish the knot; in other words, I could not get a nicely dressed knot because those two big loops just stayed there until I yanked and pulled as I tightened the hitch while I was sliding it to shorten the assembly. They were not all pretty but they seem to have done the job, and the loose components of the knots themselves all "pulled together." I just walked outside and checked it a few minutes ago. They all seem to be holding tightly and it's still very windy, as it's been all day. I know some tightening will have to be made as it shifts & settles...I already had to retighten them after I initially installed all the ropes and the tarp shifted around. I left a length of "pull" rope on each assembly for me to grab onto so I can push up on the hitch as required. I'll redo those that look as though they need it, but I never got good at dressing that knot with that rope...those damned stubborn thumb loops. I'm very happy with the finished product. I have one more roof tarp already cut to size, taped, and with grommets installed all ready to go. I'll lash it in place tomorrow morning. The 3rd and final rack has a little work to be done to it, and then I'll fashion that roof tarp as well.
Pic? Do not wrap your four coils tightly, at first. If you do, you'll keep having trouble inserting your rope end through them. Once you bring that end over, under, and out the top of the second coil, then dress the knot. It gets easy. I've had to tie Blake's sixty feet up a tree, at the end of my climbing rope, as I needed to move to an adjoining tree letting out one Blake's as I tightened the second. Fun stuff!
OK. Instead of going across, wouldn't it be easier to go down, with the loops, on either side of the structure? I can see how tightening the hitches would be pretty tough, running the loops as shown.
The above is how I rigged my RV shelter. It held in high winds, but when it got cold outside, the pvc frame cracked, so I had to dismantle it.
It sure would...a LOT easier. But I want the aesthetics of having the roof look like a roof and not a lashed-down tarp. I started out thinking I was going to put this in a more concealed area behind the garage, but concerns over foul weather access across my lawn (plus the general destruction of grass) mandated this location right at my driveway. So I tried to make it not look too utilitarian. Plus, I didn't want to be working around all those ropes when I wanted to unload/reload wood. Now it's easier to see why I was asking about knots that would tighten with minimal hands-on of pulling things in opposite directions...with the racks filled, I can't really get in there. Everything was done working around the wall of wood. Obviously, it would have been way easier to do with the racks empty. But I had several loads delivered before the firewood guys went off to do their summertime stuff, and I needed to get it now to properly season for next year. Even with the restricted access issue, it wasn't that big of a deal to work with. Since the rope was a continuous loop through the grommets (like an old fashioned clothesline on pulleys), as I pushed the knot away from me I just cycled the rope around to bring the knot back within reach. And it was a one-time assembly struggle. At least it's done (well, Roof #1 is done.)
Who are you explaining the "like an old fashioned clothesline on pulleys" to? Just curious, since I'm the guy who taught you this. No offense meant.
Oh, just talkin' to myself Actually, my concern over the specific type of knot was the need to get in between the stacks of wood to pull on it, when I ended up bringing the knot closer to me by sliding the clothesline around. I had envisioned a fixed attachment at either end. I posted a pic of the second completed roof in the DIY thread here. Looks real nice.
I am a little late to this thread, @John Brunner , but I found some really AMAZING information for you about ropes, and you can use this technique when you need to do more rope work.