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Anchor Question

Thursday 29th October 2009 at 2:31:28 PM

hikemor
Rank: Belay Test Passer
#Posts: 3
#Points: 3

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Hello everyone,

I''ve lurked around for awhile and finally have created an account so I can get in on the fun. I have a question for this knowledgable group. If I am constructing a wrap 3 pull 2 and my webbing isn''t long enough, would it be safe to join two pieces of webbing together with two water knots to get the length that I need?

Thanks,

James

Sunday 1st November 2009 at 3:55:21 PM

chilli
Rank: Cut-loose Expert
#Posts: 280
#Points: 280

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joining webbing via water knots has been a common practice for many years and works just fine. there is some very strong evidence that fisherman's would be better than a water knot regarding slipping of the knot <;http://www.xmission.com/~tmoyer/testing/Water_Knot_Testing.pdf>;, but i've set up tons of TRs with water knots and left several inches (6-8) of tail beyond the knot to alleviate the theoretical problem with absolutely no negative consequences. i avoid using fisherman's because they're a real pain to get out of webbing after weighted.

on a broader scale you should always keep in mind that the more knots you have in a system, the more weakened the system becomes (though not a linear relationship). so it's best to avoid putting tons of knots in a system, but in the application that it sounds like you're using (i assume TR), i can almost promise it's a non-issue as the breaking strength will be far beyond what you will impart anyway.

more specifically related to your question, is the concern of bending the knots over some surface (in this case a tree, with a wrap-3-pull-2). in this sort of application it is always best to get the knots in the system off of the surface of the tree (i.e. general rule is to keep knots from bending over any sort of edge). in this case i would definitely rather go with a water-knot than a fishermans (which is more prone to 'damage' via pressing the knot laterally). my advice would be to try to have the knot in a place where it's not rubbing on the tree, but if it needs to be on a surface, just check on it occasionally (like when you top-out or something).

so the short answer: there will always be contradictory evidence, but water knots to extend your reach shouldn't be a problem for your situation. just always remember to evaluate the possibilities in each individual situation.

hope that helps.

climb well, be well