- remarks on various points -
1) Yes, astute forensic surmise by DDK re "Thief", but not necessary
(as it assumes that one cannot use both ends of at least one line --note, e.g.,
that the anglers' "Surgeon's knot" of joining a (short) leader to line requires this).
Morever, esp. as Knot4U envisions a main use --i.e., dissimilar-sized lines-- , one is
more naturally going to tie one line to an already tied eye-knot in the other,
and so in that way bypass this question (and see #3, e.g.).
2) Thief/Reef is beside the point in the final structure : it is neither, being loaded
on all ends.
3) I think you'll find this jamming in many materials (of roughly equal diameter).
(I have found one connection of com.fish. longlines with a SquaREef knot with
ends tucked back through the lay --very slender profile, hardly bulking beyond
the twin-line size (helped it seemed by some compression of perhaps a pot hauler
on the knot!)
4) Yes, rockclimbers have used a structure somtimes called "the Square Fisherman's"
in which the SquaREef's ends are tied off in Strangle knots --hardly making a Grapevine,
but such distinctions are lost on climbers, alas. This structure is needlessly bulky and
sub-optimal for the purpose, IMO --better to use a Thief so that (a) it is easier to untie
and (b) the Strangles --set snug to the center knot-- are pulled tighter into the center
knot and thus better secured themselves by loading (though now, admittedly, they
are critical to security rather than supplemental).
5) To Knot4U's desire to enable balanced loading w/less tightness in the center knot,
I urge used not of the SquaREef but the GRANNY --looks to make a great eye-joining
structure, with gentler curves and surer ease of untying ; now, chafe on taking up load?
6) I recall some old testing showing that the eye-2-eye bend using the SquaREef was
stronger a bit over just simply reeved eyes of two bowlines (which is interesting if so,
as the rope in eye-2-eye is bearing half the tension of the eye-knots' SParts). --this
testing was done in rather heavy (1.5" diameter?) rope, IIRC.
7) For greatly dissimilar diameters, just reeve one line through the other's eye --the
thinner will turn adequately gently around the thick, and nothing's to be gained
by knotting them.
8.) There is no "cow hitch" present --so let's stop calling anything here that.
9) I found one 3/8" black PP longline with Overhand mid-line eyes in which
roughly 1/4" braided nylon snoods has been tied using what I'll call a "Square
Hitch" --i.e., the structure here but with one end (of the four) unloaded (it was
in all or most cases (a) long and (b) knotted w/an Overhand stopper --which begs
the question If it's thought a stopper might be needed to arrest slippage, why
put it soooo removed from the eye against which it will abut ?!)
10) Frankly, as sizes get greatly dissimilar, I'd move to hitching the thinner to
the thicker by means of a Clove/Cow/Rev.Groundline hitch with the tail run up
to a stoppered Rolling Hitch ; maybe even a Fixed Gripper hitch would volunteer!
... or ...
11) The general "rope problem" of joining a thin to a much thicker line can be
called that of making a "Messenger-line bend (hitch)". One likely wouldn't
go to the bulky bother of making even a Bowline (let alone Z.eyeknot) in the hawser,
but would just form a bight to be "bight-hitched" to with the messenger line. Or, one
would be tying to a spliced eye (maybe most likely?). (In some cases, there is a series
of increasingly larger lines in the transmission of the towing cable to the other ship;
HMPE cordage might have reduced this, though.) Harry Asher got an idea he named
the "Seizing Bend" (in that the hitching did mimic seizing), which can be improved
upon; there are many briefer structures that look good, too, IMO.
--dl*
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