Knots and my profession go hand in hand it seems

[TMCD]

As a paint contractor I find myself tying all kinds of knots. It's kind of weird because when I got into the paint business about thirteen years ago, I couldn't tell you what a clove hitch was. Now that I know all of these knots, I simply can't imagine how I got along so long without knots.

I use the clove hitch, two half hitches, slipped buntline, rolling hitch and trucker's hitch on a routine basis. In Ashley's book he mentions the house painter in several different sections. One area where construction has leap frogged knots/rope is what Ashley describes as staging a plank or walkboard. He states that the carpenter would stage a plank(workplatform) using the sheepshank and a sailor would use the spanish bowline if required. Obviously now days we use ladder jacks and walkboards without the rope.

Learning knots has helped me tremendously, especially in my workplace. The painting trade definitely has a good place for common knots to continue to be used. If I'm up high on a ladder I simply take a two foot piece of rope and tie off my paint pot using either the clove hitch, two half hitches or a slipped buntline. I tie my ladders down to the ladder rack on my van using the rolling hitch or I guess it would be considered the Midshipman's Hitch in this case. If I need to tie off a five gallon bucket full of paint to my ladder, I'll generally use a two foot piece of rope and use the slipped buntline. It's interesting how much I've benefited from learning about knots.

[firebight]

I would have thought the trucker hitch would have been better for tying down a ladder. Check out the Sailor hitch on Roo's page.
It is pretty cool. http://notableknotindex.webs.com/knotindex.html

[TMCD]

The Trucker's Hitch is better for tying down ladders but I don't have immediate access to the top of my van without hauling out a four foot step ladder. To properly tie down using the TH, you need access to the top of the van. I simply loop about a three or four foot piece of rope around my ladder/ladder rack and then proceed to tie the WE around the SE using the rolling hitch format. I then slipknot the SE to the WE so the knot doesn't work loose. It works great in keeping tension and the ladders safe.

[Dan_Lehman]

Access to the top of the van?
Aren't you the 6'plus fellow? !!  Standing up on the rear
wheel, or on the front door step I'd think would give you
reach enough.  (Or just chuck a small feller up there.     )
And, if so, could there be *fixed* lines eye-knotted to the
center fore/aft rungs of the roof rack such that one could
cast them left-/right-wards up over the (pair, I'm thinking)
ladders and then tie down to the rack's sides?

Anyway, having a decent sense of *knotting* --if not so much
an *indexed* knots set-- to call upon should indeed come in
handy.  What sort of line are you working with --laid PP, nylon
solid braid, ... ?

Speaking of ladders, I've satisfied my desire to not fall over
when upon one, and to employ cordage at every opportunity,
by using guy lines when up on a ladder (this helps if being
paid by the hour  ).  With one long line anchored at either
end of one's working span, lanyards tied to the ladder can tie
to the long line with Prusik hitches and enable one to bit-by-bit
adjust the tension and move the ladder laterally --i.e., lines are
only tight when up, then support one's reaches; then they're
loosened (one or the other side) in anticipation of the ensuing
movement left/right of the ladder.

The attached photos show some light-duty gutter-cleaning
(nearly *harvesting* --a couple whoppers sprouted up there!)
work on a very light duty ladder.  Heavy duty salvaged jetsam
cordage served admirably.


--dl*
====

[firebight]

You could always use a monkey fist to fling the rope over

[roo]

The Trucker's Hitch is better for tying down ladders but I don't have immediate access to the top of my van without hauling out a four foot step ladder. To properly tie down using the TH, you need access to the top of the van. I simply loop about a three or four foot piece of rope around my ladder/ladder rack and then proceed to tie the WE around the SE using the rolling hitch format. I then slipknot the SE to the WE so the knot doesn't work loose. It works great in keeping tension and the ladders safe.

If you have enough access to reach your tautline/rolling hitch, I wonder if there might be a way you could rig a versatackle/trucker's hitch system.  I don't know how tall your van is or what kind of anchors you might have, but tensioners based on coils around a a straight rope typically don't have a great reputation for holding their position long-term when subjected to dynamic loading.

[TMCD]

With the way I tie off the SE to the WE, there can be no slippage. This step locks the rolling hitch in place and is nothing more than a slipped half hitch. This is the easiest way I've found for tying off ladders to my van, which is at least six and half feet to the top and I'm 6-5. In order to tie off a TH, I need a four foot step ladder. The versatackle might be doable but this method is working very well and is so simple. 

Maybe I'll take some pictures and post them on here so it's more understandable. Dan, I wouldn't make any money on jobs if I took the time to tie off my ladder as in your pics.lol.