Knot in Lifesling bridle?

[Dan Lehman]

Originally Posted by Brion Toss

Hello,
What they've done is a bizarrely upset Single Sheet Bend.
Without intact stitching, the whole thing would come apart ...

Whoa! I'm surprised at this from you, Brion, for what they have is a bowline
caught in just the whiz-bang Overhand-noose tying method you've presented
in Rigger's Apprentice (p.65, Fig.3-24 (though, as your artist has it, sooo
snug an Overhand, it might not capsize)) ! Sheet bend? => Bowline, an eye knot.
If the stitching fails, this structure of PP should capsize into a Bowline, though with
no assurance that the capsizing stops at this point -- could flow (with loose collar)
into a Pile Hitch noose (as I've often seen, in trawler heavy mooring lines).

On the first (mis)description, it was a so-called Eskimo Bowline, similarly contorted
by the stitching.

As for alternatives, a Brummeled Spectra fork would not require a knot, and be much stronger.
Spectra would still float. A better grade of Polypropylene, of the same configuration, would also be fine.

But HMPE (is Spectra emerging again, vs. Dyneema --thought USMil. had consumed
the lot for vests, a rumor) is more costly, and I'm guessing that handling the line is
considered desireable -- think thickness. How can you critique the grade of PP?
Heck, first time I've seen it in 12-strand, anyway. (Looking over commercial-fishing
stuff, there seems a good bit of PP that is much better at UV resistance than much
of what is about more casually (I've got some black fat 1/4" laid stuff outside in
sometimes-sun for 5? years w/o much sign of degradation).)

One could simply tie the Bowline correctly/better. Make it Ashley's so-called "left-handed"
variety -- to better resist spilling if ring-loaded (all load in eye, knot essentially
joining ends, thus) -- and seize/stitch the tail to the right part, an eye leg. Alternatively,
make the "rabbit-goes-around-tree-&-back-into-hole" maneuver with the tail around the
S.Part-side leg of the eye, and then seize the the end to the S.Part (this gets you an
extra diameter in the central, nipping loop, for strength boost & security).

I think that this knot should be able to be *abnormally* loaded -- ring-loaded,
as I mentioned above, and any other way. No telling what some circumstance might
put on it in a rescue situation, snagging who-knows-what. And in this regard, splices
will be inferior to knots, I think -- they're directionally optimized.

In the meantime, if you feed some slack from the lower eye leg back into the knot
as shown, you should be able to capsize the structure into more recognizable form
of the Bowline; a seizing at the point that the tail exits the nipping loop should prevent
it from distorting into what you found.

--dl*
====

ps: "bitter end" : hmmm, this was originated allegedly to denote the "end"
of the line at the bitts, as opposed to the other end; that sense is degraded
by current usage wanting "the very end". Occam's Razor leaves "end"
to serve amply well here.