Ascender and Line Wear

[Ian McColgin]

I can’t see high priced solutions where modified older ways work better.

There are variation on the traditional way to attach a nipper, which is the light line that temporarily binds the line taking your load, traditionally an anchor, to the line running around the windlass. All of them amount to variations on round hitches and can be found in Leaver, Ashley and other sources. Given that you really just want to hang the top block of a trimming tackle to the halyard some point conveniently above the halyard’s cleat, I would use what’s more like a quick salvagee. (I hope I am using the right term here and spelling it correctly. Brion will fix this if I'm wrong.)

Basically the upper block has to it’s top a strop (flat works better than round rope for this, looped through with both ends free and about equal length. When the halyard’s about hand tight, belay it, pick up the block and just salvagee the strop ends - really just each end spiraling up the halyard in opposing directions. After maybe three or four complete turns - experiment will tell you what’s needed - just secure the ends with nothing more than the bottom half of a surgeon’s knot, take your strain through the tackle, re do the halyard’s belay and then take the thing off.

In short, easier and faster to rig and then unrig than a prussic and just fine for the purpose. Maybe a nano-second slower than clapping on an ascender but the strop is soft, dependable, won’t rust, and is cheap.