How to tie Ratlines (video)

Modeling Subjects Ships
1

Hey everyone,

I decided to make a video showing how I tie ratlines across shrouds, using clove hitch knots.

Basically, when I was trying to learn about tying my own ratlines, I was kinda terrified…it seemed really confusing and like it would be more than I could figure out…but it’s actually pretty simple, as many of you know by now.

Anyway, so I hoped that a video might help some other new people who want to learn.

Had some trouble with Photobucket, so I’ll just insert a link to the YouTube version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMmGFWJhi8E

Please let me know if you think it’s helpful!

Dave

2

Very informative and well executed…now the Mystery is solved and you demonstrated it so well.

Thanks…great recourse.

Rob

3

Dave,

Thanks for the video. I also searched for methods of tying ratlines to no avail. Your video should be very helpful to those who are curious about the actual procedure.

Mike

4

Dave,

A very nice tutorial which will be a great help to me when I get to rigging my Revell 1/96th CSS Alabama, Thermopylae, and, Cutty Sark.

All the best

Ray

5

Thanks, guys!

I know the majority of members here are very experienced, and have a solid grasp on things like this already. When I joined last year, the info that helped me the most was some of the basic stuff. I believe it’s our responsibility (and privilege) to help others by sharing what we learn…

People here have always been generous with their advice, but of course, trying to verbally explain certain tasks (esp. rigging!) can fall short of actually seeing someone do it.

6

I particularly like that you pointed out that you wish you had done the ratlines before placing the yards. Most helpful all around. Are the knots loose enough that you can go back and adjust the sag if you need/want to?

7

There’s a choice to be made regarding which parts of rigging to do first, and there’s always a trade-off :slight_smile:

I was trying to think of the most practical way to get all of the inner rigging done first, so I wouldn’t have to navigate the shrouds afterward…so I tried attaching the yards first so I could get all the lifts and other lines that belay to the fife rails at the base of the masts, without having to reach around the shrouds. But the trade-off was that now I have to tie ratlines across the shrouds with yards attached…it’s not super-difficult, but as I get to the last few ratlines toward the top, it does become a hassle. At least now I don’t have to try to reach the inner rails.

Nonetheless, my conclusion (in this case) is that it would have been easier to save the yards and lift rigging for after the shrouds…especially since the running rigging on this kit is quite simplified.

This is another opportunity to share some advice on the “following of steps in kit instructions”…I ALWAYS go over the instructions several times, and try to find ways to improve the logic in the sequencing…it’s very common that improvements can be found by deviating from the instructions. By the time I finish a kit, there are notes, and highlighter marks, and sketches, and post-its all the over the pages!

As for the ability to adjust the sag, I find the clove hitch knot to be much more forgiving than the overhand knot for making adjustments. While I was learning my ratline technique, it was suggested to me that overhand knots are easier and faster, so I tried it out. They may be faster, but I found that if I made a mistake and got the tension wrong, then I would often get the knot stuck, and I couldn’t make adjustments to the tension. During my trial with overhand knot ratlines, I had to scrap entire rows because the sag was inconsistent and I couldn’t get it how I wanted it every time…so in the end it wasn’t faster, it actually took WAY longer to fix mistakes, so I moved on to clove hitches, and now I feel much more in control of the tension, and making adjustments is more forgiving. I started by practicing on a jig I made and I would make some false shrouds and then practice rattling them down…by the 3rd or 4th row, I had it figured out.

Of course, different people will always have their own technique for what works best for them.

BTW, I’m a leftie, so I don’t know if others will work from left to right when tying ratlines…something to consider.

Dave

8

A really well-done video that ought to lay to rest the notion that tying a clove hitch is somehow difficult.

I can offer one little idea to make the process a little simpler, by helping to keep the distance between the ratlines consistent. The white paper (or index card stock) behind the shrouds is an excellent idea. It helps even more if you draw a series of lines on it, spaced like the ratlines.

For what it’s worth, different contemporary sources give different figures for the spacing between ratlines. But most of them are right in the neighborhood of one foot.

9

Good stuff!

Thanks, John!

10

haven’t got that far into my build yet, but you have shown me that it isn’t as difficult ,as I thought. will definitely at least have ago.

11

Thanks, Dave. I do mine pretty much the same way, except I use simple overhands on all the shrouds. I also use another tool similar to your hook from a needle eye. In addition to an identical hook, I make a fork by slicing an eye in half.

As for when to do ratlines, I agree with doing them as early in the rigging process as possible. I do them mast by mast. As soon as the lower mast is in place and the top on it, I rig the lower shrouds, even before the topmast is added. I do have to take care that the shrouds do not slip too far forward and block the area where the topmast will go, but in general I like to have little in the way of rigging the shrouds and ratlines. When the topmast and the top of the topmast is in place, I then rig the shrouds and ratlines on that mast, and go up mast by mast. In my opinion, while it makes rigging the stays, especially forestays a bit harder, these never take as long as the shrouds and ratlines, do I’d rather make it easier to do the latter.

12

I’m sorry, but I’m still waiting for an explanation of why the overhand knot is simpler to tie than the clove hitch. The time it takes to tie the two knots is identical. The clove hitch is just about the simplest knot there is; it may, indeed, be a little simpler than the overhand knot.

I don’t mean anything personal by this query (which I’ve brought up before here in the Forum); the concept of the clove hitch being difficult in some way seems to be pretty widespread. I’m genuinely curious to know why.

13

I have a fork also, Don…I use it mostly for wrapping line around belaying pins…some of the best tools are the homemade ones! Like my handy-dandy needle-threader on a stick, for those hard-to-reach blocks! (Thanks to Frank Mastini for the idea!)

As far as overhand knots go…I tried using them at first, but I found that making small adjustments to the tension during the end of the knot was much easier with the clove hitch…I feel like I have a lot more fine control over the sag than I did when I tried overhand.

Which one takes longer? Which one is more difficult? Irrelevant, I say.

The real question is: Which one does the modeler prefer, and which allows for better control?

Those are the considerations which matter to me, and even if the clove hitch took 1 or 2 seconds longer than the overhand, it’s worth it, in my opinion.

And the other concern…neither is difficult once you’ve tied it 20 times…and once you’ve tied either one 500 times, it’s a reflex. :slight_smile:

John, the only input I have for your question of why some people think the overhand knot is simpler, or faster…maybe because the overhand knot is the first knot most people learn as children, it is after all, just a twist of two line ends…having known that knot since forever makes it easier…because it’s already KNOWN. Just my supposition.

Here’s a good question: Why does the instruction sheet for my current kit tell me to attach the sail, and step the mast, BEFORE attaching rigging blocks for the lifts, sheets, and bowlines? I much prefer to get that stuff rigged (as I think most people do) before it’s on the hull…

Happy Modeling, all!

14

I suspect the kit makers believe few modelers will rig the ships. Or, maybe they don’t believe many even finish the kit. One hobby shop owner told me his experience is that with the wooden POB kits, at least two thirds never see completion. I think many mgs know they have to include instructions but don’t give much thought to them. Like instructions that say to assemble entire model, then paint, but give you colors for details hidden in mostly enclosed places with tiny openings :frowning:

15

I need a better computer…can’t get it to load.

16

It could be YouTube’s website, GM…I’ve had trouble with videos loading up a few times lately.

But I just checked, and it’s working fine now.

And now after watching it again, I realize I made a couple of verbal mistakes that I want to address:

Firstly, those ratlines are only about 1/2 cm, not a whole cm…that would be really wide!

Also, I meant to say CA instead of AC when I mentioned gluing the knots at the end! :slight_smile:

17

Thank you for that awesome video David!

18

Of course! :slight_smile: