We can’t stress the importance of tying down your tarps properly. Whatever your application, your tarp needs to be securely tied to ensure it performs well and lasts for a long time.
The above is particularly important when you are using your tarp as a suspended roof cover. You have to put ropes over the actual tarp and tie them to prevent the tarp from becoming a mini parachute!
Customers often forget that when you use a tarp as a roof cover, when the wind gets underneath the tarp it has a parachute effect on the tarp and puts immense strain on the eyelets of the tarp. This strain is significantly reduced when ropes are used over the tarp to hold it in place.
Knot tying is a very valuable skill and can also come in handy for camping, outdoor and survival purposes.
Check out these 5 important knots you should know how to tie:
1. The Square Knot/ The Reef Knot
Mnemonic rhyme: Right over left, left over right, makes a reef knot both tidy and tight
This knot is great for tying around an object to secure it, tying up bundles and packages and is also used for first aid. This is your basic knot, something that you should have up your sleeve when you cover something with a tarp and need to tie a rope around it to keep the tarp in its place. Its also great for tying together two lengths of rope.
2. Clove Hitch
Mnemonic rhyme: loop right around the pole, loop left around the pole, then up through the hole.
This knot has come in very handy whenever there is a need to securely tie the end of a rope to a stationary object. Its an absolute winner for tying your tarps to poles, or hanging your hammock or making a rope clothesline. Need to secure something on your roof racks? Use this knot.
3. Bow Line
Mnemonic story: make a hole; rabbit hops up out of the hole, runs around the tree, and back down the hole.
This is a great knot to make a loop. When subjected to tension, the loop keeps its shape, and you can still untie it after it’s borne its load. It’s a great tie down knot, and is really handy in emergency situations. This knot forms an open loop that is easy for someone to grab onto and be pulled up out of a dangerous situation.
4. Figure 8
Mnemonic story: This is Charlie, give him a scarf, and punch him in the face.
This is a very good stopper knot. Its basically used at the end of a rope under load preventing it slipping through a device. This type of knot is mostly used by climbers, but is also a good knot to know as the figure-eight is also the foundation of a number of more complex knots.
5. Taut Line Hitch
Once you learn this knot you will find yourself constantly using it. A Taut-line Hitch is used to create an adjustable knot that can slide back and forth along a line and is secure assuming it is tight. It is really good for providing adjustable tension for guy ropes on a tarp.
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