Adjustable mid-line knot?

Question

I'm looking for a knot similar to a sheepshank but adjustable and stable under load on both ends.

Think of two poles that have the two ends of a rope permanently attached to them but you want to shorten the rope in-between like you would do with a taut-line hitch. Obviously, you have no free ends for a taut-line. A sheepshank would at least shorten the rope mid-line but could not create tension like a taut-line hitch would.

I feel like there should be a knot for this but I haven't seen one like it yet. Any ideas?

Answer 1

Knots by Grog say:

If you are asked to learn to tie the Sheepshank, please request your Troop Leader to eliminate this knot and replace it with something safe and useful, e.g., the Alpine Butterfly Loop is an excellent way of creating a loop in the middle of a length of rope and can also be safely used to shorten a rope.

So it sounds like you want an

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Alpine Butterfly Loop

Tying it:

There are several methods for tying it. We devised the method that is used in the animation. It is an improvement on other "hand-winding" methods. It helps locate the loop: the second crossing of your hand is near your fingertips and away from the other two turns. This helps you to locate it, pick it up, and wrap it around the other two strands. Setting the knot usually requires holding the loop in your teeth and pulling both ends with your hands.

If you need tension then you could also try:

Truckers Hitch

Form a bight in the standing end and use it to tie a Directional Figure 8 Knot. Pass the tail round the hook below and through the Directional Figure 8 Loop, and pull tight. Complete the knot with two Half Hitches below the loop.

Answer 2

The basic sheep shank is pretty useless - but if you add a second half hitch to each end and have a decent sized loop out of each end it works great. This is not far off a redirect used by tree climbers... so is head and shoulderr s above the basic sheep shank.