Shortening a synthetic winch line or extension.

[Cactus Red]

As we all know, the winch only makes it's rated pull on the first wrap on the drum. Part of the recovery seminar last week was how to shorten a winch line or extension so that you can acheive the most power and keep line from cleaving between wraps on the drum. I always start a pull with with only 8 wraps left on the drum.

There are a couple ways to go, the best is to use a pulley block and a double pull.

Sometimes that won't work tho. There are a couple knots that can be used to shorten a line. One is the daisy chain, the other a sheepshank. The problem with a sheepshank in synthetic is it will slip since synthetic line is so slick. But, it's a lot faster to tie than a daisy chain, and much, much easier to un-do. To keep it from slipping I use a cinch bone on both ends. The photos only show one end of the knot.

Here is a video of the basic knot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lopGPwY-sno