speedline

[Charlie1988]

hi there ive only been climbing 2 years just learnt off of youtube and trial n error and ive got a row of willows to do about 15 the trees are leaning right over some brick buildings and i was thinking about using a speedline

 

ive got a row of large conifers infront of the buildings and grass area i will need to constantly move the speedline my end is it best to use a 3to1 tensioning point and lock off with a portarap them use a running tag line to control the speed at the groundsman end then my end just a karabiner around tree back onto rope or a running bowline ?

 

and is it neccassary to have a running tag line to control speed why not just let it fly ?

[Paul Smith]

You are best using the tension block system with a tag line. You should not drop anything onto a tensioned line! Cut first, tension up and lower under control!

[WorcsWuss]

Without seeing it i have no idea really, but in general it depends if it could hit something, always better to have control. Rather than having a free flying tag line you could control it yourself through a friction hitch. You've got a haul back line then as well.....

Depending on the angle and size of the bits you're dropping you could lock it off with a prusik rather than portawrap....?

[colemanjessenz]

depends if there are targets anywhere along the path of the speedline and also on how large the bits are your cutting, remember that dropping bits onto a pretensioned line is dangerous so unless your 100 percent sure..... I would say rigg off with it attached to both then pull cut peice up and then tension line. It can be time consuming and fiddley.

on the other hand if they are very small bits maybe you could get away with attaching slings straight to the zipline but having a tag line on there cant do much harm as it means that you can retrieve the line quickly and if something happends and a bit gets stuck hanging over a roof its easy to retrieve

 

Different options but hard to say without seeing job ... is it worth zip lining at all ?

[coleman]

 

Different options but hard to say without seeing job ... is it worth zip lining at all ?

 

I agree, can you not set up a rigging anchor from a stem or another tree (as you say they are in a line) to lower away from the buildings?? In my 10 years in trees i have only had to employ a zip line once! It takes a lot to set it all up!!

[munkymadman]

if you've got clearance, let it fly. mucking around with a retrieval/lowering line is time consuming and often out weighs the convenience of a speed line. you might as well just rig. speed lining should be simple and quick. i dont care what people say unless its big logs(i know the physics) preload the speed line. generally middleweight attach(better clearance better control) and gob towards the triangular pull of the speed line. tensioning after its been cut is hard for the groundie, slow, and more often than not the piece gets stuck. sometimes speedlines can catapult pieces make sure your on the right side. it should be enough just to have the end of the 3:1 around the back of a stem so he can dump it before it reaches your gear or have it through a redirect so it never does.

sorry to waffle on if you need to use a control line make sure theres a couple of metres slack in it so when the piece zips away it stops clear of the canopy rather than in it. i've got more but i think i should shut up now

[munkymadman]

most important note of all, if the groundsman is a half wit dont bother speedlining at all. otherwise it'll turn out to be a disillusioning experience, but its so much fun when it works well

[MOG]

you would need to call alot of slings ay Munkymadman?

 

speed line is cool takes bit time to setup but can work extremely fast. and yes good to have a bit of a idea as what is going to happen.

[munkymadman]

yeah you need a lot of slings 6 seems to be a good amount more if your doing a spruce. speed lines super quick to set up. keep it simple tie a knot to the top zip bits down it a lot of the time you can get away without a 3:1. the big complicated set ups take awhile, but not much longer than a normal rigging set up

[gibbon]

You'll need to plan your speedline based on the nature of the tree, site and size of the bits you want to rig. Dont over complicate things, but equally a little time setting up the correct system could save you hours.

 

This is a link to the largest speedline I've set up, but it allowed us to rig out the whole crown in 3 hours.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uapE3Q-cdmc]Tree surgeon Exmouth - YouTube[/ame]