Talk:3276: Recursive Trucker's Hitch

The method for making the 'block-and-tackle'-like loop seems to be inconsistent and/or varying in all versions of the knot that I've seen documented. But, where intended to be a permanent ('unmanned') knot-in-place, most suggest that the single pulled end be secured to the looped-back 'end', in various ways (usually via hitches), if not around the fixture that the loop-back loops back through (it doesn't have to be as strong a direct tie-down knot, as it has both mechanical advantage and the advantage of the inherent friction in the loop-in-loop connection). And that seems missing from the recursed version A minor point, but open to mentioning (in some way or other) if you care to be pedantic. 92.23.5.92 00:31, 25 July 2026 (UTC)

I still don't get this one after the explanation, or it least how a trucker hitch works. Are there any videos of it in action? 2600:1700:3B93:1020:8B2F:1F8C:780F:A571 00:33, 25 July 2026 (UTC)

It seems like at the limit this should be the same as the capstan equation,

T_load / T_hold = e^(µ 2π N)

, which I guess is pretty close to

2/3 4^n

Constants… JohnHawkinson (talk) 03:18, 25 July 2026 (UTC)

jhawk? From Panix? Nitpicking (talk) 13:01, 26 July 2026 (UTC)

A bit last century of you, but hi. JohnHawkinson (talk) 18:00, 26 July 2026 (UTC)

Using to the given mechanical advantage number, if the pulled part of the rope travels at light speed, the fusion part moves 11 femtometers (billionth of a micrometer) per year. Fabian42 (talk) 10:10, 25 July 2026 (UTC)

I've started working on the transcript, but I don't see how to add the mathematical symbols in. How do you do that? GSLikesCats306 (talk) 13:30, 25 July 2026 (UTC)

Weird version of a trucker's hitch. I get it, but I think of the loop in a trucker's hitch as a fig 8 on a bight tied in line with the standing part, not a slipped overhand like this. Yorkshire Pudding (talk) 18:11, 25 July 2026 (UTC)

I use the alpine butterfly for the loop - it's quick and easy to tie, and reasonably easy to untie even when pulled tight. Highly recommended knot! 2601:603:200:6010:15EE:D12:D05B:5A13 01:52, 6 August 2026 (UTC)

"Whereas this compound knot seems to have no indicated intention to similarly tie off the whole structure in order to remain taut even when not being actively tended to." That's a very long sentence fragment. I'd fix it if I knew what it meant, but I don't. Nitpicking (talk) 13:01, 26 July 2026 (UTC)

It just means that instead of having the end tied off, it's dangling freely, so the whole setup will be loose if no one hangs onto it.Yorkshire Pudding (talk) 16:54, 26 July 2026 (UTC)

Something like “However, the recursive trucker’s hitch seems to have no indicated intention to hold the end of the rope in place to remain taut.” might work. Logalex8369 (talk) 16:56, 26 July 2026 (UTC)

Have attempted to improve it - hopefully I haven't lost the sense of it. 82.13.184.33 08:27, 27 July 2026 (UTC)

The formula given in the comiic does not appear to match the drawing. In the drawing, each hitch adds 2 ropes pulling on the load. Hence, with no hitches the advantage is 1, with one hitch the advantage is 3 and with two hitches, the advantage is 5.The correct formula should be MA =(1+2n). To get exponential growth one must replace every existing horizontal rope with a hitch at each stage.This is not what is drawn. 2a04:4e41:4a09:fee6::711e:4ee6 (talk) 09:19, 27 July 2026 (UTC) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

As a long time sailor, no, Randall is right here in that there's an exponential nature here. Your formula only holds when the turning blocks are all mounted to the same end plates. That's not the case here, where each hitch is multiplying it's tension on the rope above it. Drawing a force diagram is a good way to prove it. Hanneshdc (talk) 15:36, 27 July 2026 (UTC)

FWIW, it’s no longer the “Boy Scouts”. It became “Scouts BSA” (with “BSA” having no meaning, just as “KFC” no longer officially means anything) since 2019. A young person enrolled in the Organization is a “Scout”, not a “Boy Scout”; female members are Scouts too. (The Girl Scouts of America is an entirely different organization.) -- MarcH61 (talk) 13:48, 27 July 2026 (UTC) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)

There are still restaurants with "Kentucky Fried Chicken" signs, so it still has some meaning. SDSpivey (talk) 02:34, 30 July 2026 (UTC)

Assuming they aren't actually like the "Kenya Fried Chicken" or "Kuala Lumpur Fried Chicken", with Suspiciously Similar Substitute logos, and riding on the (now vacated) original KFC branding unofficially and cheekily! 92.23.5.92 20:19, 30 July 2026 (UTC)

First I've heard about the rename. That said, I met several female members of the Boy Scouts of America organization while I was still a scout myself (so more than 20 years ago). I think at the time they were the only troop of "girl Boy Scouts" (and the troop was all female). Nice to see that the organization is more open now, the GSA experience is nothing like the BSA one. Draco18s (talk) 07:39, 3 September 2026 (UTC)