Compact ZK-1 style wrench for Captain Hook line

[moss]

Surveyor kindly lent me some OAR arm parts with which I built a mini wrench system for my 9mm Captain Hook line, intro here:

It's much more compact vertically than it looks, when fully loaded with the wrench in the "up" position it's 13" from the very top to the bottom of the carabiner. The tether is 8.25".
-AJ

 

[SeanRuel]

Have you tried 6mm ocean Vectran for the hitch? It's my favorite, allows for a super short hitch. I use a 3 or 4 wrap michoacan that is only about 4 inches long. Maybe an easy way to compact the setup a bit more. Maple Leaf Rope still carried it last I checked

 

[moss]

Have you tried 6mm ocean Vectran for the hitch? It's my favorite, allows for a super short hitch. I use a 3 or 4 wrap michoacan that is only about 4 inches long. Maybe an easy way to compact the setup a bit more. Maple Leaf Rope still carried it last I checked

I’ll check it out!

 

[Brocky]

6mm Warpspeed II on sale at Westmarine.

 

[moss]

6mm Warpspeed II on sale at Westmarine.

Indeed! Just a heads up, I tested smaller diameter hitchcords, the 8mm Ocean Polyester performed the best, grabs immediately when loaded, smooth fingertip control to release and opens up nicely for slack tending. The smaller diameter hitch cords grab a little too hard and don’t open up as well for this configuration.
-AJ

 

[SeanRuel]

Yeah, it's pretty good on a 10mm lanyard but definitely grabby

 

[moss]

Finished up the rest of the system, Hook attached and other details. 65' of line, seems like too much, I've been running 35' of 10mm Reep Schnur and it seemed plenty.

Fits in this bag with room to spare, 65' of line

-AJ

 

[Bart_]

How long did your wrench turn out to be? Bollard diameters? I assume the empty hole might have been a try at extreme wrench shortness? I fooled around with compacting my original grey wrench but it was on full size rope with 1/2" diameter bollards. I think I ended up shortening it a fair bit. Curious.

 

[moss]

How long did your wrench turn out to be? Bollard diameters? I assume the empty hole might have been a try at extreme wrench shortness? I fooled around with compacting my original grey wrench but it was on full size rope with 1/2" diameter bollards. I think I ended up shortening it a fair bit. Curious.

It’s built from OAR arm sideplates which have 4 openings, only needed 3. It’s a little under 2” long I think, I’ll measure and get back to you.
-AJ

 

[moss]

How long did your wrench turn out to be? Bollard diameters? I assume the empty hole might have been a try at extreme wrench shortness? I fooled around with compacting my original grey wrench but it was on full size rope with 1/2" diameter bollards. I think I ended up shortening it a fair bit. Curious.

The mini wrench is 2 and 7/8” long. Bollards are 10mm OD steel spacers over 1/4 inch threaded bolts. The bollard is a little under 13mm long.

-AJ

 

[ghostice]

Moss, saw your rig - nicely done. I had made a similar rig for my captain but just with store bought - shorty wrench/ ocean prussik/ pulley. Share an experience - I'd used this no sweat a couple of times for traverses between spruces. But on one climb last summer the trees I was working on were just oozing sap - in wicked gobs. Anyway traverse over went no problemo, but coming back about half way the prussik stuck. So bad it would barely release going back using a foot ascender to stand on the tail. Tried a 3:1 pulley too no go. I ended up rigging up a munter and cutting off the prussik to get back. A fun time! I've since gone to a zillon and larger rope (tachyon) than dmm sells with the hook and had no problems sap or not. But this was a traverse from the dark place - guess I ticked that box. Had prussiks sap up on descent but to have it happen on a traverse was a new one on me.

 

[moss]

Moss, saw your rig - nicely done. I had made a similar rig for my captain but just with store bought - shorty wrench/ ocean prussik/ pulley. Share an experience - I'd used this no sweat a couple of times for traverses between spruces. But on one climb last summer the trees I was working on were just oozing sap - in wicked gobs. Anyway traverse over went no problemo, but coming back about half way the prussik stuck. So bad it would barely release going back using a foot ascender to stand on the tail. Tried a 3:1 pulley too no go. I ended up rigging up a munter and cutting off the prussik to get back. A fun time! I've since gone to a zillon and larger rope (tachyon) than dmm sells with the hook and had no problems sap or not. But this was a traverse from the dark place - guess I ticked that box. Had prussiks sap up on descent but to have it happen on a traverse was a new one on me.

That makes total sense. Prusiks are hell with pitch for sure. On balance I'm climbing on broadleafs more than conifers but I do get into white pine plenty. Good news about white pine is the pitch slows down to nothing/hardens up late fall, winter and early spring. With my previous Hook system it was the 10mm stock Sirius Reep Schnur and a Rope Runner, fairly tolerant of pitch. Of course pitch will stop anything if there is enough of it.
-AJ

 

[ghostice]

I also think some of the problem maybe was the Sirius - good for throw rope but the prussik seemed to bind up tightly or at least more tightly on the smaller diameter cord than on 11.5 - downside of that is it takes more space in a ditty bag and is harder to throw the larger tachyon.
Hard to find this guy sometimes with a search, but this climber has some great videos - got the idea of the Zillon and Captain from him actually when I was mulling around other options:
Zillon and Captain
(also recognizing the current bruhaha over the ig-Zag/ Zillon recall by Petzl)

 

[moss]

I also think some of the problem maybe was the Sirius - good for throw rope but the prussik seemed to bind up tightly or at least more tightly on the smaller diameter cord than on 11.5 - downside of that is it takes more space in a ditty bag and is harder to throw the larger tachyon.
Hard to find this guy sometimes with a search, but this climber has some great videos - got the idea of the Zillon and Captain from him actually when I was mulling around other options:
Zillon and Captain
(also recognizing the current bruhaha over the ig-Zag/ Zillon recall by Petzl)

I haven’t given my new Hook setup a serious test in a tree yet, will do soon. The 9mm line stows nice though, I’m keeping it to 45’ and it stows fast as well as more compact than my 10mm line roughly the same length did.
-AJ

 

[Bart_]

Moss, I made my sidewalls aluminum to save weight. Same on yours? I've never had a strength issue. Quite thin too, perhaps 0.1" or 1/8" stock.

 

[moss]

Moss, I made my sidewalls aluminum to save weight. Same on yours? I've never had a strength issue. Quite thin too, perhaps 0.1" or 1/8" stock.

These are steel by default, recycled from some of Gordon's OAR lanyard adjuster work. The whole thing with tether etc. is still lighter than my Rope Runner now liberated and readjusted for my regular climbing ropes.
-AJ