Re: Ricky vs. TreeBuzz
Noticed you went natural crotch on the silver maple top..
I doubt half your critics would have the balls to take such a big top..
That said, do you think the natural crotch rigging reduced the total force on the tree?. There wasn't much room to let it run.. Given that scenario, I think the physics would show that using a block would allow for more stretch in the line and therefore less shock load and less overall force on the tree (especially if you were using a line with some stretch).
You didn't seem to go for much of a ride, (perhaps due to several of the lower limbs still being in place), so this is more of an academic question.