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Description
Firstly this is not a Proper tutorial for how Real Sailors do square-rigging... but when we went to make ours, we found a distinct lack of any such tutorials, and were forced to make it up as we went along. At any rate, what we came up with will hold a person's weight without problem and shouldn't slip as far as we can ascertain. Also, it looks pretty. Personally I wouldn't use this on an actual ship, but then those who are sailing square-rigged vessels hopefully don't need internet tutorials.

Design by ~Calron and ~tigermoph , tutorial by ~tigermoph

The cross-beams are made from two identical slats back-to-back. It is assumed at this stage that you have already tied off your main ropes to whatever the top anchor is, leaving at least three sets of double cord to hold the slats. We made three nooses around a bit of two-by-four which was in turn lashed to the tree with more rope. Another suggestion would be the good old running bowline.

1. Run the ropes between the slats, around the front and right over to the back. Witness the difference between the results of this step between fig. 1 and 2. Between each step you should be pulling the ropes neatly into place, not leaving them loosely wherever.

2. Cross the ropes over, running them up in front and then down between the slats. Crossing the ropes locks the beam in place, so it is at this point that you make sure the beam is sitting at the right height. Pull everything tight and neat.

*An expert hint is to do steps 1 and 2 loosely on separate pieces of wood that are thicker and shorter; then transfer the knot onto the actual slats and tidy it up. This reduces the amount of times you have to pull the entire rope through itself.

3. Make a crappy old hitch in the trailing rope, then run the ends right around the whole kaboodle and back through the loop of the hitch.

4. This part is very fiddly: first make the hitch as tight as you can get it. It will lock any slack in, so try to remove as much of that slack as possible. To tighten it fully, you can ratchet the trailing rope up and down, which- if done correctly- will tighten slightly with each movement.

Fig 5 and 6 show a finished knot, fig 5 obviously tied loosely off for neatness; fig 7 shows the rigging pegged down and under construction.

Description
Firstly this is not a Proper tutorial for how Real Sailors do square-rigging... but when we went to make ours, we found a distinct lack of any such tutorials, and were forced to make it up as we went along. At any rate, what we came up with will hold a person's weight without problem and shouldn't slip as far as we can ascertain. Also, it looks pretty. Personally I wouldn't use this on an actual ship, but then those who are sailing square-rigged vessels hopefully don't need internet tutorials.

Design by ~Calron and ~tigermoph , tutorial by ~tigermoph

The cross-beams are made from two identical slats back-to-back. It is assumed at this stage that you have already tied off your main ropes to whatever the top anchor is, leaving at least three sets of double cord to hold the slats. We made three nooses around a bit of two-by-four which was in turn lashed to the tree with more rope. Another suggestion would be the good old running bowline.

1. Run the ropes between the slats, around the front and right over to the back. Witness the difference between the results of this step between fig. 1 and 2. Between each step you should be pulling the ropes neatly into place, not leaving them loosely wherever.

2. Cross the ropes over, running them up in front and then down between the slats. Crossing the ropes locks the beam in place, so it is at this point that you make sure the beam is sitting at the right height. Pull everything tight and neat.

*An expert hint is to do steps 1 and 2 loosely on separate pieces of wood that are thicker and shorter; then transfer the knot onto the actual slats and tidy it up. This reduces the amount of times you have to pull the entire rope through itself.

3. Make a crappy old hitch in the trailing rope, then run the ends right around the whole kaboodle and back through the loop of the hitch.

4. This part is very fiddly: first make the hitch as tight as you can get it. It will lock any slack in, so try to remove as much of that slack as possible. To tighten it fully, you can ratchet the trailing rope up and down, which- if done correctly- will tighten slightly with each movement.

Fig 5 and 6 show a finished knot, fig 5 obviously tied loosely off for neatness; fig 7 shows the rigging pegged down and under construction.