The Perfect Treehouse by Django Kroner

Author:Django Kroner
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: F+W Media

Having an appropriate entrance such as a swinging bridge or a rope ladder can encourage a playful mindset and set the tone for time spent in your treehouse.

CHAPTER EIGHT

rigging

My first entry to rigging was through rock climbing. I learned mostly accidentally though problem solving while on the cliffs. It wasn’t until I pursued my High Angle 3 rescue certification that I really dove into the technical details of setting up rigging systems. I had the opportunity to take the course with the guy who wrote the book, literally. The class, taught by instructor and author Rick Weber, was designed as a prep course for people who wanted to be involved in search and rescue – specifically in mountainous terrain where you would have to get an injured person off of a cliff. While these rigging scenarios were far more complex than what we generally use for treehouse building, the principals are the same. One thing is for certain: In-field experience is what makes you a good rigger.

For me, figuring out the rigging to get a treehouse into a tree is one of the best parts of design. Each scenario is a puzzle and you never really know how things will go until you start pulling on the ropes! It is important to remember that problem solving as you go is a normal part of rigging. Don’t get discouraged when your beams swing to a completely different spot than you anticipated. This is just part of the puzzle and an opportunity to set up a new system to get things where you need them to be.

When dealing with large pieces of lumber, swinging through the trees, you have to remember to take it slow and be safe. Now is a great time to put on your helmet. Make sure the gear and ropes you have are rated as strong enough to move the loads you are attempting to move. If you don’t have a ton of fancy gear in your system, then a lot of friends can do the trick.

My number one rule for designing your rigging setup is to keep it simple. A simple rigging sytem is generally easier to predict, adjust and use because there are fewer steps and moving parts to keep track of. If you are familiar with pulley systems then you can build more complex setups. Usually, a three-to-one pulley system, with a progress capture and tag line will do the trick for moving beams. Let’s look at a few possibilities of what your system might look like.

A pulley system gives one person the strength of multiple people in exchange for pulling more rope through for upward progress. For example, a three-to-one pulley system gives one man the strength of three, but three times the rope has to be pulled through the system to move the object upward one unit. You can build a pulley system that gives you the strength of two, three, four and so on.

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