cfreeman, I like your techniques, but where did you get the usage of "bitter end" to mean the free end of a cleated line like a halyard? I've always taken it to mean the captive, cleated end -- the end fastened semi-permanently to the "bitt" or cleat -- of a docking line or (especially) an anchor line. I'm not sure what the proper name is for the free end of a cleated halyard (working end??), but if it's really the "bitter end", then I've been confused a long time.
BTW, Wikipedia has it as follows (which I think is consistent with my understanding):
Quote:
Bitter end
More a ropeworker's term than a knot term, the reference is to the end of a rope that is tied off, hence the expression "to the bitter end". A bitt is a metal block with a crosspin used for tying lines to, found on docks. In fact the bitter end is the end of the Anchor "Cable" that connects to the Anchor Bitts in the cable locker under the forecastle or poop using the bitter pin. (British nautical usage). Other uses are borrowed from this derivation.
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