Does anyone know where & how roping & sheeting started &is it a ‘british’ thing ? You never see roped & sheeted loads quite like ours anywhere else do you…
Didnt Bewick invent it or was it commer ?(sorry just light heart banter) lol .
never seen a dolly knot in any other country is it a nautical knot (no sailor jokes please) fredm
Both the Aussies and Kiwi’s use the dolly knot,but they are tied off on a rope rail which runs the length of the trailer instead of rope hooks.
Carters used ropes & canvas sheets on waggons well before even MY time. The dolly knot was used in the marine environment when it was considered quicker to use this hitch than to thread the more usual blocks (for a temporary short pull). It would be interesting to know just when the dolly was hijacked for road haulage use- probably spread inland from hauliers seeing it at ports, I would think.
Please note, I have avoided using the term, “Hello, sailor” 
Some older lorry drivers may attempt to convince us that the system of ropes & sheets that we are familiar with was first seen in ■■■■■■■ on an old, rusty Ford D1000, which appeared to have been painted in a somewhat lurid shade of red, underneath all the mud, road grime and rust. 
I can remember the flat trailers coming in from France and other continental countries. They used to tie a loop in the rope and then thread the loose end through the loop and down to the rope hook. The rope, being nylon, was useless after because you could not get the knots undone so the easiest way to take the rope off was to use a knife. I have reused the rope with the loops left in but it looked a right mess and we all tried to make a proper job of a sheeted load. I have also had loads off the ferry with the front sheet on first and the back sheet on last with a bloody great bag of air and unable to see through the mirrors properly.
Carlc:
I can remember the flat trailers coming in from France and other continental countries. They used to tie a loop in the rope and then thread the loose end through the loop and down to the rope hook. The rope, being nylon, was useless after because you could not get the knots undone so the easiest way to take the rope off was to use a knife. I have reused the rope with the loops left in but it looked a right mess and we all tried to make a proper job of a sheeted load. I have also had loads off the ferry with the front sheet on first and the back sheet on last with a bloody great bag of air and unable to see through the mirrors properly.
Very true the knife you mentioned was called a rope spanner by the old lads I worked with in the 50s, I you didn’t have one you weren’t a proper driver, That’s what they used to tell me anyway, The good old days Eh, Regards Larry.
Carlc:
I can remember the flat trailers coming in from France and other continental countries. They used to tie a loop in the rope and then thread the loose end through the loop and down to the rope hook. The rope, being nylon, was useless after because you could not get the knots undone so the easiest way to take the rope off was to use a knife. I have reused the rope with the loops left in but it looked a right mess and we all tried to make a proper job of a sheeted load. I have also had loads off the ferry with the front sheet on first and the back sheet on last with a bloody great bag of air and unable to see through the mirrors properly.
i did come across a ferrymaster flatbed in western dock dover many years ago,where the sheeets had been held down by lengths of wood and nailed through with 6" nails. luckily it wasn’t the one i wanted.
The securing of goods on open carts evolved from the carters of the middle ages and evolved into what we would recognise as sheeting and roping as we know it with the railwaymen of the mid-1800s, when goods began to move in quantity throughout the country. The tarpaulin, or fabric covering made waterproofed by covering with diluted tar came about through the need to waterproof hatch covers on sailing ships.
Greetings,All. The dolly knot is actually half a sheepshank,a Naval knot ffor temporarily shortening a rope. Regards, 900x20. 
May be the Romans sheeted the chariots up as they invented the condom in the form of a rabbit bladder !
Retired Old ■■■■:
Carters used ropes & canvas sheets on waggons well before even MY time. The dolly knot was used in the marine environment when it was considered quicker to use this hitch than to thread the more usual blocks (for a temporary short pull). It would be interesting to know just when the dolly was hijacked for road haulage use- probably spread inland from hauliers seeing it at ports, I would think.
Please note, I have avoided using the term, “Hello, sailor”
Some older lorry drivers may attempt to convince us that the system of ropes & sheets that we are familiar with was first seen in ■■■■■■■ on an old, rusty Ford D1000, which appeared to have been painted in a somewhat lurid shade of red, underneath all the mud, road grime and rust.
Aerosol !! 
NZ JAMIE:
Both the Aussies and Kiwi’s use the dolly knot,but they are tied off on a rope rail which runs the length of the trailer instead of rope hooks.
So how is the rope tied off on the rope rail please?
Lawrence Dunbar:
Carlc:
I can remember the flat trailers coming in from France and other continental countries. They used to tie a loop in the rope and then thread the loose end through the loop and down to the rope hook. The rope, being nylon, was useless after because you could not get the knots undone so the easiest way to take the rope off was to use a knife. I have reused the rope with the loops left in but it looked a right mess and we all tried to make a proper job of a sheeted load. I have also had loads off the ferry with the front sheet on first and the back sheet on last with a bloody great bag of air and unable to see through the mirrors properly.Very true the knife you mentioned was called a rope spanner by the old lads I worked with in the 50s, I you didn’t have one you weren’t a proper driver, That’s what they used to tell me anyway, The good old days Eh, Regards Larry.
Christ, I still carry a rope spanner now And I ain’t THAT old…
About 15 years ago a tipper driver did me some holiday cover he used rope and called the knot a sizzler ,I said what do you mean ? He said it swizzle s when it comes undone it was a bar in the rope twisted round and round ,any way 15 years later he is one of the most wanted drivers in the area for being punctual capable of roping sheeting stapping low loader and flat crane work you can’t get him when you need him he is in demand like you wouldn’t believe .
axletramp:
NZ JAMIE:
Both the Aussies and Kiwi’s use the dolly knot,but they are tied off on a rope rail which runs the length of the trailer instead of rope hooks.So how is the rope tied off on the rope rail please?
It’s a right bloody farce,you have to half complete the hitch then thread the loose end through the back of the bar then feed it through the twist before tightening the hitch,what a balls-up,why can’t they just use hooks ? 
Cheers Bewick.
Bewick:
axletramp:
NZ JAMIE:
Both the Aussies and Kiwi’s use the dolly knot,but they are tied off on a rope rail which runs the length of the trailer instead of rope hooks.So how is the rope tied off on the rope rail please?
It’s a right bloody farce,you have to half complete the hitch then thread the loose end through the back of the bar then feed it through the twist before tightening the hitch,what a balls-up,why can’t they just use hooks ?
Quite right Dennis, It took forever, I remember loading a flat at Immingham when I say a flat This was just a platform like the bottom of a container which you will know what Im talking about, The load was Boxes of alloy sections, Anyway I delivered the load & went into Chas Lennigs at Jarrow & loaded 45 gallon drums, To take back to Immingham the ropes that were on the alloy load were just thin & I cut them in several places to remove them, However I salvaged what I could & made the best of a bad job but I had to use some of my own sisal ropes to make up for the loss of length caused by my rope spanner, Luckily I never had another such load to contend with, Happy Days Eh, Regards Larry.
Looking back at photo’s (I’m not that old!), it strikes me that Europe went down the ‘tilts’ route way before we cottoned on to the benefits of not faffing around with ropes & sheets.
I remember some old drivers talking of a Manchester hitch.what would that have been.? 
shirtbox2003:
I remember some old drivers talking of a Manchester hitch.what would that have been.?
It was also called the Alex Ferguson knot. When you thought you had finished roping the load another 4 foot of trailer appeared.