Maggie's Farm

Love 'em. Put a cheater on the handle (slip a, say, 4' length of snug-fitting 2'' iron pipe over it) and you can slowly-but-shirley pull your vehicle out of a ditch --provided you have a nearby tree to hitch to). Or keep a tree from a wrong fall by getting a rope up up the trunk a ways. then hitching the rope to a come-along a safe distance away, and ratchet a tension that won't let the tree fall (unless you've exceeded the capacity of the rig, i.e. the tree is too heavy above the center of where you've created the artificial center of gravity, i.e. the tie-off point of the long line)anywhere across the full 180 degree arc that begins at 90 degrees and ends at 270 degrees of the stationary point, i.e. whatever immoveable object that hitches the tool to what should for all practical purposes be the Earth itself.

If you won't be cutting the tree, say just protecting a structure threatened by it, and are just sacrificing the come-along, use light chain instead of rope, as rope stretches and you will lose your 180 degree safe zone very rapidly as the long line loses tension. Then, if using chain, you can rescue your come-along by sacrificing a chain boomer.

(note, the 180 degrees refers only vertical axis of the tree trunk --you have to subtract from 180 everything radiating, i should say branching, from that axis, in order to find the effective clear zone, i.e. where not even the branches will hit the item being protected)

--after that, i just hope she's ok (gulp)

The secret o' the scale of the rigging of the big man o war sailing ships o' the line', as well as oil that replaced the wind --the characteristic tower of a drilling rig is naught but the frame for a 'traveling block' to lift the drill (pipe) string --

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=comealong+winch&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=11748061044&hvpos=1t3&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8379653521297841933&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_4y5yeyvenr_b

$40 for a good light-duty

suggest buy it thru instapundit's amazon link --givew him a dime for all the good he does --

(jeez, i hope MF don't have an Amazon link too !?)

(full disclosure, SnL and poppa to a grandson is a scientist II up thar @ HQ Amazon)