Pioneering

Pioneering is the craft of creating structures using wooden spars and ropes joined by lashings and knots. It can be used for constructing small items such as small camp gadgets up to larger structures such as bridges and towers. These may be recreational, decorative, or functional. As a recreational activity, pioneering can be used for team building, as larger pioneering projects can only be undertaken in a team.

Pioneering is used as a part of the Scout programme. Many Scout groups train their members in pioneering skills and construct projects, both small and large. Pioneering is used to teach practical skills, teamwork and problem solving. In camp, Scouts may construct functional items like tables, camp dressers and gadgets as well as decorative camp gateways.

The name Pioneering comes from the work done by 18th and 19th century military engineers who went ahead of an army to build bridges and towers with rope and timber.

Basic knots

• Square knot
• Two half hitches
• Taut-line hitch
• Timber hitch
• Clove hitch
• Bowline
• Sheepshank
• Sheet bend

Basic lashings

• Square lashing, used to join two poles at a right angle
• Diagonal lashing, used to join two poles at a right angle when the spars tend to spring apart, for example when securing two diagonals to each other
• Round lashing, used to join two poles in a straight line
• Sheer lashing, used to join two poles in a scissors shape

Pioneering structures

These basic structures are the building blocks for a number of pioneering projects:

• A-frame
• Trestle
• Tripod

Pioneering projects

• Camp gateways
• Bridges
• Dressers
• Tables
• Camp gadgets
• Towers
• Aerial runways

See also

• knots
• Woodcraft

External links

• Ropes and Poles - Pioneering blog - growing collection of unusual projects
• PioneeringProjects.org - Large collection of pioneering projects and links to resources