( 4) SOME DEVICES
The good old fashioned tripod
+ recognisable symbol
• + safe and easy to construct
• + open to adaptation and variation
‑ - needs an athletic bunny
‑ - piece a' piss to disassemble or cherry pick unless adapted
Select the 'tallest thinnest poles that can be erected by the team available (yes! shock! horror! this involves killing poor little baby trees etc. Remember: cost/benefit!!
The tripod can be walked into position after erection, one leg at a time. Anarcho-politics aside, it helps if one person stands ALMOST under the apex and directs the huffing and puffing.
The pole butts can be retained in shallow holes or rigged and a comfy seat arranged in the apex.
(5) VARIATIONS
Two methods are used to breach tripods.
1) The legs are lifted up (one at a time) by burley policemen and bits are nibbled off with a chainsaw. A big spectacular tripod is gradually turned into a pissy little tripod.
2) The dreaded cherry picker arrives and two burley rescue police physically remove the protester.
Locking on to the underside of the apex is reasonably effective though extremely uncomfortable.
Escape routes into trees or onto various mono or bi-pod combinations are more effective.
(6) THE KERPLUNK
These provide a platform for the bunny to hop around and avoid arrest. The illustrated plunk can be repeated three times. They
are safe but unstable if cut. Some sort of harness and rope are required to leave hands free for instillation.
(7) THE CANTILEVER
• + difficult to breach;
• + relatively easy to construct;
• + the bunny only has to climb out rather than up (though vertigo sufferers still won't like it);
‑ - needs a narrow road with a steep dropoff;
‑ - has potential for disaster if not carefully engineered.
Only a very large bridgework cherry picker, or a mobile crane with a man box, can reach the bunny on this one.
The bunny can of course move along the lever, or up and down a knotted rope, or sit on a swing. A hummock is a nice comfy touch.
The adventurous could try a runner at the last moment by abseiling down a line kept coiled and concealed up ya' jumper.(somepractice is strongly recommended). Remember to have a sharp knife and/or hacksaw ready in case the baddies get a rope around the outboard end to stabilize it.
The construction of this beauty requires some tight teamwork. It's amazing how big a tree can be moved with a series ofrhythmic 1‑2‑3s.
If a big enough tree is not available then a composite can be lashed from saplings.
Use plenty of tight wire lashings or it will be horribly floppy and unsafe.
The trickiest bit is the final positioning. The plot can easily overbalance and disappear into the doonga at this stage.
The cantilever can be defeated by lots of fat policemen sitting
on the but and swinging it out of the way. OR dirt can be doled all over it to create a great big speedbump.
A suitably dodgy bipod at the fulcrum point should fix this.
The bipod must be strong. Notice that more than the whole weight of the whole tree bears on it. Beware of soft road edges !!!
To help retain the butt in its burrow the bipod should be slightly angled.
(8) THE MONOPOLE AND STAR OF DAVID
+ Spectacular and very hard to remove.
‑ - tricky to erect
‑ - requires a brave bunny
‑ - unsafe if not well built
Platform can be suspended from a variety of points and stabilised by rigging or lashing poles across the mono. Don't leave it to swing. It's dangerous and too difficult to move around.
This is a goody but a hardy. It doesn't have to be taller than your average cherry picker, but the bigger the better!
The Pole can be erected with the assistance of a nearby tree and some serious rigging gear, or it can be towed up with a four wheel drive.
This jumper strut or bipod may be needed to get things started and two temporary guy ropes will be needed to
stabilize the whole plot on the way up. These can have lots of people on the ends or, better yet, lead around
something a few times in the manner of a yacht winch. Simply pulling on the tail will lock the guy.
Permanent guys can be lead to star pickets or nearby trees. You can use 4, 3, or even 2 ‑ if you don't mind a
bit of a lean on the pole. Note that the 2 must be very strong. If fence wire is used, be aware that any kinks
weaken it. Fence wire does not have a calculable strength, so use plenty!
The prototype "Star of David" was removed by a cherry picker, log loader and chainsaw operating in
tedious concert to nibble bits off the base. It was defeated (of course), in the end, but the arrest/hassle ratio was very positive.