On Sat, 4 Apr 2020 23:22:05 +0100 (GMT+01:00), thescullster
wrote:

snip

Think I'll try and get to grips with Chris's Trucker's hitch.
A single part rope is fine, but it does take some effort to get
movement from the apple tree trunk.

As you said, you are only going to (try to) 'encourage)' the apple
tree over, any more force than that may damage one tree or the other.

Just need a means of taking up and securing the slack while
maintaining the tension.

If you are pulling a tail of rope though a loop then it's quite easy
to hold the two parts together (tight in one hand) whilst getting a
knot round somewhere. If you do lose a few cm as you do that it should
be an issue in that application, especially if you use a stretchy rope
in the first place?

Cheers, T i m