[gafftaper]

The questions Derek is asking are to determine if your rope has stretched or if your tensioning system is not working correctly. Those are the two ways you can develop this problem.

You need to have your system inspected and get some training. You should not be having "several" near runaways. People get KILLED with runaways. Did you hear me? KILLED as in DEAD. If you have had "several" near runaways either there are major problems with your system that need immediate repair before it is used again or your crew does not know how to safely operate your system and you all need training before you use it again. Either way you need a full inspection with training. You should NEVER get in a situation where 4 people have to grab a rope... that's EXTREMELY dangerous... another member here has told the story several times about the tech who ripped the skin off his hand doing that.

I don't mean to insult you with this post, but your questions show you do not know what you are doing. People who don't know what they are doing have no business running a fly system. It's the by far the most dangerous thing in tech theater. If you walked up to the dimmer rack and saw a bunch of big fat bare wires you would say... hmm that's dangerous I better not touch it. Well when you fly things you are not just endangering yourself but everyone around you as well. Get some training and a service call to inspect and repair your system before someone gets killed... until then Don't Touch!