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And Ropework
Vince Brennan
EVERYONE can benefit from learning a bit about knots and ropework... Around the house, on a camping
trip, bringing large items home on the top of a car, and (most especially) if you're a boater or around boats
a lot. The knowledge will serve you well for your entire life and you are NEVER "too old" to learn!
On the following pages are a VERY few of the most basic types of knots and hitches, but they'll do to start
you out. If you should pick up the "Knot Me!" bug from this pamphlet, my apologies! Here are some
books that will feed your "K.A.S." (Knot Acquisition Syndrome)!
(ISBN 0-385-04025-3)
EFKR (The Encyclopedia Of Knots And Fancy Ropework), Raoul Graumont and John Hensel
Cornell Maritime Press, 1943 (ISB-13: 9780870330216)
These two books cover ALL the knots, braids, sennits, turk's-heads and fancywork you could ever want to
know about, but they DO assume the reader is well-grounded in ropework!
More user-friendly are these:
"Running",
"Working" or
"Bitter" end
"A Turn"
or closed loop
"Underhand" loop
"Standing" part
"A Bight" or
un-closed loop
All the knots, hitches and bends in the following pages can be equally well-tied in either the three-strand "laid" rope
used for the illustrations or in modern synthetic lines in double-braid. I will occasionally remember to do so, but let
me take this opportunity to mention that anytime a hitch or bend is finished off with one or two half-hitches, I
STRONGLY recommend that you add one or two additional half-hitches when using synthetic line: In it's nature, it
has MUCH less surface friction and, consequently, does have a tendency to work loose much more than cotton or
manilla lines. Remember, when in doubt, ALWAYS err on the side of safety!
To release the knot, simply pull UP on either end and the line will "upset" and come apart quite easily, which
is why it is so useful for reefing sails and so disappointing as a reliable bend in daily use.
You CAN use this to join two lines if you whip (tie together) the ends to the standing parts, but - why
bother? There are MUCH better bends to use!
For someone not reefing a sail, this knot is best left to the Boy Scouts.
For added security on this knot, take the working end around
the back again and under itself in the front: This forms a
DOUBLED sheet bend.
The name comes from using this bend to attach the earring (corner) lines of a sail to the hauling lines (sheets).
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Probably the most recognizable knot after the "square" knot, this is a massively useful way to form a loop in
the end of a line. 99% of the time it will not slip, it will not "jam" on itself, it is quick and easy to tie and it
will STAY tied until you take it out! It is one of the strongest knots, achieving 92% ratings and is used for
everything from tying up a ship to a lifeline loop,
OVER THE TOP
OF THE LOOP AND
AROUND THE
STANDING PART
UP THRU
THE LOOP
NOTE THAT
BITTER END
IS INSIDE THE
LOOP, NOT
OUTSIDE IT!
BACK TO THE
FRONT, OVER AND
DOWN THE LOOP
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STEEL MARLINSPIKE
WOODEN FID
(see page 5)
THE EYESPLICE
I could dedicate an entire class to making the eyesplice correctly, and I STILL wouldn't feel confidant that
most people had gotten the idea, but for those of you who are interested, here's a brief precis:
Form a loop, then tuck the center line (A) thru the first turn as shown, then take (B) and tuck
it OVER (1) and UNDER the next line... Then turn the eye over
and tuck the (C) line as shown. Fair everything up!
OVER, then
UNDER
Once you have made the first tucks, continue tucking in the same order ( A B C ) until you have made THREE tucks
total for manilla line or FIVE tucks total for synthetic line. You can make a few more if you wish but three for manilla
or cotton and five for synthetics should hold well. To open the line for tucking the ends, use a WOODEN fid
(a conical piece of wood turned to a point) for the purpose. A metal marlinspike can cut and pierce the rope fibres
where the wooden fid will move them out of the way. You will find that if you clamp the eye and then twist the
standing part TOWARD you a bit, it will help open the strands for the fid.
Whenever possible, have someone experienced check your eyesplice over!
...................................................................................
A
"Over Below And Under Aloft".
Be warned: When pulled tight, the only way to undo the hitch is to cut it off !
Use the constrictor with EXTREME caution and NEVER make it up on a body part!
For this you need a strong, small twine (waxed twine is best, nylon twine works quite well and cotton
is OK, but you may want to "double up" the line if it's light-duty) and two small, stout sticks. (Chopsticks work!)
Take your rope and about a yard of twine, lay the twine up along the rope and form a loop as shown in (A)
below, leaving about a two inch loop. Next, clamp the crossing point with your thumbnail, then take the
long end of the twine and make about ten passes around the rope back toward the end as shown in (B) and
(C). Take the working end of the twine and put it THRU the remaining loop as shown in (C), then pull
on the loop line until the loop disappears under the turns, as in (D). Wrap the two ends of the twine
around the sticks (unless you have hands as callused as mine!) and pull on both ends to secure the whipping,
then trim the whipping ends off neat to the turns. (E)
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
For added security (in case the end whipping is knocked off for some reason) do a second whipping about
three inches down the rope. This works on any "laid" rope, both fibre and synthetic, but on synthetic the
whip can slip a bit, so a third whipping is, while not "necessary", a good insurance move. Double-braid
rope should always be "backspliced" by an expert.
......................................................................................
b
a
Myself, I put TWO rolling hitches on the line and THEN use two or three half-hitches, just because I usually
wear a belt AND suspenders! This hitch can be adjusted under tension either dry or wet, and I learned of it
by using it to keep boats covered on the deck of a large ship crossing the North Atlantic in November.
Works like a dream!
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Usually, you'll take the line coming from the dock and make it up
i
to a cleat on deck. ALWAYS make up with the line coming to the
INBOARD of the cleat. Take your line and lead it under the horn
AWAY from the strain, and make a FULL TURN around the cleat
(not shown for clarity in the picture!) first, then around again
and under the horn CLOSEST to the stain , then up and over the
cleat as shown in (1). At this point, if the boat is still moving,
use the line and cleat to snub off the boat's movement. If the
boat is moving too strongly, allow some line to run out, using the
friction to slow the movement until it comes to rest. Take out
the slack, then make up two "figure 8's" as shown in (2) and (3).
To secure the line, end off with a half-hitch around a horn and then coil or flake any excess . NEVER "make up" solidly
to a cleat before the boat has come to a complete rest, or you may be replacing a fair portion of decking as a result!
TIPS: NEVER stow a wet line, especially a natural fibre line! It will promote rot and mildew and render the
line useless in short order. Always allow line to dry as thoroughly as possible before stowing. If you MUST
strike the line below, then get it on deck as soon as practicable to dry it.
Dr. Charles Hamel (Le Nautile) of France has some wonderful pictures of mooring lines:
http://charles.hamel.free.fr/knots-and-cordages/knots_harbours_boats.html
After a drawing by Ron Edwards in his book, :"Knots, Useful And Ornamental".
I like to use 1/4" cotton "sash cord" for a heaving line... it's soft. cheap, coils easily and is light, so that it "travels" well
when thrown, BUT: It does NOT float! If you want a floating line, try some 3/16" yellow polypropolyene line from
any marina, but note that this a very stiff line and not easily used for heaving purposes.
Allow about 12' of line to do this knot, so you'll want about 115' of line total. As shown above, make a set of three
turns (use your fingers as a mandrel) (1), then take three turns AROUND the first set (2), then make three turns THRU
the first set and AROUND the second set (3) and (4). If you want to keep it round, a little 1" dia. rubber ball from your
local dollar store should suffice nicely... put it inside before you start the third set of turns. Now start taking the slack out
of the knot from the WORKING end and just go around once to get the major slack out, then go around again to tighten
and fair up the knot. Finally, seize off the short end (5) and trim up to be neat. At the other end of the heaving line, I
usually make a 2-3" loop and seize the end off neatly. This will allow you to hang the coil from a hook or attach
another line easily if needed.
Throwing the heaving line takes a bit of practise to get right and there are innumerable ways to do it, but I favor this:
1. Make the coil: If you are going to pass a heavy dock line, attach the heaving line to the eye of the docking line.
Make your coil NEATLY: there should be no over-riding turns so that the thrown coil will pay out smoothly.
2. Break the coil: Hold the coil in your non-dominant hand. Pick up one third to one half of the coil with your
dominant hand. Keep the monkey-fist on the outside of the coil to insure that it pays out without knots.
3. Turn and sight: Turn so that your non-dominant shoulder faces the objective. Sight over your shoulder and focus
your concentration on a point just above and upwind of the dock, boat, or person.
4. Swing the line: Hold your non-dominant hand with the palm up and open. This will allow the heaving line to feed
out of that hand. Swing the coil in the dominant hand down by your side in a forward-aft motion. This will put
velocity into the line as you throw it.
5. Heave the line: Throw the line underhand to a close target where you need pin-point accuracy. When heaving to
a boat, use a side arm or overhead throw to gain height and increase the distance of the toss. Always allow for wind
direction and force! If you are throwing to a person, try to throw it so the monkey's fist will land upwind and a few
feet away from them, several feet beyond their position.
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