BOWLINE
ü A commonly used knot to tie a loop in the end of a rope. It has the advantage of not jamming, compared to some other loop forming knots (for example when using an overhand knot on a large bight to form a loop).
ü Form a small loop (the direction is important), and pass the free end of the knot up through the loop, around behind the standing part of the rope, and back down through the loop.
ü A chant used by many to remember this knot is “The rabbit comes out of the hole, round the tree, and back down the hole again”, where the hole is the small loop, and the rabbit is the running end of the rope.
CLOVE HITCH
ü Use to attach a rope to a pole, this knot provide a quick and secure result. It rarely jams, and can in fact suffer from the hitch unrolling under tension if the pole can turn. Often used to start and finish lashings.
ü With practice, this can be easily tied with one hand – especially useful for sailors!
EIGHT KNOT
ü The Fisherman’s knot is used to tie two ropes of equal thickness together. It is used by fishermen to join fishing line, and is very effective with small diameter strings and twines.
ü A useful “Stop” knot to temporarily bulk out the end of a rope or cord, the finished knot looks like its name
THE FISHERMAN’S KNOT
THE LARK’S HEAD KNOT
ü The Lark’s Head knot is used to loosely attach a rope to a spar or ring. The knot has two redeeming features, it is easy to tie, and it does not jam. However, it will slip fairly easily along the spar, and may slip undone when tied using man made fibre ropes.
REEF KNOT
ü An excellent general purpose knot for tying two pieces of string or twine together, the reef knot is possibly the most commonly used knot for the job, and is easy to learn. However, it cannot be overly stressed that the Reef knot is not a long term or secure knot, and it should only be used to finish parcels or bindings
THE THIEF KNOT
ü The Thief knot resembles the Reef knot at a casual glance. Note that the ends of the Thief Knot come off opposite sides of the knot. In the Reef knot, they come off the same sides.
THE SHEEPSHANK
ü The Sheepshank is a shortening knot, which enables a rope to be shortened non-destructively.
THE SHEETBEND KNOT
ü The Sheetbend is commonly used to tie two ropes of unequal thickness together. The thicker rope of the two is used to form a bight, and the thinner rope is passed up through the bight, around the back of the bight, and then tucked under itself.
ROUND TURN AND TWO HALF HITCHES
ü Used to secure a rope to a pole, or to start or finish a lashing. Pass the running end of the rope over the pole twice. Then pass the running end over the standing part of rope, and tuck it back up and under itself, forming a half hitch. Repeat this for a second half hitch
