I love ropework. I have done ever since first being exposed to tying knots and doing splices as a small child, and this was solidified later when climbing. So, though I am fascinated by the things you can do with rope, I have in the past encountered among some sailors the attitude that "too many knots" just confuses newbie sailors.
So, I thought it might be fun to poll the SailFar crew for favorite and most used knots. Which ones do you think would be the minimum to teach a new sailor just getting started on HIS OWN BOAT? Here's my list of "newbie should learn these" just to get started (in no particular order). I've not included a bunch of useful, but fairly specialized knots.
- Figure-8: great stopper knot, quick to tie, MUCH easier to untie than a simple overhand.
- Bowline: the grand-daddy, this knot HAS to be learned. Unfortunately, it is not an easy knot to teach someone to tie.
- Double Sheet Bend: this cousin of the bowline is a strong, safe knot for joining two ropes on-end. One can use interlocking bowlines, but this would be faster and I think spreads the loading out a little better. Works fine for lines of different size lines, provided it's done correctly.
- Rolling Hitch: this variant of a clove hitch and cousin to the prusik hitch is very often overlooked as a "must know" yet, imo, it is EXTREMELY useful aboard.
- Round Turn and Two Half Hitches: another multi-use knot, I cannot imagine sailing without this one in the tool box.
- Clove Hitch/Slip Clove: I use this one a lot, probably too much. I think I use this a lot when a round turn + two half hitches would be better. I'm trying to correct that. ;)
- Eye Splice: let's face it, splicing is FUN. But aside from that, splices not only look better, but they are stronger and more secure than knots. When I take newbie sailors out, I try to get them to see that an eye splice is not hard to do (in three strand, a bit harder in double braid), but it is worth the effort over tying a simple knot.
- Reef Knot/Slip Reef Knot: useful for lashing, tying reefs, etc.
Just a few others I'd include as more "intermediate" to be added on later are:
- anchor bend
- buntline hitch
- end splice
If you are gonna teach the bowline, then the Buntline should be right there too. All it really is is a clove hitch around the working part. Won't come loose like a bowline can either, but won't untie easily either. I use it in place of eye splices, since it can easily be taken off and redone.
A nice adjunct to the rolling hitch is a trucker's hitch, simply a loop in the standing part that is used as a fiber block, giving 2:1 leverage. I use them to make sure the dinghy is tied down hard on the foredeck. The rolling hitch is a good way to finish and allows the lashings to be checked and tightened without starting over.
I tried to teach myself to splice double-braid from books a number of times without luck. I bought a DVD and splicing wands from Brion Toss and had an epiphany. Now that I have learned using his tools I find I can splice without them, although still much faster with the wands. I do still use the cheat sheet that came with the wands, mostly because I don't splice stuff often enough.
Quote from: Auspicious on January 27, 2008, 09:36:21 AM
A nice adjunct to the rolling hitch is a trucker's hitch, simply a loop in the standing part that is used as a fiber block, giving 2:1 leverage.
Ah, yes, I use that one alot, too. Excellent knot I left off my list.
You missed the tautline hitch, which is good for fenders if you want to adjust the height on them. ;)
Quote from: AdriftAtSea on January 28, 2008, 08:54:27 AM
You missed the tautline hitch, which is good for fenders if you want to adjust the height on them. ;)
That's essentially a good application of a rolling hitch. I was thinking there was no need to try to teach a newbie a lot of limited-use knots, but rather general purpose knots that can be used in a lot of circumstances.
Another one came up today: the towmans hitch. Learn it. When you need it you'll know it is the right hitch and you'll thank me for it. <grin>
Quote from: Auspicious on January 30, 2008, 11:56:25 AM
Another one came up today: the towmans hitch. Learn it. When you need it you'll know it is the right hitch and you'll thank me for it. <grin>
If this is the same as a Tugboat Hitch (aka Lighterman's hitch), it's a great knot for a specific application - making a line fast to a vertical bitt, bollard or sampson post. On sailboats it's a good knot to use when you make a dock line fast on your sheet winch, especially after using the winch to warp you alongside. It's easy to tie, but I don't think I'd put it on the "Top Six Knots to Teach a New Sailor" list...
Quote from: Bill NH on January 30, 2008, 09:03:02 PM
Quote from: Auspicious on January 30, 2008, 11:56:25 AM
Another one came up today: the towmans hitch. Learn it. When you need it you'll know it is the right hitch and you'll thank me for it. <grin>
If this is the same as a Tugboat Hitch (aka Lighterman's hitch), it's a great knot for a specific application - making a line fast to a vertical bitt, bollard or sampson post. On sailboats it's a good knot to use when you make a dock line fast on your sheet winch, especially after using the winch to warp you alongside. It's easy to tie, but I don't think I'd put it on the "Top Six Knots to Teach a New Sailor" list...
That's the one. It came in very handy last night in 30+ knots. I needed the sheet winch to crank me off a piling, and on my boat I needed a way to secure the jib sheet on the furled headsail. I cranked in on the ST winch to pull the boat to windward and used an easy towmans hitch to keep the windward jib sheet from flopping around.
Well, technically, the bowline is a sheet bend tied into a bight on the standing part of the same line. :)
Quote from: Captain Smollett on January 28, 2008, 09:14:15 AM
Quote from: AdriftAtSea on January 28, 2008, 08:54:27 AM
You missed the tautline hitch, which is good for fenders if you want to adjust the height on them. ;)
That's essentially a good application of a rolling hitch. I was thinking there was no need to try to teach a newbie a lot of limited-use knots, but rather general purpose knots that can be used in a lot of circumstances.
I supose y'all have seen this site before,just thought ya might like to peruse it a bit. http://www.igkt.net/index.php .Now ya can all get knotted(can I say that?)Mudnut.
cool! thx
In case you haven't seen it yet, here's a nice website with animated drawings of all kinds of knots:
http://www.animatedknots.com/index.php
--Joe
Hi gang,
What a pair of usefull web sites. They both went into my favorites list. Thanks guys.
Fair winds,
Pappy Jack