20 – Marlinespike Seamanship 157 Section 20 Marlinespike Seamanship Becket. An eye in the end of a block used for securing an end Knot. General term for securing a line to an object, another of a line; an eye in the end of a rope. line, or itself. Also, unit of speed of one nautical mile per hour. Bend. To make fast a sail to a spar or stay. Also, a knot to secure a line to another line or object. Marlinespike. A pointed steel tool used in splicing to open the strands of a rope or cable. See “Fid.” Bight. Open or closed loop in a line or rope. Seize. To bind by many wrappings of small line. Fid. Tapered tool used in splicing. Seizing. Small stuff for binding. Hitch. A knot used to secure a rope fast to another rope or to other object. Splice. Joining lines by interweaving the strands. Whip. To bind the end of a rope with light line. 1 The lines aboard a sailboat are of such great importance 3 Nylon was the first of the synthetic lines to receive that all sailors should know the types of cordage avail- widespread use. It has great strength and tremendous able and the various applications. They need to know elasticity. This latter characteristic makes it useful for where and how to use the lines on their boat. They also docking lines, towing bridles, and (especially) anchor need the ability to tie various knots and hitches and to rodes. Nylon stretches and absorbs shocks when the boat make splices. Sailors pride themselves in their knowl- is anchored or tied up. Dacron® is about 10% weaker than edge and take pleasure in doing fancy work with the nylon but stretches much less. Dacron® is preferred for lines on their boats. sheets, halyards, and other lines where minimum stretch is desired. It has a similar appearance to nylon but is smoother. It is easier to chafe through, so care must be Cordage taken to lead the lines away from obstructions. 2 Many types of rope are available at a local marine supply store so selecting the best one for a particular need can 4 Polypropylene is a lightweight line that will float. It has be an interesting exercise. Discussions of cordage in the only about half the strength of nylon and sometimes texts and manuals of a few years ago included reports on sheers off without warning when fatigued. It is more dif- the relative merits of such natural fiber ropes as hemp, ficult to knot and splice because it is slippery. However, sisal, and manila. Today, synthetic materials are so much its floating characteristic makes it useful as a dinghy more suitable for use in the marine environment, in so painter or mooring pick-up line. Lines that become many different ways, that the natural fiber ropes are wrapped around a propeller shaft are always a problem seldom employed. Manila, for example, is the best of as well as dangerous, so polypropylene is the perfect the natural fiber ropes but will rot if stored wet, is hard answer. Use it for other low-load jobs where buoyancy on hands, and is not as strong as synthetics. is desirable. Sail 158 20 – Marlinespike Seamanship chest. Many sailors today still find pleasure in unusual functional and decorative rope work for their boats. 8 Even if the time isn’t available to become proficient in the skill, a few basic knots, bends, and hitches should be learned. Only a few are required to serve nearly every common shipboard need, and they are easy to learn. The basic ones are included here along with descriptions of how to tie them, and some of the common uses for each. 9 The distinction between knots, bends, and hitches has become vague, but hitches connote a temporary fasten- Figure 20–1 Three Strand Laid Line ing, usually to an object. A bend is a knot used to secure a rope to an object, or to tie two ends of a rope together. Laid vs. Braid Knots are used to describe most fastenings, nautical or 5 Laid lines, Figure 20–1, are fibers that are twisted into not. Frequently, bends and hitches are called knots. yarns, which are in turn twisted into strands. The strands, usually three, are then twisted around each other in a 10 There are several terms that make description easier. clockwise direction. The lay progresses towards the The standing part of a line is the main section, which is right so the lines are right-hand laid. Anchor rodes and ® frequently attached to something or leads back to the coil. dock lines are commonly laid nylon. Laid Dacron is The bitter end is, as the name implies, the very end of also available and is often used for the rope tails on wire the line. A bight (pronounced bite) is a U-shaped portion halyards. or loop in a line. Line and rope are not interchangeable terms, although they are often used that way. A line is a piece of rope that has been cut from a coil to be used aboard a boat. The same material is called rope while it is still part of the coil. 11 Overhand Knot. The overhand knot is the knot that most people learn to tie first, Figure 20–3. It simply involves crossing the bitter end of a line over the standing part, Figure 20–2 Braided Line and then taking the bitter end up through the loop that is formed. 6 Lines are also braided, Figure 20–2. Braid consists of a loosely laid core, which is then surrounded with a wo- STANDING PART ven cover. Braided lines are more costly, but they have advantages. Their smooth outer surface distributes the load on the line among more fibers, thus reducing wear and allowing for longer rope life. Since their smooth outer surface makes the lines easy to handle, they are frequently used for sheets. Braided Dacron® is also com- BITTER END mon as a halyard material when wire is not necessary. Figure 20–3 Overhand Knot Knots–Bends–Hitches 12 This simple knot is part of several others and can be 7 Sailors on large sailing ships often spent their off watch used as a stopper knot all by itself. A stopper knot is time doing fancy work with cordage. Sometimes, it one that is tied in the end of a line to prevent the line was for the ship, and other times, the fancy rope work from pulling back through a block or fairlead. When a was for the sailor—perhaps a decorated ditty bag for sailboat is rigged, stopper knots are generally tied on the his ropeworking tools or some beckets for his seaman’s ends of the sheets to prevent them from unreeving and Sail 20 – Marlinespike Seamanship 159 the smaller line following exactly the path of the first turn. This bend is called a double sheet bend, Figure 20–6. It is a bit less likely to shake out if the load is reduced. Working End Line 1 Figure 20–4 Figure-8 knot Working End Standing Part becoming lost or snarled should the jib get temporarily Line 2 out of control. An overhand knot used as a stopper can Line 1 jam under a heavy load, becoming difficult to untie. 13 Figure-Eight Knot. If the bulk of an overhand knot is not adequate to prevent unreeving, several other stopper Standing Part knots are in common use. The simplest is the figure-eight, Line 2 Figure 20–4. Figure 20–6 Double Sheet Bend 14 Square or Reef Knot. A knot that most people have 18 Bowline. The bowline is a knot used for forming a loop heard of and many can tie is the square knot, or reef in the end of a line, Figure 20–7. It is a valuable knot to knot, so called because it is used on a sailboat to tie off know, has many uses, is easy to tie, does not jam under excess sail material during reefing. heavy loads, and is easily cast off. Figure 20–5 Sheet Bend 15 Sheet Bend. The sheet bend, or common bend, is used for joining two lines together. The sheet bend, Figure Figure 20–7 Bowline 20–5, works well whether the lines to be joined are the same size or not. It is very easy to tie, is reliable under 19 An important use for the bowline is to fasten jib sheets load, and unties easily. For these reasons, the sheet bend to the clew of the jib or genoa. should be the knot that is used most often for joining two lines. 20 Clove Hitch. The clove hitch is the most common and versatile of the hitches, Figure 20–8. It can be used to 16 To tie the sheet bend, make a bight in the end of one hang fenders from the lifelines or to tie the boat tempo- of the lines. If the lines are of different sizes, the bight rarily to a piling. Understand, however, that the clove should be in the larger line. Pass the working end of the hitch can work loose when there is not a constant pres- other line up through the bight, around under both legs sure on both its ends. Therefore, it shouldn’t be regarded of the bight, and then around over the legs of the bight, as a permanent knot unless both ends are loaded. but under the standing part of the second line.