It's all about the Rope...

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Scott Berg

Five (5) pages and no mention of the Buntline Hitch?!
Stronger than a bowline and the favorite knot of Rod Stephens... Great for halyards...

http://bwsailing.com/cc/2013/03/20/t...ot-in-seconds/

Agreed. I like buntline hitch for connecting lines to rings or shackles. More compact and uses less line than a bowline. I left it off my list because not commonly used by many.

[El Pinguino]

and also... if you want to see what I mean about the relationship between the bowline and the sheet bend simply tie a bowline in a bit of scrap small stuff..take a knife to the eye of the bowline and then see what you are left with..

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

Surely you would tie your reef points in with a reef knot?
i don't know why everyone includes the clove hitch... half the time that its used at sea it needs to be made secure with a half hitch any way so why not just stick to the round turn and two half hitches ?

You have a nice concise list of knots and hitches but no bends... how are you going to join two warps or shore lines without a bend... preferably a sheet bend which as stated before is just a bowline stood on its head and tied in two discrete bits of rope.

Reef Knot/Square Knot. Two names for the same knot. Seconded by Grog.

http://www.animatedknots.com/reef/

By either name not for load bearing use...just for diamond point lines, sail ties, and such.

Clove hitch should only be used for light steady loads like fender whips. As you say, you could just always add 2 half-hitches for security, and always stick with that, but for appropriate use a clove holds fine. Underway a round-turn-and-2-half-hitches is more appropriate. That's why I included both in my list.

Clove hitch related note. I once noticed about a dozen devices in a West Marine catalog for securing fender whips. All had the same pitch "quick, easy, adjustable!". Gee, same properties as a clove hitch. I've thought about shrink wrapping a clove hitch and trying to get it listed in the WM catalog just for fun...for only $19.95! ;-)

I agree a sheet bend is quite handy, but did not include in the context of basic knots/hitches for beginners and with the intent of keeping the list very short.

Cleat Hitch I accidentally omitted and would add. One of my pet peeves, the most frequently incorrectly tied hitch on the planet...just look at the spaghetti you see tied to cleats on the dock!

[goboatingnow]

My advice , just learn the bowline , pronounced " bo-Lin" by the way moxie , in all it's forms , including all orientations and variants like one handed etc.

That's enough it itself

Dave

[pbiJim]

To answer the original question, as it was asked:

Bowline
Sheet Bend
Figure 8 Knot
Square Knot
Taught Line Hitch
Anchor Bend
Bowline on a Bight
Clove Hitch (both thrown & tied)
Eye Splice
End Splice
Short Splice
Long Splice

In that chronological order & in that order of priority.

I am assuming that you already know how to fasten a line to a cleat. If not, then put that at the top of the list.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Cleat Hitch I accidentally omitted and would add. One of my pet peeves, the most frequently incorrectly tied hitch on the planet...just look at the spaghetti you see tied to cleats on the dock!

Well there you go, square knot isn't one in my vocabulary..sheltered life I guess..anyway never mind Grog... lookee here... How to Tie a Reef Knot - Knot Tying Tips at WomansDay.com - Woman's Day

Point taken re cleat hitches... I just wish people would keep their cleat hitching aboard their boat and just put the eye ashore.... not forgetting to dip it of course.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

and also... if you want to see what I mean about the relationship between the bowline and the sheet bend simply tie a bowline in a bit of scrap small stuff..take a knife to the eye of the bowline and then see what you are left with..

A method I use for teaching the sheet bend is to have students tie a square knot, which they know by heart by that point, and then pull out the tail of the smaller line and tuck it back under itself. After doing that a few time they can then typically just directly tie a sheet bend.

[pbiJim]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Actually, I don't think any line is attached to the types of sails we use on modern cruisers. Sheet, halyard, boltrope, outhaul -- that's about it. Maybe a Cunningham is a line, but sheets, halyards, and boltropes certainly are not lines.

I know that many people think that "line" is just a nautical synonym for "rope", but in my opinion, using it this way causes loss of meaning. Rope is the raw material; a line is a rope put to a particular use -- a dockline for example. "Pass me up that hank of 24mm rope; I need another dockline", is something you will hear professionals saying. Or "haul away on that line and finish the job; I need the rope for something else". I don't think you would ever hear a pro call it a "hank of line" or a "coil of line" -- to my ear, at least, this sounds like amateurs trying to sound nautical.

What do you call the short pieces of cordage that hang from a reefing cringle? Are they not lines? I never had a better name for them. I always just called them reefing lines.

[StuM]

> What do you call the short pieces of cordage that hang from a reefing cringle

I know them as "reefing ties" which differentiates them from "reefing lines" which are hauled in to take in a reef.

[SkiprJohn]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Well, no one is asking you to unlearn anything! If you were really taught that in the Navy, then of course, that's a great reason to use the terms that way.

I would be really surprised if the U.S. Navy refers to a coil of rope in a locker as a "line", but if you say so, I'll take your word for it, as I surely did not serve in the U.S. Navy. In the Royal Navy, at least, a coil of rope in a locker would definitely not be called a "line".

But I think in general, the aversion to the use of the word "rope" seems to be more of an American thing. Here is what young sailors are taught in the UK: http://www.sccheadquarters.com/Data/...20Ropework.pdf. You can see that the word "rope" is used everywhere except when talking about a very specific function of the cordage. So although I wouldn't say "haul on that rope there"; the Sea Cadets clearly would.

So I say again -- to each his own terminology in this particular case. It varies from community to community.

Yes, "the colonies" have their significant variation of English. In the U.S. Navy a coil of rope is a coil of stranded wire.

We're different for certain.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

My advice , just learn the bowline , pronounced " bo-Lin" by the way moxie , in all it's forms , including all orientations and variants like one handed etc.

That's enough it itself

Dave

While this is true Dave, I reckon from what she has already posted, MG is your classic "over-achiever" and will soon have a 100+ knots, bends and hitches under her belt in no time.

Said as an compliment MG, not criticism

[hugosalt]

Moxie, after mastering your knots suggest you up your game
and make some soft shackles (includes diamond knot) to pass winter...with a little practice will become fast and easy to make
and you will have something to show for your time and effort.
Not to mention your soaring popularity, mystique, and the
sailing invits you will receive when gifting your soft shackles
to your sailing friends.
I will refrain from pointing out the other non sailing uses for
these handy gems.
See "soft shackles Colligo marine youtube" for tutorial.

[Scott Berg]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Agreed. I like buntline hitch for connecting lines to rings or shackles. More compact and uses less line than a bowline. I left it off my list because not commonly used by many.

While I agree with those who note that it's a bear to untie it is MUCH stronger than a bowline (50% or more). It is also much less likely to untie itself when loaded and unloaded. An interesting sidelight from S&S in reply to an article in Practical Sailor [Mailport: 7/1/03 for attribution]

Of Hitches and Splices
I read your editorial, "Seized With Impatience," [May 1] with interest. Enclosed is a sample of a knot taught to me by Rod Stephens. We use it for snap shackles on halyards, spinnaker guys, and main sheets.

What's great about this knot is that it's stronger than a bowline, it slips to create a tight fit, it acts as a stopper knot, and if there's chafe on a halyard, you don't hesitate to cut it and tie a new one. The only disadvantages are that it's not as "shippy" as a splice, and that, once loaded, it jams and is very difficult to untie.

Its real name is the buntline hitch, but we call it the Rod Knot.

Keep up the good work.

-Mitchell Gibbons-Neff
President, Sparkman and Stephens
New York, NY

[Jim Cate]

Well, after all this comparison of buntlines to bowlines, one must remember that they are quite different in their applications. The buntline is a sliding knot that tightens around whatever you hitch it too, like the ring on a snapshackle when used on a halyard. The bowline forms a stable loop (which can be used to the snapshackle in the above application) and has very different uses than the buntline.

There is a hitch that is shown in many application manuals from Selden Spars. I don't know the proper name of the hitch, but its applications are similar to the buntline, and it is far easier to untie after loading. I now use it wherever I formerly used the buntline. I'd post a pic if I had one...

Cheers,

Jim

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by pbiJim

What do you call the short pieces of cordage that hang from a reefing cringle? Are they not lines? I never had a better name for them. I always just called them reefing lines.

Yes! You're of course right. Too much time with in-mast furling; forgot about reeling lines!