Best knots for
Sailing
Boats run on a handful of knots: stoppers for sheet ends, hitches for fenders and moorings, a loop for almost everything else. These are the ones worth knowing without thinking.
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Loops
Bowline
The classic fixed loop.
●○○ Easy -
Binding knots
Clove Hitch
Two turns round a post with the second crossing over the first.
●○○ Easy -
Splices & whippings
Common Whipping
Turns of thin twine bound round a rope end to stop it unravelling.
●○○ Easy -
Hitches
Cow Hitch with Toggle
A cow hitch through a ring where a wooden toggle takes the place of the ends: the bight is caught round the toggle.
●○○ Easy -
Stopper knots
Figure-Eight Knot
The standard stopper.
●○○ Easy -
Hitches
Half Hitch
The simplest hitch: the end goes round the standing part and across itself.
●○○ Easy -
Hitches
Marlinspike Hitch
A loop laid over the line with a spike or rod pushed through it: over the loop, under the line, over the loop.
●○○ Easy -
Hitches
Pedigree Cow Hitch
A cow hitch made secure for a pull on one leg only: the free end is tucked back up between the legs and under the bight, so it cannot slide out..
●○○ Easy -
Hitches
Round Turn and Two Half Hitches
A round turn on a ring or post takes the load while you finish with two half hitches round the standing part.
●○○ Easy -
Bends
Sheet Bend
The everyday knot for joining two ropes, including ropes of different thickness.
●○○ Easy -
Stopper knots
Slipped Figure-Eight Knot
A figure-eight finished with a bight, so a pull on the short end releases it.
●○○ Easy -
Binding knots
Slipped Square Knot
A square knot with one end pulled through as a bight.
●○○ Easy -
Binding knots
Square Knot
A flat binding knot for tying the two ends of one cord round something: a parcel, a bandage, a reefed sail.
●○○ Easy -
Stopper knots
Stevedore Knot
A figure-eight with one more turn round the standing part.
●○○ Easy -
Binding knots
Thief Knot
It looks almost exactly like a square knot, but the two short ends come out diagonally opposite each other.
●○○ Easy -
Hitches
Two Half Hitches
A turn through a ring or round a post, then two half hitches round the standing part, both the same way.
●○○ Easy -
Splices & whippings
Back Splice
Finishes the end of a three-strand rope without whipping: the strands are crowned, then each is tucked back down the rope against the lay, over one strand and under the next..
●●○ Intermediate -
Loops
Bowline with Stopper
A bowline with its tail tied in an overhand knot round the leg of the eye beside it, so the bowline cannot shake loose when it is not loaded..
●●○ Intermediate -
Hitches
Buntline Hitch
Two half hitches tied back toward the ring instead of away from it, so the second hitch is trapped inside the first.
●●○ Intermediate -
Bends
Carrick Bend
A join for heavy rope, woven strictly over-under.
●●○ Intermediate -
Braids & sennits
Carrick Mat
The carrick bend’s weave closed into a flat oval and followed round twice.
●●○ Intermediate -
Stopper knots
Crown Knot
The strands at the end of a laid rope are folded over each other in turn, so each one passes over the next and under the one before.
●●○ Intermediate -
Bends
Double Sheet Bend
A sheet bend with a second turn of the thinner rope round the bight.
●●○ Intermediate -
Splices & whippings
Flat Seizing
Binds two parts of rope side by side with twine: tight turns round both, then frapping turns between them to draw the turns tight.
●●○ Intermediate -
Braids & sennits
Four-Strand Round Sennit
Four strands braided into a firm round cord.
●●○ Intermediate -
Hitches
Mirrored Rolling Hitch
The rolling hitch tied as its mirror image, for a pull coming from the opposite side.
●●○ Intermediate -
Stopper knots
Multiple Overhand Knot
An overhand knot with four or more turns.
●●○ Intermediate -
Hitches
Rolling Hitch
A hitch that holds against a pull along a pole or another rope, not just across it.
●●○ Intermediate -
Loops
Round Turn Bowline
A bowline with the small loop taken twice round.
●●○ Intermediate -
Binding knots
Sheepshank
Shortens a rope without cutting it: the rope is folded into a Z and each end of the fold is held by a half hitch made in the standing part.
●●○ Intermediate -
Binding knots
Turk’s Head (3 lead, 4 bight)
A woven band round a pole or rail.
●●○ Intermediate -
Stopper knots
Wall Knot
A crown upside down: each strand passes under the next and comes up through its bight, so the ends point up out of the top.
●●○ Intermediate -
Braids & sennits
Eight-Strand Square Sennit
Eight strands braided into a thick cord with a square section, each strand passing over two and under two.
●●● Advanced -
Splices & whippings
Eye Splice
A permanent eye in the end of a three-strand rope: the end is bent back and its strands are tucked into the standing part, against the lay.
●●● Advanced -
Stopper knots
Monkey’s Fist
A woven ball at the end of a line: three sets of turns at right angles to each other, the last set passing inside the first and round the second.
●●● Advanced -
Splices & whippings
Short Splice
Joins two three-strand ropes end to end: the ends are married so their strands interlock, then each rope’s strands are tucked into the other rope against the lay.
●●● Advanced -
Binding knots
Turk’s Head (4 lead, 5 bight)
A woven band round a pole or rail.
●●● Advanced -
Binding knots
Turk’s Head (5 lead, 4 bight)
A woven band round a pole or rail.
●●● Advanced