SCOUTS KNOTS
The reef knot or square knot is an ancient and simple binding knot used to secure a rope or line around an object. Although the reef knot is often seen used for tying two ropes together, it is not recommended for this purpose due to potential instability of the knot.
The sheet bend (also known as Becket bend, weaver's knot and weaver's hitch) is a bend, that is, a knot that joins two ropes together. Doubled, it is effective in binding lines of different diameter or rigidity securely together, although it has a tendency to work loose when not under load.
The half hitch is a simple overhand knot, where the working end of a line is brought over and under the standing part. Insecure on its own, it is a valuable component of a wide variety of useful and reliable hitches, bends, and knots.
The Figure 8 provides a quick and convenient stopper knot to prevent a line sliding out of sight, e.g., up inside the mast. Its virtue is that, even after it has been jammed tightly against a block, it doesn't bind; it can be undone easily. This virtue is also, occasionally, a vice. The figure 8 can fall undone and then has to be retied.
A Round Turn and Two (or more) Half Hitches is useful for attaching a mooring line to a dock post or ring although probably less secure than the Anchor Hitch.
The Bowline makes a reasonably secure loop in the end of a piece of rope. It has many uses, e.g., to fasten a mooring line to a ring or a post. Under load, it does not slip or bind. With no load it can be untied easily. Two bowlines can be linked together to join two ropes. Its principal shortcoming is that it cannot be tied, or untied, when there is a load on the standing end. It should therefore be avoided when, for example, a mooring line may have to be released under load.
The Rolling Hitch attaches a rope (usually smaller) to another (usually larger) when the line of pull is almost parallel. To attach a rope to a pole.
The Timber Hitch is used for handling cargo "... for which it is very convenient, as it practically falls apart when pull ceases." It is also useful when towing a spar or log either afloat or on land. When used for this purpose, the Timber Hitch is often placed near the center of the spar and a separate half-hitch is dropped over the end of the spar to act as a guide.
The sheep shank is a type of knot that is used to shorten a rope or take up slack. This knot is not stable. It will fall apart under too much load or too little load.
The knot has several features which allow a rope to be shortened:
The knot has several features which allow a rope to be shortened:
- It provides two loops, one at each end of the knot which can be used to pass another rope through
- The knot remains somewhat secure under tension; the coarser the rope the more secure it is (see Disadvantages, below)
- The knot falls apart easily when tension is removed