Author Topic: Bowlines and Other Knots  (Read 3957 times)

BillGiles

  • Second Mate
  • **
  • Posts: 49
  • Karma: +0/-0
Bowlines and Other Knots
« on: August 11 2015, 13:43 »
I've decided I hate bowlines for mooring ropes. This Summer I sailed with a variety of different crews and visited lots of different places. And I have ended up hating bowlines in mooring ropes.

Not everyone can tie a bowline effectively

Bowlines are hard to undo when under tension

Bowlines are hard to tie when the rope is under tension

It is hard to tie a bowline with one hand

It is hard to untie a bowline with one hand

I have come down firmly in favour of a round turn and two half hitches on the pontoon end and an OXO (without a half hitch) on the cleat on the boat. Both the RT&THH and the OXO are:

Easy to tie
You can teach someone to tie these in the time it takes to get to 'and the rabbit goes around the tree' with a bowline
Easy  to undo
Can be done with the rope under tension
Can be undone with the rope under tension
Can be easily adjusted.

Why did I not get this years ago?

Craig

  • Old Salt
  • *****
  • Posts: 288
  • Karma: +0/-0
  • Boat Model: Bavaria 38 Cruiser
  • Boat Year: 2009
Re: Bowlines and Other Knots
« Reply #1 on: August 12 2015, 00:03 »
I always prefer to have both ends of the mooring line tied to the boat, if possible. Just loop the line through the cleat, ring, bollard or whatever. OXOs are best, if you have sufficient room on your boat's cleat. I often use the method preferred in the USA of tying to a cleat rather than the RYA preferred OXO as I can easily tie two lines to the one cleat.

Where long lines ashore are needed, as is common practice in Turkey and Greece, I generally loop the shore end around a smooth object and tie a rolling hitch back along the mooring line so that I don't need to go ashore to untie but merely use the dinghy to untie the knot over the water near the shore. This knot is easy to tie and untie under tension. This way, I don't need to let out the anchor to untie the knot and the boat will spring away from the shore as the knot is untied.

There is nothing inherently wrong with a round turn and two half hitches but I have found that wrapping twice through a ring is a bit painful, particularly if excess line is thrown ashore.

In the rare cases where I have had to have a crew member step ashore to stern tie to a ring, I pre-tie the Bowline using the "overhand knot with a loop" method so that the bowline can be tied by merely looping the end of the line through the ring, pass it through the loop and collapse into a bowline. This method takes a fraction of a second to tie as the knot is almost completely tied on the boat beforehand.  It needs a bit of practice but it is worth it.

Craig
s/v "Shirley Valentine"
Gold Coast, Australia

MarkTheBike

  • Old Salt
  • *****
  • Posts: 443
  • Karma: +1/-0
  • 34/2001 2cab
  • Boat Model: Bavaria 34
  • Boat Year: 2001
Re: Bowlines and Other Knots
« Reply #2 on: August 12 2015, 13:05 »
I'm with you on the 'overhand' bowline method, Craig. Let's me get a bowline through a mooring ring in an instant. No straining, no fumbling, everything prepared beforehand, and it's secure. But all the points raised are valid and it always depends on circumstances, including having to train people. However, I think the overhand method should be demonstrated whenever possible, especially in sailing schools - it's a very handy skill, as is tying a bowline around yourself with one hand.
ATB

Mark