Bowline
Bowline | |
---|---|
Cossack knot, Kalmyk loop | |
Releasing | Non-jamming[1] |
Typical use | Making a fixed loop in the end of a line |
Caveat | While widely considered a reliable knot, when tied in certain materials or loading conditions it may not hold. Tends to work itself loose when not under tension. |
ABoK | #1010, #1716 |
Instructions | [1] |
The bowline (/ˈboʊlɪn/ or /ˈboʊlaɪn/)[2] is an ancient and simple knot used to form a fixed loop at the end of a rope. It has the virtues of being both easy to tie and untie; most notably, it is easy to untie after being subjected to a load. The bowline is sometimes referred to as king of the knots because of its importance. Along with the sheet bend and the clove hitch, the bowline is often considered one of the most essential knots.[3]
The common bowline shares some structural similarity with the sheet bend. Virtually all end-to-end joining knots (i.e.,
Although the bowline is generally considered a reliable knot, its main deficiencies are a tendency to work loose when not under load (or under cyclic loading),
History
The bowline's name has an earlier meaning, dating to the
The bowline knot is thought to have been first mentioned in John Smith's 1627 work A Sea Grammar under the name Boling knot. Smith considered the knot to be strong and secure, saying, "The Boling knot is also so firmly made and fastened by the bridles into the cringles of the sails, they will break, or the sail split before it will slip."[10][a]
Another possible finding was discovered on the rigging of the Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu's solar ship during an excavation in 1954.[11]
Usage
The bowline is used to make a loop at one end of a line. It is tied with the rope's
The bowline is commonly used in sailing small craft, for example to fasten a
A rope with a bowline retains approximately 2/3 of its strength, with variances depending upon the nature of the rope, as in practice the exact strength depends on a variety of factors.
In the United Kingdom, the knot is listed as part of the training objectives for the Qualified Firefighter Assessment.[13]
Tying
A mnemonic used to teach the tying of the bowline is to imagine the working end of the rope as a rabbit.
- 1,2 – a loop is made into the standing part which will act as the rabbit's hole
- 3 – the "rabbit" comes up the hole,
- 4 – goes round the tree (standing part) right to left
- 5 – and back down the hole
This can be taught to children with the rhyme: "Up through the rabbit hole, round the big tree; down through the rabbit hole and off goes he."
A single handed method can also be used; see this animation.
There is a potential with beginners to wrongly tie the bowline. This faulty knot stems from an incorrect first step while tying the rabbit hole. If the loop is made backwards so that the working end of the rope is on the bottom, the resulting knot will be the Eskimo bowline, looking like a sideways bowline, which is also a stable knot.
Security
As noted above, the simplicity of the bowline makes it a good knot for a general purpose end-of-line loop. However, in situations that require additional security, several variants have been developed:
Round turn bowline
The round turn bowline is made by the addition of an extra turn in the formation of the "rabbit hole" before the working end is threaded through.
Water bowline
Similar to the double bowline, the water bowline is made by forming a clove hitch before the working end is threaded through. It is said to be stronger and also more resistant to jamming than the other variations, especially when wet.
Yosemite bowline
In this variation the knot's working end is taken round the loop in the direction of the original round turn, then threaded back up through the original round turn before the knot is drawn tight. The Yosemite bowline is often used in climbing.
Other variants
The
-
Two-loop Birmingham bowline before tightening and dressing the knot. Two turns taken around the standing part of the line form two loops.
-
Variants:
- Bowline
- Cossack knot
-
If a bowline is tied and the two free ends of the rope are brought together in the simplest way, the6₂ knot. The sequence of necessary moves is depicted here.
See also
Notes
- ^ The orthography of this quote has been modernized for clarity.
References
- ^ "Bowline Knot".
- ^ Random House Dictionary
- ^ Cassidy 1985, The Klutz Book of Knots
- ^ Jan Simon; Vladimir Dekys; P. Palček (2019-11-15). "Revision of Commonly Used Loop Knots Efficiencies". ResearchGate. pp. 413–414. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
stopper knot is mandatory … tends to spontaneously loosen under cyclic loading … is not recommended to use this knot in life-critical applications
- ^ Gommers, Mark (14 Jan 2021). "AN ANALYSIS OF THE STRUCTURE OF 'BOWLINES'" (3.0 ed.). p. 58.
This form of the Simple Bowline is resistant to ring loading but is still not suitable for mission critical applications.
- ^ "How safe is the bowline knot in different situations?". The Great Outdoors. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
- ^ "LOOP KNOTS". www.helsinki.fi. Retrieved 2017-06-01.
- ^ Ashley, Clifford W (1944). The Ashley Book of Knots. Doubleday. p. 186.
- ^ Kemp's Yachting Dictionary
- ^ "The Seaman's Grammar and Dictionary (reprinting)" (PDF). Randal and Taylor. 1691. p. 25.
- ^ Love, Kennett (1954-12-12), "Vessel of Cheops Appears Intact On Close Inspection From Above", New York Times, sec. 1, pp. 1, 3,
...as well as a curiously intricate knot on a piece of rigging that appeared to be basically akin to a bowline knot.
- ^ "Tiedown Sense". Advisory Circular (AC) 20-35C. Federal Aviation Administration. 7 December 1983. pp. 11–12. Archived from the original on 28 December 2005. Retrieved 7 May 2004.
- ^ Defence Fire Training and Development Centre. "Qualified Firefighter Assessment – Part 2 Training Objectives" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-11.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yL4izuwaxg 10 different bowlines quick in less than 3 min, slow repeat thereafter
- YouTubeTying video for Kalmyk loop
- YouTubeTying video for Kalmyk loop