Correct way to tie a bowline

[Babylon]

[ QUOTE ]
I tie the ends of my reefing lines to the boom slides with bowlines. The rope is 14mm and fairly slippery Marlow Braid. I have had them come undone (not under load). I think the cause is flogging of the sail shaking them loose. I now seize the end to the standing part.

[/ QUOTE ]
This has happened to me - precisely because the bowline isn't under proper load except when the reef is in. I'm inclined however to hitch the end for security rather than seize it - and eyeball it periodically.

Heads'ls also flog on occassion... do ordinary bowlines on the clew end of the sheets also sometimes shake loose?

 

[Babylon]

Thanks RumPirate for the illustration of how to tie a one-handed bowline - I've wanted to find out how to do this for ages!

 

[cliffordpope]

For years I could never confidently tie a bowline, and got into the habit of using a round turn and two half hitches for everything. So I tend now to add a few half hitches to most knots just for luck.
A clove hitch and two round turns works quite well, as does a reef knot with two separate half hitches.

The weak point of any knot seems to be when the load varies and the end can flap about, so half hitches or in laid rope, a final tuck under one strand, give more security.

I did once know how to tie knots properly when I was in the school CCF mugging up my VOL I.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

[ QUOTE ]
Do you agree with this?

Bowline : This knot is used to place a secure loop in the end of a line. A bowline will work loose with time and should not be used in fastening an anchor line to an anchor.

Source:L http://www.uspowerboating.com/knots.htm

also

[image]Standard_bowline_vs_cowboy_bowline.svg‎[/image]
Comparison of standard bowline (left) and cowboy bowline (right).

SZource (That oracle of truth /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif) :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy_bowline


[/ QUOTE ]

I think the point is that a bowline is DESIGNED to be easy to undo, like a reef knot. So, in a situation where there isn't a constant load on the knot, there is a chance it can come undone on it's own.

 

[LadyInBed]

I was taught 'inside' but I guess the real question is does it make any difference to it's strength.

 

[jhr]

I think "Inside" is the Grey Funnel Line approved method?

 

[Athene V30]

[ QUOTE ]
Interesting, I have never had one work loose, perhaps I must be lucky.

[/ QUOTE ]
I tie my jib sheets to the furling genoa with Bowlines and they have on occasions come loose. Now add a bit of an 'electricians' whipping to stop it.

Would not consider a bowline for attaching the anchor - too much risk of chafe. Anchor hitch is what you need (round turn & two half hitches with first hh through the turn)

 

[LadyInBed]

"I tie my jib sheets to the furling genoa with Bowlines and they have on occasions come loose"

Feed the bitter end back through the genoa eye then back down through the 'loop' it made round the standing end of the sheet.
That stops it coming loose.

 

[samwise]

Talking of knots, did you see that sad tale of the chap and his wife who were trying to escape the gunmen in the Mumbai terrorist attack. They were trapped in their hotel room and the chap thought they could escape by knotting bedsheets together and shinning down. He went first but the knots gave way and he fell 50 ft sustaining serious injuries. He came out of it alive but will never walk or work again. Don't know what kind of knot he used but I suspect a bowline would use up an awful lot of sheet length.

 

[LadyInBed]

Not a sheet bend then!

 

[davidfox]

[ QUOTE ]
Don't know what kind of knot he used but I suspect a bowline would use up an awful lot of sheet length.

[/ QUOTE ]


A sheet bend?

 

[davidfox]

Damn beat me to it!

 

[Babylon]

[ QUOTE ]
Not a sheet bend then!

[/ QUOTE ]
Hilarious... I'm quite beside myself with mirth.

But the really funny thing is that a dear friend of mine was caught up that attack. She and a work colleague created a massive baricade against her bedroom door in the Taj hotel and were very lucky to escape the violence and killing.

 

[Rum_Pirate]

[ QUOTE ]
Don't know what kind of knot he used .

[/ QUOTE ] Sounds like a slip knot?

 

[damo]

[ QUOTE ]
All the climbers I know use a figure of eight

[/ QUOTE ]

But a lot of us older ones use a bowline, because it is quicker and more compact /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif And if you use the re-threaded version it eliminates the need for a stopper knot, and increases the strength. (cf BMC recommendatios)

And to the OP - bitter end on the inside is supposed to marginally more secure.

See my sig /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[KREW2]

I use bowlines to attatch the sheets to the genoa. I prefer to have the loose end inside, it makes it less likely for them to catch on the shrouds when tacking.

 

[dulcibella]

If having the ends on the inside makes genoa sheets less likely to catch on the shrouds when tacking, it may be that the tails are shorter than they should be (or am I guilty of thread drift here?).

 

[damo]

And if you use a re-threaded bowline the tail points the other way, so can't catch on anything