Knots at the ends of ropes ?

Figure of eight knots at the free ends of halyards ?

  • Yes, I have fo8 knots at the free ends of halyards

    Votes: 129 87.8%

  • No, I don't do that

    Votes: 18 12.2%
  • Total voters
    147
B

Boo2

Well-Known Member
Joined
13 Jan 2010
Messages
8,603
Visit site
Hi,

I've just been reading the .pdf book "Thoughts, Tips, Techniques & Tactics for Singlehanded Sailing" by Andrew Evans which can be downloaded from this website and it's raised a few points in my mind about having knots at the end of ropes :

On page 98 in reference to dropping the spinnaker he says :
Make sure that the guy and halyard are free to run – they will run very quickly. Tie a slipknot at the end of the guy.
Click to expand...

By slip knot, I assume he means this, rather than a figure of eight knot, but I am interested to know why he makes no mention of a knot at the end of the halyard ? I assume the slip knot stops the guy from blowing through its block and flailing around until the spi can be put below, but surely the halyard needs something to stop it flying up the mast as well ?

And can I ask the panel their opinions generally on having figure of eight knots at the ends of halyards ? Do or don't ?

Thanks,

Boo2
 
I think your poll may need to be more specific about spinnaker halyards, although I agree with you that the article seems incorrect. I have Fo8 stopper knots in all my halyards but I never knot spinnaker sheets and guys.
 
Difficult to answer your poll. I have stopper knots on the end of all halyards except the spinnaker. The spinnaker halyard has a long tail and has never (yet!) run away. The guy slip knot makes sense if the guy is let run prior to the drop, releasing the tack of the spinnaker at the pole avoids the need. A method of getting the spinnaker off fast is necessary - e.g. MOBs, lee shores - losing a spinnaker is cheaper than the boat, not sure about some of my crew, though. Thus, on my boat at least, never a stopper knot in spinnaker halyard, guys or sheets
 
All my Halyards have figure of eight knots to stop them disappearing into the mast, including the spinnaker halyard. I would say that all the yachts that I have raced on also had figure of eight knots (or another stopper knot) on the halyards as well.

The slip knot in the guy is in case he messes up the drop because of say a jammed halyard. In this case he would dump the sheet to stop the spinnaker filling miles away from the mast. The risk is that the guy then whips out and flies free. There is also a big risk that if the sheet jams up while he dumps it on a failed recovery then the spinnaker will fill, so the guy still has to be dumped in this case, hence the slip knot.
 
Ticked the poll before reading the post. I have fig8s in all my running rigging, but I don't have a spinnaker. I was always taught never to tie stoppers in any spinnaker lines. Halyard included, though if someone did prefer a stopper in their spinnaker halyard I wouldn't be arguing the toss.

It's a powerful and complex sail with more to go wrong, the ability to jettison it (or part of it) by letting a line run through is worth having.

Pete
 
awol said:
Difficult to answer your poll. I have stopper knots on the end of all halyards except the spinnaker. The spinnaker halyard has a long tail and has never (yet!) run away. The guy slip knot makes sense if the guy is let run prior to the drop, releasing the tack of the spinnaker at the pole avoids the need. A method of getting the spinnaker off fast is necessary - e.g. MOBs, lee shores - losing a spinnaker is cheaper than the boat, not sure about some of my crew, though. Thus, on my boat at least, never a stopper knot in spinnaker halyard, guys or sheets
Click to expand...

Me too - no stopper knots in the spinnaker halyard - I rarely bother with separate guys but I wouldn't put a stopper in those either.
 
It strikes me that the choice of stopper knot will depend on how your rigging runs. With an external halyard, there's little point in having the tail stick at the masthead, is there? Assuming that the tails will stop somewhere accessible, then the slip knot will allow you every option without recourse to a knife when it comes to recovering the kite - assuming it has ended up somewhere it shouldn't be! I quite like the idea.

Rob.
 
I had to answer no because the only Fo8s I use are on the jib sheets. My halyards pass through clutches and there is enough tail not to risk flying an Irish pennant. A few lines made off at the mast are tied to the cleat involved, usually with a bowline.
 
My halyard ends are attached to the relevant cleat so can in theory never be lost. The spinnaker halyard is rarely used but the guys and sheets never have stopper knots as I was taught.
 
I use a slipped 'triple' figure of eight in spi hal, sheets and guy.

By triple I mean that instead of one twist there are two.

Edit. This way the knot can be released easily because there is enough friction available to stop any force getting to the slipped part. I've used them probably hundreds of times, and never once had a problem. Spi guy/sheet should be long enough to not get to the stopper anyway.
 
Last edited:
I never have knots on spinnaker, guys, sheets or halyards.

In some circumstances you need to be able to let it go from any two corners and retrieve from the third or in some cases let it go completely. I'v been in a boat on it's side where the kite is happily flying from the mast head holding the boat on its side, Only option was to let it run and retrieve it from the water.
 
I pass the loose end thro the arch of the cleat & then Fo8 it so it cannot even escape from the cleat. Always done that & never lost a tail up th emast as a result. Even when releasing the working end of the from the head of a sail, it gets fastened off immediately somewhere handy for the same reason.
 
A double overhand is better than a figure of 8, but don't put it any any line that needs to run out in an emergency.
 
I never have stopper knots on a yacht spinnaker guy, but I do on a halyard.
You can drop the kite by letting the gun run and pull it in on the sheet.
If it was necessary to let the halyard run, I would have no hesitation in cutting the halyard. Losing a foot off the end is no big deal, I don't believe I'm going to get any knot undone when 800 sq ft is trying to pull the knot through the clutch.
 
noelex said:
A double overhand is better than a figure of 8, but don't put it any any line that needs to run out in an emergency.
Click to expand...

I use these too because the figure of 8 always comes undone in decent ropes but the double overhand can be difficult to undo when you eventually want to.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top