knots for left hander?

CFarr

CFarr

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My new long term crewman is a left-hander and I had a hell of a time trying to teach him the basic knots the other day.
I thought I could easily just tie them left handed myself to show him but no, I got in a right pickle.

Does anyone know of a resource on the web or wherever that I can point him to so he can practice at home ready for the next time?
Bowline and sheet bend would be good, I think we managed the clove and rolling hitches.

Cheers
 
The best I can suggest is to find an experienced, left-handed sailor and get him/her to teach your novice!

A friend is left-handed, her mother is right-handed. It proved impossible for my friend to learn how to knit from her mother - she had to learn from a left-handed aunt.

I can tie quite a lot of knots with one hand, but that's practise and fascination with knots!

One real issue is that stranded rope is itself "handed", and many knots, when tied conventionally by a right-hander, are actually slightly stronger/less liable to slip than the same knot tied left-handed. Not an issue with braided or plaited ropes.

Incidentally, how many people realize that scissors are handed? Even ones with symmetrical handles.
 
JumbleDuck said:
Does it help if you stand facing him and ask him to mirror you, rather than standing beside him and asking him to copy you?
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I tried that as I thought that would do the trick - but it didn't.
Problem is that when he doesn't 'get it' I can't easily see where he's going wrong. It all gets very confusing!
It also might be that he just isn't a knot type person, after all, not all right handers are.

AntarcticPilot: good idea, maybe I'll have to put an advert on my topsides :)
 
CFarr said:
My new long term crewman is a left-hander and I had a hell of a time trying to teach him the basic knots the other day.
I thought I could easily just tie them left handed myself to show him but no, I got in a right pickle.

Does anyone know of a resource on the web or wherever that I can point him to so he can practice at home ready for the next time?
Bowline and sheet bend would be good, I think we managed the clove and rolling hitches.

Cheers
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I'm left handed and tbh, I've never thought about the difference between left and right handed knot tying. Possibly because I've tied knots all my life for fishing which are generally more fiddly than yot knots.

The web based knot guides such as this one http://www.animatedknots.com/ work for me.
 
ChrisE said:
I'm left handed and tbh, I've never thought about the difference between left and right handed knot tying.
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I'm left handed too, and I don't think I tie knots any differently to the right handed person who would have taught me it originally. Being left handed doesn't mean you HAVE to do things differently; I hold cutlery the right-handed way and likewise golf and cricket, but tennis and squash with racquet in the left hand.
 
Angele said:
I'm left handed too, and I don't think I tie knots any differently to the right handed person who would have taught me it originally. Being left handed doesn't mean you HAVE to do things differently; I hold cutlery the right-handed way and likewise golf and cricket, but tennis and squash with racquet in the left hand.
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+1; same here.

Knots are knots; does not matter if they face left or right; in matter of fact, my knots varie according to the situation, although i am left handed.
 
Angele said:
I'm left handed too, and I don't think I tie knots any differently to the right handed person who would have taught me it originally. Being left handed doesn't mean you HAVE to do things differently; I hold cutlery the right-handed way and likewise golf and cricket, but tennis and squash with racquet in the left hand.
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+1

If I can learn to play the fiddle right handed he can learn to tie a knot or two.
 
Angele said:
I'm left handed too, and I don't think I tie knots any differently to the right handed person who would have taught me it originally. Being left handed doesn't mean you HAVE to do things differently; I hold cutlery the right-handed way and likewise golf and cricket, but tennis and squash with racquet in the left hand.
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You're the same as me - pretty much anything done with both hands and I'm right-handed, but anything with one hand is done left-handed (and I am left-handed). Never thought about knots, as I just tie them how I was shown or to the image I've looked up.
 
TTwiggy said:
You're the same as me - pretty much anything done with both hands and I'm right-handed, but anything with one hand is done left-handed (and I am left-handed). Never thought about knots, as I just tie them how I was shown or to the image I've looked up.
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Angele said:
I'm left handed too, and I don't think I tie knots any differently to the right handed person who would have taught me it originally. Being left handed doesn't mean you HAVE to do things differently; I hold cutlery the right-handed way and likewise golf and cricket, but tennis and squash with racquet in the left hand.
Click to expand...

nigelmercier said:
I'm left handed and I couldn't work out what was happening when my mate first showed me a bowline.

I make the loop in my left hand, with the load on top. Then do the normal rabbit - tree - hole thing.

Perhaps Dylan's method could be adapted:
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?358635-Bowline-and-quick&p=4167078#post4167078
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Handedness (in either sense) varies a lot in how strongly handed people are. I am right handed, but can do a lot of things equally well (or equally badly :)) with either right or left hand. Some of that is learnt, but it happens that I am not very strongly right-handed and can easily learn to do things "wrong-handed". It isn't just manual dexterity, it is also things like which eye is dominant. Most right-handers are far more strongly biased to the right hand than I am. And the same goes for left-handers; some only have a slight bias and can easily learn to do things the other way round. But others - and my knitting friend is one - are VERY strongly biased to the left hand, and really can't easily do things "wrong-handed" - their brain and hand-eye coordination just doesn't work that way.

For a strongly handed person to learn do things the wrong way is possible, but it will often not be done as well as it would have been if they'd done it with the natural hand.

There are reasons on a boat why some things should be done "right-handed" - coiling three-strand rope is one, as it will tend to twist when coiled the wrong way - but they are few and far between. In general, it is better if people do things using their natural handedness, as they will do it quicker and better if they can.
 
AntarcticPilot said:
In general, it is better if people do things using their natural handedness, as they will do it quicker and better if they can.
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Agreed, but (or consequently) the OP should not assume that, because he claims he is left-handed, his pupil MUST find it easier to do the knots the opposite way. He may find it perfectly ok to copy his teacher. Let him try it both ways and see which way feels more natural. Or he may learn it one way and then naturally migrate to the opposite over time.
 
I am truly ambidextrous. I can pick up a beer mug or a wine glass with either hand!

Honestly, really, I am doing the same thing with a can right now. I must be very special!
 
AntarcticPilot said:
... can do a lot of things equally well (or equally badly :)) with either right or left hand...
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I can use tools in either hand, I write right-handed (forced to at school, so very badly), but I throw or hold a one-handed bat left handed. Knots are one area where I have to work out my own method.

Remind me which way to coil a 3-strand rope? I tend to do a figure of 8 loop on all coils.
 
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