Which Knot please.........

AIDY

AIDY

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Can anyone advice what knot i should be using for the following applications.

1) Mainsail Slab Reefing Lines - At the back of the boom they are just bowline round the boom which I'm okay with. But what knot should i be using to attach the lines to the front of the sail so it pulls in tight when reefed ? On the front of the sail i have a webbing strap which has a U shaped shackle attached. I need a knot to attach this shackle to the reefing line please. It needs to be a very close tight knot otherwise the reef will be baggy.

2) Halyard - don't want to splice a snap shackle to the halyard so want a nice close tight knot as above....

All i need to do now is to learn how to tie the knot.... I'm terrible with knot's i only use bowlines, figure of 8 and reef knot's on the boat... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

TIA
 
Sorry I have not the faintest idea how you are trying to do your reefing nothing there that I can relate to. As for knots a bowline is very useful, some will say don't use a figure of eight but I always have and will continue to do so. A reef knot has few uses on a boat.

You might find Grog's animated knots useful
 
Picture of slab reefing.

boom-d.jpg


if you note the rope attached to the front of the sail is attached to a ring (what's this knot). on my sail i don't have a ring but a u shaped shackle. I could tie the rope to the shackle using a bowline but this is a very long knot and would not pull the sail down tight. the shackle need to be locked into position using the rope it's free on a bowline.

in simple terms what knot do you use to attach a shackle to a rope.
 
Aidy, you could try the knot i know as a blood knot but is the double overhand stopper knot in grogs link above. pass the reefing line through the shackle / ring bring the end down and tie the knot around the rope below the shackle / ring. this will tighten up under load a slide to the shackle making it very short. mind it might prove rather hard to undo.
 
Thanks for posting a picture, worth a thousand words. [ QUOTE ]
what knot do you use to attach a shackle to a rope

[/ QUOTE ] most usually an eye-splice but I realise that you want something that won't come off. Even that could be done by stitching and whipping a soft eye very close around the shackle

From Grog an anchor bend possibly or a round turn and two half hitches. In either case with the end seized to the standing part of the rope if that wont get in the way.

Or the halyard knot, but I dont know that. I would want to seize the end I think

I think on balance, because no amount of being flapped about will undo it, I'd prefer stitching and whipping but lets see what others think.
 
thanks moodysabre i think that's what i've been trying to tie allday /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

so anyone got an idiots guide on how to tie it
 
Interesting website, thank you.
I use a knot which I have never seen described (or named), but which had been extensively used on my boat when I bought it. I needed to shorten the Genoa halyard to remove the worn part where it ran in the masthead sheave, and I had to cut the shackle knot apart as it was too tight to undo. It was unlike the one illustrated, but is made by passing the rope through the shackle and bending it back on itself. the free end is then simply wound round both the standing part and itself, so that the second turn passed over the first. Two more turns are made round the standing part working towards the shackle and the end tucked in against the shackle and between the standing part and the turned back piece, leaving a very short end sticking out. In use it pulls tight and makes a compact knot that will not come undone.
 
thanks for your time Vic. i will have a closer look into your suggestions. but i think a halyard not is what I've been trying to tie. as you state the rope will be flapping about a bit so i don't want it to work loose so a few stitches may be required.

just about to borrow a curtain ring from our lounge and a piece of rope to practice. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Print the picture of the know out and you can see how it works - after several attempts I even did it.

Norman - that was exactly what I was doing last week and had to cut the knot through and I coudn't work out if it was a halyard knot or not. So I did a halyard knot and it seems secure. I'll pull the genoa up when the wind has a day off later this week /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
How often do you need to update an animated knot

[/ QUOTE ] Got to keep up to date Brendan. a V 20.05 knot might not be compatible with a V20.08 shackle. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

But yes its working fine for me too.

but the blessed forum just gave me a 403 error message. try again ....
 
[ QUOTE ]
hasn't been updated since 2005

[/ QUOTE ] I see October 2007. You using a very old computer?
 
thank you moodysabre. just printed it off and took me a few attemps to tie a bit of rope round the lounge curtain ring and it seems to work okay. so i'm sorted now
 
I use stitch and whip for halyards and any application needing a permenant eye.
Once they are done properly they will last a long time and stay secure, plus with a thimble fitted there is no friction on the rope itself.
 
Not sure that all your questions have been answered yet so I'll add my two pennyworth by asking for some clarifications.

The 'U' shaped ring/shackle on the luff of the sail usually hooks onto a ramshorn type hook on the gooseneck unless you are trying to rig single line reefing. Are you trying to rig single line reefing? You can rig for 'ordinary slab reefing', 'two line reefing', or 'single line reefing' if you want, but say what you want and one can come up with some appropriate ideas...

Why don't you want to splice your main halyard onto the shackle? Is it for some seamanship reason, or because you don't like/can't splice?

May I humbly suggest you learn the round turn and two half hitches? If you can ties a bowline, the round turn and tow half hitches is easy by comparison. Its a very useful knot as it can be undone under load.
 
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