Learning
knots is like learning plant identification, not the most exciting thing in the
world, but absolutely important. And the
bowline is one of the knots worth knowing!
The
bowline is often called the “king of knots”. A bowline is also called the “bowling”
or “bolin” knot and is identical in form to the sheet-bend knot, but
instead of joining two different ropes, it joins the free end of the rope to
itself, making a no slip loop. It is an
important knot to know, because it makes a loop which, according to the Building
Strong Bodies, “neither slips nor jams”, and is always secure and
easily untied.
There
are various ways to use a bowline knot.
At sea, it is used to tie a boat’s painter to a mooring ring, it was
tied around a sailor’s waist, as a “monkey rope”, if he had to be
lowered over the side, it is used to moor ships by making a loop and throwing
it over a bollard, to secure a bosun’s chair, or it could be used as a “running
bowline” to create a noose.
On
land it is used to tether horses, cows, dogs, or other animals so that they won’t
choke themselves, or to tie a tow-rope to a car. It can be tied as a “running bowline”,
to break a horse of the habit of halter pulling.
If
tied on-a-bight, it can be used to lower an injured or unconscious person safely
to the ground.
Tying or
throwing a bowline...
So
how do you go about tying, or throwing, as it is sometimes called, a bowline?
Tying a
bowline-on-bight...
To
tie a bowline on-a-bight, start by making a good-sized bight and tying the knot
as you would on a single strand of rope.
Bowlines
are important rescue knots. Imagine you
are up to your waist in the water or in a bog and someone throws you a
rope. You grab the rope, and tie a
bowline around your waist, because you know the knot won’t slip and you can be
pulled back to solid ground! To watch a
video on how to tie a bowline around your waist, one-handed, go HERE.
I
hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me
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That
is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!
Sources
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Clifford W.; The Ashley Book of Knots, [Geoffrey Budworth, Kent,
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