Four Knots to Know for Your Boat

I learned basic knots about a million years ago in Boy Scouts. I had to learn them - I mean, they really had to force me to do it. They also made me sing camp songs. I had no interest in knots at the time. When I had to stake out my tent or hang my food in trees to keep it away from bears, I stubbornly used my overhand knot. Years later, when I took up sailing, I quickly realized that my old standby just wouldn't cut it anymore. Thankfully, a few essentials came back to me quickly. These four knots will satisfactorily address nearly any situation you may have on board your boat. Used correctly, they won't slip, bind or become permanently attached to your vessel. Are there better knots out there for specific situations? Sure, but these four will get you through without earning a Ph.D. in knot-work. These and an overhand knot, of course. You can't give up on the classics.

Bowline

The bowline is a classic knot, and one of the first learned by most new sailors. Whether this is due to its rock-solid trustworthiness or because it's often taught using a story involving cute, fuzzy rabbits is unknown. Regardless, it's a great knot for creating a secure loop in your rope, such as when tying off to a ring, or creating a step-loop.

Tying the Bowline:

Make a loop in the end of the rope. The loop won't slip or significantly shrink when you tighten this knot, so the loop wants to be about the right size for its goal use from the start. The loose end should pass in front of the loop.

Pull the end of the rope up through the loop, behind the long end of the rope and back through the loop. (This is the bunny coming out of his hole, running around the tree and jumping back into his hole.)

Pull the knot tight and you have a bowline.

If you want a little extra security in this already bomb-proof knot, tie the loose end either in a figure eight (below) or just secure it to the rest of the rope with a few overhand knots. (See, they work!)

Cleat Hitch

A cleat hitch is a powerhouse, in terms of your boating life, and the very first knot that you ought to know cold when you start crewing on any vessel. A cleat hitch is used - not surprisingly - to fasten a rope to a cleat on the dock or on deck. Obviously of high value when docking, there are cleats all over the place, and the ability to tie a clean cleat hitch - rather than just wrapping the rope around a cleat until you run out of rope - will go a long way toward establishing your credibility among strangers. Failure to tie a proper cleat hitch, of course, will help you to establish your ignorance. If you're anything like me, you don't need any help in that department!

Tying the Cleat Hitch:

Wrap the line completely around the base of the cleat once. There is some variation in this step, but in most situations, this wrap won't hurt a thing and may save your fingers!

Make several figure eight turns around the cleat - these are just what they sound like: over and under, back and forth.

Wrap the rope around the base of the cleat two or three more times.

Try to leave any remaining slack in a well-organized state. Some situations may call for stowing the ropes while others will require coiling the rope on deck - either way, never leave your slack rope in a tangle.

Sheet Bend

You'll be surprised how often you use a sheet bend once you learn it. This knot joins two ropes together, sometimes to secure one end of a rope and sometimes to extend the reach of your rope by tacking more on. Are your ropes of different sizes? The sheet bend is typically even more secure under these circumstances, so rest easy. I never mastered this one early in life but since picking it up as an adult, I use it all the time. Compared to the millions of overhand knots I'd need to tie in order to feel secure about my knot, the sheet bent is heaven.

Tying the Sheet Bend:

Using the larger rope (if they differ) make a bight - fold the rope over on itself in a 180-degree angle.

Pull the end of the smaller or second rope under the center of the bend and up over the short end of the first rope.

Still working with the end of the smaller or second rope, bring the end underneath the whole works - under both ropes.

Continue with the end of the smaller or second rope, bringing it back up on the other side and pass it through the bight, over the larger rope, under the smaller rope and over the larger rope - essentially, the smaller rope is passing under itself.

Tighten the knot.

That's all there is to this knot. You'll use it, I swear, whether you're out on the water or you've just broken a shoelace. This is an extremely handy knot to have in your repertoire.

Figure 8

This knot most often functions like the knots or beads on the drawstrings in a hooded sweatshirt, keeping the rope from passing through blocks or pulleys as the knots keep the drawstrings from pulling through your hood. This is an easy knot and exists only because it's easy to untie.

Tying the Figure Eight:

Make a loop with the loose end passing under the rope.

Pass the loose end up and over the rest of the rope, under the edge of the original loop and back up through the center of the original loop.

Pull the knot tight.

This knot is both so common and so simple as to be familiar to anyone who's had to untangle a random box of ropes, lines or cables for any reason at all. The figure eight knot practically ties itself. The ability to make a figure eight on purpose, consistently and on a moment's notice will save you a lot of headaches on the water.

Once you have these four knots in the bag, you're ready to face nearly anything that the ropes can throw at you. Knots are fascinating and some folks spend months or years learning hundreds of knots, each specifically for an individual task. If you find knot-work interesting, there's a lot you can learn in an afternoon with a length of rope. If you, like me, just want to know enough to do the job, these four knots are a pretty great start. And you didn't even have to sing any camp songs.