There is just a few knots for a land sailor to know....

To tie a rope to a boom or other pole try a "Clove hitch"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clove_hitch

To tie a loop at the end of a rope a "Bowline" works well and doesn't jamb up
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowline

To attach pulleys to a boom etc a "Prusik Hitch"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prusik

And to stop the end of a rope slipping through a pulley a "Figure 8 Knot" is ideal.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure-eight_knot_(ropes)

Thanks!! You're right about the 'bowline' knot. I have used them to anchor sheet lines at their ends, and I can undo them

Now I need to look into the 'clove hitch' and the 'prusik hitch' and figure them out. It sounds like they may be exactly what I need. I don't suppose anyone has any close up pics of them in use..............

none of the above

I will try to get a photo up tomorrow, its not working tonight

Then I would suggest all knots, tied properly, are valuable at some stage or another. However, again I repeat Bowline. If the knot is too bulky use a lighter rope. I use a 10mm Terylene Braided Cordage* (*Correct Term). Which is more than ample. For attaching Blocks and Tackle a 4mm Line is Ample at around 300lb BS (No Breaking Strain dummy). I have used the Bowline throughout the years for just about everything, hauling logs, towing vehicles, tying off Lines for climbing etc. I have never had one fail nor have I ever had problems when it came to untying it. The Bowline I will defend to the Death and have.
It isn't a wise practice to knot the end of any Line running through a Block as if it becomes Jammed then you have serious problems arising. If you must knot the end of your sheet I would suggest that you tie a simple overhand knot BUT do not take the end through the loop, Keep it back, forming a sliding loop this then can be pulled loose to allow the Sheet to run through the Block. Again a Sheet Line should never be Joined, always a single piece of rope. We were taught to Splice Ropes in the Armed Forces and that Tackle Lines should be Joined with a Tapered Splice so that it could run Freely through the Block being used. The Reason was if a load was drawn up to a joined line and it jammed you could be in a World of Crap, endangering Lives. This type of join was only ever used in an emergency when no other way was available as they were never as strong as the main running tackle.

Find one or two knots that are simple and quick to tie and stick with them the others are only needed now and again.

A method of tying off a Line at the Sail Clew, Tack or Head is to take the line threw the Eyelet and from a loose Overhand Knot about the Eyelet keeping around 2"-50mm of the end free, then you whip the main line and line end together to form a strong neat tie off. Whipping is a fairly Old Fashioned way but very secure and was generally used to seal off the end of a line to prevent the Twisted Rope from Fraying. With modern Cordage the technique is to Melt the Ends.
A modern method of forming a Loop in Braids if to Melt the line end and with wet fingers (Be Fast or get Burnt) roll the end between them to form a point. The line then is forced into compression which should cause it to bulge heavily and a Spike is pushed into the outer Braid to form a Hole into the line center where the pointed Line end is then pushed along the main body. the tapered end is worked along the inside of the Line an inch or two depending on thickness of cordage, then the line is stretched again, carefully to lock the whole thing. This style will form a very neat professional finish.
Ron



Ron

Interesting to see the knots above
As has been mentioned the prusik hitch is a common climbers hitch
We used to use it all the time also in the dredging game for attaching a rope to a wire hawser under strain
The bowline has been called the king of knots with good reason one of the most useful of all
Nikrums drawing is called the Uni knot A very common versatile fishermans knot for joining two lines by using two of them back to back as he has shown or singly for joining line to hook thats why they call it the uni knot
The figure of eight for a stopper knot on a line another widely used one
The truckies hitch is very handy I use it a lot but I guess most people use those
newfangled ratchet thingies these days
The reef knot, everyone knows that one, a slipped form of which is used to tie shoelaces
Not that excited about the clove hitch in certain circumstances it can capsize in my experience and can be difficult to undo
Does anyone have any others for general use?

The rolling hitch is good for dragging logs but more useful for attaching to another line and taking the load on that line to another point.

Probably not useful with landsailing but is very handy on a yacht for taking the load on a sheet for instance, to free up the tail of the sheet so it can be rerun through different blocks.

cisco said...
OK, I'll bite. What is an alpine butterfly??

http://www.ehow.com/how_4968305_tie-alpine-butterfly-knot.html

Holy moly!! I think I'll use the prusik hitch with the proper length piece to hook the blocks on the boom. looks like an easy one to adjust by just releasing the tension a bit.

Thanks again for all your help

OK! So the Loop Splice thing didn't work on modern Braided Cordage. It used to be good on the old Braided Nylon. I tried my damdest to get to work but to no avail. Other than tying a Bowline the only other way I can suggest is to take the Line through the Eyelet make a single half knot then Whip off the Tail along the Main Line, a lot of trouble that isn't really that necessary.
Ron

landyacht said...

try this for the end of sheetrope. it allows you to go almost block to block, and puts the tail off to the side. I was a bowline man until I was shown one of these

What do they call this type so I can look it up?

It is actually a thumb knot, with a thumb knot as a stopper knot. As they are only on the final pulley, they have relatively little pressure on them, and even after a hard day on wet salt where the salt dries out in the rope, these knots are easy to undo. Also I have never had them work loose whilst sailing.

The Prusik Hitch was what I was referring to as well though my version would be a little neater and does look good as there are no loose ends and the Block end of the loop lays firmly against the Knot. When it is all said and Done and has just been displayed in this Thread "Knots" we all have our own personal favorites which usually amount to a few tried and true variations. The trick is to try them all and then use those most suited to your purposes.
There is a very good reason for not using Fixed Knots when it comes to Lines running through Runners/Eyes/Guides etc. That is that when it comes to Clean use a Knot can and will jam and if you are relying on freedom of movement to prevent capsize. Yesterday I found that in damp conditions that a Sheet Line will twist up badly (Especially Braided Line), which when dropped into the LY can then further twist itself into a Mares Nest of Kinks and Pig Tails and will to run freely through a Block or Eye.
No there was no catastrophe but there could well have been.

It is a funny thing that there are so many processes we go through in life purely under Automatic action and give it no thought until something goes wrong. If you doubt me the pick a simple daily task. Now break it down into what you think are it's basic components. Good now go back through it and break those component parts down again, you will be surprised just how complicated it is and needs no real through, normally, to get through.
Ron

And put the sheet rope in the washing machine with your sailing clothes and some fabric softener just don't tell the wife!

Hell yeah makes them much easier on the hands, even just a wash in the machine gets rid of a lot of ingrained grit and dirt.