Basic seamanship, ropework and knots
Knot and ropework questions are practical: you must tie the knot and say what it is for. The examiner looks for the right knot for the load, tied tidily and finished.
Ropes
Polyester is low-stretch and UV-resistant - sheets and halyards. Nylon stretches and absorbs shock - anchor rodes and tow lines. Polypropylene floats - heaving lines. Dyneema is strong and slippery - needs spliced, not knotted, terminations. Chafe and UV kill ropes: inspect regularly, protect them through fairleads, and whip or melt the ends.
The core knots
- Bowline: fixed loop that will not slip and can be untied after loading - rescue loop, sheet to clew.
- Figure of eight: stopper that will not jam - end of a sheet.
- Reef knot: joins two ends of the same rope flat - reefing, bandages; never for load-bearing joins.
- Sheet bend: joins two ropes, especially of different diameter.
- Clove hitch: quick and adjustable - fenders and temporary ties; it can slip under varying load.
- Round turn and two half hitches: takes a load gradually and holds - mooring to a ring or post.
- Cleat hitch: a full turn, a figure of eight and a locking hitch, tail finishing inside.
Handling lines
Coil and flake so the line runs clear. The mooring set is bow line, stern line and a spring each way; springs take the fore-and-aft load, bow and stern lines take the sideways load. Set fenders at gunwale height, not dangling.
Worked example
You must leave a line on a quay ring overnight, with wash and a changing load, and be able to cast off quickly from on board. A bowline gives a fixed loop but jams after heavy loading. A round turn and two half hitches takes the load on the turn, will not jam, and can be released under control. Answer: round turn and two half hitches, with the tail seized if the line will sit for days.
Traps
Reef knot for joining two mooring lines; clove hitch as a permanent mooring; a bowline with a long loose tail; no whipping on a cut rope; fenders too high or too low.