Seamanship, Boat Work, Knots, Bends and Hitches
Seamanship questions are practical: name the knot for a job, name the part of a boat, and know the orders used to move a boat under oars. Marks are lost by choosing an almost-right knot.
Parts of a rope
- Working end (head) - the end you tie with; standing part - the long inactive length; bight - a loop formed without crossing the ends.
Knots and their uses
- Bowline - a fixed loop that will not slip; used to put a loop around a person for rescue.
- Reef (square) knot - joins two ropes of equal thickness; also used in bandaging.
- Sheet bend - joins two ropes of unequal thickness.
- Clove hitch - quick, temporary attachment to a spar or post.
- Round turn and two half hitches - securing a line to a ring or bollard, especially under load.
- Figure of eight - a stopper knot so a rope cannot run out through a block.
- Sheepshank - shortens a rope; timber hitch - hauls a log; rolling hitch - takes strain on a rope fastened to a spar.
Boat work
Parts of a pulling boat: stem, stern, keel, gunwale, thwarts (seats), rowlocks/crutches, oars, rudder and tiller. Orders come as cautionary plus executive: "Oars - ready", "Oars - down", "Give way", "Easy all", "Hold water", "Back water", "Rest on oars". The coxswain steers and is responsible for the boat and crew.
Worked example
You must join a 10 mm line to a 20 mm hawser to take a steady pull. A reef knot will slip and capsize because the ropes differ in size; the correct choice is a sheet bend, made by forming a bight in the thicker rope and passing the thinner rope up through it, round the back and under its own standing part.
Traps
Offering a granny knot as a reef knot; using a reef knot on unequal ropes; a bowline tied with the tail outside the loop, which collapses; confusing "hold water" (stop the boat) with "back water".