Knots, Lashings and Ropework
What the exam tests
Name, purpose and correct choice of knot, plus rope care and the lashing that fits a given job.
Ropework
Whipping the end (common whipping) stops fraying. Coil and hang ropes dry, never store them wet or knotted, keep them away from oil and chemicals, and inspect for cuts, grit and rot.
Knots by purpose
- Reef knot - bandages and tying a bundle; it should not join two ropes under load, because it capsizes and jams.
- Sheet bend, doubled for slippery or unequal ropes - joining two ropes, especially of different thickness.
- Bowline - a fixed loop that will not slip; rescue and hoisting.
- Clove hitch - starting and finishing a lashing, or a quick attachment to a spar.
- Round turn and two half hitches - tying to a post or holding a guy line under tension.
- Timber hitch - dragging or hoisting a log.
- Figure of eight - a stopper so a rope will not run through a block.
- Sheepshank - shortening a rope temporarily.
Lashings
Square for right angles, diagonal for cross braces, round for parallel spars, sheer for tripods. All begin with a clove hitch and end with a clove hitch plus frapping turns.
Worked example
You must join a 10 mm rope to a 6 mm rope to extend a guy line. A sheet bend is correct, and the double sheet bend is safer because the sizes differ. Reasoning: a reef knot slips under tension when ropes are unequal, and a bowline produces a loop, not a join.
Traps
- A reef knot offered as a load-bearing join.
- An overhand loop offered as a rescue loop.
- Omitting the finishing clove hitch on a lashing.