The overhand knot is the smallest and

simplest of knots and the start of bigger ones.

It can be an effective stopper, but it will jam when

pulled too tight. To make an overhand knot, make

an overhand loop and pass the end under and up

through it.

This knot is used to tie the reef points

when reefing a sail. The knot is often tied as a

slipped hitch to permit a rapid release. Never use

this knot to bend two lines. It would be unreliable.

Unless this knot is tied carefully, you will come up

with a worthless granny knot.

This has been called the king of knots.

Nothing can jam it. It will never slip if properly

made. It can be tied in the hand and dropped over

a cleat, bitt, or piling or formed around a mooring ring.

To tie a bowline, make an overhand loop with the end

held toward you, pass the end under and up through

the loop, then behind the standing part and down

through the loop again, adjust the bight carefully, and

draw tight. This is a knot you can both trust and

be proud of. By the way, the bowline as a knot has

no particular connection with the bow line used to tie

up the bow of your boat. The bowline was first

described by Thomas Bowling. In usage, "Bowling's

knot" became the "bowline".

This knot is easily untied and gentle to fiber.

It is the best knot for keeping a rope end from running

through a fairlead or block. To make this knot, make

an underhand loop; then bring the end around and over

the standing part, under and up through the loop.

This is a quick and very reliable knot employed

when making lines fast at a mooring. To tie, make a

half hitch and then add another next to it. Additional

half hitches will add strength.

The clove hitch is a simple, handy way to

fasten a rope temporarily around a pile or spar.

To tie a clove hitch, take a turn around the object,

bringing the end of the rope over itself from below;

then, take a second turn with the end under itself.

This knot consists of two half hitches in opposite

directions.

This is used for securing a small rope to

the bight of a larger rope. It is very much like the

bowline, but uses two ropes rather than one. To

tie a sheet bend, make an overhand loop with the

end of one rope; pass the end of the other rope

under and up through this loop, behind the first

loop's standing part and down through the loop

again.

There is a right way and a wrong way to

belay a rope. Do not tie or knot sheets and

halyards to cleats. When rope gets wet, as it

often does, it shrinks in length and swells in

diameter. This means that knots get so tight

and stiff that they cannot be untied quickly.

The illustration shows the correct method

of making fast to a cleat. The half hitch that

completes the fastening is taken with the free

part of the line. The line can then be freed

without taking up slack in the standing part.