"Need-to-Know" Knots - Bowline
Boating is a lot easier, safer and you look like you know what you're doing, when you know how to tie and use knots. The problem is, there are 100's of knots and you could easily become confused and overwhelmed. However, as neat as it would be to know how to tie and use all these knots,
You only need to know six.
Six knots (along with a few variations) will get you through life--not just boating. Learn one knot at a time and learn it well. Practice until it is as natural as talking or walking.
This newsletter will cover the first and most important knot.
Bowline
For the following video, I have the line around my waist and am tying the bowline in front of me.
The short end of the rope is white so you can see the knot easier.
Of all the knots, the Bowline is probably the most important of the Six Knots Boaters Need to Know.
Bowline is pronounced "bo-len" and the dictionary definition is "a rope used to form a loop that neither slips nor jams".
It falls in the simple category of a "Knot that makes a loop". You use a bowline to form a loop when the line is slack. Other knots are used to secure when the rope is tight.
How to Tie
I have found that for most people, the best way to learn to tie a bowline, is to loop the rope around your waist and tie in front of you. You want to always start with the loop closest to you whether it is around your waist or cleat or whatever. If you are not tying around your waist, pretend or imagine you are. Position the loop part of the bowline between your body and your hands--Never the other way around.
  
  
  
  
- Start with the end of the rope in your right hand and the long section in your left.
- Hold the right end in your right hand between your fingers like a cigarette between your pointer finger and your big finger.
- Place your cigarette fingers and rope across the top of the left section of rope between your left hand and your body (not beyond your left hand).
- Raise your thumb and ring finger to grasp the left rope from below.
- Holding both crossed lines securely, twist your right hand down and turn up, so your fingers point upward through the circle in the left hand rope.
- Pinch the circle with your left hand where the left line crosses.
- With your right hand pull a few inches (about six) up through the circle.
- With your right hand, pass the end around the right side of the long section of rope.
- Back on the other side and back down through the circle.
- With your right hand, grasp both sections of the right line below the circle.
- With the left hand, grasp the long section above the circle.
- Pull to tighten securely.
Practice with different sized loops.
Practice passing the line around your body, so it’s inside the loop.
My Scout Master taught us to tie the Bowline around our waists in case we ever fell in a river and a rescuer threw a line with no loop. We practiced ‘til we could tie it in seconds under water with our eyes closed. I have since passed it on to all my Sea Scouts. I have never forgotten that lesson and use bowlines all the time.
Brenda's rhyme to tie a bowline..
Hold the end of the rope like a cigarette
and pretend it's a rabbit.
Make him a tree and a hole
and be sure to grab it.
Bring him up out of the hole
counter clockwise around the tree
and back down the hole.
Pull both ends to tighten the knot
and a bowline loop is what you've got!
Most instructions for tying a bowline form a circle in the left line separately, then pass the end up, through, around and back down. This works well, but quite often the circle is upside down and the resulting knot isn't a bowline. Valuable time is wasted.
My procedure above, ensures the loop is always the right way up, the knot can be tied without looking at the rope and, once perfected, is much faster.
Conditions
- A bowline can be used to put any size of loop in any size of rope.
- It does not slip or bind.
- It can always be untied, even after put under extreme loads, like towing another boat or a vehicle. Simply flip the knot over and push down on each end.
Examples of use
- To put a loop in the end of a rope to drop over a cleat, bollard, piling, post or around a rock or a tree, if a loop is not spliced in it already.
- You can use several bowline loops for creating a towing bridle for one boat to tow another. At one end of the long rope, tie a bowline through the bow eye on the boat to be towed. Using two dock lines, drop the two eye splices over the stern cleats. At the other ends of these two lines, tie a bowline. Adjust these bowlines to ensure that both lines are the exact same length so the weight of the pull is equal on both corners and your boat steers straight. Pass the tow rope through the bowlines in both of these lines. Tie a third bowline to join all three ropes at this point. Now you have a "V" from the tow boat that is connected to the long tow rope. Tow away. All bowlines will hold and be able to be untied later.
- To join two ropes when a heavy load is going to be applied e.g. towing another boat or lifting a heavy object like a motor or a piano.
- To secure an anchor to a long anchor line when there is no eye splice and clevis. For extra strength, pass the line through the anchor ring twice.
- To join two different sized ropes when a heavy load is going to be applied like towing a dinghy.
- To tie a bowline loop on the hand end of a pail so it's easier to lower overboard and fill with water from the lake.
- To put a bowline in the hand end of a pet leash.
- To wrap a parcel or bundle of cardboard, start with a bowline in one end of the rope. Pass the line around the package, then back through the bowline. Pull tight and secure with a couple of half hitches. (There is a "Package Knot" but the bowline will do the job just fine.)
- To hang items in your garage or shed. Pass several lines over the rafters or beam or whatever you want to hang your item from, so you end up with a whole row of drop lines. You can use these drop lines to hang bicycles, toys, out of season equipment, etc.
If you use a triple length drop line, you can pass it around the crossbar of the bicycle and then either toss it up over the beam or rafter or pass it through the loop of the bowline. Then, pull on the end to raise your bicycle or other item to the desired height. You will be using the bowline not only to tie to the rafter, but also using it as a pulley. It won't wear through if you are only raising and lowering once or twice a season. If it's going to be up and down regularly, hang a pulley from the rafter with a bowline around the rafter and a bowline through the pulley eye.
- To tie down a load on a trailer or in the back of a pickup truck (leaves, logs, etc), tie a bowline on one end of the rope around a hook or bar or whatever there is to tie too, pass the line over the cargo once or twice and secure the other end to the trailer with a round turn and two half hitches.
- To make a temporary clothes line in the yard (from tree to tree) or on the boat (rail to rail) or any temporary location, start with a bowline around the first tie point and then pull tight. Tie the other end of the rope around the other tree and secure the end with a round turn and two half hitches. If it doesn't have to be tight, secure the second end with another bowline.
- To make a swing for the kids, put a bowline around a branch and then put a second bowline about a foot off the ground for the kids to put one foot in. They can swing hanging on the rope. Or, hang a rubber tire with a second bowline.
- To make a swing with a seat, tie a bowline through two holes in one end of the seat and pass it up and over the branch tying a second bowline around the branch. Repeat on the other end of the seat.
- To tie chicken or turkey legs in preparation for roasting, pass the end of a string around a leg twice and tie a bowline. Then, wrap the string around the two legs until they are in the position you want and secure with a couple of half hitches.
- To walk hands free while hiking, you can hang your phone, glasses, etc from your belt with a short string or belt and bowlines.
- To tie down your gas can in the dinghy with line, start with a series of short lines tied with bowlines to the rings in the floor of the dinghy. Then, tie each line to the handle of the gas can with a round turn and two half hitches. You end up with two or three short lines that will hold the can down and are easy to untie when you have to remove for filling. Just untie the round turn and two half hitches and leave the bowlines ready for retying when you return with a full gas can.
- To make a safety line for your motor, use a line with a bowline around the securing ring on the inside of the transom. Pass it around the holes in the screw clamp handles and tie back to the ring.
- To make steadying lines for a newly planted tree, use three or four ropes. Pass each line through a foot of scrap garden hose, loop it around the tree above a branch and secure with a bowline. Put a bowline in the other end and loop around the stake a couple of times first. Pull until it's snug and pound in the ground to tighten the rope.
If the tree doesn't have any branches, hold the garden hose bowline loops up with a piece of lumber under each one cut to the right length, so it reaches from the ground to the loop.
- To hang a bird feeder from a branch, tie a bowline in one end of a rope around the branch and tie another bowline in the other end around the loop or loops on top of the bird feeder. You may need two or three lines.
- To hang a flag or pennant that has grummet holes in it, tie a bowline through the grommet hole and tie the other end on a post or whatever with either another bowline or a round turn and two half hitches.
- To store bulky items like sleeping bags, blankets, comforters, carpets, etc., roll them as tight as you can. Using several long shoe laces or other heavy cord, tie a bowline in one end of each line. Wrap the line around the item, pass the other end through the bowline loop, pull tight and secure with a couple of half hitches. Do this every foot or so and the item becomes a log that is easy to handle and retains it's shape so it is easy to stow in a bag or locker or stack on a bunk like firewood. Untying is simple.
- To attach a line to your fender, pass the line through the eye in your fender and secure with a bowline. (We'll show you which knot to use to tie to your railings later).
- To lengthen a line when you run out of anchor line or need an extra long dock line, join a series of dock lines together with a bowline through the eyesplices linking them together until you reach your desired length.
- To tie your trunk lid down when you have overflowed your trunk capacity, tie a bowline around the release handle or one of the exposed holes on the inside of the lid. Tie the other end to the latch loop, or the trailer hitch or a tow ring or around the load if it's heavy lumber. Pull tight and secure with a round turn and two half hitches.
- To hang plants from a branch or trellis or hook, loop the bowline end of a line around the hanging device and tie the other end to the pot hook with another bowline at the height of your choice.
If the pot has no hook, tie three or four lines to the pot below the rim each with a snug bowline. Tie a bowline using all four lines at once to form the hanging loop at the top. Tie the hanging line to this hanging loop with another bowline.
- To prepare dock lines, bowlines are invaluable. There are times when you need a bowline on one end of a dock or spring line:
- When your docklines don't have an eyesplice, the bowline is a great fast substitute. You get to choose the size to fit the need!
- When your eyesplice isn't big enough
- When you have to loop around a post or tie around a tree
- Many more........
The bowline is the best and most useful knot you’ll ever learn with hundreds of every day uses at home, work and recreation.
Variation
When you want a loop along the length of a rope, instead of at the end, it can be tied by folding or doubling over the rope and tying a double bowline.
A harness can be created for raising a person. For example, from a dinghy into the cockpit of a sailboat. Just tie the bowline part way along the length of the rope by doubling the rope. Adjust the sizes of the created three loops. The lower two for the legs and the upper loop for the arms and shoulders. Tie the rope containing the bowline to the end of the boom, attach halyard to end of the boom and pull the halyard to raise the person aboard.
Prepare Yourself and Your Crew
Practice the bowline until you can tie it in your sleep.
Give each member of your crew/family a piece of rope and have them practice tying the bowline until it becomes automatic. Have them make a list to see how many different uses they can come up with and then time them to see how fast they can tie a bowline. They should be able to tie it in less than 5 seconds blindfolded. Then, everyone should practice tying a bowline around their waist under water. It could save a life some day.
Once your family all know how to tie a bowline and when to use it, you will be well on your way to a qualified crew, who will know what to do and how to do it, when the time comes.
The added bonus will be that they can use bowlines for the rest of their lives 12 months of the year.
We will cover the next five "Need-to-Know" Knots in future newsletters. Next, we'll do the Round Turn and Two Half Hitches.
Have fun.
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Green Tip -
Old lines
Don't throw them out.
Use old dock lines for practicing knot tying, for learning how to eye splice (we'll have a newsletter on eye splicing later this spring), securing loose items in the bilge or dinghy.
You can even use old lines for tying things in the garage or around the house and yard.
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