Knots & lines
Five knots every crew should know
Learn these five and you can handle most situations on board.
The core five
- Bowline - a loop that never slips and always unties. For sheets, mooring lines, jackstays.
- Cleat hitch - the correct way to secure a line to a cleat (figure-eight, then one locking turn).
- Clove hitch - quick fender attachment to a rail; easy to adjust.
- Round turn and two half hitches - secure to a ring or post under load.
- Reef knot - to tie two ends of the same line, e.g. reefing or a sail tie.
How to learn them
- Practise each one until you can tie it without looking.
- Then practise in the dark and behind your back - that is when you will need them.
- Teach them to the rest of the crew on the first evening.
A bowline tied in two seconds in the rain is worth more than ten fancy knots you have to think about.
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