Speaking of rigging.... knots?

[JamesToBoot]

While we're on the subject, what is your ONE knot to rule them all?

Ive gotten tired of bowlines.... I keep going back to figure 8 stoppers, knots, and bend-to-itself... it seems to work for everything.

• stopper to prevent halyards and sail trim lines for going everywhere.... figure 8 stopper
• tie on temporary and less important things like fenders onto lifelines.... figure 8 knot
• tie on sail halyards and other control lines where I would normally have used a bowline.... figure 8 bend-to-itself

using it as a knot to tie something or attach something is not its normal use and there are better knots for the job... but if it works and you can do it reliably....???

Ive gotten good a tieing bowlines, but in practice its always at an odd angle or upside down or I need an extra hand. And if you get it wrong, which is really easy, the consequence is catastrophic when you thought you were save.

for reference:
https://www.animatedknots.com/figure-8-knot
the knot and the bend-to-itself aren't shown because theyre really not what its supposed to be used for???

[Russ]

I split this topic from the ramp thread for clarity.

I have 3 knots I use 99% of the time.

The bowline is my obvious choice for loops and attaching things I need to be able to easily undo knowing it won't budge. Mastering this at different angles is a challenge, but a worthy skill. If I need a solid knot, this is the guy.

I probably use the half hitch most of the time for things like tying fenders or a quick knot. It's simple and fast. Usually easy to untie and for non-critical purposes, it works well for me.

The figure eight is just a stop knot. Very useful, however, it's a one-and-done. Once my rigging is in place, I don't touch it. Easily comes undone, so it's not useful for holding any loads.

Other honorable mentions:

• Clove hitch: A great knot for tying to pilings or poles.
  
  Square Knot: Perfect for joining 2 lines of same. Often used when the line I'm using isn't long enough.
  
  Cleat: I don't consider this a knot per se, but I swear, 95% of the boats in my marina do not know how to tie a cleat.
  
  Halyard hitch: I don't remember how to tie this, bu]t once every 10 years when I replace my halyard line, I use this. Great small tight knot. Impossible to untie. I have resorted to cutting it off.

[JamesToBoot]

...

The bowline is my obvious choice for loops and attaching things I need to be able to easily undo knowing it won't budge. Mastering this at different angles is a challenge, but a worthy skill. If I need a solid knot, this is the guy.

...

The figure eight is just a stop knot. Very useful, however, it's a one-and-done. Once my rigging is in place, I don't touch it. Easily comes undone, so it's not useful for holding any loads.

Other honorable mentions:

• ...
  Halyard hitch: I don't remember how to tie this, but once every 10 years when I replace my halyard line, I use this. Great small tight knot. Impossible to untie. I have resorted to cutting it off.

Thanks Russ,

Yeah, Im surely not using the figure 8 as intended.

Ive gotten really good at tying the bowline. I really like it and its awesome that it doesn't move or tighten itself, leaving it easy to untie. I've looked up multiple ways to tie it and found one that works really well. But its cumbersome anyway you put it. I will continue to work on it. Do you have any tipes or have seen any good write-ups / vids?

That halyard hitch is a beast. As I trailer everywhere and its not supposed to be easy to get undone, I avoid it. I was using the bowline w a lock (also called a woven bowline here (https://tojahech.com/bowlines/). But I started to get lazy and used the figure 8 onto-itself.

[Russ]

I can tie a bowline blindfolded if it's just sitting in my lap. It's totally different in the wild when you have to tie it AROUND something or in an uncomfortable position. When the orientation changes, my mind has to think harder about how to tie it.

I've only tied a halyard hitch maybe 3 times. I use it to attach the haylard to the main shackle. It's nice and tight and streamlined. I couldn't do it without referencing a video.

Half hitches are quick and easy and probably 90% of my knot tying. It holds most of the work I need. I used dozens of half hitches on this boat cover. I tie line from the eyes of the tarp to the trailer with a zillion half hitches. Sad to put her away for the season.

[Russ]

Here's a good video on tying a bowline AROUND something. This is the part that tricks me up from my "the rabbit goes around the tree" script in my head.

[JamesToBoot]

I like the prospective he's tying it from.

Heres my favor bowline video so far. It did the most to help me project it.

[Be Free]

I split this topic from the ramp thread for clarity.

I have 3 knots I use 99% of the time.

The bowline is my obvious choice for loops and attaching things I need to be able to easily undo knowing it won't budge. Mastering this at different angles is a challenge, but a worthy skill. If I need a solid knot, this is the guy.

I probably use the half hitch most of the time for things like tying fenders or a quick knot. It's simple and fast. Usually easy to untie and for non-critical purposes, it works well for me.

The figure eight is just a stop knot. Very useful, however, it's a one-and-done. Once my rigging is in place, I don't touch it. Easily comes undone, so it's not useful for holding any loads.

Other honorable mentions:

• Clove hitch: A great knot for tying to pilings or poles.
  
  Square Knot: Perfect for joining 2 lines of same. Often used when the line I'm using isn't long enough.
  
  Cleat: I don't consider this a knot per se, but I swear, 95% of the boats in my marina do not know how to tie a cleat.
  
  Halyard hitch: I don't remember how to tie this, bu]t once every 10 years when I replace my halyard line, I use this. Great small tight knot. Impossible to untie. I have resorted to cutting it off.

Great post Russ! Those knots will take care of almost everything on the boat. Thanks for splitting the topic.

I always put a figure eight knot in the ends of my jib sheets so that the can't come out of the clutches by accident. If you need a little larger stopper knot or you are working with a small diameter line you can add an extra loop in the "8" to make it fatter.

Clove hitch is is real handy but if you are going to use it to tie up to a piling for any significant time don't forget to add a couple of half hitches behind it. A clove hitch will loosen itself if the line is tensioned and loosened repeatedly (like a boat bobbing on waves or wakes).

The halyard hitch is definitely a "one and done" knot. You will usually have to cut it off but then how often do you need to untie it? It's strength is that it has such a low profile and it will not slip. The easy way to remember it is that it is a close relative of the two half hitches but the hitches go around both of the ropes in the loop instead of just one before you tuck it in.

Don't forget one of the best uses of the square knot (reef knot) is to gather up your sail when you are reefing.