Yachting Monthly — November 2017

72 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com November 2017

Joining

two ropes

together

Bowline to bowline

Many people get by with as few knots as possible, and everyone
should know a bowline. This configuration will also work in
different diameters of rope and can be undone even if it’s been
under high load. The bowline to bowline did quite well, retaining
more strength than the reef knot and sheet bend.

Sheet Bend

Usually used for joining two ropes of a similar diameter, the
single sheet bend is a handy knot to know. However during the
test it started slipping at 200kg, before breaking. Only the reef
knot fared worse.

Double Sheet Bend

Adding a second turn when tying a sheet bend not only makes

it more secure, but also retains over 10% of the ropes strength. It

started slipping at 400kg, but was stronger than many knots.

There will be times when sailing that you
find the shore power socket is too far
away, your hose is too short or your shore
lines in a raft are too short. I can’t help for
the first two, but there may be times you
need to fashion a tow rope, or extend your
mooring lines. While joining two ropes
with a knot might not be pretty, it’s easier
and more practical than carrying 30-40
metre hanks of rope just in case.

2640 1380 52.3

Rope Break

Load (kg)

Knot Break

Load (kg)

% Strength

retained

2640 1560 59.1

Double Fisherman’s knot

A secure and strong way of securing two knots together, the

double fisherman’s is very difficult to undo once pressure has

been applied, but removal is possible with a marlin spike and

perseverance. We also tried adding a reef knot between the parts

to make it easier to undo, while stronger than a reef knot it failed

before the conventional knot.

With a reef knot, it failed at 1350kg, retaining 51.1% of line strength

2640 1730 65.5

2640 1280 48.5

It’s not always

practical to carry

long lengths of

line to deal with

every eventuality

Technical

Rope Break

Load (kg)

Knot Break

Load (kg)

% Strength

retained

Rope Break

Load (kg)

Knot Break

Load (kg)

% Strength

retained

Rope Break

Load (kg)

Knot Break

Load (kg)

% Strength

retained