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Nautical Knowledge—Knots and Splices 1 DEC, 2002

Contents

Section 2—Knots and Splices 3

Knots, bends and hitches 3

Definitions 3

Parts of the rope 3

Knots 4

Bends 7

Hitches 8

Stoppers for fibre rope and SWR 12

Splicing 13

Eye-splicing in Steel Wire Rope (SWR) 17

2 MLR 15: 2 Nautical Knowledge—Knots and Splices DEC, 2002


Section 2—Knots and Splices

Knots, bends and hitches

A professional mariner should have no problems making any of the knots

and splices in this section. Ropework should be your stock and trade.

However, real seamanship means knowing how to use ropework to solve

practical problems.

Definitions Knot—is the intertwining of the end of the rope with a portion of the rope.

Bend—is the intertwining of the ends of two ropes to make one rope.

Hitch—is the attachment of a rope to a post, pole, ring, hook or other object,

or standing part of another rope.

Splice—is the joining of the ends of two ropes, or the end of the rope with

the body of a rope, by weaving the strands over and under the strands of the

other part.

Parts of the rope Standing part—The part of rope taking the strain.

Tail—The part of rope used to make fast, or the unused part.

Bight—Any loop between the standing part and the tail.


Practical activity

Obtain a two-metre length of cordage. Practice the knots, bend or hitches as they

introduced and have them checked by your master/facilitator.

Knots

Reef knot or square knot

Used for joining two ropes of the same diameter. Be warned that this knot

can capsize if one of the ends is pulled the wrong way.

Figure 1: Reef or square knot

Figure of eight knot

Used to prevent the line from running through a block. Does not jam as

readily as an overhand knot. Can also be used to keep an unwhipped line

from unlaying.

Figure 2: Figure of eight knot


Bowline

Used to put a temporary eye in a rope. The bowline is the most common

maritime knot, but also the most incorrectly tied. A good deal of practice

is needed for this knot! Your facilitator, mentor or skipper can show you

variations which will allow you to tie it quickly.

Figure 3: Bowline

Running bowline

A running bowline is made when a small bowline is made round the

standing part of the line. This produces an adjustable, or running, eye.

Figure 4: Running Bowline


Bowline on a bight

Produces a doubled eye of greater strength. It can be used for a temporary

bosuns chair or on a towing bridle.

Figure 5: Bowline on a bight mlr15_s2_f05_

Sheep shank

Used for shortening a rope.

Figure 6: Sheep shank

Toggled sheep shank

Used for shortening a rope. The toggles keep the knot in place. It is,

therefore, more secure than an untoggled sheep shank.

Figure 7: Toggled sheep shank


Bends

Carrick bend

Used for joining large lines such as towing hawsers. Does not contain any

sharp nips.

Figure 8: Carrick bend

Sheet or (Becket) bend

Used to join ropes of different diameter. The bight should be made in the

larger of the two lines and the tails of each rope should end up on the

same side of the knot.

Figure 9: Sheet (Becket) bend

Double sheet bend

As above but the extra turn makes for a more secure knot. Also used to

fasten a bosuns’ chair to the gantline.

Figure 10: Double sheet bend


Fisherman’s bend

Joins two lines that must pass through a narrow opening. Not as easy to

undo as the sheet bend.

Figure 11: Fisherman’s bend

Bowline bend

Joining two hawsers. Probably strongest of all hawser bends.

Figure 12: Bowline bend

Hitches

Clove hitch

Secures end of a line under tension. Can be made without access to either

end of the line and dropped over a post. Large loads should not be

suspending on clove hitches as they can jam. Use it for tying paint pots to

rails. Also, the line should only lead at right angles to the spar that the knot

is made on.


Figure 13: Clove hitch

Rolling hitch

Similar to a clove hitch but with an extra turn. Used to take a strain along a

spar or to secure a rope tail to a larger rope or spar when the direction of

pull is along the rope/spar in one direction only.

It can be used with chain or wire rope to hold the strain while a riding turn

is cleared from a winch.

But be warned, excessive weight can jam this knot.

Figure 14: Rolling hitch


Round turn and two half hitches

Commonly used to secure a line to a bollard, spar or ring.

Figure 15: Round turn and two half hitch

Timber hitch

Used to secure a rope to a plank or spar when there is to be a continuous

strain. When it is required to keep the end of a piece of timber pointed in

one direction, it should be supplemented with a half hitch.

Figure 16: Timber hitch

Marline spike hitch

Forms an eye in the bight of line. Can be used when you want to pull a line

tight, especially when making seizings.

Figure 17: Marline spike hitch


Blackwall hitch

Used to bend a line to hook.

Figure 18: Blackwall hitch

Double blackwall hitch

A much more secure hitch than the one above.

Figure 19: Double blackwall hitch

Fisherman’s bend or bucket hitch

Although called a bend it is more correctly a type of hitch. It joins a line to

a ring or spar. The end should be seized to the standing part.

Figure 20: Fisherman’s bend or bucket hitch


Also refer to Small Ships Manual and Australian Boating Manual knots,

bends and hitches diagrams.

Stoppers for fibre rope and SWR Stoppers are used to temporally hold the strain in a line while it is

transferred from the drum to the bitts.

Fixing or passing a stopper for natural fibre lines

Natural fibre lines

Figure 21: Stopper fixed (natural fibre)

Fixing or passing a stopper for synthetic fibre lines

Figure 22: Stopper passed (synthetic fibre)

While the stopper is temporarily holding the berthing line under stress,

the inboard end of the berthing line is transferred to the bitts.

The two recognised methods for stoppering a wire rope is by using the

Carpenter stopper or the use of a length of chain. The Carpenters method

uses a special device that locks the wire and allows it to be turned on bitts.


The most widely used method is to use a length of chain with a cow hitch.

Never use a clove hitch for stoppering. Should the wire be under too much

strain, the stopper will part first, rather than the wire.

Never use a fibre or synthetic rope as a wire rope stopper.

Practical Activity

Practice making the various knots, bends and hitches.

Splicing To splice is to join two pieces of rope together instead of tying them with a

knot. The most common splice at sea is the eye splice. This is formed in a

fibre rope by turning the rope end back upon itself to make an eye of the

required size and then tucking the unlaid strands against the lay, over and

under the strands of the standing part.

With natural fibre line three tucks is recommended while at least four should

be used with synthetics. In large ropes the ends of the strands should be

halved and the halves of adjacent strands dogged together to prevent the

splice drawing (pulling out).

Splicing is easy, but you must practice. Less than $20 will get you enough

silver rope and some eight-strand plaited rope for you to work with.

Marine Order 32 specifies the types of wire rope splicing that are acceptable

by Australian authorities. Remember, splicing fibre or wire rope can only be

perfected through practice.


Eye splice

An eye splice is formed by unlaying the end of a rope, then turning the end

back to from an eye, and tucking the separated strands into the standing part.

Before splicing you should whip the ends of unlaid strands, and whip the

rope at the point to which you plan to unlay it.

Figure 23: Eye splice

Natural fibre uses three full tucks and synthetic fibre, a minimum of four

full tucks.

If splicing round a thimble to make a hard eye splice, tie the rope securely

to the thimble with light twine, then splice as in Figure 24.

Figure 24: Hard eye splice


Short splice

This is used to join two ropes when not required to pass through a block as

the line will be double the diameter at the splice. Unlay the two ropes and

clutch them together, so that the strands of one rope go alternately between

the strands of the other. Tuck each strand over one strand and under the

next, take tow or more tucks with each strand, then turn the line and do the

same with the other rope. Pull each strand up taught. A minimum of three

full tucks for each rope.

Figure 25: Short splice


Back splice

The back splice is used to finish off the end of a fibre rope to prevent

fraying. It is commenced with a crown knot then the strands tucked as

in the short splice.

Figure 26: Back splice

Eye-splicing a plaited rope

The first thing to consider with splicing multi-plait rope is the construction

of the rope, which will have both right and left handed laid strands. Then,

just like with three-strand line, you whip the line and then unlay the strands

to this whipping.

The Admiralty Manual of Seamanship recommends that the distance from

the rope end to the whipping should be approximately 20 times the diameter

of the rope.

Next you should marry pairs of right hand strands and pairs of left hand

strands making four pairs in all. Then start your tucks by passing a pair of

right hand strands under the nearest pair of right hand strands. The take a

pair of left hand strands and pass them under the pair of left hand strands

of the rope unoccupied and adjacent to first the right hand lay. Check this

in Figures 27 (i and ii).

These steps are then repeated with the remaining strands. This completes

the first full tuck required using paired strands.

Now divide all four pairs of right and left hand strands and tuck these

strands singly, one left hand strand under one left hand strand in the standing

part. Follow the same pattern for the right hand strands. Continue this

tucking sequence for four tucks thus giving a total of five tucks to the splice

(Figures 27 (iii to iv)).


The ends of the strands should now be dogged (Figure 27(v)).

Figure 27: Splicing plaited rope

Eye-splicing in Steel Wire Rope (SWR) This section concentrates on the steps required to make a hard eye splice in

SWR. There are a number of different wire splices

The Liverpool splice is tucked entirely with the lay of the wire and must

never be tied to any wire which could possibly end up used as a sling. This

is because the Liverpool Splice has been known to draw if the load lifted

pivots in such a way as to unlay the wire.

Therefore, you must make sure that you learn a splice that has some tucks

against the lay (sometimes called locking tucks).

Ask your trainer/mentor the kinds of splices you’ll be taught. Bear in mind

that splices go under different names in different parts of the world, or even

different parts of Australia.

If your trainer/mentor only knows the Liverpool splice, you must learn a

locking splice first – so that if you’re left with only one splice, it is not the

Liverpool!


Learning how to splice

Some splices are smooth, some not. A smooth splice is a technique used to

’lose’ the ends of the strands inside the splice—to leave it perfectly smooth

to the bare hand. Using this technique, you don’t leave the tails sticking out

of the splice, and therefore you don’t have to cover them by parcelling and

serving.

It is quite acceptable for your trainer/mentor to teach you either type of

splice. If the splice is not smooth, however, you must be taught how to

parcel and serve.

Find the definitions of parcelling and serving from your trainer/mentor,

and make a note of them in your notebook.

Can your trainer/mentor help you with the meaning of this old rhyme?

Worm and parcel with the lay, turn and serve the other way.

Practising splicing

You must practise splicing several times until the end result appears as if

all the strands are comfortably in place. To judge your splice, the basic

guideline is that when a splice looks good, it normally is good.

Hard eye-splice

You create a hard eye either by lashing the wire tightly around a thimble,

using twine, or by holding it in a rigger’s vice.

Figure 28: Securing the wire tightly around a thimble, using twine (I)


Figure 29: Securing the wire tightly around a thimble, using twine (II)

Figure 30: Bringing the two ends together in a vice

Then mark where the two parts of the wire meet close to the thimble.

Whip the part to be unlaid in such a manner that it will not unlay as

far as the thimble, but only very close to it. Carry on lashing.


Figure 31: Lashing (I)

Figure 32: Lashing (II)

Unlay as far as the whipping, cut the main core and you are ready to splice

as in Figure 31.


The inter-lacing of the loose strands and the body of the steel wire rope will

be demonstrated by your trainer/mentor. This is the part of the skill that you

will learn by demonstration and then practice.

Figure 33: Lashed thimble ready to splice

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