Sea, Rock and Safety

A tarp that slips is an annoyance. A knot that fails on a climb or a boat can injure or kill. Sailors and climbers use many of the knots you already know, but they use them with different habits: tie them the same way every time, dress them neatly, back them up and have them checked. This chapter is an introduction to those habits, not a substitute for instruction from a qualified person.

Why Safety Knots Are Different

• Consequences. A failure is not an inconvenience but an accident.
• Consistency. The same knot is tied the same way every time, so that it can be recognised and checked at a glance.
• Dressing. Every strand lies neatly and no turns are crossed, because a messy knot can be weaker and is harder to check.
• Tails. A long enough tail is left beyond the knot, since a knot can creep under load and shake. (Exact tail lengths vary by guidance: check.)
• Backups. A second knot or a different safeguard covers the first if it fails.
• Checks. Climbers check themselves and each other before leaving the ground. Sailors check their lines before the weather turns.

Knots at Sea

Boats use rope everywhere, and sailors call a rope in use a line. The jobs are the ones from earlier chapters, done in wet, loaded conditions.

• Bowline. The classic loop at the end of a line, used to fasten a sheet to a sail or make a loop for a mooring. It is easy to untie after loading. It can work loose when the line is slack or shaken, so a tail and sometimes a backup are used. (Details of backups: check.)
• Cleat hitch. Secures a line to a cleat on a dock or deck. The line goes round the base, then figure-eight turns over the horns, ending with a locking turn. It holds, yet can be released under some load.
• Round turn and two half hitches. Ties a boat to a ring or post and can be adjusted.
• Sheet bend. Joins two lines, especially of different thickness.
• Clove hitch. Quick to tie round a rail or post for temporary jobs such as a fender. It can slip if the pull varies, so it is not trusted for important tasks. (Fender practice: check.)

Sailors also learn to coil and stow lines tidily, so a line can run free when needed and never tangles around a foot.

Knots on Rock

Climbing ropes are made for a particular job and have their own care rules. Climbers use a few knots, learned thoroughly.

• Figure-eight follow-through. The common way to tie a rope to the harness. A figure-eight is tied first, then the tail is threaded back along it in the opposite direction, following the same path. It is easy to see whether it is correct.
• Stopper knot on the tail. A knot at the end of a rope so that it cannot run out of a belay device.
• Clove hitch. Used to attach the rope to an anchor point quickly and to adjust its length.
• Double fisherman's bend. Joins two rope ends, as in chapter 5, and is also used to make loops of cord. Back up the knot with stopper knots on both tails.
• Alpine butterfly. A loop in the middle of a rope that can take a pull from several directions (see chapter 4).

A Safety Habit You Can Practise

You can build the right habits on harmless jobs. Before trusting any knot, run through the same short check, saying it aloud if it helps.

Rope Care for Safety Use

• Keep ropes away from sharp edges, chemicals, heat and long exposure to sunlight.
• Retire rope that is cut, stiff, fuzzy, glazed or has soft spots. (Retirement guidance: check with the maker.)
• Keep a record of the age and use of a climbing rope, since you will not see all damage by eye.
• Do not use a rope made for one job (a boat line or a garden cord) for another, such as holding a climber.

Not Yet Verified, and Sources

• Source. Written from general knowledge of sailing and climbing practice; no specific source was read, and nothing is quoted from a text.
• Marked (check). Tail lengths, bowline backups, fender-knot practice and rope retirement guidance. Always follow the rope maker and a qualified instructor.
• Not a safety manual. This chapter explains the idea of safety knots. It does not teach the steps of life-safety knots, which need a teacher.

Exercises