Most useful Knots on board a vessel

What do people think the most useful knots are on board a vessel? And what specific tasks are they most useful for?

A couple of examples are the following:

Sheet Bend - Tying the lanyard onto a flag
Bowline - Various uses throughout the vessel e.g. tying a life raft painter onto the HRU weak link if you don’t have a shackle.

Please feel free to add more knots and they’re most common uses around the vessel.

Truckers hitch or a linesman’s knot/half hitches similar to a truckers hitch. Lash that loose crap down tight before we get in this Wx.

A clove hitch and a bowline are my two favorites but a round turn and two half hitches can be mastered by anyone. A hangman’s noose is always on stand-bye in case I’ve had enough.

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[QUOTE=follow40;112919]What do people think the most useful knots are on board a vessel? And what specific tasks are they most useful for?

A couple of examples are the following:

Sheet Bend - Tying the lanyard onto a flag
Bowline - Various uses throughout the vessel e.g. tying a life raft painter onto the HRU weak link if you don’t have a shackle.

Please feel free to add more knots and they’re most common uses around the vessel.[/QUOTE]

I like the clove hitch. Tying up misc. stuff on rails and what not. Easily adjustable. If it slips then add a half hitch. Simple knot.

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I prefer the 12 knots we do enroute to the dock the night before crew change.

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Agree with the truckers hitch 100%. This is a useful place to look these things up www.animatedknots.com However, does not replace picking the brain of an old bosun (if there are any left). Of course for us engineers there is always the “hatchet knot”.

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I’ve told some deckies over the years, Can’t tie a knot, tie a lot.

My top 5 are:

Bowline
Clove Hitch
Round turn with two 1/2 hitches
Butterfly Knot
Timber Hitch

(The last 3 combined give you a fixed truckers hitch that won’t move in any sea condition)

Just keep wraping line around itself until what ever you are securing doesn’t move. That is the engineer’s way. . .

[QUOTE=“Tugted;112937”]I’ve told some deckies over the years, Can’t tie a knot, tie a lot.[/QUOTE]

I think that’s called the “Hope Knot”…hope that m-f’er stays!

Honestly had to look up the trucker hitch and butterfly knot. Will start working on those. The absolute must knows: bowline, clove hitch, single and double becket & half hitches and a proper square knot. Good ones to know: figure 8, rolling hitch and the barrel hitch.

I find a lot of new guys should be brushing up on west coast and Chinese stoppers for working on tugs we use them a lot.

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[QUOTE=cmakin;112939]Just keep wraping line around itself until what ever you are securing doesn’t move. That is the engineer’s way. . .[/QUOTE]

Man, that brought back some funny memories of me and a Buddy (another CE) securing a load on my Brother’s (UL Master) trailer. He (Brother) just stood there and stared as we used every last inch of the line that we had. When we finished he stated bitching about how engineers never cut the line to fit and would rather to just keep wrapping the line until we get to the end, then we tie it off.

I guess it comes down to having to guard and treat our lines like gold as getting anything good from the deckys is like pulling teeth. I remember one time during a Overhaul I sent my AE over to the barge to get a length of line. When he came back he had a piece of ROPE that I wouldn’t use to tie up my dog. When I bitched, I was told that they figured that we would just trash the line anyway so why give us anything good.

I didn’t learn it until I started rock climbing, but I prefer the figure eight to the bowline. More secure, and easier to untie, and it can also be tied in the bight. Still working on the useless bar trick of tying it one-handed…

I would vote for: bowline, clove hitch, half hitches, timber hitch and a proper square knot.

It is assumed by many that they ‘know’ how to tie knots. I have seen many a pilot ladder shift and slink down until the half hitches unwind and grab. There is a right way and a wrong way to tie knots. The usual way of ‘if you can’t tie a knot, tie a lot’ only goes so far when life and limb is in danger, or lives must be risked to go out an RE secure the deck because of poor seamanship. Practice, Practice, Practice. Then, go back and look at the book again, to make sure you got it right.

I’m ecstatic if they can tie a bowline and splice an eye in three strand.

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I’ve found that knowing just a bit about splicing goes a long way, even as a cadet. Especially knowing how to splice wire. making new heaving lines and splicing is pretty common on the lakes. end for ending wire and putting new eyes into them is also fairly common. I’ve heard a lot of stories about boats having to put on brand new wires because not one person on the boat knows how to splice wire.

I always liked to use the Sheet bend for securing a heaving line to a messenger line.I like a cow hitch for a line to a rail, and agree you can’t beat a truckers hitch to secure a load. The Bowline has gotta be the most used knot out there I would think. My favorite splice right now is the tuck and bury on 12 strand.

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I think the stopper hitch is pretty cool, along with the sheet bend. The essential ones are already covered above. Also, the monkey’s fist is useful to know–mostly when you’re bored haha.

Make some keychains for gifts with the monkey’s fist!