Page 256 - Randy Penn Everything Knots Book

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TEACHING KNOT TYING

There is an endless variety of ways knots can be staged to
show them in action. It can be as simple as having someone pull
on the standing end of a line to simulate tension as the student is
tying it off with a hitch, or as elaborate as assembling a rope bridge
with ropes, logs, and lashings.

FACT

While teaching knots in the context in which they will be
used, you have the opportunity to demonstrate important
safety habits. For example, have someone lightly tug
randomly on a rope while someone else is trying to attach it
to a horn cleat. This can help the knot tyer learn that a boat
being jostled around by waves can pull on the rope, risking
fingers becoming caught and injured between the rope and
the horn cleat.

Basic Application Ideas
If you are teaching an Anchor Hitch, it helps to include the
hardware that you will be knotting to and, if possible, show how a
short length of chain fastened between the end of the anchor line
and the anchor helps hold the line horizontally from the anchor.
If you are teaching the Tautline Hitch or the Guy Line Hitch,
consider using a couple of them to stretch a tarp or side of a tent
so that the students can see the effect of adjusting them in com-
bination to achieve the desired results.
When teaching the Trucker’s Hitch or the Wagoner’s Hitch, tie
them as if securing cargo, to show how they fasten and how they
release. The Trucker’s Hitch should also be demonstrated as pulling
tackle, which teaches the concept of leveraged pull. It can be very
instructive for a young child to win a game of tug-of-war with a
larger child due to the inequity of this arrangement. It should also
be pointed out that when the pull is three to one, the distance the
parts move is by the opposite ratio.

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