Page 45 - Frank Rosenow "Seagoing Knots"

The Bowline

The bowline owes its name and possibly its conception to the need to
securely fasten a line to a bowline cringle and thus trim the leech of a
square sail. This knot, unattended in lofty rigging, had to be proof against
collapse and, in spite of constant strain, unlikely to jam.
The basic version is a fixed loop, but tied to the standing part it will also

make a suitable sliding loop; or, when two unequal lines meet, two inter¬
locking bowline loops can be relied on.
Another way to join lines—preferably equal ones— is to overlap the
ends of lines and tie bowlines onto the standing part of the opposite line.
My grandfather taught the bowline to me and his other grandchildren
with an air of genuine respect. The older ones were the first to be initiated
and we who were youngest looked forward to our turn with impatience if
not awe. The old man did not bother with the “rabbit goes into the hole
and around the tree’’ version of tying it but went straight to the quicker
and more elegant “flip-over” style of tying, as will I.
Find a supple length of rope for tying. To live up to its very high poten¬
tial, the bowline needs to be worked into a balanced, snug shape and a stiff

line will not allow that to happen.

KNOTS