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KNOTCRAFT 2009:Layout 1 23/10/09 12:17 Page 100

The Ocean & Prolong Mats

OPE MATS ARE VERY satisfying to make, be they small for a glass
Rto sit on, bigger to go under a plate or bigger still to wipe shoes
on before coming on to a boat or into a house. Door mats are a
useful way of using worn out sheets or halyards or even lifeboat
falls. Be warned that mats use a lot more rope than you would
expect. It is worth keeping a note of the amount of rope that has
gone into a particular mat, for later reference.
The ocean and prolong mats are the most common of rope mats
and are both constructed in the same manner; the only difference
is that one starts from an overhand knot and the other from a
carrick bend. The overhand knot start gives a mat with 3 bights on
its side whilst the carrick bend start gives a mat with 4 bights to the
side. In both cases, they can be lengthened by repeating the basic
twist and tuck process used to start them – each time this is done
the mat gets another 3 bights to its side. As with all flat knot mats,
you make the initial knot and then follow round to double, triple,
quadruple or even go as many as 6 times round. If, when you have
made your mat you find it a bit on the small side, then it is possible
to increase the whole by coiling rope round the outside of the mat
and sewing the turns together.

MATERIALS
650mm x 400mm ocean mat 4 times round uses 25m of 14mm rope
600mm x 340mm ocean mat 3 times round uses 14m of 18mm rope
800mm x 400mm prolong mat 4 times round uses 30m of 14mm
1,000m x 450mm prolong mat 4 times round uses 29m of 24mm rope

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