Page 125 - Knots You Need to Know Easy-to-Follow Guide to the 30 Most Useful Knots

A Rope Ladder

A boatman with an hour to spare can contrive a sturdy rope ladder
topped off with a chafe-guarded eye for attaching a line. To calculate the
amount of manila needed, simply double the desired length of the ladder

and add three feet for each rung. The only other material required is a
hank of hard-twisted jute for putting a serving of round turns over the eye
to bind it securely.

The finished ladder has a variety of uses aboard a boat. It can be slung
over the side in a matter of seconds; its round rungs offer firm and
comfortable support to a swimmer’s bare feet; and it coils neatly away in
a deck locker when not in use. A sailor making repeated trips up the mast

in the course of a repair job may also find such a ladder a handy
alternative to the bosun’s chair.

1. Start the ladder by making the eye. In the middle of the manila line,