Page 129 - Peter Randall - The Craft of the Knot

ropes are twisted in a right-handed direction.

If the rope is stiff enough to make even figure eights, then skip the twists and store it
as a bundle of that shape. Starting with the first end hanging down lower than the

bottom of the coil will help keep it from getting caught in the turns, which can cause the
rope to tangle as you uncoil it.

As you have seen in many cases throughout this book, you don’t always need the end
of a rope in order to make a knot. This is also the case when tying the finishing knot on
the coils shown in this chapter. It may be that you need to coil up rope that is in service,

and the ends are tied to something, as is often the case on a sailboat. In the case of the
Gasket Coil, you can start wrapping from the one free end and then make the final knot
“in the bight.” You can do this with the Figure-of-Eight Coil, also illustrated in this
chapter. Many other knots can be made to secure a coil, and people often make up their

own way of finishing the coil with the knot of their choice.
Large coils are sometimes bound with several small cords, called “stops,” at intervals

around the coil. When a rope is stored on a spool, the spool should turn as rope is being
taken from it at a 90-degree angle from the turning axis of the spool. If the spool is laid
on end with the rope pulled up over one end, each turn will result in a twist in the rope,
which can result in kinks. When a coil is bound in the middle as in the case of the Gasket

Coil, it is sometimes called a “hank.”

METHODS OF PREVENTING FRAYING

Caring for rope includes taking care of the ends. Ropes are made of many fibers and
strands that will separate quickly if not secured. If synthetic three-strand rope is cut
without preparation, the three strands will unravel for several feet in just a moment.

Other ropes, whether braided or plaited, also unravel or become frayed. The end must
be bound in some way, and there are a number of ways to accomplish this.

One way to stop the end of a rope from becoming frayed is to make a binding with
string near the end. When this binding consists of many wraps it is called a “whipping,”
probably named thus because on square-riggers a rope end that was loose would “whip”
around in the wind. One way to make this kind of binding is with the Coxcombing

(shown in Chapter 11). Two additional methods are illustrated in this chapter. In
general, it is best to use natural fiber binding string on natural fiber ropes, and
synthetic material on synthetic ropes.

Anything that binds the end of a rope will help stop it from fraying or becoming
unraveled, and there are many options. The quickest way is to tie a stopper knot. Even
an Overhand Knot will help, although it makes for a bulky solution. For three-strand

rope, the Back Splice (see Chapter 1) will make a nice-looking end, but it’s somewhat
bulky as well. If you have string but don’t have time to make a proper whipping, a
Constrictor Knot (see Chapter 6) makes a good temporary binding.