Page 154 - J. C. Turner - History and Science of Knots

144 History and Science of Knots

In the days before grapnels, the longlines and gillnets were anchored to
the seabottom by means of ropes which were Timber Hitched onto boulders.
It is of interest to note that this hitch has been used for a similar purpose by
the fisherman society of the Faroe Islands in preventing their hay from being
blown away during the haymaking season. At the Faroese National Museum
in Torshavn another application of stone weights is to be found. In Batasavnid
there is a traditional hand fishing gear with vadsteinur on display. The vad-
stein, Fig. 2 which is a sinker, is connected to the gear by two interlocking
Timber Hitches. In his discussion of Faroese line fishery Jens Christian Svabo
has a description of these stones, but tacitly assumed it to be known how the
knots ought to be tied. [28, 345-359].
There are numerous bends used by fishermen to interconnect (long)lines.
For example the Carrick Bend plays a role in gillnetting. Another traditional
knot (Fig. 3) is the (English) Fisherman's Knot [33]. This is an old structure
which was discussed by Oreibasius, who called it Haplous Karkhesios [6]. In
its doubled form (Fig. 4) it is first recorded in the fishermen's literature at the
end of last century [32].

A

15 cm

Fig. 2. The slinging of a Vadstein

However, here I wish to discuss a typical locking elaboration of all sorts
of slipped knots performed by fishermen. Longlines (and gillnets) which are
set in the ocean are several miles long. On deck they are kept in sections. The
attachment of these sections to each other requires temporary knots, which
have to withstand the dynamics of man-handling, sea currents and fishload.
Hence they are not only slipped, but also locked constructions. One of their