Page 103 - Derek E. Avery - The new encyclopedia of knots

French bowline or Portuguese bowline: this is a very good knot, as it

produces two bights on a single end and it can be used as an alternative
or quick bosun’s chair, since a person can sit in one loop while the other
loop goes around the back to provide support. We have illustrated the
knot here on a much smaller scale for clarity.

The initial formation of the French bowline is exactly the same as for the
ordinary bowline (see page 21) with the tail being laid across the standing
part, which is lifted over to form the bight with the end automatically
taken up and through (figure 68.1). Now take the end in a complete full

turn and return it up through the loop (figure 68.2), around the standing
part and back through the bight (figure 68.3). Obviously for a bosun’s
chair the bights will need to be considerably larger than and of differing
sizes to those indicated here.

French sennit (four-stranded): begin by securing the four strands at the
top. In our illustration we arranged two lengths of cord side by side, then
formed a bight at the mid-point and seized the four lengths together at a

point that allowed for a small eye if required.

Working first with the inside left strand, take this over the inside right
strand, so that these two strands have swapped positions. Next take the
outside right strand over the inside right (remember this was originally the
inside left strand), and the outside left strand under the inside left strand
but over the inside right strand. These last two movements can now be
repeated: outside right over inside right, outside left under inside left and
over inside right, and so on until the required length is reached; figure 69

shows both the tightened plait, and lower down the loose plait, for clarity.