Page 167 - Derek E. Avery - The new encyclopedia of knots

S

Safe working load: the estimated load that a rope can bear without

breaking, taking into consideration its condition and age, as well as the
knots used in it and the purpose to which it is being put; see also breaking
strength.

Sailmaker’s whipping: not as secure as needle and palm whipping (see
page 120), but an acceptable alternative when a needle is not available.

Make a bight with the whipping twine around a single strand of rope,
pulling it down to the bottom of where the whipping will begin. Then
take both ends out between the other two strands, retaining a bight.

Lay all three strands of the rope together, twisting them between your
thumb and forefinger if necessary to get them to lie better together. They
can be held while the turns are taken with the whipping twine, working

back towards the end of the rope. Now, holding the whipping tightly,
take the original bight formed in the twine at the foot of the whipping,
and slip it over the end of the strand it was formed around. Then haul this
tight by pulling on the end projecting from the lay beneath the whipping.
Weave this end to the top of the whipping and tie it with the other end

of the twine (figure 111), pulling tight the twine to complete the
whipping.