Page 178 - Derek E. Avery - The new encyclopedia of knots

Start to form a thumb knot (see page 171), but pull through only a bight

taken in the working end, instead of the whole working end. This bight is
then secured by the thumb knot when tightened.

figure 121

Slipped reef knot: the slip contained within the reef knot enables the
knot to be undone in a hurry by simply pulling on the slipped end.

Form it in the same way as a reef knot (see page 130), left over right, right
over left, but without pulling through one end, leaving it as a bight which

is then secured (figure 121) like a reef bow used for tying shoe laces (see
page 130).

Soft lay or loose lay: a rope is said to be soft laid when it has been loosely
twisted.

figure 122.1

Spanish bowline: made on the bight, it is put to good use where
conditions call for both of the standing parts to be under load.

Begin by finding the centre of the rope, and lay it out as three bights
(figure 122.1) with the much larger central bight formed with the left part
over the right, while the two smaller outer bights are turned inwards.
Take the top bight and fold it down to lie across the other two bights and

the two standing parts (figure 122.2). Now spread the outer edges of the
larger bight outwards to encompass the two smaller bights, up through