Page 90 - Peter Randall "The Craft of the Knot.."

Chapter 6

NAUTICAL KNOTS

Different knots have different properties that make them useful for
specific tasks. Some knots are especially secure, while others are good
for quick release. Some are useful because they can be easily adjusted,
while others are preferred because they stay locked. Even the

appearance of a finished knot can be important, whether to confirm that
it has been tied correctly or for decoration.

Knots are an integral part of the sport and business of sailing—so
much so that many knots were first invented by sailors. In the days of
clippers and square-riggers, when the upper deck of a vessel was a maze
of ropes and cords, choosing and tying the correct knot—one that could
be relied upon to do its job—could literally mean the difference between
life and death.

On shipboard, knots and ropes still control such essential things as
sails, mooring, docking, anchoring, and ensuring that cargo will not shift
during the voyage. Knots were also used by sailors to mark their speed—

essential in the days when navigation was a less scientifically exact
procedure than today. The pilot or navigator would tie a cord to a piece
of wood, weighted so that it would float upright in the water and resist
the speed of the waves and of the vessel itself. Knots were tied in the
cord at a distance of 47 feet 3 inches from one another. The wood (or
“chip”) was tossed overboard and, as one sailor counted the time,
another played out the cord. The ship’s speed was thus calculated in

“knots”—a knot is approximately 1.85 kilometers per hour.
Sailors were also responsible for the spread of knots and knotting
techniques around the world, since their travels took them to all corners

of the globe. The knots you will find in the following pages are only a
small sampling of the infinite variety of knots we owe to the travels of
seafolk.