CHAPTER IV
NOOSES, LOOPS AND MOORING KNOTS
Nothing is more interesting to a landsman than the manner in which a sailor handles huge, dripping hawsers or cables and with a few deft turns makes then fast to a pier-head or spile, in such a way that the ship's winches, warping the huge structure to or from the dock, do not cause the slightest give or slip to the rope and yet, a moment later, with a few quick motions, the line is cast off, tightened up anew, or paid out as required.
Clove hitches, used as illustrated in Fig. 55, and known as the "Waterman's Knot," are often used, with a man holding the free end, for in this way a slight pull holds the knot fast, while a little slack gives the knot a chance to slip without giving way entirely and without exerting any appreciable pull on the man holding the end.
"Larks' Heads" are also used in conjunction with a running noose, as shown in Fig. 56,
while a few turns under and over and around a cleat, or about two spiles, is a method easily understood and universally used by sailors (Fig. 57).
