Fig. 19.—Crabber’s Eye Knot.
The “crabber’s knot” (Fig. 19) is a curious and not very well known knot, but it is unlikely to part when strained. To make it, bring the end back to form a loop, taking it first under and then over the standing part, up through the main loop, over the standing part again, and up through its own bight. Before the turns are hauled into their places, the knot will slip on the part A, as in an ordinary slip knot; but if the part B is hauled upon, the strand A, which passes through the centre of the knot, rises, and the coil which goes round it jams, making the knot secure: so that it may be used as a running knot or otherwise, as desired. This is also called a running knot with crossed ends.
Fig. 20.—Bowline Knot.
The “bowline knot” (Fig. 20) cannot slip, and is therefore always used for slinging a man for the purpose of doing some particular piece of work; the workman sits in the sling. The end is first laid back over the standing part, so as to form a loop; the end is then passed up through the loop, round the back of the standing part, and down through the loop again. Hauling on the end and the standing part makes the knot taut.
A modification of this knot, called a “Bowline on a Bight,” is shown by Fig. 21. The loop is made as in the previous knot, only with the two parts of a doubled rope; the bight is then passed up through the loop, opened, and turned backwards over the rest of the knot, when it appears as illustrated. To untie it, draw the bight of the rope up until it is slack enough, and bring the whole of the other parts of the knot up through it, when it will readily come adrift. If the standing parts of the rope are held fast, it puzzles the uninitiated to undo it.
Fig. 21.—Running Bowline on Bight.
A “Running Bowline” has the knot made on the end after it has been passed round the standing part, thus forming a loop through which the main rope will run. Two ropes may be joined together by making a bowline in the end of one of them, and putting the end of the other through the bight, and forming with it another bowline on its own part. This is often used to join hawsers together.
