Fig. 32 is a “racking hitch,” for hitching a rope on to the hook of a block. Two bights are made in a rope, these are turned over from the operator two or three times, and the two loops are put on to the hook. This is sometimes called a “cat’s paw.”
Fig. 33.—Slippery Hitch.
Fig. 34.—Carrick Bend.
The value of the “slippery hitch” (Fig. 33) consists in the readiness with which it can be cast off in case of emergency; at the same time, it holds securely while there is a strain on the rope A. If the mainsheet of small boats is made fast at all, always a more or less risky proceeding, a slippery hitch should always be used as a start. A sharp pull at the end of the rope lets the sheet go at once.
For the “carrick bend” (Fig. 34) lay the end of a rope over the standing part to form a loop; put the end of another rope under the bight over the standing part at A, under the end at B, over the rope again at C, under its own part, and over the rope B, and haul taut. The parts A and B form the first loop made. This bend generally is used for binding hawsers together, to increase their length for warping or towing. It can be undone readily without the aid of a pricker or marlinespike, which would have to be used for many knots after they had been in the water. As in the sailor’s knot, it is only necessary to grasp the ropes just outside the knot, and push the loops inwards, and the knot comes adrift at once.
Fig. 35.—Bending Sheet to Clew of Sail.
Fig. 35 shows the clew of a sail, and the method of bending the sheet on to it. This is termed a “sheet bend.” The sheet is not, as many suppose, a part of the sail, but is a rope used in setting a sail, to keep the clew or lower corner of the sail down to its place. In making a sheet bend, the end is passed up through the clew, round the back of it, under its own part, and over the clew again. The end is generally stopped to the standing part with rope- yarn or other small stuff. The knot thus formed is exactly the same as the weaver’s knot (Fig. 10, p. 21). Fig. 36 shows a method of giving additional security to this knot. The end is passed twice round the back of the loop before putting it under its own part. This knot is very much used by fishermen in bending a line on to a loop of gut.