CHAPTER IV.
RING KNOTS AND ROPE SHORTENINGS.
Fig. 43.—Slippery Ring Knot.
Fig. 44.—Boat Knot.
Fig. 45.—Lark Boat Knot.
Often it is necessary to fasten a rope to a ring, and there are a variety of methods of doing this. Fig. 43, for instance, shows the end to be passed through the ring, and a bight put under the standing part; this is a ready way of temporarily fastening the painter of a boat to the ring of a pier; as in the stationer’s knot (Fig. 42, p. 41), a sharp pull at the end of the rope frees the painter at once. This is an excellent fastening for many purposes. The “boat knot” (Fig. 44) is another means of mooring a small boat. It is made in the same way as a marlinespike hitch (Fig. 40, p. 40), the only difference being that a thowl pin or other small piece of wood is put through the centre of the knot instead of a marlinespike. By withdrawing the pin the knot comes adrift of its own accord. Fig. 45 is another form of boat knot, called the “lark boat knot,” or “double boat knot.” This differs from the last knot, inasmuch as a bight, instead of a single end of rope, is put through the ring; a piece of wood is used to fasten it, as in the boat knot. It is rather the better knot of the two.
