Fig. 96.—Shroud Knot.
In making the “French shroud knot” unlay the ends and place the two ropes with the strands intermixed as before; bring one set of ends back on their own rope, and make a single wall knot with the other set of strands round the bights of the first set and the standing part. They can then be tapered and served as in an ordinary shroud knot.
For a “spritsail sheet knot,” unlay the two ends of a rope and bring the two sets of strands together side by side; these have to be walled together as for a common wall knot. A bight is made with the first strand, the second is put over the first, the third over the second, the fourth over the third, the fifth over the fourth, the sixth over the fifth and through the bight of the first; they are then hauled taut. Crown it by laying two of the strands along the top of the knot and passing the other strands alternately over and under these two, and afterwards hauling them taut. It may be double-walled after crowning by putting the strands successively under the bights on the left of them and through the same bights, and the ends will then come up in the right position to be crowned again. This is done by following the lead of the first crowning and putting the ends through the walling as before.
Fig. 97.—Beginning Turk’s Head.
The “buoy rope knot” can be made on a cable-laid rope only. Unlay the main strands, and take out one of the smaller strands, of which they are composed, from each of the large strands, and then lay them up again. The small strands that have been taken out are now single and double-walled round the rope, and then laid along the divisions after the manner of weaving, and their thin ends stopped with spun yarn. A stop should be put round the rope with the spun yarn where the knot is to be made before it is begun, and the walling should be right-handed.
Fig. 98.—Turk’s Head.
The “Turk’s Head” is a highly ornamental knot which, instead of being made out of the rope itself, is formed on the rope with a piece of small stuff. A clove-hitch (p. 32) is first made on the rope (Fig. 97); this must be slack enough to allow of the extra strands which will form part of it. Put part A over strand B, thus twisting the two strands; pass the end C under and up through the bight that B now forms, then twist again by putting B over A and run the end under and up through the bight of A. Continue twisting the strands by alternately putting one over the other, and at each twist bring the end under and up through the bight which is underneath, A at the beginning going over B; the bight which B makes will be the under one, and therefore the one through which the end C must be passed. The end C must be much longer than illustrated as the whole knot is made with this part, and as the knot when finished contains three groups of three strands each, it is obvious that the length of cord used must be more than nine times the circumference of the rope round which the knot is made. Having made a sufficient number of twists (the exact number depends on the size of the knot), lay the end C alongside D, where it comes out of the knot, and continue following its lead through all its turns as it goes through the knot until the beginning is reached again. There will now be a Turk’s head of two parts. If the end is again passed through by the side of the same strand as before, a complete Turk’s head of three parts will be formed. Care must be taken to keep the working strand close to and on the same side of the strand that is being followed, or a perfect knot cannot be formed. The first time round is the most difficult, the second is easy enough. Of course, the knot may consist of more parts if required, but three is the usual number. The ends do not require fastening in any way, as in the last round they finish in the middle of the knot under the coils, and are quite secure (see Fig. 98).
