Thursday, February 19, 2015

How to tie a Bowline Knot


Thought I'd start to post some of my rope access techniques/skills, I'm sure some other engineers might be interested in learning some rope access  techniques/skills for when access is limited.

Here I'll quickly discuss the Bowline knot, which I use often for rope access, hiking and kayaking. CMC Rescue posted a great video on how to tie the bowline knot and you can watch it below. Usually seeing a knot being tied is much easier than reading how to do it.
The Bowline (ABOK # 1010, p 186) makes a reasonably secure loop in the end of a piece of rope. It has many uses, e.g., to fasten a mooring line to a ring or a post. Under load, it does not slip or bind. With no load it can be untied easily. Two bowlines can be linked together to join two ropes. Its principal shortcoming is that it cannot be tied, or untied, when there is a load on the standing end. It should therefore be avoided when, for example, a mooring line may have to be released under load.
There are a few variations of the bowling knot:
  • With a Safety Knot either in the Loop or Line
  • Yosemite Tie-off
  • Eskimo Bowline
  • Left Handed Bowline


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