About Bowline Knots
The bowline knot is a knot that is used often for rescue and can be used to get someone out of a tight spot in situations where a climbing is not an option. This knot is fast and reliable under heavy stresses but if it is tied wrong, it can become a slipknot that cuts into the victim, increasing the risk of falling.
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Features
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The bowline knot is an essential knot for making a loop to tie down a constant load. It will not slip unless the load is constantly shifting or inconsistently applied. The bowline knot is used in rescue operations since it is a nonslip knot that allows a person to be hauled up using a thinner rope than could be climbed. It also allows safe removal of a person who may be in a weakened state without having to carry a basket to lift the person out (when rescue timing is important). This knot can also be used by boatmen when they don't want a slip knot, but it needs to be under constant load to be useful.
Varieties: Simple Bowline Knot
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Extend the rope down towards yourself. Grab the rope with the left hand and twist it counter clockwise to form a twist loop. In the right hand, grab the rope and insert it into the loop from the far side of the hole. Then, pull the tip of the rope up parallel to the rope above the original twist and wrap behind it. As soon as it crosses behind that section, bring it back through the original twist parallel to the piece that you inserted into the twist from behind. Tighten the knot leaving a loop at the bottom that is not the twist loop. Test the knot so that it does not slip or come loose before use in this example and all of the ones to follow. There is a mnemonic used in tying the bowline. After a quick loop made by twisting the rope, the tips of the rope (called a rabbit) comes out of the hole, around the tree, and back down the hole. This miniature story is more useful for remembering the knot than teaching it for the first time.
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Tips: A One-Handed Approach
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The one handed approach is good for tying the rope if there is only one hand available. Starting with the tip of the rope, this trick is done by crossing the hand over the rope with the tip in the hand. The resultant loop is entered by the hand from the back. As the wrist enters the large loop and straightens again, a twist loop is made around by the wrist. Use the fingers to slip the rope around above the twist (around the back) and then insert the tip back into the twisted loop. Remove the hand and then tighten the knot leaving a loop open at the bottom.
Try It Reversed
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The original bowline is known as the left handed bowline or a Dutch marine bowline, though it is easier for some right-handed people to tie. Take the rope in the right hand and twist it clockwise. Holt this twist loop in place with the left hand. With the right hand, take the tip of the rope and run it into the twist loop from underneath. Continue with the tip to go around the rope above the twist. As the tip emerges on the other side as it crosses behind the rope above the twist loop, return through the hole (twist loop). Tighten the rope. Notice that this knot is a chiral image (right and left hand mirror image) of the standard bowline knot.
Other Varieties
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There is a french double bowline that has two loops that slide back and forth so that two loops share the same overall length. There is slippage between the two even though the total length of the two loops remains the same. There is also the version that is called a "bowline on a bight" that has two loops and no slippage of either loop. The bowline on a bight is a knot that can be tied in the middle of a rope without having to have access to the tip of the rope.
Warning
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If any of these knots are tied wrong, they become slip knots. In the case of a potential rescue knot, the knot can go from being the secure knot that the person thought they had to a dangerous noose that tightens under the weight of the person being rescued. This knot needs a load to keep it tight and to not have a lot of wiggle stress placed on it since it is likely to come untied over time. Thus, this knot is suitable to use to haul people up but not as a climbing knot.
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- Photo Credit Photo by G. Baca
