Sailing knots every skipper needs

The eight knots and what each is for

1. Bowline. A fixed loop that won't slip or jam. Use it to drop a mooring line over a post, or to tie a sheet to the clew of a sail.
2. Figure-of-eight. A stopper knot in the end of a sheet or halyard.
3. Clove hitch. A quick, temporary hitch that is easy to adjust. The classic use is hanging fenders from the guardrail.
4. Round turn and two half hitches. Secure under load, and it can be untied while the load is still on. Use it to moor to a ring or post.
5. Reef knot. Ties two ends of the same line round something: reef points round a reefed sail, or sail ties.
6. Sheet bend. Joins two ropes. If they are different sizes, make the bight in the thicker one.
7. Rolling hitch. Grips a rope or spar against a pull along its length. It is how you take the load off a sheet to clear a riding turn on a winch.
8. Cleating a line. Holds firm and lets go quickly: the way to make fast a line you may need to free in a hurry.

Pick the knot for the job

Each knot has its own job. Joining two ropes is the sheet bend's work; the reef knot ties two ends of the same line round something. A clove hitch is quick but temporary, so for a line that will take a load, such as mooring to a ring, use a round turn and two half hitches, which you can still untie under load. And a line you may need to let go fast belongs on a cleat, which holds firm and releases quickly.

The rope matters too

Knots behave differently in different rope, so it helps to know what is on board.

• Laid rope is usually three strands with a right-handed twist. Braided rope is woven; core-and-cover rope has a core that takes most of the load inside a protective cover.
• Nylon is strong and stretchy and absorbs water, losing 10–15% of its strength wet: suited to anchor and mooring lines.
• Polyester has about 90% of nylon's strength but stretches less and is unaffected by water, with better UV and abrasion resistance: the usual choice for sheets and halyards.
• Polypropylene is cheap and light and floats, but has limited resistance to UV, heat and friction: floating lines.
• HMPE (Dyneema, Spectra) is a high-performance fibre.

Mooring lines, springs and anchoring, where most of these knots go to work, are taught in Module 16: Anchoring & mooring.