Confessions of a novice fancy worker

[Mithril Bham]

Cool stuff. Knew a guy who could tie two one-handed bowlines behind his back. One with each hand.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by magellanyachts

Cool stuff. Knew a guy who could tie two one-handed bowlines behind his back. One with each hand.

Yeah, there must be more bowline tricks, and tricky ways to tie them, than any other knot.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by magellanyachts

Cool stuff. Knew a guy who could tie two one-handed bowlines behind his back. One with each hand.

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Yeah, there must be more bowline tricks, and tricky ways to tie them, than any other knot.

Let alone the basic ways .

A couple of years ago an elderley Greek seaman showed me the technique he has been taught as a youngster. It was downright strange, but it lead me to find the way I had been tying it for decades (the RYA & Boy Scouts method of follow the rabbit) is vastly inferior to the way old salts tie a bowline (pass the working end around the standing part and spill it up to form the initial small loop) .

SWL

[Seaworthy Lass]

Brion's instructions for a lanyard were a lot to take in in one hit, so last night I reread them at leisure to see what gems I had missed.

I found I had skipped a whole pattern: the Half Round Sinnet, which was supposed to make up the main length. My eyes had glazed over when I saw the word "sinnet", so I had just repeated the earlier French one .

So this morning I had a go weaving the Half Round Sinnet between two Matthew Walkers with adjacent French Sinnets for comparison (all in six strand still). It has a semicircular cross section and to my eye is far nicer than the flat weave of the French version. It is also far easier to keep the tension even. The flat braid is quite deceptive in that regard.

What would have looked better here is if I had woven the central sinnet first, then the Matthew Walkers either side, so that the flat tops of the latter were adjacent to the central portion. A baby step in the learning experience:

[UNCIVILIZED]

I need to snag a spool of cord myself. Like some Perlon. And if you find that the stuff you're working with is too stiff, you can try the trick of pulling out it's core. As with the smaller diameter lines, it tends to stay stiff enough to be good for knotwork without it.

BTW when making things like shackle release lanyards & such, it's sometimes helpful to make them out of the kind of cordage which has built in micro-reflectors. So that you can spot the lanyards easily in low lighting conditions.

Reading this thread has me unconsciously rubbing the permanent callouses on my fingers from pulling on lines over time. I can even file them off & within 2 days they're back, even with zero time handling lines during said interval. Guess my hands were made to sail

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

I need to snag a spool of cord myself. Like some Perlon. And if you find that the stuff you're working with is too stiff, you can try the trick of pulling out it's core. As with the smaller diameter lines, it tends to stay stiff enough to be good for knotwork without it.

BTW when making things like shackle release lanyards & such, it's sometimes helpful to make them out of the kind of cordage which has built in micro-reflectors. So that you can spot the lanyards easily in low lighting conditions.

Reading this thread has me unconsciously rubbing the permanent callouses on my fingers from pulling on lines over time. I can even file them off & within 2 days they're back, even with zero time handling lines during said interval. Guess my hands were made to sail

Pulling out the core is a brilliant tip. Many thanks.
I have a couple of 20m spools of 3mm double braid poly that I bought to practice with, but when I took off the wrapping it was so stiff it was unworkable. I have just cut off half a metre and pulled put the core and I now have something I can use.

I had to look up Perlon. It's apparently a type of nylon. May I ask why you would prefer it to paracord? I have never used paracord, but most of the fancy work I have found online seems to be made with this.

SWL

PS What type of cord had microreflectors?

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

Pulling out the core is a brilliant tip. Many thanks.
I have a couple of 20m spools of 3mm double braid poly that I bought to practice with, but when I took off the wrapping it was so stiff it was unworkable. I have just cut off half a metre and pulled put the core and I now have something I can use.

I had to look up Perlon. It's apparently a type of nylon. May I ask why you would prefer it to paracord? I have never used paracord, but most of the fancy work I have found online seems to be made with this.

SWL

PS What type of cord had microreflectors?

You're more than welcome for the de-coring tip. It's a handy one for all sorts of applications, & sizes of lines. Do it to some larger line & you get some outstanding cordage to use on things in a manner akin to a Prusik Hitch/Knot or Icicle Hitch. As the line cover grips even fairly smooth objects quite tenaciously.

For knot work, I've used both Paracord, & Perlon. I just like the Perlon because it comes in lots of pretty, decorative colors. And you can even use various colors to color code lanyard pulls on shackles, etc. Which helps newbies, or when you're tired.

Also, it comes in all different sizes, from about 1.5mm on up. So picking a size to best suit the task at hand is helpful. For example when I do a shackle lanyard, I use a larger diameter, so that it's easy to grip the lanyard with cold, gloved hands. But for a knife lanyard I'd likely use something thinner.

Plus, I've always been an outdoor guy. Not limited to just sailing. And they have Perlon in virtually any camping or mountaineering store. Which tend to have lots of other fun, & useful toys. For example I was sailing with headlamps purchased in said locales decades before they showed up in any nautical catalogs.

As to the reflective cordage, it too comes in a number of sizes. I did a quick search & got this Reflective Perlon Cord - Bing
And I found it in a mountaineering shop, decades ago, too. It makes it easier to avoid tripping over your tent guy lines. And even just to find your tent on those pitch black nights.
https://www.niteize.com/product/Reflective-Rope.asp
550 Paracord - Reflective Colors
https://www.rei.com/product/829844/m...ility-cord-kit


Edit: Another trick for loosening up stiff, non load critical lines, is to toss them in the washing machine for a few cycles. It gets some of the resins & coatings out of the line. Skip the bleach though.

[Stufft]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Yeah, there must be more bowline tricks, and tricky ways to tie them, than any other knot.

I found this on youtube and think it's much easier to tie a bowline using these methods.

https://youtu.be/ozskWrDM-F4

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

...
As to the reflective cordage, it too comes in a number of sizes. I did a quick search & got this Reflective Perlon Cord - Bing
And I found it in a mountaineering shop, decades ago, too. It makes it easier to avoid tripping over your tent guy lines. And even just to find your tent on those pitch black nights.
https://www.niteize.com/product/Reflective-Rope.asp
550 Paracord - Reflective Colors
https://www.rei.com/product/829844/m...ility-cord-kit


Edit: Another trick for loosening up stiff, non load critical lines, is to toss them in the washing machine for a few cycles. It gets some of the resins & coatings out of the line. Skip the bleach though.

That was my first thought for reflective cordage: got to an outdoor gear shop. Ive got it on my tents/hammocks for camping...has saved me on a few dark nights...some of it is highly reflective.

Would be a good idea for something you wanted visible in the night. Ive even seen phosphorecent line once, but no idea where to find that.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Stufft

I found this on youtube and think it's much easier to tie a bowline using these methods.

https://youtu.be/ozskWrDM-F4

That is an excellent video.

The first technique he shows is one he refers to as the Seaman style and the second the Cub Scout style (= following the rabbit).

Someone needs to forward that video to the RYA, as for some peculiar reason they widely teach and promote the Cub Scout version. Not knowing any better, I was using that myself until a couple of years ago.

The huge advantage with the Seaman style is that apart from it being a quicker, smoother, easier action, it means a bowline can easily be tied from any direction. You don't have to delay while you scratch your head and try to work out how to make that initial loop. People either then get it wrong, or commonly give up and either swirl the loop or themselves around to orient the line the familiar way. That may be suitable for Cubs, but it is not very suitable for Seamen .

SWL

[Stufft]

I like the last version he shows, how to tie up to piling with a bowline

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Stufft

I like the last version he shows, how to tie up to piling with a bowline

My husband finds that such an easy way of tying a bowline, that he uses it universally.

[Yellowtulip]

Originally Posted by Stufft

I found this on youtube and think it's much easier to tie a bowline using these methods.



https://youtu.be/ozskWrDM-F4

Is it just me or does anyone else find that unwhipped end intensely annoying?

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Yellowtulip

Is it just me or does anyone else find that unwhipped end intensely annoying?

It's not just you .

[Seaworthy Lass]

Armed with fledgeling skills, my task for this morning was to make a lanyard for my husband's camera, as the original webbing one had broken. I had a request for a loop at the end, so that a hand could be inserted through for security.

When used underwater, the lanyard needs to be removed. Unfortunately, the gap to push it through is dead narrow (it barely takes a 2mm bit of cord), so nothing braided can be used.

I made a simple loop that could be cow hitched on, but added 3 Double Lanyard Knots at the end. I think Ashley calls these Four-Lead Diamond Knots (ABOK #790), but they were tied in hand. They will help keep the lanyard from slipping through fingers if it is not looped on the wrist.

Below is the result.

I will see what I can think of to create a thicker, more ornate loop below the cow hitch, as this looks very plain, but for now it will serve the purpose .

SWL