A person learned to use nodes of varying complexity and names in everyday life for a long time. Even in mythology and history, the node found a display. The famous concept of the "Gordian knot" has become synonymous with a decisive and uncompromising solution to a complex (in this case, confusing) issue. Legend has it that King Gordius, the ruler of Phrygia, managed to tie such a cunning knot that the oracles predicted world power to the one who could untie it. Young Alexander the Great did not bother with the intricate knot, but grabbing the sword, cut the Gordian knot in one motion. This is already a historical fact tied to the date - 334 BC.
Everyone knows what Alexander the Great achieved after that. But it turned out that proven by constant use in domestic conditions, reliable and fixing knots for connecting torn ends of ropes or for tying laces are absolutely not suitable for use in marine practice, where there are immeasurably more unique "designs" of knots. The history of knots has been written since ancient times, including the reign of the Incas and Pharaohs. The arbor knot, discovered by archaeologists on the rigging of the personal ship of the well-known Pharaoh Cheops, only confirms this, and the bleached knot that adorned the entrance to the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun makes this a fact. A distinctive feature of the sea knot is the speed of knitting, reliability of use and ease of untiing.
It is also easy to untie the sea knot (it is torn apart, as the sailors say), after sustaining many tons of effort, you just have to pull the free tip effortlessly. The art of knotting has been perfected over the centuries, which eventually crystallized into several dozen knot designs that are still used in maritime business today. There are terms, without the knowledge of which it is simply impossible to master the skill of knitting. Actually, there are two of them, according to the number of ends of the ropes involved in creating the construction of the knots. The fixed part of the rope is the root end, the part of the rope that remains free and is used in work is the running end. It will be useful to know that the name "rope" is not used in nautical terminology, usually the word "end" is used.
Straight sea knots, reef knots, gazebo (double arbor), clew, bram-clew, bluster, bleached, slack (double slack), constrictor and boa constrictor (from Latin - "boa constrictor"), stranglehold, Kalmyk, flat , welding, boat, cat's paws, barrel, fishing eight, fishing bayonet, retractable bayonet, stepped, Flemish, surgical, retractable, bayonet (bayonet with a hose) - these are not all the names of sea knots. As can be seen from the names themselves, it is not always difficult to determine the purpose of the knot, but mastering the skill of knitting it is already a science that it is desirable to master also for those who sometimes go to sea on charter yacht with friends. By the way, there is a knot with two tightening loops. Its name is simple - drunk. The semantic designation corresponds to its intended purpose - rope handcuffs for roaming sailors.
All sea knots are used for specific purposes, which made it possible to divide them into categories:
The Russian sailing fleet has always kept the best traditions of sailors of all times. Long-term service on sailing ships, working with sails and tackle of running rigging, contributed to mastering the skill of knitting sea knots in practical application. Huge sailing ships (for example "Sedov" or "Kruzenshtern") carried tackles and ropes with a total length of several tens of thousands of meters. An experienced boatswain of the Russian fleet, possessing vast experience, could knit the most difficult knots in a matter of seconds, and old-time sailors did not lag behind in this. For twenty-five years of service in the navy, sailors mastered the skill of knotting to such an extent that in their free time they organized competitions on the ability to tie any knot required in a particular situation, with their eyes closed. This skill really contributed to the survival of sailboats in the worst storms.
Technological progress has pressed sails, but the sea knot, oddly enough, has not disappeared from the everyday life of sailors. Moreover, the naval knot perfectly "took root" on modern ocean liners and the navy, and even submariners use naval knots. It is not worth mentioning the sailors who are constantly working with sails. Why? Yes, you simply cannot moor without ropes and cables, even a nuclear-powered ship cannot do without a line, rope or cable in the sea. And how can they be connected, lengthened, and repaired? So the need for special designs from ropes does not disappear. About four thousand fastening operations used in marine practice require a similar number of nodes. Impressive? And if you consider that the marine unit, in accordance with the current safety standards, is obliged to withstand fourteen times the load, you begin to understand how important it is. Interest in sea knots in the XX century did not fade away, but moved to a new level. Even the foundations of nauzistics were formed - a science that studies knots, their classification, methods of knitting. It is quite natural that one of the first sections of training in a sailing school is devoted to teaching beginner yachtsmen to knit sea knots. After all, if you believe the scientific research of patriots and researchers of maritime affairs, the invention of the sea knot is comparable in significance with the invention of the wheel for all other transport. Among the first disciplines studied by midshipmen are nautical knots, the use of which is appropriate both for mooring and for belaying, for attaching a cable to the hook.
Simple straight knot - used to splicate two ends, most effective if the spliced ends are approximately the same in diameter and flexibility. The main condition is both lead ends stretch in different directions. First, both ends are intertwined in the simplest way, then a loop is made at one end, and a loop is drawn around with the running end, with the end winding inward. When tightened, a simple knot is obtained.
Bulin (arbor knot) - is often called the king among the knots of the sea. By incorporating the elements of various nautical knots, the arbor knot has become almost universal. The bowline is easy to knit, it never twitches itself, it is easily untied and does not slip along the cable. An additional plus is the possibility of using an arbor marine assembly for cables of any diameter made of any material. Tying the bow knot is quite simple: create a loop from the top down and stretch the running end through it. Then the running end is passed behind the root end, and again threaded into the loop, after which the running end should be in another loop. The construction is tight, the bowline is ready. It is even easier to untie it: you just need to slightly shift the loop of the running end in relation to the previously weakened root end.
Eight - underlies many knots, and it is usually used as a knot - a stopper or anchoring knot. Named for its shape, the knot can be easily tied and untied even if the cable gets wet. The figure-eight tie is not difficult: the running end is carried around the root end, and then pulled over it, forming a loop. The running end is passed into the formed loop, before that, having wound it behind itself, and tightened tightly.
Another simple but necessary knot is a simple half-bayonet. A half-bayonet is used to bind to any fixed object (berth, yacht structural element, etc.). The running end is wrapped around the object (a hose is made), then the same running end is wrapped around the root end and passed into the formed loop. Further, the running end is attached to the root end. Despite its simplicity, the half-bayonet proved to be a reliable nautical knot capable of withstanding strong thrust.
According to experts 2yachts, there are more complex variations of the half-bayonet knot used in specific situations. It can be a simple bayonet or a simple bayonet with a hose.
The selection of naval knots took place in the most difficult conditions, when sailboats were caught in such storms and hurricanes, in which every second of delay with a tightened knot could cost the life of the whole crew. It is not surprising that in our time they use sea knots, which simply and easily fit, and tear without effort.