Ropes and Knots E-Book

Charles Stronge

• Herausgeber: Amber Books Ltd
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 200

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

A simple rope can be a lifesaver in a survival situation. Knowing how to use a rope and make effective knots will help you in an amazing variety of ways – from constructing shelters and creating weapons, to fishing and hunting. Most important, ropes and knots act as lifelines in dangerous environments, such as when crossing a fast-flowing river or scaling a mountainside. Ropes and Knots draws on the skills of the world’s best soldiers to teach you how to use these essential tools in the wilderness. Tried and tested techniques used by the world’s special forces give you expert advice on issues such as: how to take care of ropes, the most useful knots to use in a survival situation, how to make your own ropes out of animal tendons or plants, how to use your rope effectively when climbing, how to lash together a log raft or a shelter.

Leseprobe

ROPES

AND

KNOTS

SAS and Elite Forces Guide

CHARLES STRONGE

This digital edition first published in 2019

Published by Amber Books Ltd United House North Road London N7 9DP United Kingdom

Website: www.amberbooks.co.ukInstagram: amberbooksltdFacebook: amberbooksTwitter: @amberbooks

Copyright © 2015 Amber Books Ltd

ISBN: 978-1-78274-101-5

Picture CreditsAll illustrations © Amber Books Ltd

All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages for the purpose of review no part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission from the publisher. The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without any guarantee on the part of the author or publisher, who also disclaim any liability incurred in connection with the use of this data or specific details.

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CONTENTS

Introduction

1. Basic Ropecraft

2. Using Ropes and Knots in Mountains

3. Using Ropes to Build Rafts and Shelters

4. Useful Knots for Rescue, Fishing and Trapping

5. Using Ropes and Lines at Sea

6. Directory of Knots

Glossary and Final Notes

Index

INTRODUCTION

Although we tend to think of knots in purely practical terms, they have a significance stretching back into the mists of time. The ancient Egyptians were probably the first civilization to manufacture rope on an industrial scale; they needed large amounts of rope for hauling the huge stones that went into building the pyramids and other structures. The first recorded use of hemp, which was to become a staple for the sailing navies of Europe, was in China in about 2800 BC. The skills developed by the Egyptians, Chinese and others gradually spread throughout the known world. Ropes and knots would have been used by the earliest fishermen for everything from making fishing nets and rigging to creating slings for glass pots.

Anyone who is involved in a range of outdoor activities will soon realize the importance of knots, whether they be for camping, climbing, sailing, fishing or outdoor survival. Our ancient ancestors would have used knots for building shelters or setting traps. For recreational purposes, their families would have applied knots in decorations, for braiding, platting and so on. Some cultures, such as the Chinese, even used knots as a way of recording information, and it is possible that China’s early written symbols developed from such knots. There is evidence to suggest that the early Inca civilization also used a system of knots for encoding and presenting data – this ‘language’ of knot symbols was known as khipu.

Complexity of knots

Although it is often taken for granted that at a relatively early age we should be able to tie our shoe laces, the processes involved nonetheless require a particularly complex coordination between hands, eyes and brain. This most common of actions involves spatial awareness, manual dexterity, logic and memory, and it remains a task beyond the most powerful robots. Knots have also challenged advanced mathematicians. The patterns in which they are tied and the reasons for their relative levels of efficiency are the subject of ongoing research. The effects of knots upon the material in which they are tied, be it natural rope or man-made materials, is also the subject of investigation, for a knot almost invariably weakens the rope to which it is applied, no matter how efficient the knot. It remains to be seen whether science, including nano-technology, can produce a material in which the knot is no longer the weakest link, and may even be the strongest point.

Knots are like a language of their own, a script in rope, and they require practice to perfect, like good handwriting. Knots are rightly linked to professionalism and expertise in certain disciplines. Sailors over the ages, whether in the merchant or fighting navies, would not have travelled very far without a good knowledge of knots. For sailors, knots could mean the difference between life and death, as lines and sheet needed to be secured correctly, lest a ship be left stranded in a confusion of flapping sails.

The climber’s lifeline

Who more than a climber could claim to be at the mercy of the last knot they tied? For climbers, ‘tying-in’ uses the first in a long sequence of knots which they will rely upon while defying gravity, testing their physical strength and mental determination to the limit as they hang hundreds of feet above ground level on either sun-baked rock faces or ice-covered mountain sides. If a climber should fall, that same series of knot arrangements may save their lives, whether to the last anchor point in the rock face or to a belayer on the ground, all of which must have been tied on or knotted correctly.

When Thor Heyerdahl set about proving his theory that the South Sea Island had been populated by people from Peru, he created a seaworthy craft – the Kon-Tiki – that could have been made by the inhabitants of modern Peru in about 500 AD. It was an important principle of the expedition that only natural materials would be used. Having travelled to the Peruvian jungle and cut down balsa trees to make the craft, he immediately secured the logs with tough jungle climbing plants before floating the logs down a river to a naval base. He applied the ropes and the knots, rudimentary as they were, that would have been used by people about two thousand years previously. Jungle lianas were also used by Heyerdahl to make the finished raft. Hemp ropes lashed together the nine logs that constituted the hull. There were no nails or any other form of metal or wire attachment. About 300 different lengths of rope were involved, each of which had to be securely knotted to bind the craft into a whole. The masts for the sail also had to be lashed together securely. Centre boards were bound into place, providing small keels for directional stability. It goes without saying that everything on this raft, including the lives of the men aboard, depended on the successful performance of the natural ropes and the knots that bound them.

Despite all the efforts of the voyage team, experienced seamen who came to see the raft before they departed said the ropes they had used would never hold, and that they would need wire and chains if they were to have any chance of successfully making the trip. Once underway, ropes and knots were also used for the basic safety of the crew, to prevent them from being washed overboard.

Reaching safety

At sea, and having accustomed themselves to the movement of the raft and the difficulties of steering in rough seas, the team became fully aware that there was constant movement throughout the vessel, with some logs rising up, while others went down. The ropes held everything together and kept the raft from literally falling apart. Fortunately, the balsa wood was soft enough to allow the ropes to wear grooves in it, rather than the ropes becoming worn themselves, as would have happened with harder wood such as oak.

In due course, the ropes became looser with the continuous movement and pressure. The ropes that held the masts were also under strain. However, the entire construction held together long enough for the vessel to reach a Polynesian island and withstand the tearing force of the waves as they crashed over a coral reef. As big seas flowed over them, the crew hung on to their ropes for safety. Thor Heyerdahl described himself as gripping on ‘like a knot on a stay’. Despite hitting the coral reef under enormous pressure from the sea, the raft was held together by its ropes and knots. Even when the raft became a wreck, stuck on the reef, it remained intact.

I have described this adventure in detail because it underlies much of what this book is about—knots and ropes in practical contexts. The historical importance of knots is emphasized here as much as their importance in the present. The crew of the Kon-Tiki entrusted their lives to ropes and knots that would have been used in 500 AD.

Elite soldiers and special forces units across the world have also entrusted their lives to knots and ropes, as their specialist skills often involve mountaineering, advanced water craft and other relevant talents. The very same skills that were used in the Kon-Tiki expedition for lashing balsa wood logs together are also used by special forces and others for creating log rafts and shelters. Sophisticated deployment methods used by elite and special forces include fast-roping, which also involves an intimate knowledge of rope management.

There are many varieties of knot, and new knots and new ways of tying them are constantly being devised. There are books that claim to provide a comprehensive list of all the knots ever invented. This book is different, for although it provides an extensive directory of knots at the back, its main focus is on the sort of knots you would use in real life situations, and also in situations that involve risk-taking and survival.

The US Navy SEALs (Sea, Air Land) unit have to learn five essential knots as part of their basic training, these being the square knot (reef knot), bowline, clove hitch, rightangle knot and Becket bend. As the SEALs are one of the top elite units in the world, you would expect something a bit extra from their knottying skills, and you would be right. As part of their training, recruits are required to tie these knots in water at a minimum depth of 15m (50ft).

Going further back into history, when the Royal Navy dominated the seas of the world, one William Falconer, the son of an Edinburgh barber, served as a midshipman on Royal Navy ships in the eighteenth century, including as a midshipman on the Royal George. Falconer compiled The Universal Marine dictionary, which includes a number of the knots mentioned in this book.

Good seamanship

If they were listed in Falconer’s dictionary, it was because they were expected knowledge for anyone from an ordinary seaman upwards on one of the navy’s ships. Here is the entry for the bowline, one of the most widely used of knots, which we will come across later:

‘BOWLINE (bouline, Fr.) a rope fastened near the middle of the leech, or perpendicular edge of the square sails, by three or four subordinate parts, called bridles. It is only used when the wind is so unfavourable that the sails must all be braced sideways, or close-hauled to the wind: in this situation the bowlines are employed to keep the weather, or windward, edges of the principal sails tight forward and steady, without which they would always be shivering, and rendered incapable of service.’

And you thought the bowline was just a knot …

Indeed, many knots have a long and distinguished history. We have already seen how the Kon-Tiki expedition would never have achieved or proved anything without knots. Many knots have a variety of names associated with their different historical applications, such as the manharness knot, artilleryman’s loop, harness loop or manharness hitch— basically all the same knot, originally devised for dragging pieces of artillery. The knots could also be used for tethering horses.

Not all the historical terms have survived throught to the modern era. Although we are familiar with the general term ‘hitch’, some of the hitches used by navies of old are not so familiar, as the following quotation from an eighteenth-century British naval manual demonstrates:

‘HITCHES. CLOVE-HITCH is two half hitches, one at the back of the other, made by the rattlings round the shrouds, and by buoy ropes round the anchors. BLACKWATER HITCH. Take the end of a rope, or fall of a tackle, round the back of a tackle hook, and jamb it underneath the standing part. HALF-HITCH. Pass the end of a rope over the standing part, and through the bight, and lay it up to the standing part; and repeat it for two half hitches. MAGNUS HITCH.

Take two round turns through the ring of an anchor, &c. and bring the end over the standing part, then round the ring and through the bight. MIDSHIPMAN’S-HITCH. Take a half hitch round the standing part, and a round turn above the hitch, which jambs tight. It is mostly tied to make fast the sheets of sailing boats. RACKING HITCH, for shortening slings. Lay the bight over both parts, and turn it over several times; then hook the tackle through the bights. ROLLING HITCH. Take two round turns round a mast, &c. and make two half hitches on the standing part. TIMBER-HITCH. Lay the end over the hauling part, and pass it through the bight; then take several turns round the standing part, and stop the end. The bigth serves as a sling for bales, drawing of timber &c.’

This is just one entry in the book, which provides comprehensive coverage of rigging and seamanship for the British eighteenth-century navy. It shows us again that the correct use of knots, each knot adapted for different purposes, was absolutely central to the successful performance of a ship, whether going about its ordinary duties or engaged in battle. Like the US Navy SEALs, who learn to tie knots in difficult conditions, the sailors who were expected to tie the knots listed in the extract above would have done so while clinging on to the rigging in storms and extreme cold, while also dealing with the movement of the ship. Such ‘topmen’ were highly prized professionals. In their spare time, they would sometimes invent new knots for use in practical circumstances or pass the time making decorative knots.

Ropes and knots for survival

So, although knots seem in many respects to be basic to our human civilization and development, linking us to ancient history, they continue to be highly technical tools that must be learned by military and naval personnel, climbers and sailors, in order to carry out complex tasks where risk to life is involved. Fumbling with knots or getting them wrong is simply not an option for professionals in a survival or emergency situation. This book will cover many of the most practical ways in which these knots are used in action.

Natural sources of rope

All sorts of natural fibres are used to create ropes with, and plants are one of the main source materials.

A knot is a method of fastening or securing linear material such as rope by tying or interweaving. It may consist of a length of one or several segments of rope, string, webbing, twine or strap.

1

Knots are essential in many activities. Even simple tasks such as running a load from the hardware store to home can turn into disaster if a clumsy twist in a cord passes for a knot.

Basic Ropecraft

Rope has been made since ancient times from a range of natural materials. As mentioned in the introduction, natural lianas from the jungle and hemp rope proved to be adequate in holding a raft together for a major sea journey. Flax, papyrus, sisal, manila, coir (coconut hair), horse and camel hair, date palms, reeds, esparto grass, wool and silk are some of the variety of natural fibres available. Hemp rope is made from the leaves of sisal and abaca plants. Hemp was used by navies over the centuries and it was a vital part of national security that hemp should be procured so that ships could function properly. Due to the fact that natural rope fibres tend to wear relatively quickly and to be affected by exposure to water, those responsible for ship supplies were constantly on the look out for supplies from places as far afield as Italy and Russia. For the British Royal Navy, the best quality hemp came from the Baltic.

The invention of man-made fibre ropes and cords meant that a number of issues connected with natural fibres were overcome. Manmade fibres were generally stronger, less prone to wear, absorbed water less and were less likely to be affected by mildew. From the invention of nylon in the 1930s, the range of man-made fibres has grown to include polyamide, polyester, polypropylene and polyethylene. One of the latest materials to be used in rope construction is Aramid, a heat-resistant synthetic fibre also used in the construction of body armour, which is used as the core material, covered by a sheath made from another material such as Polyester.

Types of rope

Common materials for rope include natural fibres such as manila hemp, hemp, linen, cotton, coir, jute, and sisal.

• Nylon is the strongest of all ropes in common use. When stretched it has a ‘memory’ for returning to its original length. It does not float so is ideal for maritime use, e.g. with anchors.

• Polyester is very close to nylon in strength when a steady force is applied. However, unlike nylon, polyester stretches very little and therefore cannot absorb shock loads as well.

• Polypropylene is the only rope which floats. For this reason, it is very popular for pool markers and water sports.

• Manila is a hard natural fibre especially resistant to sunlight. It is very popular for public utility construction and repair because it will not melt on contact with hot wires or equipment like synthetics do.

The use of advanced man-made fibres has meant that ropes have generally become thinner, without losing strength in proportion. However, thinner ropes are more liable to breaking in extreme circumstances, such as when a rope is run over a rough edge. On the whole, however, a well made modern rope is very unlikely to break.

Of the natural fibres, the polyamides include nylon, which has maximum strength when dry, losing some strength when wet. Because nylon does not float, it is often used for shipping or boat use and it has an element of elasticity. Nylon is therefore ideal for a tow rope where its elasticity absorbs some of the shock when the load is taken up.

Polyester, although it does not stretch as much as nylon rope, retains its strength when wet. Like nylon, it does not float and it is generally hard-wearing.

Overhand knot

This is a basic knot to learn and forms the basis of many other knots. It can be tied in thread as well as rope and is generally secure.

Polypropylene rope varies according to the way it is constructed but in general it is used where it is useful for the rope to float, such as a line to a rescue buoy. They are also used as mooring lines.

Construction

Rope is usually laid or twisted, with three strands given a right-handed twist. A right-handed twist rope is also known as a ‘Z’ twist, while a lefthanded twist is known as an ‘S’ twist. A rope is built up from the initial fibre stage, through twisting these into yarns, which are then in turn twisted into strands. The strands can in turn be twisted tin a pattern of either three (hawser-laid), four (shroud-laid) or five (cable-laid).

The modern man-made fibre ropes are made in a different way. Known as braided rope, this may involve typically an inner core of strands which are then sheathed with an outer abrasion-resistant cover. As with laid rope, there are variations in braided rope, namely single braid, double braid or solid braid.

Another form of rope is kermantle rope, whose particular construction lends itself to climbing and other activities, such as sailing, where a strong, reliable rope is required.

Multiple overhand knot

This is one of many variations on the overhand knot. The multiple overhand knot involves several wraps, though it should be noted that it does not increase the diameter of the knot.

Kermantle ropes are often used for climbing and are often constructed in such a way as to create an element of stretch, in order to absorb shock loads. Kermantle ropes are also available without the stretch quality.

Going beyond normal usage, plaited ropes are usually sets of either eight or sixteen nylon ropes that are woven together in pairs to form equipment for mooring large ships and similar uses.

Figure of eight knot

This knot is a mainstay in both the climbing and sailing worlds. It is mainly A used as a stopper knot and has the advantage over the overhand knot of not jamming when placed under strain.

Tools

There are a variety of tools specific to rope making whereas some, such as pliers, scissors or needles, are more familiar. Gripfids and Swedish fids are used for prising apart rope strands or pulling strands through knots. A marline spike can be used for splicing wire and wire loops can be used in a similar way to fids.

Rope care

It is important to both store rope and coil it in the right way so as to avoid the dangers, particularly for natural fibres, of damp and also a whole range of other harmful effects, such as exposure to chemicals or extreme cold. Apart from anything else, a correctly coiled rope should be efficient to use when required, as for example when throwing a line from a boat. Ropes can suffer damage from being walked on or otherwise crushed in any way. The lifespan of a rope can be extended by regular cleaning for washing, followed by careful drying, especially if the rope has been exposed to salt water.

The correct coiling of ropes is taught in either formal or informal boat and ship handling or in climbing. The good habits and discipline acquired are not just for show but have a practical purpose, to ensure that they can be used efficiently when required. The correct coiling of ropes for different disciplines will be discussed under the relevant chapter headings later in the book.

Terms used in the tying of knots

The active part of the rope or cord used in tying is referred to as the working end. The static part of the rope or cord is known as the standing part. When a rope is looped round so that two parts of the rope come together, this is called a bight.

1. Stopper knots

These knots have a variety of uses. They can be used to prevent the end of a rope from fraying; for decoration; to provide a handhold, for example in a safety line; to provide weight at the end of a line for throwing or to keep it hanging straight; and to stop a rope from passing through a hole, such as a block on a boat.

Examples of stopper knots include:

a. The overhand knot, which is often used both as a handhold and as a stopper.

b. The multiple overhand knot is often used as a form of decoration.

c. The figure-of-eight knot is a very common knot, which is often used as a stopper.

2. Bends

A bend is where two pieces of rope are joined together on a temporary basis. They are usually tied with two pieces of rope of equal diameter, though some can be adapted for rope of different diameters.

a. Sheet bend: this is perhaps the most commonly used knot for joining two pieces of rope.

b. Carrick bend: this is especially useful for joining together large ropes or cable.

c. Fisherman’s knot: this is a commonly used knot for joining two lines together on a boat or elsewhere.

3. Binding knots

As their name suggests, these knots are used for binding pieces of material together and they are often found in the construction of shelters or rafts (as will be seen in a later chapter).

a. Square lashing: this is used, for example, where two pieces of wood cross at right angles.

b. Diagonal lashing: used to bind two pieces of wood in a cross brace.

c. Sheer lashing: this can be used, for example, when binding the splayed wooded legs of a support.

Sheet bend

This knot goes back a long way and has its roots in sailing where one sheet was joined to another. The knot is adaptable and can work equally well with sheets or ropes of different diameters.

Carrick bend