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With the introduction of the nautical mile as a standard unit of measure at sea in the 15th century, they began to mark the line at equal intervals proportional to the nautical mile and to the time interval used for measurement. Initially, the markings were simply knots in the line. Later, sailors worked knotted cords into the log-line.
A Turk's head knot, sometimes known as a sailor's knot, is a decorative knot with a variable number of interwoven strands forming a closed loop. The name refers to a general family of knots, not an individual knot. While this knot is typically made around a cylinder, it can also be formed into a flat, mat-like shape.
The bowline knot is thought to have been first mentioned in John Smith's 1627 work A Sea Grammar under the name Boling knot. Smith considered the knot to be strong and secure, saying, "The Boling knot is also so firmly made and fastened by the bridles into the cringles of the sails, they will break, or the sail split before it will slip."
A decorative or ornamental knot (also fancy knot [1]) is an often complex knot exhibiting repeating patterns. A decorative knot is generally a knot that not only has practical use but is also known for its aesthetic or ornamental qualities. [ 2 ]
While they were a popular way of boarding a vessel or carrying out shipside maintenance during the era of wooden ships, and even as recently as the 1950s, their use today on board modern merchant ships is minimal due to obvious safety issues. Today, Jacob's ladders are used only to board lifeboats and liferafts and as a draft ladder. [4]
All nautical instruments designed to measure the speed of a ship through water are known as logs. [1] This nomenclature dates back to days of sail when sailors tossed a log attached to rope knotted at regular intervals off the stern of a ship. The sailors would count the number of knots that passed through their hands in a given period of time.
Weaver at Queen Street Mill demonstrating a weaver's knot Steps in tying a weaver's knot. The sheet bend may be tied by various methods: the basic "rabbit through the hole" method of forming a half hitch in the bight of the larger rope, by a more expedient method shown in Ashley as ABoK #1431 (similar to the method used by an experienced sailor or mountaineer to tie a bowline) or by a trick ...
The Ashley Book of Knots identifies these two variations as "Rolling Hitch (1)" and "Rolling Hitch (2)" and numbers them #1734 and #1735 respectively. Despite the potential for confusion with the older usage, Ashley chose the name "Magnus Hitch" to refer to knot #1736, which is simply #1734 tied with the final hitch made in the opposite ...