Process Analysis Activity - How to Tie a Bowline Knot

Learning how to tie a reliable knot has always been a key survival skill.  Unfortunately it is also a skill that tends to get overlooked.  I have learned in my outdoor experiences that there is a good and a bad knot for every situation.  It has to be useful, reliable and easy to tie and untie in extreme situations.  A proper knot can save lives in extreme situations. It is essential to carry a rope in your backpack of survival equipment but it is imperative to know how to tie a knot.

The term bowline originated in the early maritime days. It comes from the process of attaching the edge of a sail with a knot at the end of the rope to the bow of the sailing vessel holding it firmly into the wind to maintain proper direction and prevent the sail from moving about.

By now you might be asking yourself; why would I need to know how to tie this knot?

The bowline knot is useful in every situation where a knotted rope is required.

This knot is simple to use any time you need a fixed loop at the end of a rope.  This knot will not slip.  It will hold as much weight as the rope itself can tolerate and it comes easily undone after holding a load.  Knowing this knot will definitely speed up some of the most frequently-encountered survival activities, like preparing a shelter or securing gear.  The knot you choose to save a life needs to be easy to tie, and it should not slip. It needs to form a fixed loop around your person or object that will support the weight without cinching down, becoming untie-able or suffocate you while you’re being pulled to safety.  The bowline is perfect for this, and you need to know the quick and easy way to tie it.

The bowline knot is often taught with the story of the rabbit coming out of the hole, in front of the tree, going behind the tree, and back down his original hole.

In other words, first form a loop on top of the long end of the line.  Second, pass the free end of the line through the loop and around behind the line. Third, bring the free end down in the original loop, while maintaining the secondary loop which becomes your Bowline loop. Finally, once the “rabbit” is back down his hole, pull the “tree” up and the Bowline is tightened.

Some people prefer to look at diagrams or photos to learn how to tie the illustrated knots.
Perhaps these step by step photographs will help.

 

Step 1                                                   Step 2

Step 3                                                       Step 4

Knots are known to weaken the rope or line.  If a knotted rope or line is strained to its breaking point it almost always fails at the knot or close to it.  The bowline knot is reliable and strong.  When the bowline knot is used the rope or line retains 65% of its strength at the knot, where other knots would work loose, capsize or fail completely by breaking the line.  The load ability of the rope or line will in fact fail before the bowline knot would fail.

I could be wrong but I think the next time you find yourself in a situation where you need to tie a knot, I think you will remember how to tie a bowline knot.

Robbins, Royal. Basic Rockcraft. Glendale, CA: Siesta, 1971. Print.  

         Robbins, Royal. Advanced Rockcraft. [Glendale, Calif.]: La Siesta, 1973. Print.

Cinnamon, Jerry. Climbing Rock and Ice: Learning the Vertical Dance. Camden, Me.: Ragged Mountain,              1993. Print.

"Bowline." - How to Tie a. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.