Essential Knots

A competent sailor needs a small set of reliable knots. The bowline creates a fixed loop that doesn't slip and is easy to untie — used constantly for attaching sheets to sails, mooring lines to rings, and many other purposes. The cleat hitch secures a rope to a cleat — the most common way to make fast on a yacht.

The round turn and two half hitches attaches a rope to a ring or post — simple, secure, and easy to undo. The figure-of-eight knot is a stopper knot tied at the end of a rope to prevent it running through a block or fairlead. The reef knot ties two ends of the same rope together (e.g., reefing a sail) but should NOT be used to join two different ropes.