The Bowline knot was originally used on ships. They tie this knot at the end of their mooring line that were on the "Bow" of the boat, as opposed to "Stern". That line is called the Bow Line. So the actual original verbiage would have been: "Bow" (like bowing before a king, or like the Japanese do) and "line" (like a fishing line, or clothesline). The pronunciation of Bowline has been shortened over the years, so whatever version you want to use nowadays, go for it. Personally I pronounce it like Bo-lynn :) They used the bow line, with a bowline knot at the tip, to throw to the dock as they were coming in to port. The guy on the dock would throw the loop over a cleat, then that cleat and line would stop the boat's forward progress...therefore that line gets a LOT of tension on it, and the knot tightens immensely. They needed a knot that they would still be able to untie after such immense pressure, so they could either retie it for a different sized cleat, or to use that line for other things if/when needed. That is what the Bowline knot is best known for - being a secure knot that you can always untie after use.
I am going to be "That guy". Your post made me look up the etymology of the Bowline. And this is what I found. The bowline's name has an earlier meaning, dating to the age of sail. On a square-rigged ship, a bowline (sometimes spelled as two words, bow line) is a rope that holds the edge of a square sail towards the bow of the ship and into the wind, preventing it from being taken aback. A ship is said to be on a "taut bowline" when these lines are made as taut as possible in order to sail close-hauled to the wind. And I need to point out that if someone threw only a bow dock-line to someone on the dock and they threw it around the dock cleat with the boat having any forward motion, that would kick the stern out dramatically and make docking nearly impossible. Or at least, really ugly. A decent helmsman can put the boat on the dock so you can step off without any speed-on and so it's safe and controlled. Depending on windage and current, of course. Sorry not trying to be a jerk, but I come by it honestly. . . . :)
@@oftenlucid interesting. I have heard the sail one before, but I was under the impression the mooring line usage came in first. I will admit I did not study this, just repeating what my captain told us. I’m not married to any idea, so I don’t argue on things I’m not 100% on. Perhaps you are right.
@@Adam.Rushing : Well, fun facts, if you like nautical phrases. Look up the etymology of these idioms: Taken aback By and Large Above Board The cut of your Jib Keel Over 3 sheets into the wind. Tide you over
Your explanation and actually showing the moves you are making in a slow non confusing way ,is one of the easiest to follow! I have watched hundreds ,probably over a thousand knot videos and yours is the easiest to understand. I need to really understand something to get it ! You are a good teacher !
People can quibble about what to call certain knots or precisely how to achieve them, but no one deny you are one hell of a natural teacher. Awesome job teaching these. Thank You!!
There are so many knot videos on RU-vid, but this one offers such clear instruction (both verbally and that fact you can actually see what he's doing) and real-world examples that are demonstrated. I feel like anything Mr. Wowak does is golden. Thanks!
Thank you sir! I watched and practiced the trucker hitch probably 50 times before I went out for a 3 day hike. Only had to hang the tarp once but I remembered all the key phrases you used and was able to set up camp like a pro!
" I learned this one 65 years ago. Chuckle .. Never forgot the the words. " Make the loop, call it the lake. A fish jumps out of the lake, behind the tree and back into the pool" "The fisherman pulls the line hoping to catch the fish but gets a great loop that doesn't slip instead"
When tying the truckers hitch, pass the working end through the tensioning loop twice rather than just once. Now when you pull it tight, the doubled line will lock allowing you to keep your tension while tying off the hitch. When releasing knot, just pass the line back through the tension loop once and pull hard. This will release it allowing for easy untying.
Nice vid! ...Can't help but remember the Far Side with the guy who just fell through the hangman's door and one executioner telling the other one: "...so...the rabbit goes around the tree four times, and then into the hole..."
The best part of the truckers hitch is... It all just pulls apart when you need it to. No fighting knots. I just learned it recently, and I practice it at work in my spare time.
Captain Quint in Jaws had an easy mnemonic for how to tie the Bowline knot. Once you twist the small loop, “The little eel goes in the hole, around the stump, and out the hole.” That”s it. Simple as it gets.
This is the best instructional video I've come across and I've searched for a video that simplified different knots. I don't need to hear about your background, how you learned it, hell I don't even care about hearing what your name is and most other videos blabla'd too much so I would move to the next. Thank you for this video!
Dan, you are a master teacher. I thought, "14 minutes on 3 knots?" Well, now I know how to tie those 3 knots after spending hours watching other videos. Thank you!!
Thank you. The last part of the truckers is where I’d always get jammed up. Good explanation with little mental notes. “Uncomfortable”, “number 4”, etc.
Thanks for the vid. Been in the marine industry for over fifty years and I totally agree that these three are the ones to know and will cover almost any situation.
Well done. Extremely clear demonstrations. When you started, I figured the half-hitch would definitely be one of the knots you were going to mention. In fact, I'd argue that the half-hitch is more important than the straight-lash. The straight lash is great for many things, including wrapping a knife handle. However, I use the half-hitch infinitely more often than the straight-lash. You kind of even proved my point. You actually demonstrated 4 useful knots, not 3. The knot you used to tie off the trucker's hitch is a half-hitch. Technically, it's a "slipped half-hitch". Regardless, nicely done!
I've watched at least 15 different well known instructor's video's on the trucker's hitch. This is the only one that effectively showed me how to reproduce it. Thank you.
The truckers hitch is my all time favorite knot. I actually am a truck driver and I use this knot more than any other! Great for securing loads and you can cinch it down so tight! Some people don't have the finger strength to adequately pinch the line, so if you simply feed the line through the loop one more time first, it will be easier to pinch it off, and it also can have sort of a ratcheting effect and will hold itself as you regrip to pull it even tighter. A modified truckers hitch.
Unfortunately, the trucker's hitch is not as common as it used to be thanks to webbing and metal hitches. It's a shame. It's such a beautiful knot and when all you have is rope and no webbing, it's a very handy knot for load tie down.
@@drzman6901 Yes it is unfortunate people don't know how to tie this knot anymore. Usually, those same people throwing J-hook metal hitch webbing over loads usually have a knife and will cut that trucker's hitch because they don't know what it is or how easy it is to untie.
I've had so much trouble tying the bowline and people go so fast when showing how, I practice but usually am unable to replicate. Your instructions are thankfully so detailed and understandable, thank you!
Mr. Wowak - I'm a big fan of the UCO brand products. I've got their candle lantern line up, I'm considering getting their tealight candle lantern for mine and my wife's picnic basket we keep in the car for road trips. Anyway - thank you for your videos, you've helped me stay well entertained during all of my time spent in VA Hospitals over the years. I can't thank you enough for all I've learned and the chuckles here and there. Now that I'm almost done with physical therapy, I'm gearing up to hit the brush again so I'm back to watching your channel to brush up on stuff. Keep goin and stay safe out there. Thanks again.
Recently learned the bowline, Improved my truckers knot because of your videos am now practicing that lash. Great job explaining and demonstrating. Thank you
I'm going to go to practice. Your memory aides of "comfortable/uncomfortable, Thumbs Up, ...." are really helpful for a person like me. My head swims when most people show me how to tie knots. You made me comfortable. Thank You!
Thanks Dan. I've been going through life doing square knots which serve me well for most things. Your explanations are far better than trying to decipher a knot book. I get lost. Particularly useful right now is the bowline. Daily, I'm tying up tomato plants using square knots. Yes, it works. Yes, it's easy. But it's really annoying knowing that as you tie a knot, there's a better knot for the purpose.
Excellent instruction - especially the Truckers' Hitch; that one is the handy one for the truck owner trying to get a garage-sale find home in one piece - or to tie-down a load of old, never-used garage sale finds - to the thrift store for donation - or to the landfill.
Thanks a lot fella. That Bowline knot is beastly, and it's so simple that after a couple of practices I was doing it with my eyes shut 👍😜 Proper handy, nice one.
I grew up in the oilfield in South Louisiana and my first real job was working offshore as a Roughneck and we had to learn several knots as part of our job . We called it a bolin knot and what ya’l call a clove hitch we called a double half hitch another one was called a cats claw with those three knots you could safely lift pull drag anything no matter the shape of the object. Also not only did we have to splice ropes together but had to learn how to splice steel cables too. That was tough to do. Try it some time . I enjoy your videos keep up your good work .
@@taralyman4442 Well yea guess could say interesting but at the time it seem like an adventure saw a lot of interesting things like a submarine go by the rig , hammerhead sharks porpoise’s is playing bat mitten with flying fish barracudas and the most cool thing I saw was a giant manta ray that was so cool and saw several saw jelly fish and man of war would float by , the hundreds waterspouts and they hit the rig sometimes flying out to and back on helicopters was a lot of fun if you like that sort of thing but some didn’t I never liked riding the boat to and from took to long and when the water was rough seeing and smelling people puke their guts up was not nice but the work was very hard and very dangerous as hell there were many other things but would take me way to long to list them all all that was a long time ago now definitely the kind of work best suited for when you are young and I am way to old now to do it now but sure would love to fly in a helicopter again it did pay good money though I worked on land rigs too and I liked them better if you ever get a chance to try it go for it will be a grate adventure
Good little video lesson. After serving both as a Nordic (cross country) Ski Patroller and as a crew member on the US Brig Niagara tall ship I've learned a LOT of knots and used them for work and rescue. ("The cut end" is called the bight.) As a Boy Scout in the late '50s I earned the "Pioneering" (lashing) merit badge. I can do 5 types of lashings. My Coast Guard father taught me rope end whipping and splicing.
Thanks Dan, this is the first time I have seen one of your videos and l must say you have done a great job. I am 92 and never too old to learn but maybe too late to make use of it!
I saw the Bow Line know on the history channel, it dates back to early sail ships, it was given its name by sailors, a bowline (sometimes spelled as two words, bow line) is a rope that holds the edge of a square sail towards the bow of the ship and into the wind, preventing it from being taken aback.
THANK YOU, Dan! I've always been awful at learning knots, including learning to tie my shoes when I was a little kid. My mind just doesn't want to work that way. However, you went nice and slow and gave amazingly clear explanations. I will always remember a trucker's hitch as "uncomfortable, thumbs up, make a 4." The instructions for all the knots make perfect sense to me, the way you explain them. I am so thrilled to learn these new skills!
Great demonstration! Awesome trick I learned to avoid having to hold tension in the trucker's hitch loop: run the working end of the rope one additional time around and through the fixed loop. Then as you pull, it will hold tension for you so you can tie it off.
I find it interesting the difference of names for knots from different countries. I am from Australia 1./. the bowline you presented I know this as a sailors bowline, as it will come apart easy on wet rope. grew up using hemp / manilla rope, a variation of the bowline is the cowboys bowline , ( i think it could be called a Dutch bowline) where the running end comes out side of the loop not inside . 2/ what you call a lashing I call wipping to stop fraying of the end of a rope. A lashing is used to tie two items IE; logs or spars together or in construction of frames made of wood with rope. 3/ the truckers knot l grew up with is nothing like the one you use. I would tie off the standing end with a clove hitch. the running end would be passed around an object and brought back along the standing rope. lay the running end across the standing end rope, take the standing end rope and make a byte or loop with the running end through it. make a half hitch in the standing end rope and pass the end of the byte / loop through it, can be made safer by putting an extra twist in the loop of the half hitch or adding a second half hitch before putting the loop of the running end through them. tighten half hitches , then pull the running end rope to pull up a as a pulley, for more machinical advantage just create another pulley as above. finish off with a couple of half hitch or tie off to the pole with a clove hitch. it is like a sheet shank for shorting a rope only using half of it to create the pully loop. it would be good to hear what you think of the above.
I was a commercial fisherman for 6 years. We used bowlines all the time, usually with nylon rope. Needless to say, those knots got wet all the time. I never had one slip. However, they do need to be under tension. I do like the idea of using a clove hitch on the knot-side anchor point of a large diameter thing like a tree. That will help keep the line from slipping down the tree.
I like the ‘uncomfortable to comfortable’ and the ‘figure 4’ cues as a way to remember how to tie this knot. I’ve liked it since I first saw it on Corporal’s Corner, but when I needed to remember how it was tied, I’d always mess up. Thanks! I’m practicing it right now and successfully tied it! First time ever. I’m farming now, so I must learn the essential knots. I’m working on the Miller’s knot as well as the Prusik. Hope to expand my knowledge after I get these down pat.
The Truckee Hitch ties just as tight as your Trucker’s Hitch, but it saves you from having to throw all of your End Line through the loops. Untying the Trukee (Truckie?) Hitch is super quick and easy, no long End rope to pull through the other loops. Try it, you’ll love this version.
Thanks Dan. Picking only 3, I always taught: bowline knot, clove hitch, and taut-line hitch, but I will definitely add trucker's hitch (and simply continue to say/fib, "Here are the 3 most important to know.") Incidentally, I stopped whipping ends after I learned to back- and eye-splice. Splicing is way, easier than the trucker's hitch btw.
An excellent choice if you’re only learning three. The taut line hitch is way underappreciated and is the single knot that I’ve tied the most in my life.
It's always been called "whipping" a rope end or "whip end." I have taught this in scouts for 48 years. Although, lashing is associated with all kinds of rope work, straight lash was never part of the lexicon for securing the end of a frayed rope. I would go along with calling it a straight lash when using it to repair or add a grip to a walking stick. All of that being said, regardless of what you want to call these knots, they are all handy and important to know if you should ever have the need. Be Prepared.
@@freelyfarmexploits8854 Navy myself. Nobody ever said go lash the end of a rope. It was always, "Whip the end of that rope!" Lashing always implied fastening something together. If someone told me to straight lash a rope, I would have asked, "What am I lashing?"
@@scottburkhart6953 This is why there are different terms. I too have taught knot tying for Scouts (and other groups) for over 20 years, and there is one thing I know would say for most certain: Use the right terms for the right thing so you do the right job. That said, this is still a good video.
Dan, I have watched many of your videos here and over on your CCB channel and I always thought you are certainly a great teacher. This particular teaching launches you into the realm of magnificence. The step by step spoken and visual details as well as the easy to understand analogies make this an incredible video teaching. Hope all is well with you out there in the lower Poconos.
I learned this "whipping a rope" while in the Boy Scouts in 1960. The bowline was a knot to save your life and use 1 hand while holding the long end and weight of your body.
You should follow-up with the one-handed bowline. Tied around your waste as you brace yourself on the edge of a cliff or a tree, hanging on to the line with your left hand while tying the knot around your waist with the right hand.. We learned it in Boy Scouts back in the 70's. I was a pro at it. Knot tying is one of those things you never forget.
Great tutorial, when tying off a trailer etc with a really long rope try this: instead of passing the whole rope through to flock off try passing another loop through then tie off using the loop, Then continue to lash down the whole load with more hitches as you go. This makes it much easier to handle a long rope and super quick to undo. 👍🏻
Thank you! Your pedagogical show of the truckers hitch was superb! I will use it for myself to learn it properly. I always do the last step after pulling the rope wrong. And I can use this to show my scouts when we start up again is the autumn. Thank you!
You speak clearly and slowly enough to understand and give everyday life examples...I feel like I owe you money. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge! :)
Nicely done, I love using rope for my needs. Bowline knot with a truckers hitch is my go to when in need. Been using this combo since the 70’s. Thanks Dan for passing it on!
I've looked at a lot of knot videos and you did the best job of explaining how to do the knots by far. Especially helpful was the final part of that truckers hitch which none of the videos I previously watched would explain or show it from an angle I could grasp the process. Knot failure for me and many is in the small details. Many who do knot videos have these minute details ingrained in their minds to the point they are on subconscious autopilot, so they just brush by them without realizing it.
The confortable tip finally made me learn this damn truckers hitch knot lol Damn i was having such a hard time. Now i need to go camping to test it in the field hehe. Thanks a lot for the help!
I recently started hunting using the double rope technique, using a Blake’s hitch as a friction knot to climb a tree. It’s wild how many applications I’ve found for it now that I know how to tie it. I feel like a prusik knot is also essential to know
I learned the bowline when I was about 8 as a "one handed bowline" and have taught it to many others over the last 65 years. For tying around logs or trees I rather prefer the timber hitch because of its simplicity and strength. I have never needed or used the straight lash, and I tend to use a butterfly knot as the loop on my trucker's hitch. Perhaps my favorite knot, which I learned in 1980 and have been teaching since then, is the Zeppelin Knot.
OMG!!!! Finally, someone who can show a Bowline knot easily! It's the easiest knot, but hardest one to figure out when everyone assumes you know which hole to end it with and blows through that part quickly. Thank you for going pre-school speed. Your the best!
Thank you. I’ve watched a few videos on the bowline. I just bought some rope and started knot tying today. Your video is better because it explains the size of the loop and why. The other videos didn’t do that which caused me to do it incorrectly and I got it wrong a few times because of that. Your video left no room for error or confusion. Thank you for explaining it better.
I paid my son and daughter $10 each to learn to tie the bowline ( someday a knot will save your life ). My son ( 8 yo at the time ) made this most wonderful observation "it looks just like a light switch.. Just turn off the switch to untie" ). One more bowline observation, you can dunk this knot into a pail of water, tow a car with it, then untie it with no effort ( turn the light switch off ) 😊. George
