I posted a couple of pieces
about rope recently which led me to wonder about the terms used for rope work –
in particular the differences between a Knot, a Bend and a Hitch. Am I becoming
an ‘anorak’ or some kind of ‘geek’? I
mean, does it really matter – so long as you know what to do with the blessed
thing? Ok, well yes, maybe I am becoming a bit of a nerd, a bit academic maybe.
And, this distraction certainly isn’t moving me towards finding that elusive low cost
ideal cruising boat that I’m seeking. Still, when questions like this spring to
mind, I usually reach for the most thumbed pages of any book in my library the
'Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea'. As usual, it didn’t let me down. If you’re
interested here is the answer.
In truth the terms are pretty
much interchangeable. These days the word ‘knot’ is often the preferred
word. Some argue that in days gone by the terms had much more defined usage
but this may not be true either because many of the names originally given to methods
of fastening ropes were technically inaccurate. A reef 'knot', for example
might be better described as a Bend or a Hitch.
Strictly speaking a Knot only
refers to a ‘tucking knot’ in which the strands of a rope are unravelled and
then tucked over and under each other to form a ‘stopper knot’, a knob or
enlargement in the rope so that the end of a rope could not be pulled through
an eye. The most common stopper knot in use today would be the ‘Figure of Eight
Knot’ used by sailing boat crews to stop the end of the jib sheets flying free,
but even this doesn’t meet the strict definition because the ends of the rope
are not unravelled to create it. The most famous true knot therefore is probably
the Matthew Walker knot, in which unravelled rope ends are used to put an
elaborate knob on the end.
Figure of Eight |
Another important aspect of
the term however, relates to whether the fastening is regarded as permanent or
temporary. A Knot implies a permanent fastening whereas a Bend or a Hitch is
used as a temporary measure.
A Bend, is a term originally
used to join one rope to another or to an object. When sails were fastened by
ropes they were ‘bent to’ masts, yards and booms. The anchor cable is said to
be ‘bent’ to the anchor.
Now this is where it becomes
really complicated because according to the Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea a
‘Hitch’ has an identical definition ‘the name given to a series of fastenings
by which a rope is joined to another rope or object’.
So Hitches are the sa me as Bends? Well yes, they
come within the overall genus of Bends but they are Hitch’s if the name says so
– as in ‘half-hitch’, ‘rolling hitch’, ‘clove-hitch’.
Confusing? You bet!
Seaward
Nice, clear, and succinct overview - thank you sir! Your page was at or near top of results when i queried the web, 'Difference in knots bend and binding' . Trying to get back to 'Boy Scout skill level' (looong ago) and installed a mobile app ('knots 3d') which delineates by type ... realized i'd not a concrete mental model of bends vs. hitches and the like. So, thanks for the brain-food...your time may not have helped move you closer to your 'low-cost ideal cruising boat...' but it helped brighten my mind & day. Warm winds, following seas (i know that's not the traditional form), good things to you and yours :) Cheers. -bf
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