Welcome To Sailing Knots!
Knots are extremely important in the sailing world. In fact, they are so important that they are one of the first things taught in the first two levels of the Canadian Yachting Association's Learn to Sail program. Throughout the White Sail levels, there are five basic knots taught. These are the figure 8, reef knot, sheet bend, round turn and two half hitches, and the bowline. Click on any of the links at the top to learn more about these knots, and more importantly how to tie them.
What are knots used for?
In the sailing world, knots are used for almost everything; from creating a loop, to joining two pieces of line together, to tying a boat to the dock or tow line. With that said, anyone can tie a "granny knot" to accomplish these purposes. However, not all granny knots are secure, or can be easily undone when the time comes. Each knot taught in this website is used for a specific purpose, and if tied properly, will never let you down!
How to get the most out of this website:
- Read the first paragraph of each page, where the purpose of each knot is explained.
- The knots have been listed in order of easiest to hardest. If this is your first time attempting the knots, start with the figure 8, then work your way up to the bowline.
- When reading the "How to tie it" sections on each page, the tail is the long end that is not being used, and the short end is the end that is being used to finish the knot. Tail and short end have been shortened to "T" and "S" respectively, in the images for each knot.
- Make good use of the demonstration videos. Sometimes, just words are not enough to fully explain how to tie each knot. The short video clips show how to properly tie each knot. Sound is not included in the videos.
- Each page includes a list of problems people commonly encounter when attempting each knot. If you are having problems, consult this part of the page.
- Some knots have mnemonics to remember the proper sequence to tie them. These sayings are in a box in the top right corner.
- Make sure you have the latest versions of Flash Player and Windows Media Player (for the demonstration videos) installed on your computer.
