Manrope knot

[GreenLake]

A manrope knot (double crown and wall) is usually not found on a DS.


Image from Wikimedia

But it makes a good toggle for a rope shackle (a short length of line where one end is an eye splice and the other end is a bulky knot).

Each strand is tucked first under the next neighbor, then under again, but pointing down, rather than up. Then the strands are doubled for extra bulk, by taking the end of each strand and following the strand one more time through the knot.

That repetitive process works well with ropes that have more strands, such as 12-strand Amsteel. (Just don't try to work with all 12 strands, use them in pairs or triplets.)

Basic instructions here.

[algonquin]

I this knot also known as a "monkey fist" ? Brad

[GreenLake]

No, the monkey fist is a different knot. Roughly speaking, it is tied by taking three turns with the whole rope, then three turns at 90 degrees, and finally thee turns in the third dimension, all interlocking, and often around a small object like a stone.

It is much bulkier and usually tied in rather thin line, such as used for throwing a heaving line. (Instructions here).

The manrope knot consists of a wall knot - which is tied by tucking the individual strands of the rope underneath each other, followed by a crown knot, which is tied likewise, except the tucks are going down instead of going up.

You could tie a monkey fist in any kind of rope, but a manrope knot really needs rope that consists only of strands (tradionally three strand or four strand, but you can adapt it easily to 12-strand rope, such as Amsteel).

[Bob Hunkins]

Hervey G. Smith's "The Arts of the Sailor" is a good book to learn marlinespike seamanship, and IMHO that's something every sailboat owner should do.

People ought to at least learn to put whippings on the ends of lines. Dipping the ends in plastic or taping them with duct tape is shabby and lubberly.

[GreenLake]

The problem is that few modern ropes can be spliced with oldfashioned techniques - but they can still be spliced.

The manrope knot can be tied in Amsteel, because it's 12-strand, but you can't do it in double braid.

So, for working splices I prefer up-to-date instructions. The book (or online PDFs) by Samson ropes are my favorites (I use the book, because I want to work away from the screen). They are well written, easy to follow, and seem to come out without fail.

Some splices in modern ropes feel like magic. At first, it seems impossible to understand why a particular series of steps is recommended, but if you don't lose faith but follow through with marking, tapering, pulling through and smoothing out, suddenly you have a perfect splice in front of you.

For winter reading, nothing beats the more traditional books. Of Smith's books, one reviewer wrote: "they feel pleasantly ancient in 1950s sort of way". Then there's Ashley's Book of Knots - now that's something you can get lost in.

I like to keep an eye out for modern knot books as well because some old standbys don't work well with slippery modern ropes and also because there have been a few innovation in other fields, notably climbing, that are just worth knowing about.

[Bob Hunkins]

Royce's sailing illustrated has a good explanation of splicing double braid. One of these days I need to try splicing a larger line to a smaller one. Places like APS do that and charge a lot for it.

What I would really like to find is a fid small enough to splice 3/16 and 1/8 inch. That would let me have much nicer barber haulers, spin sheets and tweakers. I might try making one from some small aluminum rod from a hobby store.

[GreenLake]

Making your own fids is so easy with aluminum stock, a hack saw and a bit of sandpaper (but you need to give it a finish sanding with pretty fine grain). Attach whichever strand or tail you are trying to pull through with the smallest amount of electrical tape and that should work.