Chapter 3 · Lesson 2Practical demonstration · about 6 minutes
The bowline: useful, not universal
Tie and inspect a bowline, then learn the more important skill: knowing when a fixed loop is the wrong answer.
Video coming soon
The bowline: useful, not universal
In the video
- What it gives you
- Tie, dress and check
- Choose the knot for the release
From the captain
Before you start
The bowline is the knot everyone wants to show you on day one. Fair enough. It is excellent at making a fixed loop. It is not a passport to use it everywhere.
By the end of this lesson
Tie and inspect a fixed loop and recognise when release or loading requirements make it unsuitable.
See it
See it for yourself
The bowline
Five moves, then dress and check. Seen from your side, with the standing part leading up to the load.
6/6Dress it, then identify the standing part, the loop and the tail.
Illustration only · Ryan's filmed demonstration and the vessel's method govern
What to look for
Inspect the finished form
Identify the fixed loop, standing part and visible tail; compare the dressed form with the approved demonstration.
Choose the job as carefully as the knot
A bowline can be used at the tender end. The vessel-side release needs its own suitable attachment; Ryan prefers a round turn and two half hitches there. A bowline is not a quick release or authority for a critical attachment.
The lesson
The lesson
- 01
What it gives you
A correctly tied bowline forms a fixed loop that does not cinch down around the object. The knot must be dressed neatly and left with the tail length required by the vessel's procedure.
- 02
Tie, dress and check
Form the loop, pass the working end through, around the standing part and back through. Then dress the knot so every part sits correctly. Do not call it finished until you can identify the standing part, loop and tail.
- 03
Choose the knot for the release
A bowline can be used at the tender end of the line. The important distinction is where the crew will release it. On the vessel side, I prefer an attachment such as a round turn and two half hitches. Plan the release from that end under the vessel’s method; do not expect to undo a loaded bowline as a quick release.
Two ends, two different jobs
Choose each end's knot for how the crew will release it.
A bowline can be used at the tender end. The vessel side is where the crew will release it: I prefer a round turn and two half hitches there. Plan the release under the vessel's method; do not expect to undo a loaded bowline as a quick release.
Plan sketch · not to scale · the vessel's arrangement and release plan govern
Where it goes wrong
Both ends are treated as the same job. A bowline is placed at the vessel-side release point without considering how the crew will let the tender go. The problem is the planned release, not the presence of a bowline at the tender end.
Your call
What would you do?
Pick one, then read the feedback on all three.
The situation
The task requires the line to be released under load. You can tie a bowline confidently.
Take it aboard
Tie and inspect: Bowline
Do this during your induction or first weeks, with the person responsible for your work.
Unloaded practice
Use a short training line at a stable bench. Ask an experienced crew member to check the finished form before practising independently.
- 01Explain the required fixed loop.
- 02Follow Ryan's demonstrated line path with an unloaded line.
- 03Dress it, identify each part and ask for a form check.
- 04Explain a job where it is unsuitable.
What a useful result looks like
- Identify the fixed loop, standing part and visible tail; compare the dressed form with the approved demonstration.
- You can name one unsuitable use and untie the unloaded example without rushing.
Stop: Training line only. No person, vessel, lifting system or live load attached. A knot exercise does not establish load capacity or operating authority.
Deckhand Foundation · Job card
Bowline: inspect and choose
From the lesson: The bowline: useful, not universal
- Task and required holding or release behaviour understood.
- Line and attachment suitable under the vessel's method.
- Identify the fixed loop, standing part and visible tail; compare the dressed form with the approved demonstration.
- Tail and finished form checked against the demonstrated method.
- Use limitations explained.
Use / limitation
Inspection feedback
Next repetition
Your vessel's procedures and senior crew come first. Nothing on this card is stored.
Quick check
Four decisions, then move on
This check confirms the principle. Your vessel's own induction still comes first.