Learning your way around knots and lines is a practical skill for all boaters. Once you learn a knot, the skill is also useful for other outdoor activities like backpacking, rock climbing or fishing. Developing marlinspike seamanship skills will improve your safety and professionalism as a boater.
What is marlinspike seamanship?
A marlinspike or fid is a tapered steel rod used to open up layers of a line to assist in splicing. By inference, marlinspike seamanship implies a sailor can tie knots and hitches, splice lines and lashings.
Many boaters use the terms line and rope interchangeably. Rope is a term used in manufacturing and procurement of ship stores. Once placed in use, rope is defined by its uses such as as a sea painter, mooring line, man rope or seizing stuff. Many sailors only consider rope as anything over an inch and an eighth in diameter.
Rope is composed of fibers. Steel wire, synthetic or natural materials are twisted, braided or plaited into a line. Natural materials include manila, cotton, and hemp. Synthetic materials can include nylon, polyester, and polypropylene. Knowing the nature of these construction materials is important in determining the type of line to use. Polypropylene line floats, nylon line stretches, and wire is long wearing. Some lines combine wire and synthetic materials for heavy duty uses.
Line splices
Splices connect two lines, place an eye at the end of a line, or can finish the end of a line. Two types used to join lines are short and long splices. Short splices are stronger and double the diameter of the line, but don't pass through sheaves (pulleys) well. Long splices have the same diameter as the line they connect, but aren't as strong as the short splice. An eye splice puts a loop or eye in the end of a line that can be used for attaching lines to mooring cleats. Splices can be made on double braided lines with a hollow fid.
Terminology
Common terms include eye, bight, bitter end, coil and Flemish. An eye is a closed loop in the end of a line. A bight is a loop formed in a line. The bitter end of a line is the end not attached to something else. Line is coiled down onto the deck or dock. A Flemish is a decorative coil of line. Loose lines are coiled to prevent trips and fouling of lines.
Lines can be shaped into knots, bends, and hitches. Knots can be tied using a single line. There are knots and bends that can join two lines. Hitches and bends attach lines to spars, rails and rings. Learning new knots, splices, and bends will greatly improve your mooring and boating skills.
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