Author Archives: lewisblevins

This ocean atlas is a superb work for those interested in planning cruising routes. It shows monthly average winds, currents, storm activity and more for all regions of our globe of interest to cruisers, the Navies of the world, etc.

I do not yet have any experience producing splices in lines. There are several examples of splices on Skiron. A few are shown below. I’ve included a few links for those who may be interested in trying a few splices. https://youtu.be/KmuClLmSb5A https://youtu.be/Ym1-rI0SdaA

Coils exist in many shapes and forms. Here are a few handy ones useful for securing and stowing spare lines, the ends of halyards, etc. The loops of most coils are made clockwise.

There are two basic loop knots that I am inclined to use on Skiron. First is a simple loop that has two forms. Then….there’s the Bowline that is one of the most important knots to know.

There are a few useful hitches that are employed to secure halyards. They are fairly impressive. The more I tie them the more I like them. They can be used anytime one must securely fastened a line. I’m not sure how to tie these under load but they’re good to know.

Hitches are used to secure a line to some other type of object. There are hundreds of them. Although they are all easily understood some are simple while others are rather complex. They are usually easily released. Some of them have very specific uses on a sailboat.

There are seemingly innumerable bends. A bend is a knot used to tie two lines together. I’ve studied many of them, tied about a half dozen, and find that, on a sailboat there is no more useful knot than a sheet bend. I tie both the simple and double varieties of a sheet bend. AvoidContinue reading “Sailors Knots: Bends”

Stopper knots are placed near the free end of a line. Their main purpose is to prevent the free end of a line from running through a block or clutch. They act as a brake of sorts to save the day if the wind catches a sail and, when you least expect it, an unsecuredContinue reading “Sailors Knots: Stopper Knots”

I’ve learned a lot about knots, hitches, and other ways of fastening ropes to different objects on a sailboat over the past few years. I had a few recent experiences that helped me understand that I had forgotten a few important aspects of knot tying. I was prompted to refresh my memory of critical knotsContinue reading “Sailors Knots: Introduction”

This superb book is an encyclopedia of all sorts of knots. Approximately 3900 knots are illustrated. Some history is provided. Illustrations are good and quite helpful. More then half of the knots seem to be related to marine situations. The author, born in the 1800s in a whaling community, spent over 40 years associated withContinue reading “Book Recommendation”