| If you are anything like me, it can be frustrating to have | | | | * Take two pieces of line. |
| a figure-eight knot shake out of the end of a Genoa | | | | * Join them together with a square knot. |
| sheet and disappear through the block! Use this new, | | | | * Hold one of the standing parts in each hand. |
| stronger stopper knot for worry free sailing in any type | | | | * Push toward the knot and then away from the knot. |
| of weather - day or night. | | | | * Count the number of times until the knot starts to |
| Most of us learned how to sail a boat with certain | | | | untie. |
| standard knots. The figure-eight knot has long reigned | | | | This proves that some knots are more reliable than |
| as the one and only knot to be tied in the end of each | | | | others. And so it is with a stopper knot, used to keep a |
| headsail sheet to keep it from slipping through the | | | | line--such as a headsail sheet--from slipping through a |
| sheet blocks. But in gusty weather, the figure eight can | | | | block or some other piece of sailing gear. |
| and will untie through a process called "spilling". | | | | Three steps to a powerhouse stopper knot |
| Make this ten second "spill" test | | | | 1. Pick up the end of your Genoa or jib sheet with your |
| You can get any marine knot to spill--or untie itself--if | | | | non-dominant hand. Hold it about 12" from the end with |
| you tug it, shake it, squeeze it, or shock it enough. But | | | | your thumb and second finger. Drape the 12" end of |
| some knots spill a lot faster than others. As a sailing | | | | the sheet away from you. |
| skipper, this handful of dangerous knots could prove to | | | | 2. Wrap the end twice around your palm toward the |
| be disastrous in some situations. For example, a | | | | fingertips. Take care not to overlap these wraps. |
| quick-spill knot tied in a mooring line might shake out | | | | 3. Pass the bitter end over the two wraps (back |
| after a few wakes, tidal rises, or storm surges jerk | | | | toward the wrist), and then thread it back through the |
| and pull on the line. | | | | wraps (toward the fingertips). Pull it tight. |
| Take the square knot, for example. How fast do you | | | | Add this sheet stopper to your list of "must have" |
| think this famous knot will spill? You're in for a surprise. | | | | marine knots today. Make it the standard "end of the |
| Make this quick and easy experiment to answer this | | | | line" stopper knot on your small cruising boat for |
| question: | | | | confident, worry-free sailing. |