I4I6 



The Cornell Reading-Courses 



the free end in such a manner as to pinch and to hold it, in a knot, against 

 another tight part of the rope, or in a hitch, against the object to which 

 the rope is attached. This principle is well illustrated in the stevedore's 

 knot (Figs. 69 and 70) and in the half hitch (Fig. 71). 



Elements of a knot. — The bends that a rope undergoes in the formation 

 of a knot or of a hitch are of three kinds: the bight, the loop or turn, and 

 the round turn. The bight (Fig. 47) is formed by simply bending the 



"^^2;:ss^ 



Fig. 48. — Loop or turn 



Fig. 49. — Round turn 



rope, keeping the sides parallel; the loop or turn (Fig. 48) is made by 

 crossing the sides of a bight ; the round turn (Fig. 49) consists in the further 

 bending of one side of a loop. 



Knots and hitches are made by combining these elements in different 

 ways conforming to the principles of a knot given above. For example, 

 the half hitch (Fig. 71) is a loop around a rope, with the free end locked 

 under the rope; the clove hitch (Fig. 81) consists of two loops over a post; 

 the sheepshank (Fig. 106) comprises two bights with a loop around each; 

 the anchor bend (Fig. 75) is a round turn and two loops; the bowline knot 

 (Fig. 138) is a loop with a bight through it and around the main rope; and 

 the weaver's knot (Fig 120) is the same as the bowline knot, except that 

 the ends take a somewhat different direction. 



methods of finishing the end of a rope 



Relaying an untwisted rope. — The process of building up a rope from 



strands is called laying a rope, and so twisting 

 together strands that have become untwisted is 

 called relaying. 



The latter process is illustrated in Fig. 50. The 

 rope being held in the left hand, strand No. i is 

 twisted up tightly by turning the right hand as 

 indicated by the arrow around the wrist. This strand 

 is then pulled down snugly into its place in the rope 

 and is held there by pressing the left thmnb on the 

 point X. The rope should not be turned in the left 

 hand. The next step is to grasp strand No. 2 , twist it 

 Fig. 50.— Relaying ^^ tightly, lay it in snugly above No. i , holding it with 

 the left thumb by pressing on a point on No. 2 just above the point X 

 and on the same side of the rope. The left thumb should not work 



