It was my New Years resolution to learn some new knots, and I haven’t done anything about it – yet! I am lucky enough to have a boyfriend who is a great at knots, so it is easy to be lazy and just get him to do them for me.

I appreciate tidy lines and a good knot. I have already lost a dinghy once and a fender because I didn’t tie a nice knot, and I have had the genoa sheet fly off half way through a race on a number of occasions. The ability to be able to tie a good knot is a great skill to have on a yacht!

So here is my start to learn some knots – writing a post about it. I am going to get myself a nice clean rope to practice with and I will collate all the knots here for me to learn!

Here are some I am already pretty good at already.

• Bowline – used to make a loop in the end of a rope
• Clove Hitch – used to tie a rope to a lifeline or bollard
• Cleat Hitch – used to secure a line to a cleat
• Coiling a Rope – So you don’t end up with a huge tangle of ropes….
• Some more cool Rope Coiling techniques 

Here are some I need to work on…

• Truckers Hitch – used to tie something down
• Sheet Bend – used to join two different ropes together

There are heaps of other great knots on this website – http://www.animatedknots.com/

Let me know if you have any other suggestions on handy knots and how to tie them!

Nice mooring lines