Chapter 17 · Advanced skills · 24 min read
Knots, ropes, and lashings
A rope and five or six well-learned knots solve half the problems of a camp or an emergency: pitching a tarp, hanging food, securing cargo on a vehicle, improvising a stretcher, or tying down a boat. This chapter explains the terminology, the types of rope and how to care for them, and each knot with its steps and a diagram. Practice at home with a 6 ft (1.8 m) piece of rope until you can tie them without looking, in the cold and in the dark.
The essentials · if you only have a minute
- Learn five first: the bowline, clove hitch, two half hitches, adjustable-grip hitch and trucker's hitch. With them you can set up almost any shelter or load.
- A knot weakens the rope: assume a knotted rope holds at most half its rated strength.
- The strength on the label is breaking strength, not working strength. For normal loads use a safety margin of 5 to 1 or more; for loads that affect people, much more (12 to 1).
- Check every knot before loading it: correct shape, tightened well, and with enough tail.
- The reef knot (square knot) is for bandages and bundles, never for joining two ropes that will carry weight.
- Never tie yourself to a rope when crossing moving water: the current can pull you under and you will not be able to release.
- Climbing, lowering people, or rescuing at height requires certified rope, equipment, and a course. This chapter does not replace that.
In this chapter
17.1Basic terminology1 min read17.2Types of rope4 min read0/517.3Loops and stopper knots3 min read17.4Knots for joining ropes2 min read17.5Knots for tying to objects3 min read17.6Adjustable and tensioning knots2 min read17.7Fishing knot1 min read17.8Log lashings3 min read17.9Practical uses in an emergency3 min read17.10Summary table1 min read17.11Common mistakes2 min read0/16
Chapter sources (1)
- 1.FM 21-76, Survival (1992), y ATP 3-50.21, Survival (2018) — Ejército de EE.UU. 2.ATP 3-97.61, Military Mountaineering — Ejército de EE.UU. (sobre cuerdas y nudos de montaña; solo como referencia para personal entrenado). 3.Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) — Student Outline: Knots and Rope Management — https:// www.marsoc.marines.mil/Portals/31/STUDENT%20OUTLINE%20KNOTS%20AND%20ROPE%20MANAGEMENT.pdf 4.Scout Pioneering (material de pioneering de Scouting America / Boy Scouts of America) — amarre cuadrado, diagonal y de trípode — https://scoutpioneering.com/tag/square-lashing/ y https://scoutpioneering.com/tag/tripod-lashing/ 5.Boat-Ed (curso de navegación recreativa) — Tipos de nudos marineros — https://www.boat-ed.com/spanish/studyGuide/Tipos-de-nudos- marineros/102099_149639/ 6.Animated Knots — Rope and Knot Safety (factor de diseño del Cordage Institute, reducción por nudos) — https://www.animatedknots.com/ safety 7.International Guild of Knot Tyers (Solent) — Knot Strength Chart — https://igkt-solent.co.uk/knot-strength-chart/ 8.SafeWork NSW (Gobierno de Nueva Gales del Sur) — Construction of fibre rope — https://www.nsw.gov.au/employment/dogging-and- rigging/guide/part-1-general-rigging-principles/lifting-equipment/fibre-rope-and-slings/construction-fibre-rope 9.Yachting Monthly — Essential guide to marine rope materials — https://www.yachtingmonthly.com/top-story/essential-guide-to-marine- rope-materials-and-construction-how-ropes-are-made-104195 10.Parachute cord, especificación MIL-C-5040H tipo III — resumen en https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachute_cord 11.Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics — Hanging a Bear Bag — https://lnt.org/hanging-a-bear-bag/ 12.Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (Take Me Fishing) — Improved Clinch Knot — https://www.takemefishing.org/blog/april-2018/ improved-clinch-knot-fishing-knot-tying-steps/
