Bowline
A fixed loop in rope that does not slip, and unties easily even after a load.
- Use
- Boat and kayak
- Lines
- Rope
- Difficulty
- Takes practice
White: the standing part. Orange: the end you work with. Mirror flips the drawing for tying left-handed.
Steps
Leave an end long enough for the loop you want, and make a small loop in the standing part, with the part toward the end crossing over the standing part.
Pass the end up through the small loop from underneath.
Take the end round behind the standing part.
Bring it back down through the small loop, alongside itself.
Hold the end against the side of the big loop and pull the standing part to tighten.
Tips
- Easy to untie after it has held a load.
Sources
Each step was checked against these written guides:
- Discover Boating, How to tie a bowline knot
- Scout Life (Boy Scouts of America), How to tie a bowline knot
Drawings and animation by Fishwake. We give no breaking-strength figures: published numbers differ with the line and the test.
