View source for Bowline

{{short description|Simple knot used to form a fixed loop at the end of a rope}}
{{for|the UK submarine emergency response test program|Exercise Bowline}}
{{Infobox knot
| image = Palstek innen.jpg
| name = Bowline 
| names = Boling knot (archaic)
| type = Loop
| origin = Ancient
| related = [[Sheet bend]], [[Double bowline]], [[Water bowline]], [[Yosemite bowline]], [[Spanish bowline]], [[Portuguese bowline]], [[Triple bowline]], [[Bowline on a bight]], [[Running bowline]], [[Poldo tackle]], [[Eskimo bowline]], [[Cowboy bowline]], [[Cossack knot]], [[Kalmyk loop]]
| releasing = non-jamming<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.animatedknots.com/bowline-knot|title=Bowline Knot}}</ref>
| uses = Making a fixed loop at the end of a line.
| caveat = While widely considered a reliable knot, when tied in certain materials or loading conditions it may not hold. Tends to work itself loose when not under tension.
| abok_number = #1010, #1716
| instructions= [http://www.animatedknots.com/bowline-knot]
}}

The '''bowline''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|oʊ|l|ɪ|n}}) is an ancient and simple [[knot]] used to form a fixed loop at the end of a rope. It has the virtues of being both easy to tie and untie; most notably, it is easy to untie after being subjected to a load. The bowline is sometimes referred to as ''king of the knots'' because of its importance. Along with the [[sheet bend]] and the [[clove hitch]], the bowline is often considered one of the most essential knots.<ref>Cassidy 1985, ''The Klutz Book of Knots''</ref> 

The common bowline shares some structural similarity with the sheet bend. Virtually all end-to-end joining knots (i.e., [[Bend knot|bends]]) have a corresponding loop knot. 

Although the bowline is generally considered a reliable knot, its main deficiencies are a tendency to work loose when not under load (or under cyclic loading),<ref name=":02">{{cite web |author1=Jan Simon |author2=Vladimir Dekys |author3=P. Palček |date=2019-11-15 |title=Revision of Commonly Used Loop Knots Efficiencies |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344689340 |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=ResearchGate |pages=413–414 |language=English |quote=stopper knot is mandatory … tends to spontaneously loosen under cyclic loading  … is not recommended to use this knot in life-critical applications |ref=loop_knot_study}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gommers |first=Mark |date=14 Jan 2021 |title=AN ANALYSIS OF THE STRUCTURE OF 'BOWLINES' |url=http://www.paci.com.au/knots.php |page=58 |quote=This form of the Simple Bowline is resistant to ring loading but is still not suitable for mission critical applications. |edition=3.0}}</ref> to slip when pulled sideways,<ref>{{cite web|title=How safe is the bowline knot in different situations?|url=http://outdoors.stackexchange.com/questions/3798/how-safe-is-the-bowline-knot-in-different-situations|work=The Great Outdoors|access-date=12 March 2013}}</ref> and the [[bight (knot)|bight]] portion of the knot to [[Knot#Capsizing|capsize]] in certain circumstances.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.helsinki.fi/~galambos/knot/loop.html|title=LOOP KNOTS|website=www.helsinki.fi|access-date=2017-06-01}}</ref> To address these shortcomings, a number of more secure variations of the bowline have been developed for use in [[safety-critical]] applications, or by securing the knot with an [[overhand knot]] backup.

==History==
The bowline's name has an earlier meaning, dating to the [[age of sail]]. On a [[square rig|square-rigged ship]], a bowline (sometimes spelled as two words, ''bow line'') is a rope that holds the edge of a square [[sail]] towards the [[Bow (ship)|bow]] of the ship and into the wind, preventing it from being [[wikt:take aback|taken aback]].<ref>{{ cite book | first = Clifford W | last = Ashley | title = The Ashley Book of Knots | publisher = Doubleday |year = 1944 | page = 186 }}</ref> A ship is said to be on a "taut bowline" when these lines are made as taut as possible in order to sail [[points of sail|close-hauled]] to the wind.<ref>''Kemp's Yachting Dictionary''</ref>

The bowline knot is thought to have been first mentioned in [[John Smith (explorer)|John Smith's]] 1627 work ''A Sea Grammar'' under the name '''Boling knot'''. Smith considered the knot to be strong and secure, saying, "The ''Boling knot'' is also so firmly made and fastened by the bridles into the [[cringle]]s of the sails, they will break, or the sail split before it will slip."<ref>{{ cite web | url = http://www.shipbrook.net/jeff/seamansgrammar/SeamansGrammar.pdf | title = The Seaman's Grammar and Dictionary (reprinting) | publisher = Randal and Taylor | date = 1691 | page = 25 }}</ref>{{efn|The [[orthography]] of this quote has been modernized for clarity.}}

Another possible finding was discovered on the rigging of the [[Ancient Egypt]]ian [[Pharaoh]] [[Khufu|Khufu's]] [[Khufu ship|solar ship]] during an excavation in 1954.<ref name="NYT19541212">{{Citation|last=Love|first=Kennett|title=Vessel of Cheops Appears Intact On Close Inspection From Above|newspaper=New York Times|date=1954-12-12|at=sec. 1, pp. 1, 3|quote=...as well as a curiously intricate knot on a piece of rigging that appeared to be basically akin to a bowline knot.}}</ref>

==Usage==
The bowline is used to make a loop at one end of a line.  It is tied with the rope's [[working end]] also known as the "tail" or "end".  The loop may pass around or through an object during the making of the knot.  The knot tightens when loaded at (pulled by) the standing part of the line.

The bowline is commonly used in sailing small craft, for example to fasten a [[halyard]] to the head of a sail or to tie a [[jib sheet]] to a [[Parts of a sail#The corners|clew]] of a [[jib]]. The bowline is well known as a rescue knot for such purposes as rescuing people who might have fallen down a hole, or off a cliff onto a ledge. This knot is particularly useful in such a situation because it is possible to tie with one hand. As such, a person needing rescue could hold onto the rope with one hand and use the other to tie the knot around their waist before being pulled to safety by rescuers. The [[Federal Aviation Administration]] recommends the bowline knot for tying down light [[aircraft]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Tiedown Sense | work = Advisory Circular (AC) 20-35C | publisher = [[Federal Aviation Administration]] | date = 7 December 1983 | url = http://www1.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAdvisoryCircular.nsf/ACNumber/3121C979AF8A048C862569D60074B3B3 | pages = 11–12 | access-date = 7 May 2004 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051228211532/http://www1.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAdvisoryCircular.nsf/ACNumber/3121c979af8a048c862569d60074b3b3 | archive-date = 28 December 2005 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

A rope with a bowline retains approximately 2/3 of its strength, with variances depending upon the nature of the rope, as in practice the exact strength depends on a variety of factors.

In the United Kingdom, the knot is listed as part of the training objectives for the Qualified Firefighter Assessment.<ref>{{ cite web |title=Qualified Firefighter Assessment – Part 2 Training Objectives |author=Defence Fire Training and Development Centre |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/244205/qfa4YQPart2TrainingObjectives.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311133305/https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/244205/qfa4YQPart2TrainingObjectives.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Tying==
[[File:Bowline tying.png|thumb|upright=2|Tying a bowline]]
[[File:Lightning bowline load.png|thumb|Lightning method, tied on a ring. Pull per the blue arrows.]]

A [[mnemonic]] used to teach the tying of the bowline is to imagine the working end of the rope as a rabbit.

* 1,2 – a loop is made into the standing part which will act as the rabbit's hole
* 3 – the "rabbit" comes up the hole,
* 4 – goes round the tree (standing part) right to left
* 5 – and back down the hole

This can be taught to children with the rhyme: "Up through the rabbit hole, round the big tree; down through the rabbit hole and off goes he."

There is a potential with beginners to wrongly tie the bowline. This faulty knot stems from an incorrect first step while tying the rabbit hole. If the loop is made backwards so that the working end of the rope is on the bottom, the resulting knot will be the [[Eskimo bowline]], looking like a sideways bowline, which is also a stable knot.
{{-}}

==Security==
As noted above, the simplicity of the bowline makes it a good knot for a general purpose end-of-line loop. However, in situations that require additional security, several variants have been developed:

===Round turn bowline===
{{main article|Double bowline}}
The round turn bowline is made by the addition of an extra [[Turn (knot)|turn]] in the formation of the "rabbit hole" before the working end is threaded through.

===Water bowline===
{{main article|Water bowline}}
Similar to the double bowline, the water bowline is made by forming a [[clove hitch]] before the working end is threaded through. It is said{{By whom|date=August 2025}} to be stronger and also more resistant to jamming than the other variations, especially when wet.

===Yosemite bowline===
{{main article|Yosemite bowline}}
In this variation the knot's working end is taken round the loop in the direction of the original round turn, then threaded back up through the original round turn before the knot is drawn tight. The Yosemite bowline is often used in [[climbing]].

==Other variants==
The [[cowboy bowline]] (also called Dutch bowline), [[French bowline]], and [[Portuguese bowline]] are variations of the bowline, each of which makes one loop. (Names of knots are mostly traditional and may not reflect their origins.) A [[running bowline]] can be used to make a noose which draws tighter as tension is placed on the standing part of the rope. The ''Birmingham bowline'' has two loops; the working part is passed twice around the standing part (the "rabbit" makes two trips out of the hole and around the tree). Other two-loop bowline knots include the [[Spanish bowline]] and the [[bowline on the bight]]; these can be tied in the middle of a rope without access to the ends. A [[triple bowline]] is used to make three loops.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yL4izuwaxg 10 different bowlines quick in less than 3 min, slow repeat thereafter</ref> An [[Eskimo bowline]] or Cossack knot is a bowline where the running end goes around the loop-start rather than the main part and has a more symmetric triangular shaped knot. A slipped version of the Cossack knot is called [[Kalmyk loop]].<ref>{{YouTube|wgJc1ymlYgg}} Tying video for Kalmyk loop</ref><ref>{{YouTube|3Bl31rAWTcI}} Tying video for Kalmyk loop</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Birmingham_Bowline_Loose.jpg|Two-loop Birmingham bowline before tightening and dressing the knot. Two turns taken around the standing part of the line form two loops.
File:Four knots.jpg|Variants: {{ordered list|Bowline|[[Cowboy bowline]]|[[Eskimo bowline]]|Left-hand Eskimo bowline}}
File:Bowline to 6 2 knot.gif|If a bowline is tied and the two free ends of the rope are brought together in the simplest way, the [[knot (mathematics)|mathematical knot]] obtained is the so-called [[6 2 knot|6₂ knot]]. The sequence of necessary moves is depicted here.
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[List of knots]]
*[[Karash double loop]]
*[[Eye splice]]
*[[Bowline on a bight]]

== Notes ==
{{noteslist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite web |date=n.d. |first=Glenn A. |last=Dickey |title=Bowline Knots and Variations |url=http://www.morethanknots.com/bowline/bowline_list.sav |website=More Than Knots}}

==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJAd-NSkLjA Video of the Lightning Method]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56Vn9Ag_Qtg YouTube animation of a Bowline knot]
===Variants===
* {{cite web |date=2020-08-01 |author=Little Campfires |title=How to Tie a Bowline Knot (Plus Variations) |url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=lS82ju__nyk |website=YouTube}}
* {{cite web |date=2023-09-11 |author=TheTautLine |title=Complete Guide to the Bowline Knot and its Most Important Variants: Bowline |url=https://youtube.com/watch?v=QgewPTFzJzg?t=35 |website=YouTube}}

{{Knots}}