Start Sailing Right - Knots and Lines

There is no rope on a boat, only lines. So what kinds of line are there and what applications would they be good for?

Dock Lines - Used to secure your boat to the dock - are usually stranded or braided nylon which will stretch a bit when a load is put on them. This is ideal because as the boat bounces on the water and pulls against the line, if there was no give in the line then the line would snap tight and pull the cleat loose or break the line.

Halyards - to maintain sail shape, halyards are made of the least stretchy line possible - Braided Kevlar or spectra. These lines don't stretch and maintain the tension on the luff of the sail, which is an important aspect of sail shape.

Sheets - Sheets control sail shape also, but they are usually a medium stretch material like Braided Dacron. This allows some give when the boat gets hit with a heavy puff, but still does a good job maintaining sail shape.

There is a good resource for knots at the US Sailing Website (Click Here) that has videos of how to tie the basic sailing knots. If you are in the Start Sailing Right class, pay particular attention to the Bowline, Figure Eight and the Cleat Hitch. These are the knots we use to rig the 14.2.

See you on the water!
Captain Rob