What are these knots called? | ||
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Posted 6 years ago
ho2cultcha
(5051 items)
I've had several fake ones of these, but this is a real one - very heavy and solid rope. It has something to do with sailing, but i cannot remember the name of them.
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nautical knot?
monkey fist nautical knot. used for tossing the lines to the docks from the ships.
Looks like a monkey fist. You didn’t state dimensions but if it’s about the size of a baseball, then I think it’s a monkey fist.
Watch got it. Mokey's fist. Usually made to throw a rope. Hard to push them !
Yes, it is a monkey fist. You attached another rope and threw the monkey fist to get the attached rope where you wanted it. Now days they are commonly used in tree work.
thanks Watchsearcher, blunder and fhrjr2! it's a whole lot bigger than a baseball - about 4 times as big. but it is definitely a monkey fist.
That would not be practical to throw if it’s that large. Someone has to throw it from a boat to a dock or from one boat to another.
This is probably just made for a novelty or decorative piece since it’s so large.
sure it is. it throws great.
Maybe it has a hernia.
Watchsearcher The size of this isn't at all unusual. The size monkey fist you use depends in the size of the heaving line you intend throwing. Most have a ball of lead or good size stone inside them for added weight. My dad made many of them during WWII when he was in the Navy. He started teaching me to make them when I was a boy scout. One good modern use for them is rigging a zip line across a river.
Yes, I agree the sizes do vary. The internet has many monkey fists made in all sizes and advertised for many different uses.
I was relying on my personal experiences also of using monkey fists during boating trips, most notably when traversing the Panama Canal locks. Boats cannot use their own power in the locks so lines have to connect boats to tugs or to the “mules”(engines on tracks along the top edges of the canal which pull boats into and out of the locks until the boats are slowed to move under their own power). Sometimes smaller boats are connected to each other by lines also to be pulled along together for efficiency.
All those lines require a monkey fist to be thrown so the larger lines can be drawn aboard. Kind of like throwing a baseball - accuracy and distance matter to hit the deck
.
I imagine it’s the same with guys working on tree cutting or climbing or anything needing lines hoisted- accuracy and distance matter.
So I’m just saying that if the monkey fist is, say, more than a handful, it would be awkward to throw.
Many I’ve seen online are certainly still a monkey fist even tho they would not be practical for nautical work but would be best used in nautical decor.
That’s all. ;-)
Not disputing any of the comments but just considering practical use applications from what I have experienced.
Correction: I meant to type “allowed” but spell - check changed it to “slowed”.
but that's what the ring is for - tossing. they don't need to throw it like a baseball.
ho2cultcha, right, you attach the heave line to the loop and throw it from there. It isn't thrown like a baseball, it is thrown underhand similar to how you would toss a horseshoe. With very little practice you can become very accurate with this.
If you look at this link it will show how it is thrown.
http://www.nzdl.org/gsdlmod?e=d-00000-00---off-0aedl--00-0----0-10-0---0---0direct-10---4-------0-1l--11-en-50---20-about---00-0-1-00-0--4----0-0-11-10-0utfZz-8-00&cl=CL1.2&d=HASHb1391626134e8593d86a.8.2.9>=1
thanks fhrjr2 - great information!
also - thanks again watchsearcher! lots of good info!