Stevedore knot
The stevedore knot is a stopper knot, often tied near the end of a rope. It is more bulky and less prone to jamming than the closely related figure-eight knot.
The bight is given one more half turn than in the former knot [which itself is given, "one additional half twist," more than the figure-eight knot], before the end is finally stuck.
| Stevedore knot | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Names | Stevedore knot, Double figure eight |
| Category | Stopper |
| Related | Figure-eight knot, Overhand knot, Figure-of-nine loop, Ashley's stopper knot |
| Releasing | Non-jamming |
| Typical use | To provide a bulky, secure-when-slack stopper |
| ABoK | #456, #522 |
Naming
There is a lack of consensus among knot experts regarding the origin of the name. Many sources, including The Ashley Book of Knots, suggest the knot was used by stevedores in their work loading and unloading ships. To raise and lower cargo they used large blocks and these required a larger stopper knot to prevent the line from running completely through the block.[1]
However, in The Art of Knotting & Splicing, Cyrus Day disagrees, stating "the name originated in a pamphlet issued about 1890 by the C.W. Hunt Company, which sold rope under the name 'Stevedore'. It was subsequently adopted by dictionaries, engineers' handbooks, and other works of reference, and it is now firmly established in books, if not in the vocabulary of seamen."[2]
Tying
The knot is formed by following the steps to make a figure-of-eight knot, but the working end makes an additional wrap around the standing part before passing back through the initial loop in the same direction it would have for a figure-of-eight knot.
See also
References
- Ashley, Clifford W. (1993) [1944], The Ashley Book of Knots, New York: Doubleday, p. 85, ISBN 0-385-04025-3. See, p. 85, at Google Books and Archive.org.
- Cyrus Lawrence Day, The Art of Knotting and Splicing, 4th ed. (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1986), 40.
