Knot Safety

3.43 Knot Safety

The following major points should be observed:

(a) Any knot tied at or near the end of a synthetic rope must be protected with an Overhand Knot tied on the inactive side of the main knot to prevent knot slippage (Figure 3:30).

(b) Knots must be tied with a minimum tail of 75mm protruding from the knot.

(c) All knots must be monitored and checked throughout any operation.

(d) Knots must not be left permanently in rope as they will deform the rope fibres and weaken the rope.

(e) Due to the risk of knot creep and failure when forming knots in synthetic kernmantel rope, all tasks for which a Bowline may traditionally have been used should now be accomplished with the Figure of Eight family of knots. The Bowline may still be used with laid rope, but should be phased out in favour of the Figure of Eight knots.