anyone
who spends all the time making the loop then running the rabbit up thru the hole is a dweeb.
tie an overhand knot. pull/flip/roll the bitter end so it ‘loops’ the other side of the knot. the rabbit is already up thru the hole ready to run 'round the tree.
steve
Were you in BSA Steve?
That is where I learned that trick. The old “One-Handed Bowline” for when you fell down a well and one arm was broken and you needed to tie a loop around your waist for rescue.
Jim
As long as we’re into epithets…
I always use a double-loop bowline. Does that make me a double dweeb, a dweeb squared, or a dweebdweeb?
The definition of a dweeb that I learned, by the way, is someone who farts in the bathtub and pops the bubbles with their teeth. So how does this fit into the bowline/rabbit/hole scenario?
Just curious 
Just remembered a funny Bowline story
Way, way back in my teen years a bunch of us were rappeling and climbing at McConnell’s Mill on the Slippery Rock creek in western PA. Up at the top of the gorge opposite the mill are a bunch of large sandstone blocks displaced by stream erosion. Made a neat place to climb & rappel.
This was before the days of harnesses, and we had progressed from a single-loop bowline tied about the waist for belaying to the more comfortable “bowline-on-a-bight”. Well, as comfortable as three or four loops about the waist could be.
My friend Al H. was helping Cathy W. with tieing in. He had trouble with the b.o.a.b. and called out to nobody in particular, “Anone remember how to tie a bowline on a bitch? How about it? Somebody help me tie a bowline on a bitch!”
Al was totally clueless about his slip of the tongue. I was close enough to see Cathy’s expression. Priceless. If looks could evicerate, Al would have been gutted. Needless to say, any chance of them becoming a couple went out the window that day.
Jim
trustworthy…
helpful
friendly
curtious
kind
obedient
cheerful
thrifty
brave
clean and…
reverent.
BE PREPARED!!!
I once practiced tying one handed bowlines off’n my rear view mirror driving all the way across North Carolina.
Then there’s the instructions for when you need to do it around your waist.
Break the glass
Itch your belly
feed it around the ‘tree’…
oh the bowline!
one of my favs is the backward trucker’s hitch that flops into a bowline. you tried that one?
Tie a trucker’s hitch EXCEPT reverse the first loop so you reach thru and grab the line going up away from the knot. soon as you tighten the loop pulls down and loops over to make a bowline.
steve
steve
You forgot "loyal"
It comes between “trustworthy” and “helpful”, or at least that was the case many years ago.
I can’t ever forget this stuff because my dad taught the local Weblos in our living room every week starting when I was about 3 years old until I myself was the age to be in Weblos. I knew all that stuff perfectly by the time I was four. When those kids got frustrated and wondered if it was possible to memorize all that stuff, my dad would have the little “tyke” in the room show them that yes, it WAS possible.
d’uh
funny, I can say this group of words all in about 2.5 seconds and I NEVER leave out loyal.
steve
Bowline Info
bluemerle:
If you tie the bowline correctly the end of the rope or cord and the main coil of rope will face through the loop in the same direction. In climbing you should always leave enough rope or cord on the end to tie it off with a half hitch. In the “Dark Ages” of climbing back in the 1950’s we never used Seat Harnesses to tie into the ropes which were made of manila. We tied directly into the rope with three coils on the bowline, or if you were the middle man on a three man rope you used a French Bowline in the midpoint of the rope. No climber with any knot experience leaves a short end on any knot which will be put under considerable pressure. Even the Fisherman or Double Fisherman Knots (the strongest of knots) are not left with short ends when tied.
I have observed the results of a person tying a slip knot on a repel loop atop Castle Rock in the San Francisco Bay Area above Saratoga. The young lady fell about fifty feet over an overhang onto a flat top rock below. Not a pretty sight. Make sure you have all your knots down solid before relying on them for any outdoor activity from kayaking to climbing. Watching you expensive canoe disappear into serious rapids when lining it downstream in a remote area just isn’'t much fun, especially when it was because the knot you tied slipped loose. Ugly end to a trip!
A helpful hint
– Last Updated: Nov-21-08 9:11 AM EST –
I often became confused when trying to tie a bowline about the proper layering as the knot was being tied so here's a little trick I learned for starting the bowline and making sure your loops are in order:
Make a loop by bringing the free end across the fixed length of rope.
Place your right hand over the junction where the rope crosses itself with your index finger pointing towards and over the free end. Your hand should be making an "L" with the index finger pointing with the free end and the thumb pointing down towards the loop.
Now- twist the junction, rotating your hand clockwise.
Voilá- the rabbit is coming out of the hole and ready to go around the tree.
That’s how I tie a bowlin
Years ago…1983…I was on a semester course for pro outdoor educators with the late Paul Petzoldt. He’d say “Who knows how to tie a (whatever)?” Everyone (all climber types) would smirk and raise their hands. He’d then call one (always by name)up to demonstrate. They’d tie said knot with ease then Paul would say now do it behind your back while I pour water on you… Innevitably the poor guy or gal would fumble and Pual would say “You don’t know…please sit down”. Then we got the speech of “Damnit, if you don’t know don’t say you know!” “In this business not REALLY knowing could kill a customer”
I miss that old fart.
Murph
– Last Updated: Nov-21-08 4:20 PM EST –
Did my guide and rescue time..Agree with your commentary. That Bowline harness is a fast way to lower someone.
From 92-99 Bell
[We] used the ring bend rather than the grapevine due to tight spacing in the stems.
For forming a loop I’ve always preferred the figure eight to the bowline because it comes undone after loading.
bowline for a bow?
my bowstring broke, the arrow skipped off the concrete patio and stuck in the stern of one of my kayaks. ouch! so i made a new bowstring using 1/8" polyester yacht braid and used bowline knots to form the end loops. is there a better knot for this application?