Bow Line

theboysmiffy · 11 July 2010, 14:52

Hi all.

Can anyone advise me as to what length/type of bowline I need and how to attach it to the bow ring. The boat is a '79 mk2 Zodiac and mainly used on the river Tyne.

Thanks

Adam

m chappelow · 11 July 2010, 17:26

in general the bow line or painter should be about the same length as the boat but not long enough to be able to get stuck in the propeller ,,should it fall in the water when underway ,
most people that i know have it about 2 x the length of the boat , but with a snap hook / clip on the end so that it can be clipped back to the bow again making it short of the prop ,
on my boat the line is 20 foot long but has the drummers knot looped along which keeps it short about 2 .5 meters, unless i want it longer i can pull it out of the loops .

nice.diver · 12 July 2010, 05:09

I have never heard the "rules" before, but mine is 20-30 feet if 1/2 inche braided cheap nylon line tied to the bow handle/ ring with a bowline knot. I need it long to launch at a local lake where the dock is not directly next to the ramp.

prairie tuber · 12 July 2010, 12:25

Mine is also about 30' of 1/2" braided nylon. I often launch from dockless locations, so that extra often very useful. I have also learned the hard way about the concern that Mart had mentioned about having the line pop out of the boat and getting chopped by the propellor.

My solution now is to have a loop in the line about 3' from the knot at the bow handle that gets clipped into a carabiner at the front of my bow storage box while underway. The rest of the line is stuffed into a small space between the front of the storage box and the bow tube. The line will not pop out inadvertantly while at speed and is contained in a very limited space.

It is essential that your bow line gets neatly secured while underway. This is not only to ensure that it wont accidentally pop out of the boat, but also to ensure that it does not flop around loosely within the boat where it can entangle itself on people or gear. A long, unsecured bow line is a major safety hazard. Also if you tow your boat, the last thing you would ever want is a long, loose bow line hanging down from the bow.

Mart, I'd be curious to see some pictures of the bow line setup that you had described. Is that the standard method that the RNLI uses on their ILBs?

m chappelow · 12 July 2010, 17:36

[QUOTE

Mart, I'd be curious to see some pictures of the bow line setup that you had described. Is that the standard method that the RNLI uses on their ILBs? [/QUOTE]

Hi P/T,
some stations use this method but there is no hard fast rule, as with the individual boater,owing to the varied type of local operating terain ect , high harbour wall ,dock floating jetty, beach ,

The drummers knot/chain knot ,somebody told me mountaineers used to use this method for carrying loads of rope without getting tangles and there is another name for it ,is really simple to make ,just make a loop at one end of the rope and then keep passing through and looping through the next and the next ,repition,,
ok for long ropes too as if you dont want a loads of coils eg , a 300 foot long rope can be made down to say 20 foot long ,, if you want it back to normal pull the end of the rope and it starts to pull out of itself and get longer ,,,Though only from the end that you last did .

its handy to have a rope that you may only want to use on a regular basis 3 meters long ,but can be extended out to 20 metres if needed ,
mart

Shaz · 12 July 2010, 22:37

It's called 'chain link shortening' - useful knot ( /bend/hitch / whatever it technically is!)

9D280 · 13 July 2010, 13:03

Yeah, I got that on the anchor rope - also remarkably doesn't tangle when stored like that.

As for the painter, Mine's the length of the boat, but I have a selection of long (10, 20 & 30m) ropes that get used ad hoc for those type of launch situations but as they are independant of the bow eye can also double as tow ropes to tow someone / thing else, anchor, lashing stuff down etc etc...

RibinSpain · 22 July 2010, 14:57

yesterday I made an unscheduled stop for coffee in a marina & forgot my painter (I use the anchor rope but forgot it), dam, no coffee. Well fear not fellow sibbers I took the shoelaces out my shoes, tied them together & it kept hold for 30 mins or so.

Nos4r2 · 22 July 2010, 15:09

Mine's a couple of feet shorter than the boat. Ideal for tying a grapnel to for shallow water anchoring.For anchoring in deeper water I let out the anchor line then tie it off to the painter so the strain is taken by the bow eye rather than over the tubes. The slack end of the anchor line goes over the bow tube and is tied off to a cleat.

Poly · 22 July 2010, 16:57

I'm like 9d280 - painter just short enough that it doesn't reach the prop, with other lines on board that can be joined to this or used for other tasks if required. To answer the other part of your question, mine is currently tied to the bow eye with a bow line, although I keep meaning to splice it.

willk · 22 July 2010, 21:31

On Polwart's theme - I keep me painter just shy of 6.5 meters, and I have had moments when I've had reason to be thankful.

I bought a mooring line with a pre-spliced eye end and just use this to feed back through itself on the bow U bolt to attach as the painter. It means that I can wig the painter off anytime but the attachment is 100% secure when I have it on - no knots, no shackles.