The stevedore knot is a
stopper knot
Stopper may refer to:
* Bung, a plug used to stop the opening of a container
** Laboratory rubber stopper, a specific type of bung
* Plug (sanitation), used to stop a drainage outlet
* Defender (association football), in soccer (association foo ...
, often tied near the end of a
rope
A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarl ...
. It is more bulky and less prone to jamming than the closely related
figure-eight knot
The figure-eight knot or figure-of-eight knot is a type of stopper knot. It is very important in both sailing and rock climbing as a method of stopping ropes from running out of retaining devices. Like the overhand knot, which will jam under st ...
.
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
stevedore
A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes.
After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number ...
s in their work loading and unloading
ship
A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...
s. 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.
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."
[Cyrus Lawrence Day, ''The Art of Knotting and Splicing, 4th ed.'' (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1986), 40.]
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
*
List of knots
*
Figure-of-nine loop
The figure-of-nine loop is a type of knot to form a fixed loop in a rope. Tied in the bight, it is made similarly to a figure-of-eight loop but with an extra half-turn before finishing the knot.
Also similar to the stevedore loop, the figur ...
References
External links
*
{{Knots