Double bowline showoff

[Stiletto]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESo9FZuIAHo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESo9FZuIAHo)

[Michael Beckman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcrHxucmSXw

Heres a true knot competition. My friend won for our team. Glorious stuff.

[Hwyl]

The flying bowline shown by stiletto is essentially useless, you almost always have to tie a bowline around something.
One of our instructors can tie 18 bowlines (around something) in a minute.

Nice to see the level of excitement in Michaels video

[Ian McColgin]

I practiced one-handed bowlines with both hands so's I could make two at once.

To my goddaughter's horror, I tied a bowline with my toes.

Met a kid who became a sorta crew for a summer. The day I thaught him the bowline he was a bit cocky so I said, "Bet y ou can't do it behind your back."

I lost that bet.

[Hwyl]

I teach the foot thing. You use a different set of senses (I think)

[Michael Beckman]

I've always enjoyed tying an instant bowline.. I came up with the method last year while sitting around off watch. Its entirely useless for practicle use, but you can tie a bowline in under 2 seconds easily. I'd take a video but I dont really feel like it. Essentially you pinch the tail together, take the standing end, and put a halfhitch over the tail, and then pull the standing end through the middle of the tail loop. You end up with a bowline with a potentially very long tail. >_> For actual usage I stick with the slipknot method, as I can never remember the standard way of tying it.

[Woxbox]

There's a better way to do it. Here's how:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yWKs12uzR0

[Bob (oh, THAT Bob)]

I've seen that demonstrated as the Tugboat Bowline. Not sure if this is a true double bowline; A standard bowline has a tendency to come undone when not under constant tension, a double bowline stays tighter and is tied the same as standard but you make two loops in the beginning before threading the working end up through, around, and back down. The tug bowline shown does have an extra loop, not sure if it works the same as the double, but it's not the same knot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESo9FZuIAHo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESo9FZuIAHo)

[Sailor]

Pause the screen as he finishes. You'll notice the "Tail" exits the side of the bowline. Not a true bowline.

[Bob (oh, THAT Bob)]

Pause the screen as he finishes. You'll notice the "Tail" exits the side of the bowline. Not a true bowline.

Exactly. Although there is another "bowline" variation known as an Eskimo Bowline (so named because it was seen on artifacts from....HEY, WHO TOOK THE FRICKIN' KNOT BOOK?! ...ok the exact region of the north escapes me), but with the eskimo bowline, you make the loop just like a regular bowline, but instead of up, around the top end, and back down, instead you go DOWN through the loop, around the SIDE (both) strands of the loop where they are doubled, then back UP through the loop. This also results in a "side exit" of the tail (but not a double loop like the tugboat bowline). Just trivia, not my favorite, I'm still sold on the double bowline; double loops and the tail exits toward the bight.