Marine Knots Secrets - How to Tie the Piling Bowline

Did you realize that there are more than 200 different ways to tie a bowline knot? But there are just two bowline knots that you need to know when you learn to sail like a pro.

In a previous article you learned how to tie the quick-tie bowline. It's the perfect marine knot to tie when you face the standing part of the line.

But what happens when you have the standing part behind you and need a quick, secure bowline knot looped around a piling?

Enter the "piling bowline". Use this bowline knot to secure lines inside a slip. It's strong, easy-to-tie, and the loop enables the bowline to ride up and down with the tide. Follow these five easy steps along with the illustrations above:

1. Hold the standing part of the line in your non-dominant hand. Pass the bitter end around the piling (white part of the line in illustration 1).

2. Keep a bit of tension on the standing part. Hold the bitter end in the palm of your dominant hand and place your index and third finger beneath the standing part. Roll the line under your fingers in a direction toward the piling. Then, rotate your fingers toward the standing part (blue part of the line in illustration 1).

This single action accomplishes two things. It forms the small loop of the bowline (which happens when you roll the line under your fingers) and places the loop on top of the standing part (which happens when you rotate your fingers toward the standing part) .

3. Thread the bitter end through the bottom of the small loop, around the back of the standing part, and back through the top of the small loop (illustration 2 and 3). Cinch the sailing knot up tight and you're done!

Learn to sail like a pro with this simple variation of the king of sailing knots--called the piling bowline. You will be rewarded with a safe, strong, marine knot that will hold your boat in her slip--wherever in the world you are!