The handful of knots every crew member should tie without thinking, and what each is for.
A handful of knots covers almost everything a crew does aboard: the bowline, round turn and two half hitches, clove hitch, cleat hitch, figure-eight and reef knot. These guides show what each is for, where it can fail, and how to practise them until your hands remember.
Each knot earns its place with a job. The bowline makes a fixed loop that holds under load yet unties easily afterwards — sheets to a headsail, a line to a ring. The cleat hitch is the one you use every time you tie up. The round turn and two half hitches secures a line to a rail or post and can be tied under load; the clove hitch hangs fenders but can work loose, so it gets half hitches when it matters. The figure-eight stops a line running out through a block, and the reef knot joins the two ends of the same line — reefing points — but is not safe for joining two separate ropes.
Theory exams ask what a knot is for at least as often as how it is tied, so learn the use cases alongside the muscle memory.
Ready to test yourself? The Basic Keelboat Theory course turns these topics into 580+ practice questions with explanations.
Knots
Figure-eight, reef knot, clove hitch, round turn and two half hitches, cleat hitch and bowline — the six knots in the ASA 101 basic keelboat standard, what each is for, why it holds, how it fails, plus the sheet bend as a bonus.
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