Talk:Yosemite bowline

Wrong knot in info box

The knot depicted in the info box is not the same as the one described in the other image. It also doesn't "feel" right because it moves a bit. Could someone else confirm? --Oxygene123 (talk) 22:42, 25 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes, that was my mistake, thank you for pointing it out. I corrected the picture (thank God I didn't actually used that knot...) Nodurosul (talk) 15:01, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Provenance

The German version of this article says that:

• the knot was invented by John Harlin in the 1970's
• the knot was named by Chris Semmel, from the German Alpine Club

But as far as I can tell, it gives no reliable sources to back this up. If this information is valid, it should be put into this article, but I can't find any corroborating information. --Hirsutism (talk) 16:02, 17 January 2012 (UTC)

Claims of having "invented" a knot are very difficult to sustain, not least because of the question of whether a knot actually can be invented.

Who was first known to publish, promote, or name a knot is sometimes more clear. (But not usually... :) I personally have not seen any sources claiming anything much more specific than the knot was first known to have been used by climbers in the Yosemite Valley. If there are good sources which give more information, I'm sure it can be worked into the article in a NPOV way. --Dfred (talk) 15:25, 18 July 2012 (UTC)

Is it really a bowline???

Finishing up the bowline with the Yosemite finish actually unties the bowline and creates a different knot: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dj5Y3h1AEI — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.181.64.209 (talk) 10:32, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

Limited usefulness - possible improvements

I tested this variant with the intention to use it on jib or genoa sail (headsail in general) sheets instead of bowline, which are often used to tie the jib-sheet to the clew of the sail.

If/when the sail-sheet connection is tensioned intermittently, the bowline alone can loosen itself with many of the rope types, mostly stiff and slippery types like Dynema and others like that. I expected this knot ending to do better. And it does better, but it still is not secure in intermittent tensioning on stiff an slick types of rope.

As with every type of knot the safe working load of the bowline knot is roughly about half of the the safe working load of the straight rope, so splicing the loop (where this is not the case) is often used instead, and if so quick release shackle or similar hardware is often used to connect/disconnect the sheet to the sail when needed.

But if the connection with that type of hardware is used in a storm (or stronger) winds when the sail can be fast and intensively shaken by a really strong wind, this piece of hardware can hit very strongly and a person trying to connect or disconnect jib-sheet to a sail being so intensingly shaken can be seriously injured or even killed (e.g. by having been incapacitated, bleeding from a head wound and/or thrown overboard in a storm). In such situation a lighter and softer knot would be preferred even with decreased working load of the knot connection compared to splicing.

So I was looking for alternatives, for a reliable knot that can be untied repeatably, and wouldn't cause such damage if a person got hit with it. Bowline would qualify if it would stay secure, but with trembling and slapping it might not hold secure. With this Yellowstone ending it seems to do better, but it is not secure as well.

At the moment bowline with the tail end secured by a double overhand seems the best combination for securing tail end by a knot. Even if trembling and slapping opens - makes loose - the bowline, the double overhand knot seems to hold the loop closed securely, and any outcome up to now could also be untied if needed (no cutting of the rope was necessary, but that might not be the case with every type and material of the rope, and a handy knife might still be needed).

I didn't complete this comment in one session, so I had opportunity for some additional thinking: how could tail end get reliably secured, to be reasonably light with no dangerous hardware, able to be untied without damage to the rope, and to be able to be done swiftly? The answer (to be tested) might be "seizing" of the tail end from this type of knot with electrical or duct-tape or equivalent. A handy knife would be needed for quick untying, and a roll of the tape secured to the person when retying it, but this seem to offer a solution with little or no damage to the rope. Of course it needs to get thoroughly tested. Marjan Tomki SI (talk) 08:38, 1 August 2026 (UTC)