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A commonly used knot to
tie a loop in the end of a rope. It has the advantage of not
jamming, compared to some other loop forming knots (for example when
using an overhand knot on a large bight to form a loop).
Form a small loop (the direction is important), and pass the free
end of the knot up through the loop, around behind the standing part
of the rope, and back down through the loop.
A chant used by many to remember this knot is "The rabbit comes out
of the hole, round the tree, and back down the hole again", where
the hole is the small loop, and the rabbit is the running end of the
rope.
In the same way that a Left Handed Sheet bend is a Sheet bend that
has the running end of the rope coming out of the wrong side of the
knot, a cowboy bowline is a bowline that also has the running end of
the rope coming out of the wrong side of the knot. It suffers the
same problems as the left handed sheet bend.
Tip. Don't be afraid to use this knot to form a loop of any size in
rope.
Tip. To quickly identify if you have tied the Bowline normal or left
handed, check to see that the running end exits the knot on the
inside of the loop.
Tip. For added security, finish the knot with a stop knot such as a
Figure of Eight knot to remove any possibility of the Bowline
slipping.
Tip. If you use this knot in a man carrying situation - perhaps a
rescue where a harness is unavailable - then you MUST use a stop
knot as mentioned above.
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