Who was it that said if you can’t tie a knot tie a lot? It really is so true. Years ago when I used to bare boat charter several of my sail boats here out of San Carlos I had a student who had this incredible sailing resume. He had sailed all over the place. I assumed it would be a no brainier that he could handle our 36ft trimaran. Boy was I wrong. The gentleman had never hanked a sail on a fore-stay in his life and he had no idea how to tie the most basic of knots, the bowline. So this page has a list of knots everyone should learn before they come and take a sailing course with us!
These six knots are a good starting point and are the most commonly used knots in sailing. Take a few moments and give them a try and remember that the bowline is the most tied knot in the universe.