Praise for the previous edition: 'The book's clear, sequential photographs include all the basics, including bends, splices, and line-handling tips' - "Ocean Navigator". 'Teaches the 20 most useful knots and splices with wonderful step-by-step photographs. Almost every knot is pictured on two facing pages, so the entire sequence is right before you' - "The Ensign". 'More than knots, [this book] is about rope and its uses on boats' - "Dockside". 'Its illustrations on how the knots are tied are among the best I have seen' - "Mariner's Log". A wet, pitching deck in a 20-knot 'breeze' is not the place to realize you've forgotten exactly how to tie a reef knot. Whether you need to brush up on your ropework skills or you're just learning to sail, "Nautical Knots Illustrated" is your perfect companion. With clear, simple explanations and 295 step-by-step photographs, you'll easily learn how to tie the 20 most useful knots and splices. The bowline, reef knot, sheet bend, and clove hitch are here, of course, but so are less common gems such as the carrick bend and stevedore knot.
Longtime sailors Paul and Arthur Snyder also explain the essentials of smart line handling, including how to coil halyards and sheets, fix winch overrides, tow dinghies, and pick up a mooring, as well as the best ways to handle high-tech rope materials, such as Kevlar and Spectra, in addition to Dacron and nylon.