A stopper knot (or simply stopper) is a

knot A knot is an intentional complication in Rope, cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including List of hitch knots, hitches, List of bend knots, bends, List of loop knots, loop knots, ...

that creates a fixed thicker point on an otherwise-uniform thickness rope for the purpose of preventing the rope, at that point, from slipping through a narrow passage, such as a hole in a

block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

. To pass a rope through a block, or hole, is to reeve it. To pull it out is to unreeve it. Stopper knots prevent the rope from unreeving on its own. They are also used to lower the chances of rappelling off the end of a rope. "Stopper" has three distinct meanings in the context of

ting and cordage. A decorative stopper knot may be referred to as a lanyard knot. A monkey's tail "is a permanent or semipermanent stopper that is put in the bight as well as the end. It is also called single throat seizing, seized round turn, clinch, and pigtail...A small round turn is first taken, and a throat seizing, in length about a quarter of the round of the clinch, is put in. The monkey's tail is preferred for the purpose just described because it does less damage to rope than any knot. When the monkey's tail fetches against the rack the

seizing Seizings are a class of stopping knots used to semi-permanently bind together two ropes, two parts of the same rope, or rope and another object. Akin to lashings, they use string or small-stuff to produce friction and leverage to immobilize lar ...

takes the burden."Ashley (1944), p. 88.

At the end of a line

A stopper knot is tied at the end of a

rope A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger ...

to prevent the end from unraveling. It then functions like a

whipping knot A whipping knot or whipping is a binding of twine or whipcord around the end of a rope to prevent its natural tendency to fray. Some whippings are finished cleanly, as by drawing the bitter end of the cordage beneath the whipping itself. Ot ...

. A stopper knot is tied at the end of a

to prevent the end from slipping through another knot, or passing back through a hole,

, or belay/rappel device. It then functions like a leash handle. Knots commonly used for this purpose are: *

Overhand knot The overhand knot is one of the most fundamental knots, and it forms the basis of many others, including the simple noose, overhand loop, angler's loop, reef knot, fisherman's knot, half hitch, and water knot. The overhand knot is a stoppe ...

Double overhand knot The double overhand knot or barrel knot is simply an extension of the regular overhand knot, made with one additional pass. The result is slightly larger and more difficult to untie. It forms the first part of the surgeon's knot and both sides ...

Figure-eight knot The figure-eight knot or figure-of-eight knot is a type of stopper knot. It is very important in sailing, rock climbing and caving as a method of stopping ropes from running out of retaining devices. Like the overhand knot, which will jam under ...

Stevedore knot The stevedore knot is a stopper knot, often tied near the end of a rope. It is more bulky and less prone to jamming than the closely related figure-eight knot. Naming In ''The Art of Knotting & Splicing'', Cyrus Day explains that "the name ...

Ashley's stopper knot Ashley's stopper knot, also known as the oysterman's stopper, is a knot developed by Clifford W. Ashley around 1910. It makes a well-balanced trefoil-faced stopper at the end of the rope, giving greater resistance to pulling through an opening ...

The

Chinese button knot The Chinese button knot is essentially a knife lanyard knot where the lanyard loop is shortened to a minimum, i.e. tightened to the knot itself. There emerges therefore only two lines next to each other from the knot: the beginning and the end. ...

and the

Celtic button knot A Celtic button knot is a stopper knot on a single rope that results in a spherical decorative knot with hair braid / basket weave pattern. It is essentially a single strand Turk's Head Knot that is structured such a way that it is effectively tied ...

are

decorative Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes them pleasure, pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, art and taste are the main subjects of aesthetics, one of the fie ...

stopper knots.

Around the standing part

When a stopper knot is tied outside another knot and around the standing part it can also be called a backup knot. Tying the end around the standing part helps prevent the knot from unraveling by not allowing the end to slide back into the knot: a kind of insurance against failure of the knot. Examples of this usage are often seen in

climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or other parts of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders) to small boulders. Climbing is done for locom ...

rope rescue Rope rescue is a subset of technical rescue that involves the use of rope, be it steel or cable rope, or more commonly used nylon, polyester, or other type of rope. Principles The key to any type of rescue is understanding and identifying th ...

, and other safety-of-life situations. Common knots used for this purpose are: *

strangle knot The strangle knot is a simple binding knot. Similar to the constrictor knot, it also features an overhand knot under a riding turn. A visible difference is that the ends emerge at the outside edges, rather than between the turns as for a constric ...

Double fisherman's knot The double fisherman's knot or grapevine knot is a bend. This knot and the triple fisherman's knot are the variations used most often in climbing, arboriculture, and search and rescue. The knot is formed by tying a double overhand knot, in its ...

Nautical usage

nautical Seamanship is the art, competence, and knowledge of operating a ship, boat or other craft on water. The'' Oxford Dictionary'' states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques, or practice of handling a ship or boat at sea." It involves topic ...

settings, a stopper may refer to a length of rope that is

belay In climbing and mountaineering, belaying comprises techniques used to create friction within a climbing protection system, particularly on a climbing rope, so that a falling climber does not fall very far. A climbing partner typically applies ...

ed at one end with the other end attached to a tensioned main line using a

friction hitch Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. Types of friction include dry, fluid, lubricated, skin, and internal -- an incomplete list. The study of t ...

in order to tension the stopper and thereby slacken the portion of the tensioned main line behind the friction hitch. For example, if a sheet becomes jammed on a

winch A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in (wind up) or let out (wind out) or otherwise adjust the tension (physics), tension of a rope or wire rope (also called "cable" or "wire cable"). In its simplest form, it consists of a Bobb ...

while under sail, a "stopper" can be used to temporarily take the strain off the winch while the

riding turn A turn is one round of rope on a pin or cleat, or one round of a coil. Turns can be made around various objects, through rings, or around the standing part of the rope itself or another rope. A turn also denotes a component of a knot. When t ...

is cleared. *

Rolling hitch The rolling hitch is a knot (see also Magnus hitch) used to attach a rope to a rod, pole, or another rope. A simple friction hitch, it is used for lengthwise pull along an object rather than at right angles. The rolling hitch is designed to re ...

& similar friction hitches

References

{{Knots

At the end of a line

Around the standing part

Nautical usage

See also

References