Title of Speech: Knowing Knots

General Purpose: To inform

Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the importance of knots and their uses
Central Idea/Thesis Statement: sing a knot designed to sol!e your problem can pre!ent
harm and add efficiency"
Introduction
I" #ttention $aterial
#" Knot tying is an important skill" %ow you tie a knot can mean the
difference between success or disaster &'erdugo (ire #cademy)"
*" The use of one of the most familiar knots in the world+ the ,eef or S-uare
knot+ has caused more accidental deaths then the failure of any assortment of knots in the
history of rope"
II" .rienting $aterial
#" Tie to the audience: /!eryone will tie a knot at some point in their li!es"
0hat are the conse-uences of it failing or slipping1 0hen you need it to work+ will
you know what to do1
*" /stablish credibility: Knot tying isn2t a rope gimmick or a neat talent for
sailors and boy scouts" It is a !aluable safety skill"
3" I ha!e used the knots I2!e learned o!er the years for many things"
/!en to sa!e my life and the li!es of my work crew"
C" Central Idea/Thesis Statement: If you know how to tie a knot correctly and
how to decide which knot to use based on its strengths+ you can effecti!ely pre!ent
harm and become efficient with a rope"
4" Pre!iew statement: The first step is to define your problem" The second is
to apply a safe knot designed for the task" 0hen in doubt seek help" 5e!er wing it"
&Transition) 6et2s begin with the deadly ,eef knot"
*ody
I" $ain point 3: The ,eef knot is simple+ easy to tie+ familiar+ and prone to failure"
#" 0hen a knot fails+ it means that it slips or becomes untied"
3" 0hen the knot is holding a load or being tested+ the likelihood of it
failing is !ital"
7" /specially+ if the load is yourself or something that could cause harm
if released
8" The ,eef knot is often used to connect or bind two ropes together"
*" %ere is how it is tied
3" %old one rope end in each hand"
7+ Pass the right end o!er and under the rope in your left hand and pull
it snug"
8" Pass the rope now in your left hand o!er and under the one now in
your right+ and pull it snug &meritbadge"org)"
C" The problem is that under stress this knot will fail and is a poor choice in
any situation other then tasks not re-uiring stress"
&Transition) 6et me show you a knot that better designed for this task"
II" $ain point 7: The Sheet bend knot is designed to 9oin two ropes together"
#" If you2re in a situation where it is important to 9oin two pieces of rope
together and it is important that it not fail then this is the knot to use"
3" /!en if the rope is of different diameters this knot will not fail"
a" /!en chain can be bound to rope in this fashion &Grog 66C+
7:33)"
7" .nce it is tightened or gi!en a load+ it can also be untied easily
allowing the preser!ation of your rope
*" %ere is how it is tied:
3" $ake a loop in one end of the rope
7" Take the other end and come out of the loop+ around the loop+ and
then under its path &meritbadge"org)"
&Transition) %owe!er+ e!en this knot can fail under e;treme stress"
III" $ain point 8: The most efficient and safe method of binding two lines together
is with the Carrack *end knot"
#" This knot is classified as an ad!anced knot and is not a commonly known"
*" It is tied by forming a loop"
a" The other end is passed under the loop+ o!er the loops line+ around
the loops end+ then under its path across the loop"
C" It is a difficult knot to tie but is efficient and unlikely to fail
&realknots"com)"
&Transition/Signal of end) Knowing the proper knot can sa!e your life"
I'" $ain point <: The *owline is one of the most useful and dynamic knots
a!ailable"
#+ Its many uses in a sur!i!al situation has gi!en it the nickname+ =The
,escue Knot>
3" Imagine you2re in a situation where you2!e been thrown a rope and
you need to make a loop around yourself in order to be pulled to safety"
a" This is a familiar situation in general"
b" The problem being presented is to tie a knot simply that will not
slip+ allowing the loop to shrink+ or fail+ allowing you to fall"
*" The ,eef knot has earned its reputation in this situation by failing to sol!e
this problem" &4emonstrate its failure)
C" This is how to tie the bowline"
3" $ake a loop in one end of the rope
7" Take the other end and come out of the loop+ around the loop+ and
then back into the loop &meritbadge"org)"
4" This knot will not slip and despite being tightened under hea!y load will
always release easily"
Conclusion
I" Summary
#" .n a 9ob?site repairing a broken control tower window+ I was asked to help
on the outside of the tower 3<: feet off the ground"
*" 0hen I climbed abo!e where I was to be working to tie off my safety line+
I noticed to my horror that se!eral of the lines were tied with se!eral impro!ised
knots to !arious pipes and beams about the top of the structure"
C" 0ithout untying any of the lines+ I correctly tied the ends onto a large
support beam in the center of the tower
3" I used a *owline knot"
4" Se!eral hours later as fate would ha!e it+ the frame around the large
window failed and sent the entire crew off the tower into the air+ supported by
nothing but their safety lines"
II" Clincher
#" # later inspection re!ealed that e!ery knot had failed under the stress of
the crew falling e;cept the bowlines I had tied" This is an e;treme case but an important
lesson" Knowing knots can not only be a useful skill+ it can sa!e li!es"
,eferences
Grog 66C" &7:33)" Grog's Index of Scouting Knots" ,etrie!ed 33 3+ 7:33+ from #nimated
Knots by Grog: http://www"animatedknots"com/inde;scouting"php1
6ogoImage@6ogoGrog"9pgA0ebsite@www"animatedknots"com
$eritbadge"org" &n"d")" Knot" ,etrie!ed 3: 7B+ 7:33+ from meritbadge"org:
http://meritbadge"org/wiki/inde;"php/Knot
,ealknots"com" &n"d")" Bends" ,etrie!ed 5o!ember 3+ 7:33+ from ,operCs ,eal Knot
Page: http://www"realknots"com/knots/bends"htm
'erdugo (ire #cademy" &n"d")" Ropes. Knots, and Hitches" ,etrie!ed 33 3+ 7:33+ from
glendale"edu:
http://www"glendale"edu/fire/4ocuments/Class$aterials/,opes/,opes
'(#:D"pdf