Cat's paw (knot)
Template:Short description Template:Knot-details
The Cat's paw is a knot used for connecting a rope to an object. It is very similar to the cow hitch except there is an additional twist on each side of the bight, making it less prone to slipping.
UsesEdit
- Attaching a sling (a rope that has been formed into a continuous loop) to a hook
CommentsEdit
The knot balances the load between the two halves of the hitch, and is used in wharfs and docks. If one half fails, the other should holdTemplate:How until the load can be safely and swiftly lowered to the groundTemplate:Citation needed.
When the sling is long the knot can be pre-formed in anywhere in it, then slid over the end of a hook or post.
StructureEdit
Formed from a bight turned up over itself (like a girth hitch) but with extra twists on each side to achieve the desired friction.
TyingEdit
Method 1Edit
Form a bight in the middle of the line, and pull it back over itself like a girth hitch. This forms two loops, turned in opposite directions. Convert each loop into an elbow by adding a twist in the direction that will tend to tighten them (the wrong direction will undo the loop completely). Pass both elbow over the hook, rail or post and pull tight, taking care to push the bight up snugly against the turns.
Method 2Edit
If working end of the line has an eye in it, and the standing end is accessible, the knot can be tied to a closed ring, another eye, or a rail with inaccessible ends, as follows. Pass the eye around the ring or rail, then pass the standing end through its own eye (this effectively forms a girth hitch). Then pass the standing end through the eye again, and pull up tight, taking care to push the bight up snugly against the turns.
When using the cat's paw to join two eyes, this process may be repeated several times to give several turns - as many as five in a fine fishing monofilament. Then when tightened, instead of pulling the bight up against the turns, both eyes are pulled equally, to make neat coils of turns in both eyes, meeting halfway between them.