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5 essential knots all yachties should know

Knots

While there is a lot of specialist rigging on a gaff rig schooner such as Luna Moon, the following five basic knots are invaluable knots to all yachties.
Each of these has a specific use: Such as when a line can be secured to something else, then we use a ‘Clove Hitch’ or when there needs to be a tie at the end of the line, the Bowline… Read on:

Bowline

Arguably the most well-known (and potentially useful) knot to the sailing world. It is used to create a fixed loop (which won’t run or slip) in the end of a line. The great thing about a bowline knot is that is also relatively easy to untie, regardless of how tight the knot has been pulled. To learn it, newbies are often taught the classic rhyme: The rabbit comes up through the rabbit hole, around the back of the tree trunk, and back down the hole.

Figure of Eight
This is a go-to stopper knot (such as to stop a line from running through a cleat or block). As with the bowline it is known to not seize up no matter how tight its pulled. It is easy to learn and often ‘improved’ by doubling the line.

Reef Knot
So neat and clean, this well known knot’s history is (potentially) as old as sailing, deriving its name from the ‘reef’ in a tall ship’s sails. It is quick to tie and easy to learn and, as a bonus can be undone just as fast.

Clove Hitch
This is a crucial knot for tying things to poles or stanchions. It is made with two successive half-hitches around an object and is most effectively used as a crossing knot.

Sheet Bend
This is a great knot to use when tying together two lines with different diameters.

Join us on board Luna Moon to learn more.

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REFIT DIARIES: WHERE WE ARE AT

Luna Moon, a 118-foot gaff rigged schooner, on dry dock in Mossel Bay for repairs

Once the paint preparation and hull repairs were done on the dry dock (read more here)   the crew tackled the painting process. It required 500 litres of paint and took some 32 days to complete.

First they applied Jotamastic 90 Alu. This is a two-component polyamine cured epoxy mastic coating designed for hull repair. It is great for uneven surfaces as it fills small dents and holes very well and is also abrasion resistant. They did the first coat in one color and the second coat in another to ensure no spots were overlooked.

Painting a century old gaff-rig schooner in Mossel Bay
Paintwork

Once the second layer had fully cured, the approximate area below the waterline was marked out and applied a third coat Jotamastic 90 Alu from 1m above that down, as this area requires extra protection from the elements.

Once this area had dried (here in Mossel Bay, South Africa with an average temp of around 20 deg C the curing time was four hours) the crew added a barrier coat.

This is also a two-component polyamide cured epoxy coating but it is very high in zinc. It provides very good corrosion protection as part of a complete coating system.

Once this coat had dried they shot the waterline at night with a laser to make sure it was straight.

Painting a 118 foot gaff rig schooner
‘Shooting’ the waterline with a lazer at night

The next step was to add the Flexi Top Coat which is a final colour in white above the waterline. They then masked off the newly top-coated area in order to apply the anti-foul paint, which is designed to stop marine growth from reattaching onto the hull. Two coats were applied, once again in alternating colours.

Once that final coat had been completed and cured Luna Moon was returned to the water for the rest of the internal and deck work.

BRASS-WARE

 

Most of these had not received attention for many years, so the crew stripped all the dog ears off the brass light rings as well as cleaning and polishing.

In addition they also removed the paint from some of the fixed port lights that the previous owners had applied in an effort to avoid doing the maintenance.

restoration of a 118-foot gaff rig schooner
Port lights getting a new livery

YARD ARMS

A yard arm pivots off a bracket on the front of the forward mast. In maintaining the yard arm they crew repaired (or replaced) the bracket and pivot pin. At the same time they also replaced or repaired the blocks that manage the movement of the yard arm as well as the shackles that fix the blocks to the yard.

Check out our Instagram to follow the refit in more detail:

 

Each yard was also sanded down and repainted using a primer base coat Jotun Jomastic 90 Alu and finished with a white Jotun top coat.

The rot was first removed via a sanding process, then, wherever there were cracks, they were filled with epoxy and then finally the crew applied six coats of marine 50 varnish.

 

All the while work was also going on below deck, in the engine room, galley and, more recently the port-side cabins. Follow our social channels to stay up dated. We’re looking forward to being back on the water soon.