The Double Hitch Cow Hoop - by Shamus Gaffertape

A knot I've always used for tying stuff is the double hitch cow hoop. It is an easy knot to learn and once mastered can be done with a hand tied behind your back or your eyes shut (but not both at the same time). Take a coil of heavy rope of unequal length. Hold the long end in your left palm and secure to your palm with your loose thumb. Take the short side and form a movable triangle in your right hand. Slip the triangle base onto the index finger of the left hand and pull the excess point through towards your left elbow. Now allow the weight of the rope to sag onto the floor and catch this with the heal of either foot. You will now see that the shape resembles a cow hoop - hence the name! With your other foot flip the cow hoop part up and catch it in your mouth then with your tongue push it through the gap you have formed between the hands and pull tight eversoquick before it looses its shape. There you are, a slip-proof double cow hitch hoop. Practice this over a rainy weekend and you'll be doing it in a few seconds in no time at all.

Driving up to Largs on Saturday with Sandy, Chris and Ed for a weekend of nauticality. Cap'n Sandy has supplied Ed and I books and maps in order that we may learn something.
I'm not sure he'll be that impressed.