Trivia Question !

Though the origin of the Turk's Head goes back into antiquity, aboard the tall sailing ships and the hand-steered steamboats I've crewed, the Turk's Head knot was used to distinguish the Center, or King Spoke, of the pilotwheel.

And The Answer Is !!!!

Greetings From New Orleans ,
Capt. Don , thanks for your post and input and you are absolutely right , many of a ships wheel had the Turks Head knot wove around the mid ship or dead center spindle of a ship's wheel but actually it was first designed and used for other reasons as well .
From what I can ascertain from the different books on knots that I have used and gone through , the Turks Head knot was used primarily and wove around a vessel's Mast , or Spar , or Boom , or King Post in order to give strength or support if there was a crack or fracture in the Mast , Spar , or Boom , or King Post .
Wow , leave it to those ol' salty sailors of old to create some thing that was both needed and useful but also attractive as well !
Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson

Ted Davisson;23112 wrote: Greetings From New Orleans ,
Trivia Question , what was the primary purpose of the decorative nautical knot , Turks Head ?
Hint ; this nautical knot was used on both wooden sailing vessels and on the older steamboats as well ?
Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson

*RE: 'Turk's head/'Bites & Leads*
Ted, Don, steamboating colleagues:
Don and Ted nailed the use of 'Turk's Head Knot' for sure. The photos excellent and such knot work applies to steamboats and ocean ships/vessels going back to antiquity. I lacked the patience learning how to tie such in the Navy/Marine Corps but saw a number of those salts young and old who expertly whipped them together in all sizes. Leonardo da Vinci studied the knot making drawings in the 15th Century. In China there was also a similar knot done in silk called 'endless knot' on hangings, ornate court dress, using rattan, dried reeds, dried grasses. Some in Europe made of 'black whalebone.' Also used in clothing, sailor's bags, hammocks, carriage whips, hatbands, furniture, bell ropes and tassels etc. On ocean barkentine, brigantine sail vessels I crewed on those British, Italian, Greek salts used them for all and more. Don't know if the tradition still exists, but up until recent years navy sailors competed in rope and marlin spike competitions. True works of art.

A Turk's Head formed of one length of rope in bights ande lead. Use of pins or marlin spikes required. Many woven on masts, pilings or even barrels with heavier rope. Three categories are: Narrow, Square, Wide. Impossible to tie when 'number of bights and leads are equal; number of bights and leads divisible by the same number. I watched mostly British sailors take rope or string well washed/bleached with liquid starch added. Give a bored sailor a length of rope and in time he can whip up about any knot you could imagine. Capt. Fred Way dated back far enough to recall really old steamboat veterans who termed crew members 'sailormen' in their daily chores on boats.

R. Dale Flick
Coal Haven Landing, Ohio River, Cincinnati.

Thanks to all who have posted on this thread. By the way, Capt. Ted Davisson is one of the younger generation (and we ain't that young now!) who can do the fanciest rope work with the best of them. It was he who taught me the little bit I know.

The art of knot tying is called macrame and it is a popular type of craft having nothing to do with sailing except for its origins. Harry Louden showed me some macrame bell pulls that he had acquired from some riverboat many long years ago, so the craft was put to use in its more elaborate forms on riverboats. Don't know what happened to them, but they should be in a museum, or even better, in situ on, say, the W.P. Snyder.

Thank You !

Greetings From New Orleans !
First of all , I would like to thank everyone who read and or posted comments concerning this article .
Secondly , you don't have to become an Ol' Salt to master the art of rope work and everything I know concerning this subject has come from either a book (s) or from the likes of Capt. Don Sanders and others when I worked on the steamboats .
If you are truly interested in this art , I would recommend a book that I learned a lot from , The Marlin Spike Sailor . It was an easy read with great graphics and illustrations and was just full of both practical and ornamental knots that would look good any where from a private boat to an office or library .
One other source of learning to tie knots is , believe it or not , an I Phone Application ! I stumbled across this Application one day and it to gives a thorough and detailed instruction on how to tie and use knots !
Thanks again for your interest in this subject and I hope one and enjoyed this subject !
Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson

Lexie Palmore;23126 wrote: The art of knot tying is called macrame and it is a popular type of craft having nothing to do with sailing except for its origins. Harry Louden showed me some macrame bell pulls that he had acquired from some riverboat many long years ago, so the craft was put to use in its more elaborate forms on riverboats. Don't know what happened to them, but they should be in a museum, or even better, in situ on, say, the W.P. Snyder.

Always something both practical and interesting from Cap'n Ted!

I always liked the animations of knot tying at Animated Knots by Grog | How to Tie Knots | Fishing, Boating, Climbing, Scouting, Search and Rescue, Household, Decorative, Rope Care, and now I see they have an iPhone app. Is that the one you found?

And then there's the voluminous Encyclopedia of Knots and Fancy Ropework. However, it was from the illustrious fireman, Ed Smith, that I learned how to tie a bowline so easily that I could do it behind my back.

" Roger , On That " !!

Greetings From New Orleans ,
" Roger , On That " ! Ed Smith , was a ( slow ) walking encyclopedia of information on a number of knots ! I really liked ol' Ed and in fact I took the time to tie and weave a small rope scrimshaw wrapping on the had rails that went down to the lower boiler room for him . Those hand rails would get slick and the rope would give him an extra grip when he went down stairs .
" Doc " Hawley tells a story of one time when he actually saved Ed Smith's life one winter lay up in St. Louis when some low life individual knifed Ed and
left him for dead !
One other " issue " , I always had with the Coast Guard concerning the Mate's exam is why could they not require an applicant for a Mate's license to show and exhibit the ability to tie a few knots , like at least a bowline or a simple eye splice ??
I remember during my " Steam Boat " days , regardless if I was the Mate , the Pilot or the Captain , I always enjoyed hanging out with the Deck Crew and tying a few knots with them like a Monkey Fist or a rope bumper or even a Short or Long Splice . Also , every Spring before we would start our up river trips one of the first manner of business was to create a supply of rope bumpers in anticipation for the different Locks we would be making . I remember Captain Wagner would have me down on the bow of the boat making bumpers all day and we would certainly earn our money then !
One other hint or suggestion with knot tying is that after you knot is made , if possible , soak it in water for a few hours and this would make the hard when it dried and would help it last longer !
I also remember , Captain ( Tow Line ) Tate showing me how to throw a Heaving Line and believe me there is actually a right way and a wrong way to do even that especially in those situations when it was critical that the Heaving Line made it to its destination the first time !
Thanks again for everyone's participation with this post !
Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson

Lexie Palmore;23157 wrote: And then there's the voluminous Encyclopedia of Knots and Fancy Ropework. However, it was from the illustrious fireman, Ed Smith, that I learned how to tie a bowline so easily that I could do it behind my back.

The Fool's Knot

Just the other day, my nephew, Lance, called me from college and said he was taking a class pertaining to marine transportation, and as they were on the steamboat portion and he had to write a paper, Lance asked how I got started on the steamboat. So I ended up telling stories mostly about Ed Smith, Bubba Chinn, and Robert "Preacher" Lollar, my (and apparently 'our') steamboat buds. However, you youngsters may not have worked with Preacher as he was in his 80's when I started on the AVALON in 1959 at age 17. Preacher was a legendary Coal Fireman in his time, and like Ed Smith and Bubba Chinn, was not only an excellent steamboatmen, but also a teacher, mentor, and friend. All three were black, and they finished their careers on the DELTA QUEEN after the AVALON went South (literally-speaking).

Tate showed me the "Fool's Knot". "Any fool can tie it," he taught. To this day, it is always the first knot I teach anyone professing interest in knot tying. If a rookie takes the time to learn this foolish knot, I will show him / her more, otherwise, I will not waste my time with someone not really interested-enough to learn this most basic of knots. The Fool's Knot is much easier to tie than it appears, but once learned, can be tied in one's sleep.

Like Ted- in my youth, I made possums until my fingers cracked and bled. Deadheading on the AVALON, from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati, all I did the entire trip was make the danged things. Those were the days of the many wicket dams (before the high-lift lock and dams eliminated them); so there were many locks in the 470 miles between the two cities. There's a sickness of heart to see a freshly-birthed possum floating in the lock where a deckhand had turned loose of it, but as fast as they were lost, another took its place- and that is why I had to work continiously replacing bumpers that went over the side.

Captain Wagner also taught me how to make a quick bumper that can be made in a few minutes that are just as effective as the woven type that require an hour, or so, to construct.

Frank Jones, the only deckhand to get a deck license on the GV2, is one of the finest bumper-makers, splicers, and artist of the marlinspike I've seen of the recent generation. Examples of his marlinspike seamanship are in the Cincinnati Natural History Museum.