Commercial fishermen use lines, or ropes, for a variety of purposes. Boat anchors, nets and buoys all need to be secured and safely managed. A working knowledge of knots is a necessity. If you open a ...

A version of this story ran in The Virginian-Pilot on Sept. 14, 2005. Hurricane or no, we’re in for a blow. Time to start thinking about how to secure the woodpile or lash the garbage cans to a tree.

Five thousand years ago, the Egyptians used reef knots to fasten their belts. In the first century, Greek physicians employed both reef knots and clove hitches to tie surgical nooses. Today, these ...