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Stopper

Heaving Line Knot

Jam

DiagramsHow to tie it

Does not pick a knot

This page does not pick a knot for you. DNA, molecules, quantum braids and vortices stay off Decide.

Finished structure

No drawing of this exact knot yet. The written steps are the reference.

Failure modes

When this family fails, it fails as these. The recovered end still outranks the name.

Stopper family

Bulk at the tail, larger than the opening — not a join.

  • !Body smaller than the block or fairlead after dress
  • !Asked to join two ropes
  • !Figure-8 used in HMPE where Estar extra turns were the stopper, or Ashley left as a two-lobe overhand
Fails when
  • !The tail is not through the bottom bight, so the wraps slide off the end when the loops are pulled
  • !Too few wraps make the knot light, and the line falls short when thrown
  • !It is tied straight to a loaded hawser, where it can be impossible to detach
Geometry

  • Too few wraps to carry

    Heaving line dies in the air short of the dock

    Mass is the job — add wraps · step 02

  • Tail not through the remaining bight

    Wraps dump on the throw

    The tail through the bight keeps the wraps packed · step 03

  • Asked to take load as a block stopper

    Throwing weight is not a load-bearing stopper

    Pick figure-8, Ashley, or Estar for a real stopper · step 04

If you saw this

  • Wraps dump in the air, or the knot is asked to take load

    Check

    • ?Tail through the bight
    • ?Wraps packed
    • ?Used only to throw

    Then

    • →Retie and dress
    • →Pick figure-8 / Ashley / Estar for a real stopper

  • Too few wraps to carry

    Check

    • ?Heaving line dies in the air short of the dock
    • ?Inspect step 02

    Then

    • →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.

  • Tail not through the remaining bight

    Check

    • ?Wraps dump on the throw
    • ?Inspect step 03

    Then

    • →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.

  • Asked to take load as a block stopper

    Check

    • ?Throwing weight is not a load-bearing stopper
    • ?Inspect step 04

    Then

    • →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Same family

Same failure class, different geometry. Open the plates — Diagnose still starts from the symptom.

This failed — start Diagnose

What holds it

  • ·A stopper is a bulk knot. It bears on a hole, a device, or the hand (heaving line).
  • ·Figure-eight stopper and figure-eight loop share a body and split a job. That is a family identity, not a rating.

What topology does not predict

  • ·Bulk vs security on HMPE is material. EStar exists because figure-eight can walk on slick line — that is cited practice, not an invariant.
  • ·Heaving-line mass is a throwing job, not a topological one.
  • ·No strength retention is computed here.

Not for

  • ·Joining two ropes
  • ·A load-bearing eye
  • ·A stopper in a block or fairlead (figure-8 or Ashley)
  • ·Any load-bearing join

Same pattern, different job

No sourced twin among these knots. Related knots stay on the Library card.

Sources