Ron,

Good deal - very worthwhile and hope you have fun. You already have some great suggestions from others. I'm the "Go-to" ASM for a troop and have a little experience to draw on.

[Edit] Re-reading your post, it sunk in that you will be teaching adults. Cool. Get nice rope and give them a piece 8' - 12' long to keep. Handouts to keep, as suggested. Rope/knot terminology first, then knots. Use an assistant if possible. If you can borrow some spars from a boy scout troop, do so - lash up a couple of hitching posts (like a street barricade) if you have the materials available; if not, just bring enough for one per every 2 - 3 leaders. After showing how to tie a knot, break into 2-3 person groups and talk/demonstrate a second time. Make sure you or your assistant see every person's knot before going on to the next one and help each person with difficulty once, then turn it over to the partner or partners. Don't let them form groups on their own - use an ice breaker event that results in the size groups you want them in. Ideas for that if you need - just ask. The rest of my post still applies. [End Edit]

Rope: I greatly prefer Lehigh 5/16" Diamond Braid Polyester Rope for teaching basic knots to scouts and for general utility use. It would be nice to use 9mm dynamic line, but it's pretty pricey to cut up a bunch of 6 - 12 foot lengths just to teach knots. For cubs, I'd cut a 50 ft length into 10 equal lengths and let them keep the rope. For scouts I'd cut it into 5 equal lengths and let them keep it, as that is a practical length bit of this size rope to keep for doing useful things.

3/8" natural fiber rope is OK if it is on hand. 1/4" to 3/8" braided nylon is nice, too, but I always come back to the 5/16" diamond braid polyester, year after year. (Please do NOT confuse this with polyethylene ot polypropylene ropes - those suck for teaching knots) If the budget is tight but you want to look sharp and maybe make it easier for cubs, Lehigh has some 5/32" neon poly braided stuff that works pretty well and you can probably give each cub two 5' lengths, each of different color. It's a little small for best teaching, but you can work with it, and it makes good lanyards and OK guy lines for light duty tarp use.

But if you start teaching life safety and/or climbing knots, use the appropriate rescue, dynamic, or static ropes, not some make-shift substitute.

Stick to the method that works: "Tell, Show, Do".

Knots are BEST taught to boys one-on-one. It usually works OK with two scouts per instructor. It is VERY ineffective to teach knots to a group of boys at one time - it's simply not a very good group activity. (It is barely effective to teach a small group of adults knots, and even that requires a significant amount of one-on-one interaction as difficulties arise).

In one evening, I suggest that the rope terminology be taught and then a couple of basic knots if you have time. Make sure you have a knowledgable assistant to circulate - a Boy Scout Den Chief would be ideal. Not many folks are good at teaching boys knots; it's not simply the knowledge. You'll know it when you see it.

Long enough. Buy some rope and just go do it. Have fun and hang around afterwards for the few that will sincerely want to learn a bit more.

YiS,

Tom

Most of those illustrations would have us fearing dyslexia. I knew a bos'un with a marvelous teaching aid for incomprehensible knots. It was a condemned length of manila ship's hawser thicker than your forearm. Dragging that monster on a flight deck with him yelling " the elephant comes out of the crater, around the redwoodtree and back into the crater" as students dragged that monster never failed to demonstrate the finer details. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I learned knots to get my 'practical factors' signed off that I've never even seen again. But, like stripping a garand in the dark I can still tie them.

I agre with Groo's suggestions about knowing where to use them.

I have also used some thought provoking by usking people if they know names of knots I've already prepared.
Within that group of kots I have a Theif knot and a Reef knot.
Everybody will identify the Theif knot as a Reef. (If they know the name) I then get them to pull the Reef and show that it wont pull apart, and then try the Theif and watch there faces as it unravels.
Then I start to show them how to tie a Reef without the posibility of accidently making a Thief Knot.

It gets them thinking a they pay attention after that.

Also use rope big enough that they dont have to rely on finger nails to untie.

Ron,

I am a den leader, now in my Webelos II year, and when working on knots I bought some fairly thick (1/2"?) cotton sash cord from Ace Hardware. I bought some cotton string too. I cut the rope into 6' and 4' lengths and then whipped the ends before using them. It wasn't cheap, but it is kind to the hands and handles real well. The thicker rope is easier for young kids to handle. Thin cord (1/4" or 3/8") is just too thin for the younger boys and most synthetics are too slippery.

Figure one 6' & 4' pair for each boy. I'd also recommend you hang on to them. If the ropes go home with the boys - they will get lost. You'll use them again for the Webelos Outdoorsman activity badge next year.

I'd demonstrate the knot to the boy and his parent, and then we'd all work together to tie it properly, then untie, the re-tie, untie, retie .... you get the idea. The Handbook gives good info, but web searches will give additional info. Don't try to teach too much at any one time since the boys are easily overwhelmed.

I'd also recommend you repeat the practice through the year to reinforce memory.

I would NEVER use the sash cord in the field, but it makes for great learning rope. It would be great of the two ends were dyed different colors, but I didn't have the time to do that.

Another cool thing we did was to make rope. Take three different colors of yarn (I used purple, yellow & red) and cut one 15' length of each. Tie together each end using an overhand knot. Now, find an small screw hook and insert it into the chuck on a drill. Tie one end of the three yarn lengths to the eye on the drill. have someone hold the free end of the yarn while you run the drill to twist, twist, twist the lengths of yarn until pretty tight.

Now, while having one person holding the free end and another person holding the drill end, have a third person grab onto the twisted year midway between the ends - hold it securely for now. Slip the end off of the drill and walk it over to the person holding the other end and give it to them without loosing tension or allowing it to untwist. Tie the two ends together with another overhand knot. At this point one person has both free ends and another is holding the middle, with neither letting thier parts twist or loosen. Now without letting go of the original ends side, have the person with the middle part gently release their grip so that it can just barely twist in their hand, but they should still maintain some tension. Don't just let go, but do let it twist. Gently stroke along the length of the rope to smooth it out.

It magically turns into twisted rope. It is very cool and meets the respective Bear requirement. For real fun repeat this again with three legths of yarn rope and see what you get. Having different colors allow you to see what happened.

I only had 4 boys in my den. Each boy had about a 4-foot length of ¼” or 5/16” braided nylon cord. I kept the cord. I would demonstrate the knot a few times. Then I had them tie the knot with me one step at a time. We did that until they all got it. Then I had them tie it on their own. The boys think that if they get it once they know it. Often if you ask them to do it again they fail. I would have them tie the knot several time on their own. For the boys that were having difficulty, I would help them one-on-one until they could tie the knot. It is amazing how hard knots are to teach, even the square knot.

I have this book:

The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Knots & Ropework

It's pretty good, and most pages will show the knot in use. There are also some decorative ropework too.

Edited:

The author also has this:

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Knots

If you bring some water to a boil, then take it off the heat and add some Koolaid and the cotton ropes, then leave the ropes to soak overnight, you can dye the cotton different colors. Useful if you're are tying two ropes together, to tell which rope is which. Or you could just buy ropes in different colors, but my way is more fun. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Also, I liked Chris's post about the elephat rope. Mnemonics are often useful, but some of them are overused and forgettable. When I was learning to read music everyone memorized the Mnemonic "Every Good Boy Does Fine." However, I had trouble remembering it (Every Boy . . . Does Good Deeds?) until one of my music teachers announced, "Every Green Baboon Drinks Fresca." Well, that was a much more memorable Mnemonic! So remember, if you use mnemonics, make them memorable!

I recommend ``The Complete Rigger's Apprentice'' by Brian Toss .

His book has as much of the theory on knots as a knot user needs to know, great instructions on how to tie them, and, most important of all, great instructions on how and when to use them. He talks about securing timbers, guying a mast, joining ropes, and so on.

It's sail boat oriented, but I think all that's left out that might be useful is the sheepshank knot. I think that's a pretty small loss. It also means that there are excellent sections on decorative knots, using wire rope (you won't want that for your present class, but it's good to know), and much more. I have an earlier version which was excellent, and I've heard that this one is better.

Heck, I'm just impressed that you know how to spell mnemonics. I can barely even say it, let alone spell it. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Just to write that last sentence I had to copy and paste from your post. <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

I disagree!

For learning knots for Cub Scouts I recommend “Knots and how to tie them” by Boy Scouts of America. It is a white booklet with 31 pages and covers all the Boy Scout required knots and then some. I think is cost about $5.00 at the Boy Scout Store. It is a waste of time, money, and effort to study the large knot books. If you are into mountain climbing or sailing that is a different issue.