Cowboy bowline Various tests of the different versions' strengths show little difference; conjecture about either knot's vulnerability to some failure remain pretty much only that – conjectures. As for the tail of a regular bowline finishing "inside the loop [ eye]", that is more a formal-image state than one of an actual knot, as the draw of the standing part will pull the tail around so that it actually points away from the eye, but there are various ways the knot can be dressed to affect this aspect. There is a rule of thumb which states that the loose end should be
Bowline Bowline The bowline ( or ) is an ancient and simple knot used to form a fixed 'eye' at the end of a rope. It has the virtues of being both easy to tie and untie; most notably, it is easy to untie after being subjected to a load. The bowline is sometimes referred to as "King of the knots" because of its importance. It is one of the four basic maritime knots (the other three are figure-eight knot, reef knot and clove hitch). The common (ABoK #1010) bowline shares some structural similarity with the sheet bend (ABoK #1431). Virtually