Bowline developed for use in safety-critical applications. The bowline's name has an earlier meaning, dating to the age of sail. On a square-rigged ship, a bowline (sometimes spelled as two words, "bow line") is a rope that holds the edge of a square sail towards the bow of the ship and into the wind, preventing it from being taken aback. A ship is said to be on a "taut bowline" when these lines are made as taut as possible in order to sail close-hauled to the wind. The bowline knot is thought to have been first mentioned in John Smith's 1691
Figure eight (angling) the boat as an attempt to get a following fish to bite. The muskellunge is known for “following” a lure up to the boat rather than immediately striking it. Anglers use different tactics to influence a following muskellunge into biting the bait, such as the figure eight. The figure eight has become a general term used for all boat-side tactics used to catch a following fish. Other boat-side tactics used are "circles", "squares" (L-turns), and "dead sticking". A successful figure eight begins by watching for a muskellunge behind the lure while retrieving. Retrieve the lure until only 12-18 inches of