The Monkey Fist is used
as an end knot for a heaving line. A heaving line is a line used
for throwing from one
location to another. This enables a larger line that could not be
thrown over the distance
to be pulled over. The most common use of a heaving line is at
sea, to pull a cable to
shore from a ship. A cable is not easily thrown over a distance of
10m or more, so
instead one throws a heaving line. The line is tied to the cable and
when it has been
received the cable can then be pulled over. To make it easier to throw
one needs to
connect a weight on the end of the line - usually a stone, lead-ball or
a
small bag of
sand is connected to the end. Better still a small rope ball is tied on
the end.
It is
neat, it will endure many tosses, last long and it is easily
thrown. The knot can be
done with or without a central core (i.e. a round
stone or ball bearing) to add extra weight
but it is recommended to use extra loops
depending on the size of the object.