2 Stopper Knots
the Figure of Eight and the Double Overhand Knot.

A Stopper knot is another MUST KNOW knot. The Figure of Eight and Double Overhand knots are used to stop the end of a line from coming out of a loop, padeye, pulley or anywhere else the end of the rope is threaded through. The knot makes a lump in the end of the line, that is too thick to go through the opening. When you're done you can untie the knot and put your rope away. I use them on the Tanzer to keep the jib sheets from coming out of a guiding block. It also makes it easier to hang on or catch a line that has slipped out of your hand.

Figure of Eight Knot

The figure of eight knot is easy to tie and is quite a pretty little thing. It has to be worked at to get it in its nice ball shape. This knot is in my bad books though since it came undone when I was sailing. The wind was fierce and the jib sheet was wiggling quite a lot during a tack. The knot slipped off and left me scrambling to retrieve the end which promptly un-threaded itself it in way too much wind and big waves.

I went looking for a replacement stopper knot and I found the double overhand knot.

The Double Overhand Knot

It's just a garden variety overhand knot with a second loop thrown in. It comes together in a nice ball shaped knot.

Another clever way of tying it is to wrap the line twice around your hand and pull the end through the palm side. Slip out your fingers and there is the double overhand knot (actually made over a hand)

This is the knot I use on board and it has held better than my stupid figure eight knot.