My project, "Which Bowline is Better?" is based on a very common knot called the bowline. It is a very durable and strong knot that is used by fishermen and others all around the world. However, there is one little change that can be made to the knot. When this change is made, many people say that it slips sooner and doesn't hold as much weight as the normal bowline, but it has not been proven. In my project, I attached a bucket to 20-pound fishing line with the two different types of bowlines. I then poured water at a steady rate into the bucket. When the knot broke, I measured the cups in the bucket and then found the weight. At first, it seemed as though there was no difference at all, but when the information was sorted, I came upon a surprising discovery. The left-handed bowline (the abnormal one) actually held more weight than did the normal one. It was not a huge difference, but it was definitely there. My conclusion was that all the statements that the normal bowline was better were based on tradition and superstition, and that either knot can be used. Neither held very close to the breaking point of the fishing line. However, there are many things that could have caused this, and the knots were not very different.
