Form a small loop (the
direction is important), and pass the free end of the knot up
through the loop,
around behind the standing part of the rope, and back down through the
loop.
A chant used by many
to remember this knot is "The rabbit comes out of the hole, round
the tree, and back
down the hole again", where the hole is the small loop, and the rabbit
is the running end
of the rope.
In the same way that
a Left Handed Sheet bend is a Sheet bend that has the running end
of the rope coming
out of the wrong side of the knot, a cowboy bowline is a bowline
that also has the
running end of the rope coming out of the wrong side of the knot. It
suffers the same problems
as the left handed sheet bend.
Tip. Don't be afraid
to use this knot to form a loop of any size in rope.
Tip.
To quickly identify if you have tied the Bowline normal or left handed,
check to see
that the running end
exits the knot on the inside of the loop.
Tip.
For added security, finish the knot with a stop knot such as a Figure of
Eight knot to
remove any possibility
of the Bowline slipping.
Tip.
If you use this knot in a man carrying situation - perhaps a rescue where
a harness
is unavailable - then
you MUST use a stop knot as mentioned above.