How to Tie the French Bowline
Usage
The French Bowline is what you tie in the end of a rope when you need two adjustable loops instead of one. It belongs to the true bowline family — the same nipping-loop clamp as a plain bowline — but the working end passes through twice, so you finish with a pair of eyes off one collar. Its classic job is an improvised boatswain's (bosun's) chair: one loop under the arms, one under the rear, spreading a person's weight across two points instead of one knot.
It is also called the Portuguese Bowline; for the base knot the two names describe the same thing — Ashley's Book of Knots lists it under both.
Why Learn the French Bowline?
Most loop knots give you one fixed eye; the French Bowline gives you two, each sized independently — that adjustability is its whole reason to exist. It can be tied one-handed, and if you already know how to tie a standard bowline, you are one extra pass away from it. The catch: the two loops share a single clamp and adjust into each other, so it only behaves when both are loaded evenly and downward.
Common Uses
The French Bowline earns its keep anywhere two adjustable loops beat one:
- Mooring and anchor-bend work — used by New Bedford's quahog fleet.
- Backstage theater rigging.
- Improvised bosun's chair to hoist or lower a person, and towing a load off two anchor points — both well documented, but only when the loops are loaded evenly and downward. Treat the pair as one seat system, not two independent anchors.
ABOK Number
(Ashley Book of Knots)
Other Names
Category
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Notable Features
- Two independently adjustable loops — each eye is sized separately, and rope can be fed between the eyes after tightening.
- Spreads the load across two points.
- One-handed tieable.
- End-of-rope double loop — unlike the Bowline on the Bight or Spanish Bowline, it is tied in the end of a working rope, not mid-line.
🪢 Myth-bust: "The French Bowline only makes one loop"
Busted. A widely-read line in Wikipedia's main Bowline article lumps the French and Portuguese Bowlines in with the single-loop Cowboy/Dutch bowline and says each "makes one loop." Every dedicated source disagrees — Ashley files this knot in his Double Loop Knots chapter, and the two-eye structure is the entire point of the knot. If your French Bowline shows only one loop, you have tied a different knot.
Similar Knots
Spanish Bowline vs. French Bowline
Its two eyes are fixed once dressed and it ties mid-line — better where uneven loading is likely — but it is harder to tie and the loops can't be resized afterward.
Fireman's Chair vs. French Bowline
The Fireman's Chair locks its two loops with half hitches so the sizes stay fixed during a tended lower, but it is slower to tie and untie.
Double Bowline vs. French Bowline
The Double Bowline gives one strong eye clamped by a doubled nip — one loop, not two, where the French Bowline gives you a pair.
Security Level
The French Bowline is not inherently secure — its hold depends on the load. Pulled evenly and straight down, it is a dependable fixed-loop knot with a real mooring and rescue record. Loaded unevenly, one eye can collapse as rope feeds into the other; loaded in any direction but downward, it can come undone. It also inherits the bowline family's tendency to shake loose under vibration or cyclic loading. For any load-bearing use, back it up with a stopper knot and keep both loops under even tension.
Downsides
- Not for shock or dynamic loads unless both loops are tensioned and symmetrical.
- Must be loaded downward — in another direction it can work undone.
- Jams when end-loaded: a hard tow can jam it to the point of having to cut it open.
- Not a modern climbing tie-in — on slick kernmantle rope the sport moved to the Figure-8 follow-through.
Structure
Structurally the French Bowline is very close to the plain bowline — the same clamping action, just with the working end passing through the nipping loop twice to form a second eye. Because both eyes hang off one shared clamp, the loops are independently sized before loading, never independently secured under load.
History
Ashley documents the knot as a sailor's knot he first saw used as an anchor bend by the New Bedford quahog fleet, and records both the "French" and "Portuguese" names from period seamanship sources — so the two-name dispute is documented from the outset. Early mountaineers also used it for climbing tie-ins on the frictive natural-fiber rope of the era, before slick modern rope pushed the sport toward the Figure-8.
How to Tie the French Bowline
Step 1
Form an overhand-direction loop in the standing part of the rope — the side that runs off to the load — then pass the working end up through the loop.
Step 2
Pass the working end through the same loop a second time, creating the second loop.
Step 3
Wrap the working end around the standing end.
Step 4
Pass the working end back down through the first loop.
Step 5
Hold the standing end with one hand and pull down on the working end with the other to tighten.
Step 6
The knot is complete. Dress it by adjusting the size of each loop independently, then check that the two eyes lie parallel and un-intertwined before you trust it.
Which way are you facing?
The step that decides whether the loops come out parallel or tangled is the first fold. Form the initial overhand loop with the working end crossing over the standing part — exactly as you would to start a plain bowline; fold it mirrored and the two loops come out intertwined. If that is hard to see on the page, the Knot IQ app has the French Bowline in full 3D. A set of knot tying cards makes it easy to drill until the second pass is muscle memory.
FAQ
Is the French Bowline the same as the Portuguese Bowline?
For the base knot, yes — Ashley's Book of Knots documents one knot (#1072/#1848) under both names. The only real difference is a dressing convention: French-tradition authors route the connecting part inside the nipping loop, Portuguese-tradition authors outside.
Can the French Bowline be tied one-handed?
Yes — useful in an emergency because it frees your other hand for the load or the person you are securing.
How many loops does a French Bowline make?
Two — its defining feature. Each loop is independently adjustable. Any source that says it makes a single loop has confused it with a different bowline variant.
Can you untie a French Bowline after it has been loaded?
After a normal, even load it releases like a bowline once you break the collar. But loaded on an end, as in a hard tow, it becomes nearly impossible to untie and may have to be cut open.
What loading makes a French Bowline fail?
Loading the loops very unevenly, which lets one eye feed into the other and collapse, and loading in any direction other than straight down. Keep both loops evenly tensioned and pulling downward.
Important Notes on Safety
Load both loops evenly and only downward — an uneven or sideways pull can collapse one eye or shake the knot undone. It is easily confused with the Spanish Bowline, whose eyes are fixed rather than adjustable. For any use that carries a person, add a stopper knot in the tail, and never rely on this knot as a modern climbing or life-safety anchor.
