There were already in the line when I got the canoe, the seller helped me load it onto my suv. We used the loops to tie a trucker’s hitch to secure the canoe.

What function they served prior to my purchase is unknown. There were two ropes, one tied to each the bow deck and the stern deck. They were tied at the center of the rope with equal lengths on either side of the loop on the deck. Then near the end of each end of the rope was one of these knots.