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best knot for tying up

8K views 15 replies 10 participants last post by  FormerAdministrator 
#1 · (Edited)
some say clove hitch, some say round turn and two half hitches, and others say mooring hitch. I think that round turn and two half hitches is the best because it holds better.
clove hitches often slip for me.
 
#2 ·
For tying up to what?

I confess, I don't know the name of the knot (I've never even called it a knot) that we use to tie up to common "horn" cleats. Cleats, rings, bollards, and then in the NW I've seen docks with none of those, just holes under a low rail to go through and around. (Don't know the name for that style either.)
 
#7 ·
It really depends on what you are tieing up to. If you are tieing up to a dock with cleats, then a cleat hitch is the way to go. If you are tieing up to a mooring ring, then a bowline might be the right choice. If you are tieing up to pilings, then a round turn with two half hitches is probably a good choice.
 
#8 ·
I agree with "sailing dog." The knot needs to suit the situation. A cleat hitch is foolproof - on a cleat, but a round turn and two opposed half hitches would be my choice when tying to a post or rail. For a bollard, nothing beats a spliced loop of sufficient size to go round twice However well tied, I do not trust a bowline for mooring - or a clove hitch.

Cheers

Alan, Sydney
 
#9 ·
I would suggest that a clove hitch is the way to go on a pilling or bollard. A clove hitch prevents the line from sliding back and forth around the piling and chafing through. As noted a clove hitch can slip so I back it up with a couple half hitches that keep it from slipping. Double half hitches without the clove hitch can get locked so tightly that it can't get untied.

Jeff
 
#10 ·
The best knot is simply a spliced eye formed into a 'sliding noose' .... and made better if the 'standing' part of the line has 'two or more wraps' where the standing part passes.
Nothing beats a splice with respect to strength. A 'noosed' splice doesnt jam, is releasable, etc.
 
#13 ·
The strength of the knot (or splice) is a bit of a red herring. Modern line is sized not by breaking or working strength, but to provide adequate reserves after chafe and sun rot. Any decent knot will provide adequate strength. A good knot will minimize movement and chafe, as well as allow adjustment of the line.

What is nice about the passing the standing end of the line through an eyesplice, with or without the extra loops around the piling is that the line can be adjusted from on board the boat. That works best on transient slips. In your home slip, I prefer having the eyesplices on board at a preadjusted position so that I can quickly get them on cleats in the right position when I am single-handing.

My gripe with tying up to a piling or bollard by looping the line a couple times around a post and then passing the standing end of the line through an eyesplice is that the line loosens and tightens as the boat moves allowing the line to chafe and work its way down the piling.

Jeff
 
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