knotty cleat

[Dan & Pat]

I was leaving the marina last week and happened upon this mess and had to take a picture with my phone. The stinkpot that was tied up in this slip had 5 lines cleated just this way. My 15 year old son pointed them out to me with a chuckle.. I guess some people don't understand that cleating a line is meant to be done so that it can be removed quickly if and when needed.

[img]http://www.geocities.com/danothomsn/photgrp/knotty.jpg[/img]

[Neil Gordon]

... but I imagine if you untangled the mess, what was left would jam if you tried to free the boat.

[M. R. Bober]

I think it is a "double wife hitch on a bight", or as a old friend used to say "if you can't tie a good knot;tie lots of knots."

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Annapolis (where a hitch in time is as good as nine), MD

[Carl Thunberg]

Double wife hitch? I know of one wife in particular whose marlinspike skills are excellent. Not to mention some regular contributors to this board.

[Oswego John]

Do you know anyone who can tie a hatchet knot, single or double?
How many know the proper (only) way to untie it?

Rotsa Ruck,

[Dick Barthel]

Do you know anyone who can tie a hatchet knot, single or double?
How many know the proper (only) way to untie it?

Rotsa Ruck,

It has to be tied so tight that the only way to get it undone is with a hatchet! Good to have you back OJ. Dick

[Steve Laume]

That hitch may have been named a double wife hitch at one time but in these enlightened times I believe the name has been officially changed to a double lubber hitch, Steve.

[Didereaux]

I like Steve's, but another possibilty is:
Bolluxed Bollard Hitch

;)

[Neil Gordon]

I like Steve's, but another possibilty is:
Bolluxed Bollard Hitch

Bolluxed Bollard Bend gets extra points for triple alliteration, even if technically incorrect. On the other hand, nothing could be more technically incorrect than the spaghetti factory initially pictured.

[Al Levesque]

When I get a temporary slip for our rowboat I use lines with snap hooks to attach to the boat. Since the lines are usually too long I first tie them to the cleat in the conventional, one turn, one cross, and one hitch. Then I try to use up the line on the cleat to keep it from getting underfoot for the passersby. The only requirement is that they do not drift off the cleat.

[Carter Brey]

I found it interesting to see how the professional gondoliers in Venice tie up and use fenders to make fast and protect their exotic craft. Almost invariably they use a reef knot with a slippery quick-release hitch in the middle of the line after passing a single turn around a stake or through a ring.

I love the minature flip-over-the-gunwale fender in this particular photo. It's a perfect illustration of the Italian need to take aesthetics of color and scale into consideration. It also doesn't detract from the outrageous golden statue just aft. I think I'll get one of those for my boat. Perhaps I can through-bolt it to the stem head.

Welcome back, OJ.

Carter

[img]http://pws.prserv.net/cbrey/gondola.jpg[/img]

[Mark Yashinsky]

and the other end of these line are both sail and power vessels. One wonders where people pick this stuff up, or do they just make it up as they go? Sheesh!!!

[Joe Myerson]

Near the end of this year's all-too-brief boating season, I loaned my dinghy to a Cape Cod neighbor whose handsome Downeast-style powerboat is moored close to my Cape Dory.

"Just tie it up with a bowline when you're done," I told him.

"Would a square knot be okay?" he answered. "That's the only knot I know--I use it all the time."

This very nice person has been boating for years and spends at least as much time on the water as I do. He's helped me out with VHF radio questions and regularly lends his boat as committee boat for informal races at our local club. As far as I know, he 's never had any major mishaps on the water.

I didn't want to seem like a sailing snob, so I told him the square knot would be fine. Later that day, after I was sure he had left the waterfront, I went back to the dock and retied my dinghy with a bowline.

Perhaps he got his nautical training in the Serene Republic?

--Joe

[John Vigor]

Joe Myerson reminds me that there is a great deal of snobbishness about sailors and knots.

In my opinion, you can do almost anything you need to on a boat with just two knots, one bend, and one hitch -- four in all.

They are:

• Anchor bend (which is really a modified round turn and two half-hitches).
• Bowline
• Reef knot
• Rolling hitch

If you learn how to do these four, you will stay out of trouble and not embarrass yourself in front of the verandah yachtsmen.

Should you want to expand your repertoire, here is a list of 10 knots that will silence all critics:

Anchor bend, bowline, cleat hitch, clove hitch, figure-eight, reef, rolling hitch, round turn and two half hitches, timber hitch, and sheet bend.

The definition of a good knot is threefold:
1. It must hold fast under all conditions.
2. It must come apart easily when you want it to.
3. You just be able to make it automatically from finger "memory."

Finally, the best of knots can be tied or untied when the line is under strain.

Cheers,

John V.

__________________

From Vigor's Rules for Life:
9(a): The Dorothy Parker Corollary: "Girls who should, but don't, wear glasses will never know if men make passes."

[Neil Gordon]

The definition of a good knot is threefold:
1. It must hold fast under all conditions.
2. It must come apart easily when you want it to.
3. You just be able to make it automatically from finger "memory."

That takes us back to where we started. Given the threefold criteria, how many "acceptible" ways are there to secure a line to a cleat?