A knot is only right if it is the right knot for the job. These eight cover almost everything you do with rope on a cruising yacht: a loop, a stopper, two hitches, two ways to join ends, a grip, and making fast to a cleat.
Watch 1 min 25Animations 8Read 15 minQuiz 8 questions
Modern yacht ropes are synthetic: stronger than natural fibre and they don't rot. Two constructions are common:
Three-strand (laid)
Three strands twisted together, usually with a right-handed twist. Easy to splice; traditional for anchor warps and mooring lines.
Braided
Yarns plaited together, often as a core inside a braided cover. The core takes most of the load; the cover protects it and decides how it feels in the hand. Sheets and halyards are usually braided.
Material
Character
Good for
Nylon
Strong and stretchy; absorbs water and is weaker when wet.
Anchor warps and mooring lines, where stretch soaks up snatching.
Polyester
About 90% as strong as nylon but stretches much less; unaffected by water; resists sunlight and chafe better.
Sheets and halyards, where you don't want the sail to stretch out of trim.
Polypropylene
Cheap and light, and it floats; weakened by sunlight, heat and friction.
Throwing lines and dinghy painters that should float.
HMPE (e.g. Dyneema)
A high-performance fibre: very strong for its weight, very little stretch.
Racing halyards and lightweight running rigging.
How to read the drawings
Each knot is drawn loose, the way you would lay it on the chart table, so that every crossing shows. Where two strands cross, the one drawn unbroken is on top. The dark band marks the working end, the end you tie with, and a magenta ring follows it while you tie. A dashed line shows rope hidden behind a rail or under a cleat horn; the standing part leads away to the load. Press play, or step through at your own pace, and copy each step with a length of real rope.
Standing part
The main part of the rope, the part that takes the load. You leave it alone while tying.
Working end
The short end you move to make the knot. Also just "the end" or "the tail".
Bight
A U-shaped fold in the rope that does not cross itself.
Turn, round turn
A turn takes the rope once round an object; a round turn goes round once more, so the rope fully circles it twice in contact.
Hitch, bend
A hitch ties a rope to something (a rail, ring or another rope). A bend joins two rope ends together.
2.1
Bowline
Use on board: a fixed loop in the end of a line that will not slip or jam. Drop it over a post or bollard as a mooring line, or use it to tie a sheet to the clew of a headsail.
Decide how big a loop you need. Hold the standing part, with plenty of end to work with.
Make a small loop in the standing part, with the part leading to the end lying on top.
Leave enough rope below it for the size of loop you want.
Bring the end up through the small loop from underneath: the rabbit comes out of the hole.
Take it round behind the standing part: round the back of the tree.
Then back down through the small loop. Hold the end against the side of the big loop and pull the standing part to tighten.
Watch for: a bowline cannot be untied while it is loaded, and it can shake loose on a sheet that flogs with no load on it, so check it from time to time.
2.2
Figure-of-eight
Use on board: a stopper knot in the end of a sheet or halyard, so the line cannot run out through a block, fairlead or jammer if it is let go.
Work near the end of the line. The standing part leads back through the block.
Take the end up and round in a loop…
…and back down across the front of the standing part.
Carry on round, behind the standing part.
Bring the end back over the side of the loop…
…and down through the loop. Pull both parts and the knot forms an 8.
Good to know: unlike a plain overhand knot, a figure-of-eight still unties easily after it has been jammed hard against a block. Leave a tail of a few centimetres.
2.3
Clove hitch
Use on board: a quick, temporary hitch round a rail or post, for example hanging fenders from the guardrail while you come alongside.
Bring the fender line up to the rail.
Take the end over the rail and back round underneath.
Bring it up across the front, over the standing part.
Take it over the rail again, beside the first turn.
Tuck the end up under the diagonal.
Pull both parts tight. The two ends leave the hitch in opposite directions.
Watch for: a clove hitch can slip or work loose when the load keeps changing direction, as a fender's does. Do not moor with it; for a longer stay, finish with a half hitch round the standing part.
2.4
Round turn and two half hitches
Use on board: making fast to a mooring ring, post or rail. It is secure under load, and you can untie it while the line is still loaded.
Lead the line up to the ring.
Pass the end through the ring…
…and through again. This round turn holds the load while you finish the knot.
Take the end round the standing part and back across itself: the first half hitch.
Go round the standing part again, the same way, just below the first…
…and finish it across its own line, just like the first. Pull tight and both hitches bed down snug against the round turn; they are drawn loose here so every crossing shows.
Watch for: keep the round turn: it takes the strain off the hitches, which is what lets you untie them under load. Two half hitches made the same way form a clove hitch round the standing part.
Exam tip
Questions usually give a job and ask for the knot. Loop: bowline. Stop a line running out: figure-of-eight. Short-term hitch: clove hitch. Make fast to a ring under load: round turn and two half hitches.
2.5
Reef knot
Use on board: tying the two ends of the same line round something, such as the reef points round the bundled foot of a reefed mainsail, or a sail tie.
Pass the line round the bundled sail and hold one end in each hand.
Right end over left…
…and under. That is the first half.
Now the end on the left goes over the one on the right…
…and under.
Each end now lies alongside its own part. Pull both pairs tight to a flat, square knot.
Watch for: it is not a knot for joining two ropes under load; it can capsize and pull apart, especially if the ropes differ. If the ends come out on opposite sides you have tied a granny knot: untie it and start again.
2.6
Sheet bend
Use on board: joining two ropes, especially ropes of different thickness or stiffness. The bight is always made in the thicker rope.
Lay out the two ropes, thicker one on the left.
Make a bight, a U-shape, in the end of the thicker rope.
Bring the thinner rope up through the bight from underneath.
Take it round behind both parts of the bight.
Bring it back up across the front…
…and tuck it under itself, not under the bight. Both short ends finish on the same side.
Watch for: a sheet bend can loosen when it is not under load. For more security, take the thinner rope round the bight a second time before tucking: a double sheet bend.
2.7
Rolling hitch
Use on board: it grips along a rope or spar against a pull along its length. The classic job: tie it to a sheet that has a riding turn jammed on a winch, take the strain on another winch, and clear the jam.
Lead the new line alongside the loaded rope. Here the pull will come to the left.
Take a turn round the loaded rope.
Take a second turn beside it, working towards the pull.
Bring the end back over the standing part and across the front of both turns.
Take it round once more on the far side…
…and tuck it under itself, as in a clove hitch. Now take the strain on the new line.
Watch for: it grips one way only, when pulled towards the side with the two turns. Test it before trusting it: smooth modern rope can slip, so add an extra turn.
Catamaran
A catamaran lies to its anchor on a bridle: a line from each bow, joined to the chain so the load is shared between the hulls and taken off the windlass. The bridle is usually clipped on with a chain hook or a soft shackle; a rolling hitch round the chain does the same job if the hook is lost. Mooring lines are made fast to the cleats on each hull, and the bows are a long way apart, so the lines need to be longer than on a monohull.
2.8
Cleating a line
Use on board: making a line fast to a horn cleat so that it holds firmly, yet can be released quickly, even with load on it. Mooring lines, halyards and furling lines are all cleated this way.
Lead the line to the horn furthest from where the load comes from.
Take a full turn round the base of the cleat, under both horns.
Cross over the top and round under the far horn…
…then back across and round the other horn: a figure of eight.
Now the locking hitch: cross over the top once more…
…round under the far horn, so the line comes up on the other side…
…then twist it into an underhand loop and drop it over the horn, so the end tucks under the last turn…
…and lies beside the previous diagonal. Pull the standing part to lock it.
Watch for: one locking hitch is enough. Starting round the near horn, or piling on extra hitches, can jam the line when you need to let it go in a hurry.
Bowline for a loop, figure-of-eight to stop, clove hitch for a moment, round turn and two half hitches for keeps, sheet bend to join, rolling hitch to grip.
Check yourself
Exam style: one answer per question, no second go.
You need a fixed loop in the end of a mooring line to drop over a bollard. Which knot?
The bowline makes a loop that does not slip or jam, and unties easily once the load is off.
What stops a jib sheet running out through its fairlead when it is let fly?
The figure-of-eight is the standard stopper knot for sheets and halyards, and it still unties after being jammed against the block.
Which knot joins a thin line to a much thicker one?
The sheet bend joins ropes of different size; make the bight in the thicker rope.
A jib sheet has a riding turn jammed on the winch. What do you tie to the loaded sheet so another winch can take the strain?
A rolling hitch grips along a rope against a pull along its length, as long as the pull comes on the side with the two turns.
You make fast to a mooring ring and want to be able to untie the line while it is still under load. Which knot?
The round turn takes the load, so the half hitches can be undone while the line is still loaded. A bowline cannot be untied under load.
Why should you not join two mooring lines with a reef knot?
The reef knot is a binding knot for tying two ends round something. Under load, especially with ropes of different size, it can capsize and spill. Use a sheet bend to join ropes.
Fenders are hung from the guardrail with clove hitches. What is the clove hitch's main weakness?
A clove hitch is quick to tie and adjust, but a shifting load can work it loose, so it is for temporary jobs.
You are cleating a line on a horn cleat. What do you do first?
The turn round the base takes the load. Then come figure-of-eight turns over the horns, and one locking hitch to finish.