Knot Question

[anticd70]

I'm here at work practicing some knots for the summer of 2017 and I have a quick question. What knot does everyone use to tie their boat to a dock post? Is the Round Turn and Two Half Hitch knot the best? Easy way to remember it?

Thanks
LA

[Slickcraft]

For a temporary stay at the town docks I use a clove hitch with a 3rd loop. If windy I would add two half hitches.

[upthesaukee]

I too use a clove hitch plus one loop, and often use the two half hitches too, always on the overnight tying. Above all, don't skimp on the length of your dock lines. Nothing leads to trouble tying up faster than using dock lines that are too short.

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[Descant]

Clove hitch, no question. I use extra long lines so I usually do three turns. If you're on a rough square post and not much movement that's probably enough. On a smooth round post with wave action, a clove hitch will pull around the post and loosen, so the extra half-hitch is a good idea. Note that many people take a non-clove extra starting wrap on the post. Bad idea, because the extra wrap will loosen, especially on a round post.
If you're just at the gas dock and the boat is attended, you can be pretty liberal in your interpretation. At a public/restaurant dock where I am leaving the boat, I may retie all three liners myself. (Three, because I install a center cleat for a spring line on every boat I've ever owned, and I always use a spring line.)

Not to get too far off knots, but tying to allow up and down movement rather than fore and aft movement is important. Also, proper placement of fenders will impact on your knots.
Note that in many areas, especially where the tide is significant, a spliced loop goes over the post or dock cleat and the bitter end is wrapped to a cleat on the vessel. Again, allow up and down, not fore and aft motion.

More than you wanted to know. Sorry. Fingers just won't stop.

[jeffk]

I don't use a knot.

I loop the line around the dock post twice (slightly loose). Then I make a U bend and pass it under the loops on the dock side (the bend sticks out the top). Then I give the boat a push out with my foot and the loops tighten and snugs it all down. One of the Irwins taught me that when I bought my boat and I have used it for twenty+ years. The key is in the last step, tightening the loops. Once tightened it won't slip. If you don't tighten it, wave action may cause it to wiggle the rope out more than you want. It will eventually tighten but the boat may be further away from the dock than you wanted.

I like it because all you need to do is yank on the loose end at the bottom and it releases. If it's tight you can step on the loose end with your foot and pull it out.

This method might not be OK in constantly shifting ocean water but it has never let go at the lake.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

I too use a clove hitch plus one loop, and often use the two half hitches too, always on the overnight tying. Above all, don't skimp on the length of your dock lines. Nothing leads to trouble tying up faster than using dock lines that are too short.

If your lines are too long, a clove hitch can be tied in the middle of your dock line by making two large loops, then dropping them over the dock post. Clove hitches can loosen with wave action, so adding half-hitches is a good idea.

The clove hitch can also jam forever, so never use a clove hitch on your vehicle's trailer hitch!

During Spring's worst windy day, my long-term-renter/neighbor's stern line released in their temporary absence, so their I/O was only inches away from our shoreline's boulders. It was only through their otherwise useless tie-off-piling that their one remaining line held the boat. It was a severe angle, but kept it off the rocks. I ran over, and secured their boat using a bowline. As though it was epoxied in place, they kept using that very same knot I'd tied for the rest of the season.

(Yes, I had to mo-o-ove their boat).

• A one minute tutorial to tie the "King of Knots":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIdsTZTUl6E

The bowline is a boater's strongest and most useful knot.

.

[Dave R]

For lake docking at public docks:

We like to attach the eye-spliced end of our 3/8" line to the boat cleat with a lark's head, make half a turn around the dock post, and tie the bitter end with a normal cleat hitch to the same boat cleat. That way the line can be untied from the dock from within the boat. We also typically use just the stern cleats and mid-ship cleats for this so that no one has go out on the foredeck to handle line, which can be a safety issue. If I tie to the starboard side (my preference) I can handle the mid-ship line from the helm, a nice advantage.

Other docking situations typically require more effort/lines/thought, especially if there are waves to deal with. One really good tip: If there are waves expected, tie the stern line to the cleat opposite the dock side of the boat and tie the other end of the line to a post aft of the boat. This way the line comes off the boat at an angle away from the boat. This will keep the boat close to the dock, but allow plenty of up and down motion without straining the cleat and line. I also use a bow cleat line when I tie this way and augment the setup with spring lines to keep the boat from moving fore and aft. I often do this at the Weirs docks.

[Dave R]

Speaking of knots, I am always astounded by the high percentage of incorrect "hitches" I see on cleats.

[camp guy]

Tying a boat is very important, obviously, and having spent many, many days watching people tie up their boats, I am qualifying myself as an expert.

Here's the deal - Most boaters follow a simple rule, namely, use the largest diameter line (usually referred to by them as 'rope') available, make as many turns as possible around either a cleat or a dock post, do something clever-but-useless with the left over end, and then sling the residue across the dock walking surface.

The multiple wraps insure nothing in the way of tie-up safety, but slinging the residue has a definite advantage in that it causes people to walk away from your boat in order to avoid the line (rope), and this has the added effect of safety and security.

Also, to totally insure boat tie-up integrity, try to park you boat on the up wind side of the dock, thus insuring that the wind will constantly blow your boat against the pilings, dock posts, rusty nails, and any other nautical devices, and, if on the odd chance that your original tie-up job fails, the wind will hold your boat in place until you return.

[MikeF-NH]

for short term docking where i am close to and almost always in site of the boat...I use what many here suggest...a clove hitch with an extra loop. Fast, easy, pretty secure.

Two half hitches and its big brother the taut-line are adjustable tension knots that are designed to slip along the rope and adjust tension. They can slip and loosen in the waves but will not completely let go. I have grown more reliant on the bowline. Many struggle with this knot but its not really that hard and I have 100% faith it will be where I left it when I come back.

[FlyingScot]

I prefer a bowline--more secure than a clove hitch and less affected by rough chop pulling it too tight. Plus--if you're returning to the same pilings--you don't need to untie the loops and retie upon return. Just lift them off and drop them back on upon docking.

[kawishiwi]

Originally Posted by ApS

If your lines are too long, a clove hitch can be tied in the middle of your dock line by making two large loops, then dropping them over the dock post. Clove hitches can loosen with wave action, so adding half-hitches is a good idea.

The clove hitch can also jam forever, so never use a clove hitch on your vehicle's trailer hitch!

During Spring's worst windy day, my long-term-renter/neighbor's stern line released in their temporary absence, so their I/O was only inches away from our shoreline's boulders. It was only through their otherwise useless tie-off-piling that their one remaining line held the boat. It was a severe angle, but kept it off the rocks. I ran over, and secured their boat using a bowline. As though it was epoxied in place, they kept using that very same knot I'd tied for the rest of the season.

(Yes, I had to mo-o-ove their boat).

• A one minute tutorial to tie the "King of Knots":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIdsTZTUl6E

The bowline is a boater's strongest and most useful knot.

.

I agree. I can tie it one handed or with my eyes closed. Probably could do it in my sleep.

[kawishiwi]

Originally Posted by PeterG

I prefer a bowline--more secure than a clove hitch and less affected by rough chop pulling it too tight. Plus--if you're returning to the same pilings--you don't need to untie the loops and retie upon return. Just lift them off and drop them back on upon docking.

This is the knot police chief Brody is learning from Capt. Quint on the Orca. He gets it right just as the shark first runs with the bait.

[DickR]

Originally Posted by kawishiwi

This is the knot police chief Brody is learning from Capt. Quint on the Orca. He gets it right just as the shark first runs with the bait.

That's a good knot to mention to the grandkids. I've already told them to watch out for the fresh water great whites when they go swimming here.

Awright, I, too, use the triple clove hitch with a half hitch. It throws on a post so fast that the only thing that slows it down is the height of the post. Flick, flick, flick - done! Maybe a second and a half. I don't see too much wave action here, other than from weekend boating. I do use the bowline for some things. It's a great non-closing loop, which also tightens with tension on the line, and which always is easily opened by "breaking the back" on it. I guess I've voted for two knots, or at least kept me from being "wrong" in case one knot is clearly the way to go.

[anticd70]

Will a bowline on a bite work for docking a boat? So far I have down this knot and a round turn knot with 2 half hitches.

[FlyingScot]

Originally Posted by anticd70

Will a bowline on a bite work for docking a boat? So far I have down this knot and a round turn knot with 2 half hitches.

Yes. But just a plain bowline at the end of the line is probably easier.

[Phantom]

For public docks -- we always use a Chain Knot around one of the poles .... quick & easy release by simply pulling on the loose end when you return.

People are always gawking at us and asking how to do it when we typically come in to public docks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ2Nlrm8AAY

.

[FlyingScot]

Originally Posted by Phantom

For public docks -- we always use a Chain Knot around one of the poles .... quick & easy release by simply pulling on the loose end when you return.

People are always gawking at us and asking how to do it when we typically come in to public docks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ2Nlrm8AAY

.

Very nice! Reminds me of the Mooring Hitch taught at Boy Scout camps just a few short years ago...

[SIKSUKR]

This animated knot website has just about any knot you could imagine.http://www.animatedknots.com/brummel...om#ScrollPoint

[depasseg]

Originally Posted by anticd70

I'm here at work practicing some knots for the summer of 2017 and I have a quick question. What knot does everyone use to tie their boat to a dock post? Is the Round Turn and Two Half Hitch knot the best? Easy way to remember it?

Thanks
LA

As others have mentioned, I also use the clove hitch with 2 half hitches.

As for practicing (which is an awesome ide, BTW), I love the "Animated Knots by Grog" site. I even paid for the phone app. It's a great step by step for every knot out there, with descriptions.
http://www.animatedknots.com/

[ApS]

The bowline is a boater's strongest and most useful knot.

Originally Posted by kawishiwi

I agree. I can tie it one handed or with my eyes closed. Probably could do it in my sleep.

Recently, while "on vacation" from the Lake, I used a bowline to remove a dead, but very tough and slippery, palm frond. (Twice)

In Photo 1, you can see that the line (white) parted with the first try—but bowline 1 stayed secure.

The black line has bowline 2 tied, then similarly passed-through to tighten the line's grip on the palm frond. Two half-hitches follow, to make a self-tightening timber hitch. Then secured the line to car's trailer hitch to drive a short distance.

Yes, it's just a dead leaf, but the car will jump when the frond breaks free.

Even if the bowline tightens to the point it can't be released by hand, a modest hit with a hammer will do the job. There's no releasing a jammed clove hitch.

Photo 2 shows the bowline with multiple pass-throughs can be used as a hitch on a slippery aluminum spar. One chief advantage is that the bowline can be slipped back and forth along the spar; whereas, a timber hitch requires many more "fiddly" adjustments.

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