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Best knot?


Krusty

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If waiting outside a lock, then use a boatman's hitch.

 

If inside a lock, don't tie to anything, normally.

 

Not a fan of clove hitches round bollards or stakes - they can go from either extreme to just slipping through, to jamming absolutely solid.

 

Boatman's hitch is the knot for tying up in 90% of canal situations where you tie around something, be it bollard, stake or stud.

 

Only place it can't easily be used is when tying through something like a ring.

I too am using the boatman's hitch a lot lately.

Only rope inside a lock if a grp/wood/similar boat is alongside me, but never "tie" it as such.

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Personally I always use a clove hitch. Quick, easy, tidy and secure and substantially less knitting than the boatman's hitch. In 40+ years of boating I have only once had some difficulty undoing one - it took 30 seconds instead of 5 seconds - and that was after I foolishly tied centre line to a bollard as a historic boat went past (not fast, but with lots of suction). I had walked away but the fact that everything was on the floor in the cabin meant the boat had heeled over to an extreme angle and pulled the rope really tight.

 

Doesn't sound like a clove hitch to me! In my experience that particular hitch (it's not a knot, or course) slips when you want it to hold, and jams when you want to free it.

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Doesn't sound like a clove hitch to me! In my experience that particular hitch (it's not a knot, or course) slips when you want it to hold, and jams when you want to free it.

Maybe you aren't doing it properly? I've never known it to slip (we always tie the boat with a signal clove hitch) and as I said, only once had minor difficulty in releasing it.

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I also use the boatmans hitch most of the time but what do people use when tying onto a ring?

 

Particularly something quick and easy (such as the boatmans hitch!) to temporally secure the boat with centre line whilst waiting for locks or at water point/sanitary station when there are only rings?

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Out of curiosity can you untie a boatman's hitch whilst it is under tension? My reason for asking is if one were in a short pound and the water level dropped when filling the lock to go down would it be possible to undo the knot if the level had dropped sufficient to tighten it?

 

I'm not necessarily saying my method is any good but all I tend to do is wrap a whole lot of loops around the bollard (wind to the top and then back down again) my thinking being no matter how much tension is on the rope I can still undo it.

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No, I'm not doing it, properly or improperly, because I never use one!

I wasn't having a dig, just wondering if what you call a clove hitch and what I call a clove hitch are the same thing?

Early experiences on lumpy water demonstrated that a clove hitch could untie itself, too.

What I call a clove hitch is forming 2 loops, then popping them over the bollard with the lower one uppermost (if you get my meaning!) It may depend on the nature of the rope and the diameter of the bollard but under strong tension I have never known it to slip. Mind you, a knot that is perfectly adequate for inland waterways might not withstand say a night at anchor in a rough sea. But then again there is no need to to use an ocean-proof knot on a canal!

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Out of curiosity can you untie a boatman's hitch whilst it is under tension? My reason for asking is if one were in a short pound and the water level dropped when filling the lock to go down would it be possible to undo the knot if the level had dropped sufficient to tighten it?

 

That's what makes it so useful. You can undo it very quickly even if under a lot of tension, yet it doesn't slip.

 

Tom

Edited by Tom and Bex
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I also use the boatmans hitch most of the time but what do people use when tying onto a ring?

 

Particularly something quick and easy (such as the boatmans hitch!) to temporally secure the boat with centre line whilst waiting for locks or at water point/sanitary station when there are only rings?

 

 

Pull a bight through the ring and tie two half-hitches with the doubled part of the rope.

 

Do not leave unattended.

 

Yes, what he said.

 

I can never think of any other obvious quick option.

 

It is OK for a temporary tie up, but is actually surprisingly hard to keep the rope fully taught in my experience, often resulting in me jumping significant gaps whilst trying to carry off a full toilet cassette, rather than stepping across the close gap I was hoping for.

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I also use the boatmans hitch most of the time but what do people use when tying onto a ring?

 

Particularly something quick and easy (such as the boatmans hitch!) to temporally secure the boat with centre line whilst waiting for locks or at water point/sanitary station when there are only rings?

 

There's a nice hitch that uses the tension in the line to hold it, and comes undone when you pull the loose end - I'll see if I can find it

 

Richard

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No, I'm not doing it, properly or improperly, because I never use one!

I wasn't having a dig, just wondering if what you call a clove hitch and what I call a clove hitch are the same thing?

 

Early experiences on lumpy water demonstrated that a clove hitch could untie itself, too.

Clove hitch on the sea is used for deploying fenders. If under constant load it won't slip, if the load is taken off it's easy to slip off.

 

Locks; a lighterman's hitch on the bow. The wash can be as turbulent as you like and it won't go anywhere. Doesn't have to be particularly short, just short enough not to get slammed against the lock walls if pulled forward as happens at many locks.

 

Centre rope is not recommended. Of anything can go wrong it will with this rope. Working boat back end rope on a traveller is an exception.

 

( as an aside; why are centre ropes on a leisure boat at the centre of the boat rather than centre of pull? )

 

ps the other use for a clove hitch is to take load so the anchor point doesn't snatch.

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There's a nice hitch that uses the tension in the line to hold it, and comes undone when you pull the loose end - I'll see if I can find it

 

Richard

Amongst other names the "Billy the Kid Horse Hitch", allegedly a reference to the quick getaway it enables!

 

Handy after an altercation with an angler or cyclist perhaps. smile.png

 

George ex nb Alton retired

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Amongst other names the "Billy the Kid Horse Hitch", allegedly a reference to the quick getaway it enables!

 

Handy after an altercation with an angler or cyclist perhaps. smile.png

 

George ex nb Alton retired

 

Sounds like it - I can't find an illustration. I can remember loops being pulled through loops

 

Richard

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Sounds like it - I can't find an illustration. I can remember loops being pulled through loops

 

Richard

i think i use this one on mooring rings for a temporary hold, see if this makes sense

 

pass a bight through the ring, take a bight in the dead end and pass that through the first bight, pull down on the working end

 

to free pull the dead end

 

its not something to leave and head off to the pub but as a quick empty bog knot its fine

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Amongst other names the "Billy the Kid Horse Hitch", allegedly a reference to the quick getaway it enables!

 

Handy after an altercation with an angler or cyclist perhaps. :)

 

George ex nb Alton retired

It's called a highwayman's hitch, or it was when I learnt to tie it in the scouts. I have used it occasional to tie the boat up temporarily.
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There's a nice hitch that uses the tension in the line to hold it, and comes undone when you pull the loose end - I'll see if I can find it

 

Richard

 

 

Amongst other names the "Billy the Kid Horse Hitch", allegedly a reference to the quick getaway it enables!

 

Handy after an altercation with an angler or cyclist perhaps. smile.png

 

George ex nb Alton retired

 

 

 

Sounds like it - I can't find an illustration. I can remember loops being pulled through loops

 

Richard

 

 

i think i use this one on mooring rings for a temporary hold, see if this makes sense

 

pass a bight through the ring, take a bight in the dead end and pass that through the first bight, pull down on the working end

 

to free pull the dead end

 

its not something to leave and head off to the pub but as a quick empty bog knot its fine

 

 

It's called a highwayman's hitch, or it was when I learnt to tie it in the scouts. I have used it occasional to tie the boat up temporarily.

 

 

Sounds a lot like what I used to know as a "self rescue knot" when I was a firefighter

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I can see I'll have to have a practice with some of those ideas. I've been using the same as Machpoint005 and Alan said above but with the same problems Alan points out.

 

That animated knot site seems really good. Could have hours of fun practising with knots from there, and it makes it so easy to follow.

 

Tom

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