A good mariner makes the effort to learn new skills. Learning new knots and hitches will make it easier to operate your boat and improve your seamanship.
Prudent mariners take care with the maintenance and care of the lines used on their vessels. There are many knots and hitches that are useful to a boater and knowing them will make the vessel operations much easier and safer for everyone onboard. Here are a few knots and hitches that I think every mariner should know to use. Each knot description is linked to the Animated Knots by Grog website that has excellent, step by step instructions on how to tie them properly.
Round Turn and Two Half Hitches - This is a useful knot and recommended by many for mooring a boat to piling or bullrail. It is reliable and can be quickly tied, but my personal experience shows a clove hitch as being a better choice in some situations. Using the two half hitches allows the length of a line to be easily adjusted making this a good choice for tying fenders to a vessel's rail. If you look closely, the two half hitches is really a clove hitch tied to the standing part of a line.
Bowline - This is best known nautical knot. When tied properly, it does not jam or slip and can be untied after being loaded with weight. It can be used to tie a line to a ring, a piling or to another line. Some care must be taken because the knot can come undone when not under a load. One solution is to tie a figure eight knot in the bitter end of the line to keep it from passing through the bowline knot.
Figure Eight - The figure eight is a stopper knot. It is meant to keep the bitter end of a line from passing through a block or another knot like the bowline. The figure eight is easy to untie after being loaded and is the basis for many knots that have gone on to replace the bowline.
Cleat Hitch - This is a figure eight hitch wrapped around a cleat used to secure a line. A turn is made around the cleat with the line, several figure eight turns are made between the horns of the cleat and it is finished with a half hitch for securely. This is hitch that every sailor needs to know and learn to tie quickly.
Anchor Bend – As the name implies, this is the preferred knot for attaching a line to an anchor. It is also useful for tying lines to crab or shrimp pots. The knot is closely related to the round turn and two half hitches. It holds well with wet, slippery line.
Clove Hitch - This hitch is well suited for securing mooring lines to wooden bullrails. When finished with the bitter end put into a half hitch, this hitch makes a very secure connection to the dock. The knot can be formed in hand or by passing the ends around the anchoring object.
