Boating is a lot easier, safer and you look like you know what you're doing, when you know how to tie and use knots. The problem is, there are 100's of knots and you could easily become confused and overwhelmed. However, as neat as it would be to know how to tie and use all these knots,
You only need to know six.
Six knots (along with a few variations) will get you through life--not just boating. Learn one knot at a time and learn it well. Practice until it is as natural as talking or walking.
We have already covered the Bowline and the Round Turn and Two Half Hitches in previous newsletters. This next knot is probably the easiest knot to learn and most commonly used around docks—The Figure Eight Cleat Hitch.
Figure Eight Cleat Hitch
The Figure Eight Cleat Hitch is mainly used to tie a dock line to a cleat on a boat and secondly to tie a boat to a cleat on a dock.
A Cleat Hitch finished by a couple of half hitches is ideal for quickly and easily securing a boat to a dock. This knot can always be untied even after a load. It is in the “Knots that Hold” category.
This knot’s proper name is “The Cleat Hitch”, but many people including us, refer to it as the “Figure Eight Cleat Hitch” or simply “The Figure Eight”. Actually, there is another totally different knot called “The Figure Eight Knot” that is used to put a stopper at the end of a rope to stop or prevent it from running away through a pulley, block or fender eye. It is covered at the end of this newsletter.
Cleat Parts
The ends that extend out both sides of a cleat are called “horns” or “ears” and some people call them “flukes” or “arms”. I’ll refer to them as horns. The lower portion below the horns is called the base.
How to Tie
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Start by pulling the dock line snug, so the boat is where you want it. Pull the line around and under the cleat horn that is furthest from the boat or the load to be secured.
Wrap the line under the far horn.
Complete one full wrap around the base of the cleat.
Cross over the top of the cleat diagonally to the opposite side at the other end of the cleat.
Pass the line under the near horn.
Cross over the top diagonally.
Pass the line under the far horn again, hence a figure eight.
Cross the cleat diagonally to the near horn.
To hold it from coming undone, finish off by dropping a half hitch over the far horn. To make a half hitch on the horn of a cleat, form a hitch (loop) by turning the free end of the line under that section coming from the far horn.
Lower the hitch (loop) over the near horn. The line should finish by coming off the horn at the opposite end to which you started.
Pull tight to snug the hitch.
A completed Figure Eight Cleat Hitch.
The Figure Eight Cleat Hitch can be tied with either hand. In the pictures above, Doug switched hands to stay out of the way of the camera. The pictures are taken from the vantage point of the one tying the knot, so it is as you would see it as you tie it--not the reverse.
Video of Doug tying the Figure Eight Cleat Hitch to secure the boat to the dock cleat.
Conditions
A cleat hitch can always be easily untied, even after it has experienced a load or force.
It is the best and quickest knot for recreational boaters to use on a cleat. Commercial vessels securing with cables don’t finish off with half hitches, because the load is so extreme that it could jam.
Examples of use
This Cleat Hitch only works on cleats, so wherever you have a cleat you can secure an object with a Figure Eight Cleat Hitch.
When mooring overnight, whether at a dock or to a big rock in the lee of a secluded island, always run your lines back to the boat and secure with Figure Eight Cleat Hitches on the deck. When the position of the boat needs to be changed during the night because of a wind shift, you can adjust the lines without leaving the boat. No stumbling around shore in the dark. Whereas, if you have eye-spliced ends on your deck cleats, you have to go ashore to adjust the lines.
You’ll also find a Cleat Hitch the best for securing a flag halyard on a flag pole cleat.
Using a Figure Eight Cleat Hitch is a great way to secure an awning on the side of a home or motor home. It makes raising and lower easy.
Variations
When the cleat is large enough and an extreme load is expected, lay on two or three extra eights before finishing with a couple of half hitches to distribute the load and prevent jamming.
Before the cleats we know today were invented, vessels were tied to docks via the use of belaying pins. These were a pair of vertical pins or posts that were positioned on the wharf like a pair of steel rods or aboard the vessel like huge wooden dowels. Securing a rope to these belaying pins using a figure eight pattern, was called “Belaying a Rope”.
Tidy Up Excess Line
Line left like a pile of spaghetti on the dock is a disaster waiting to happen!
After you have tied your Figure Eight Cleat Hitch knot, you can tidy up your extra line as follows:
Hang it over the edge of the dock from the cleat as shown:
OR coil up as a..
Flemish Flake
Start with the bitter end (loose end) and turn clockwise on the dock surface with the lay or twist of the rope. Hold down all the line with both hands, as you turn it taking in all the slack.
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If you turn twisted rope counter clockwise, the line will not co-operate, because you are working against the twist. With braided line, you can go either way.
This will not only look neater and decorative, but will eliminate unsafe clutter on the dock’s walking surface greatly reducing the chance of anyone tripping and falling.
Prepare Yourself and Your Crew
Practice the Figure Eight Cleat Hitch until you can tie it in your sleep. Once you have it down pat, from a squatting or bending position, try throwing the line over the horns like a cowboy. This will save you bending over and, in time, you can probably do it from the cockpit as well. Flicking on the half hitches at the end is the tricky part. But, it is something to mess with on a wet afternoon at the marina, when there is nothing better to do. Even if you don’t get it mastered, it will create a fun activity with lots of laughter. You can even turn it into a contest or competition for even more fun.
Whoever gets it mastered will certainly draw a crowd of admirers on the dock. Send us a video and we can add it to the site.
The Figure Eight Knot
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As mentioned above, the Figure Eight Knot, sometimes called the Figure Eight Stopper Knot, is used to stop the end of a line from passing or running away through either a pulley or block or even a fender—because you are putting a lump in the line. It is so easy to tie.
To Tie a Figure Eight Knot
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You start like tying a simple overhand knot at the end of the line.
Pass the bitter end back over the second half of the loop (bight) but don't bring it back up through the loop like in an overhand knot.
Take the bitter end around behind the standing part of the line, then come back down through the loop.
Once tied, slide the knot to the position you want it, like 3” from the end of the rope.
Pull tight to secure in place.
Have fun with your ropes, lines & knots.
Knots are Free and Reliable.
Learn them once and use them forever, year round.
e-Lessons
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