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Six knots, and what each one is actually for
You do not need thirty knots. You actually need six, and you need them to work in the dark with cold fingers. What matters is not how tightly a knot holds, but whether it still comes undone after it has taken a load.
Bowline
A fixed loop that holds under load and can still be untied afterwards. The most important knot on board, and the one everybody really should be able to tie blind.
Figure eight
The stopper at the end of a sheet so it cannot run out through the block. Small, unremarkable, and the reason a genoa sheet does not fly away in a gust.
Clove hitch
Quick around a post or a rail, ideal for fenders. But it only holds under steady pull: if the load varies, it walks.
Sheet bend
Joins two lines, including lines of different thickness. A reef knot explicitly cannot do this: it is only for two ends of equal diameter and never under load.
Anchor bend, rolling hitch, timber hitch
The working hitches for anchors, halyards and towing. They bite under pull and come free as soon as the load is off.
Whipping and eye splice
An end is whipped so it cannot unlay, a loop is spliced rather than knotted. A splice keeps most of the breaking load, a knot takes a good deal of it away.
Sailing knots: the seven you will use on every trip
Anyone starting out under sail is soon shown a knot board with dozens of patterns on it. Day to day on a boat, seven will do: the bowline, figure of eight, clove hitch, sheet bend, rolling hitch, round turn and two half hitches, and making fast on a cleat. With these you can moor, join, stop and take the load off a line.
Good sailing knots share three qualities. They hold under load, they come undone afterwards, and they are quick to tie. A knot that holds beautifully but needs a knife after a night of wind is the wrong knot on a boat.
Learn each knot together with its job. Then, when things get busy, you reach for the one that fits rather than the one you happen to know best.
Mooring knots: the cleat hitch and the round turn and two half hitches
Most lines on board do not end in a knot at all but on a cleat. Made fast properly, a cleat takes any load and still releases in seconds, even while the line is under strain. Made fast badly, it either jams or slips.
The round turn and two half hitches is the knot for rings, posts and stanchions. The full turn around the ring takes the load, and the two half hitches simply secure it. That gives it an advantage few other knots offer: you can tie it and untie it under load, because the turn holds the line while you work.
- Lead the line first to the horn of the cleat furthest from the direction of pull, then take a full turn around the base of the cleat.
- Cross the line diagonally over the top to the other horn and back, forming a figure of eight. One or two crossings are enough.
- Finish with a locking hitch: twist a small loop into the line and drop it over the horn so the tail lies parallel to the last crossing.
- Check that the tail is free and not trapped under a loaded turn.
Figure of eight and clove hitch: small knots that do a lot
A figure of eight belongs at the end of every sheet and every halyard tail that runs through a block or clutch. It is quick to tie, unties easily after a load, and stops the end running out in a gust. On very thin line or through large blocks it can pull through, and a bulkier stopper is better there.
The clove hitch is two turns around a rail or a spar. It goes on in seconds and can be adjusted for height with one hand, which is why so many fenders hang from it. Its weakness is that when a fender works against the hull and the pull keeps changing, the hitch walks and can come undone.
So back it up with a half hitch around the standing part. For fenders working against a harbour wall overnight, a round turn and two half hitches is the calmer choice.
Knots for sailing under load: the rolling hitch and the sheet bend
The rolling hitch grips another line or a spar and holds a pull in one direction. Its best-known job is clearing a riding turn: a sheet has trapped itself on a winch and can no longer be eased. You tie a second line onto the loaded sheet with a rolling hitch, lead it to another winch and take the load across. Then the jammed turn can be freed.
With a rolling hitch, direction matters. The turns that ride over each other go on the side the pull comes from. Tied the wrong way round it slides at the first jerk.
The sheet bend joins two lines, even when they differ in thickness. The thicker line forms the bight and the thinner one is passed through it. For lines that are very unequal or slippery, use the double sheet bend with an extra turn, which holds more reliably.
Learning knots for sailing so they work in the dark
You learn knots with your hands, not by watching. A metre of old line beside the sofa or in the car is all it takes. Tie each of the seven a few times a day, first looking, then with your eyes shut. Once that works, tie them around a chair leg, around your knee or behind your back.
Things feel different on board. The rope is wet, the boat moves and someone is often standing beside you waiting. So practise on the boat in harbour too: make a line fast on a cleat, hang the fenders, put stoppers in the sheets. What comes easily in harbour without pressure will still come when you are berthing in a crosswind.
After tying, check each knot with a look and a firm pull. If it looks different from usual, tie it again. That habit is worth more than any extra knot on the board.
The most important knots on a boat and where they stop
No knot keeps the full strength of a rope. As a rough rule of thumb, a knot often costs a third of the breaking load or more, depending on the knot and the rope. For lines under constant heavy load, such as mooring lines in a harbour with surge, a spliced eye is the better answer.
Watch where a knot bears, too. A knot against an edge, in a fairlead or on a sharp corner chafes exactly where the rope is already bent hardest. A length of hose or a chafe sleeve over it adds a great deal to the rope's life.
Frequently asked questions
Which knots do I need for a sailing course or licence?
Practical courses and tests usually expect the common working knots, including the bowline, figure of eight, clove hitch, sheet bend, reef knot, round turn and two half hitches, and making fast on a cleat. The exact list depends on the course. If you can tie the seven on this page confidently, you are well prepared.
What is the difference between a knot, a bend and a hitch?
Strictly, a knot is tied in the rope itself, such as a figure of eight. A bend joins two ropes. A hitch fastens a rope to something else, such as a ring or a spar. In everyday speech, people call them all knots.
How many turns should go on a cleat?
One full turn around the base, one or two figure-of-eight crossings and a locking hitch. More turns do not hold any better, they only slow you down when you need to let go quickly.
Why is the reef knot frowned upon on board?
Because it is meant only for tying two ends of equal thickness, such as reef points. Used to join two loaded lines it can capsize and come apart. The sheet bend is the knot for that.
Which knot is best for fenders?
For a short stop, a clove hitch with an extra half hitch, because you can adjust the height quickly. For longer stays and choppy water, a round turn and two half hitches, which is less likely to work loose.
How often should I practise knots?
At first a few minutes every day, until each one comes blind. After that, tie them deliberately a few times before each season and each trip. If you have been away from the water for a while, it is mostly speed you lose.
What this has to do with insurance
Rope ages through sun, salt and chafe, and you can hardly see that ageing from the outside. Wear and tear is normally not covered under hull insurance, and neither is a failure that follows from it. What applies to your contract is set out in your own policy wording. In practice: halyards and sheets do not end with the season, they end in the year they go hard and bleached.
