anchoring and marlinspike seamanship 243
Th e Five Kings of Marlinspike Seamanship
Th e seaman’s abilities are put to the test with the grace and speed with
which he turns the knot, bend, or hitch.Few subjects seem more hotly debated by sailors than the subject of which
knots you need to know. Most of us might settle with the advice of a learned
world cruiser or racer we know, but it oft en seems their counsel applies to their
unique vessel. Better candidates might
be those knots used across the board,
which are practical for both power and
sail and useful enough that they’re seen
on most every type of commercial and
recreational vessel. Here’s how to tie
the fi ve kings of marlinspike.
CLEAT HITCH
Considered the king of knots for
lines that are always under load, cleat
hitches serve as belaying points for
heavily loaded sheets, halyards, dock-
ing lines, and anchor rodes. We oft en
have to partially undress the hitch
under tension to spring a boat into
a dock or veer anchor rode.
- Touch the “far side” fi rst. Always
start this hitch by pulling the line to
the cleat horn farthest from the load.
Th en, loop the line around the cleat
base, under and around the opposite
horn. If under tension, make sure
you stand on the far side, facing the load.
Line Lingo
Bitter end—either end of a piece of
line (all line has two bitter ends)
Standing part—the idle, inactive
part of a line
Bight—a loop in a line; coils are
multiple loops or bights
Knot—a general term for knots,
bends, and hitches
Bend—bends tie a line onto another
line, mast, boom, becket, block, or
rail
Hitch—passing a bight of line over
something; a line is hitched to a post,
rail, boom, spar, or hook, usually over
or under the same line
Splice—nautical weaving; unlay the
strands from a bitter end and pass
them under and over the strands of
a line
Whipping—passing twine around
either or both bitter ends to keep
them from unravelingTying a cleat hitch.