Boat and Dock Knots

Put a thin, slick rope and a thick, stiff one into a square knot and the thin one rolls right out. The sheet bend holds that pair, as long as the bight’s in the thicker rope and both short ends finish on the same side.

A cover that goes up drum tight sags after a few days of sun and rain. The taut-line hitch slides back up without untying anything — as long as that third turn sits outside the loop instead of bunched with the other two.

Rope rarely goes over the side with a bang. It feeds out through a chock while you’re busy. A figure-eight stopper takes four seconds and still opens after a hard load, as long as it’s fatter than the hole it’s guarding.

A loaded rode on the wrong fitting, or a riding turn jammed on the winch. I use the rolling hitch to grip the loaded line so the strain can go somewhere else, and it only works facing one direction — get that backwards and it just slides.

Two turns and a tuck, one-handed, on a rail while the boat’s still moving. I use the clove hitch for fenders and watch it creep loose under a cycling load, which is why I don’t leave a boat tied to one.

A loop in the middle of the line turns your arms into something close to three to one, which is plenty for a trailer cover and way too much for a rod tube. The hull still rides on rated straps.

A bowline holds its loop size and still breaks open with a push on the collar after a hard night’s load. The catch is slack: shake it around unloaded and the tail can walk right out, so back it up.

An anchored boat never really holds still, so the ring files away at the rope all day. Two turns spread that wear out. Tie it and check it on deck, because once it’s over the side you’re done checking.

Far horn first, clean figure eights across the middle, one locking hitch. Stack six locking hitches on a cleat and you’ve built a knife job for the exact moment the boat needs to leave.