Essential knots
Fourteen knots that cover almost every working situation on deck. Learn the top eight cold; the rest save your day in a specific mess.
Bowline
Forms a non-slipping loop at the end of a line. The king of knots for mooring and rescue loops.
Make a loop; pass the working end up through the loop; around the standing part; back down through the loop.
Bowline on a bight
Creates a secure pair of loops in the middle of a line without using the ends. Useful as a bosun's chair in emergencies.
Form a bight; tie a loose overhand with the bight; pass the whole bight over the two loops; dress and set.
Clove hitch
Fast attachment to a rail or bollard. Grip weakens under shifting load — secure with two half hitches for anything important.
Wrap once around the post; cross over and wrap again; tuck the end under the last wrap.
Sheet bend
Joins two lines of different diameter. More reliable than a reef knot for unequal lines.
Form a bight in the thicker line; thread the thinner line up through, around both parts, and back under itself.
Carrick bend
Joins two heavy hawsers. Symmetric, does not jam under load, unties cleanly after being loaded.
Form a loop with one line; weave the second line over-under-over-under through the loop.
Round turn and two half hitches
Secures a line to a ring or post under steady load. Holds well, unties easily.
Two full turns around the object, then two half hitches around the standing part.
Figure-8
Stopper knot preventing a line from running out of a block or jam cleat.
Form a loop; pass the working end behind the standing part; thread it through the loop.
Reef (square) knot
Joins two ends of the same line of equal diameter — e.g. tying reef points in a sail. Not a bend; will fail on unequal lines.
Right over left, then left over right.
Anchor bend (fisherman's bend)
Attaches a line to the ring of an anchor. Stronger than a round turn and two half hitches for heavy pull.
Two round turns through the ring; half hitch through both turns; second half hitch around the standing part.
Rolling hitch
Attaches a line to a rope or spar such that it holds under lengthwise pull. Use for a stopper when rigging a tail onto a loaded line.
Two turns across the standing line in the direction of pull; one turn above, tucked under itself.
Trucker's hitch
Mechanical-advantage tightener — roughly a 3:1 purchase. For lashing deck cargo or tarps down hard.
Tie a slipped loop partway along the line; pass the running end around the anchor point and back through the loop; pull tight; lock with two half hitches.
Prusik knot
Friction hitch that grips a main line when loaded, slides when relaxed. Self-rescue up a line, ascending, or as a back-up for safety lines.
Form a loop in a thinner cord; wrap it three times around the main line, each wrap inside the previous one; dress evenly.
Alpine butterfly
Forms a loop in the middle of a line. Load can pull on either end or the loop itself without slipping. Isolates a damaged section of rope.
Wrap the line twice around your hand; pass the outer wrap over the inner two; pull the middle wrap out to form the loop.
Highwayman's hitch
Quick-release hitch — pull the tail and the whole knot collapses. Good for tying a tender's painter so it can be cast off fast.
Form a bight behind the post; pass a second bight of the standing part through the first bight; pass a third bight of the working end through the second; pull the standing part tight.