Welcome. This apprenticeship begins with a few of the basic artifacts, principles, and procedures that define and make possible the art of rigging. They’re simple, but using them to good effect requires thought and care.
Rope is elegant, ubiquitous, ancient. A creature of tension, it exists to be stretched between opposing forces. It is a highly evolved tool which, in its myriad sizes, materials, and constructions, can meet every sort of rigging need. Limitations are likely to be on the part of the user; it is for us to develop skill appropriate to the tool.
Start simply by observing rope at work. In shipyards, farmyards, and construction sites it transmits power and performs its many jobs. Look at the size of the rope used, how it is made, how it looks when new and worn, how it is handled by the people who make a living with it.
Before continuing with this chapter, go to a chandlery and get a roll of nylon twine (36-48 thread), 50 feet of ⅜ -inch-diameter, double-braid Dacron rope, and 50 feet of ⅜ -inch, three-strand spun Dacron rope. Each strand of the latter is made up of short polyester fibers that have been spun together into yarns, much as wool or cotton is. The clerk will measure off 50 feet of rope from a coil or spool, but by cutting it, she or he will transform it into a 50-foot line; usually, rope is a general term and a description of the raw material, while a line is what you make from rope. Thus a halyard is a line that raises sails, and a sheet is a line that trims them. There are exceptions to this terminology, so you can ignore the oft-repeated pedantry that “there are no ropes aboard a vessel.” Anyone who says that isn’t familiar with a tiller rope, manrope, footrope, bellrope, or the roping on sails.
Rope in use is in clean, linear tension—an exercise in geometry. Rope that’s not in use is a perverse creature, an incipient tangle, a rat’s nest waiting to happen. If you let it have its way—and too many people do—you’re liable to find yourself in situations that are at best annoying and at worst dangerous. Think of each unused portion of rope as a battery, upon which you might need to draw at an instant’s notice.
When you go to build your battery, it helps to understand the material it’s made of. Three-strand rope, for example, is usually right-laid—its strands spiral to the right—and is made with just enough twist to hold the three strands together without rendering the rope too stiff to use. These structural details prove significant when making a coil.
As the chapter opening illustration shows, the turns of a coil should be regular and even, to discourage the loops from intermingling. When coiling onto your hand, develop rhythm and a sweeping motion for minimum effort, smoothness, and a style conducive to contemplation. Heavy lines are coiled on deck, then either hung up or turned over so they’re ready to run. Leave the ends hanging below the coil so they won’t become entangled in the turns. Now notice that as you coil you must impart a slight twist to each loop to lay it neatly against the others (Figure 1-1); no twist means independent-minded loops. This is the reason for that ancient, seldom-explained admonition to “always coil clockwise.” When the coil runs out, all those little twists have to go somewhere, and if you coil clockwise (Figure 1-2A), right-laid three-strand rope can unlay a bit to absorb them. A counterclockwise coil in right-laid rope can look just as neat, but when it’s stretched out, the twists you put in will only tighten an already pretty firm lay, and you’re liable to end up with kinks and hockles (Figure 1-2B). Conversely, in the unlikely event that you come up against left-laid rope, be sure to coil counterclockwise.
Figure 1-1. The turns of a coil will not lie fair without a slight twist put into each
Figure 1-2A–B. Coil right-laid rope clockwise (A) ... because if you coil it counterclockwise, the lay tightens further when the line is uncoiled, resulting in kinks (B).
In any rope, make the largest loops you conveniently can, or the largest ones that won’t drag on the deck if height is limited, so that there will be the fewest total turns and fewer twists to absorb.
Alternate Hitch Coiling Braided rope presents a special problem: its “lay” runs in both directions, so the twists have nowhere to go no matter which way you coil. This problem has been the source of so many crises that some sailors, finding that a heap on the deck is less liable to foul, don’t coil at all. But this approach is not satisfactory either, as a stray wave or stumbling crewmember can reveal. The best solution is Alternate Hitch Coiling, in which regular turns that impart twists in one direction are alternated with hitches that impart twists in the other direction (Figure 1-3). The twists cancel each other out, resulting in a kink-free line. Alternate Hitch Coiling is also the method to use for wire rope, garden hoses, electrical cable, and other lay-less lines. But beware: If an end gets accidentally passed through the coil, a string of overhand knots—not just the usual tangle—results (see the end of Chapter 11, “The Lovers”).
Figure 1-3. Alternate Hitch Coiling, the best method for braided rope, alternates regular clockwise turns with Half Hitches. To make the latter, grasp the rope with the back of your hand toward you and turn palm toward you as you bring your hands together.
On belayed lines, another important way to avoid hockles is always to coil away from the pin or cleat. That way, any twists you do impose will be worked out as you move toward the end.
Securing a Coil Once all the turns are neat and pretty, you need to take steps to keep them that way. On a vessel, this usually means hanging them on a pin or cleat, either directly or, more likely, by reaching through the coil, twisting a bight near the belay, then putting that bight over the coil and jamming it down on the pin or cleat (Figure 1-4A), or by making a round turn with the (untwisted) bight. This is the best method for braided rope, or for very stiff twisted rope. When there’s a great large amount of line to deal with, as on the halyards of a gaff-rigged vessel, it’s best to toggle the coil to a sheer pole with a separate piece of line (Figure 1-4B).
Figure 1-4A–B. Securing a coil on a pin (A). To secure a large coil, hang it from a separate, toggled bit of line that is hitched or seized to a sheer pole (B).
Spare lines can be coiled and hung up out of the way with a Bight Coil Hitch (Figure 1-5), a very quick and tidy method. More security can be obtained with a Gasket Coil Hitch (Figure 1-6), which is good for working lines as well as for spare ones, either hung up or stowed below. Note that the coil is finished using turns of the standing part, not the end. That way the weight of the hanging coil doesn’t deform the turns. To stow very large lines and wire rope below, the best method is to tie small stuff at regular intervals around the circumference of the coil (Figure 1-7).
Figure 1-5. The Bight Coil Hitch. Bring the last turn up to form a long bight. Pass the bight down, and wrap it around the coil, then over its own turn, and finally through the coil. Note that the wrap is made from right to left, to form a clockwise loop at the start. This makes for a fairer start.
Figure 1-6. The Gasket Coil Hitch. Using a long working end, make several wraps around the head of the coil, each wrap lying atop the one previous. Always start the wraps as with the Bight Coil Hitch, above, so that the turns have a fair start. Finish by passing a bight through the coil, then dropping it over the top.
When using this coil for a belayed line, always make the wraps with the standing part; if you make them with the end, it is easier, but the turns of the coil will deform from the weight of the rope when it is hanging.
Figure 1-7. To secure large lines and wire rope for long-term storage, coil them and bind with small stuff at regular intervals.
Letting It Run When it’s time to put a coil to use, lay it face down on deck—that is, with standing part uppermost. When you cast off and let the line run, guide it by letting it run through your hand above the coil. This minimizes the whipping-around of the turns as they come out, and gives you some control should a tangle appear. For those gaff halyards or other long lines, it’s a good idea to prepare for running by converting the regular coil, which can be hung up but might run foul, into a figure-eight coil (Figure 1-8), which can’t readily be hung up but will run clear even at high speed. In every instance, even when the line is apparently securely belayed, keep your extremities out of the coil; getting yourself jammed upside-down into a halyard block is a nuisance and an annoyance.
Figure 1-8. A figure-eight coil will run clear even at high speed. It is always made on deck rather than in hand. Believe it or not it was only coincidence that made Figure 1-8 a figure eight.
There are many tools associated with ropework, but only three are truly indispensable: rope, the marlingspike, and the rigging knife. The latter two in use reveal characteristics and properties of rope in much the same way that hammer and saw teach a carpenter to understand wood.
Universal Marlingspike Proportions
The late Nick Benton, master rigger of extraordinary talent, turned his mind to every aspect of rigging. Appalled by the blunt clubs sold as marlingspikes these days, Nick analyzed the proportions of classic Drew spikes, and came up with the accompanying diagram. “X” refers to the diameter of wire you’ll be working with. A spike for ⅜-inch (9.5 mm) wire, for example, would be 9 inches (229 mm) long, with a diameter of 
inch (3.6 mm) at the widest part of the “duck taper” at the tip.
This design is suited to more than splicing; it will let you get the point into shackles of a size you’re likely to use with ⅜-inch (9.5 mm) wire. There’ll be enough meat that you won’t have to worry so much about bending or breaking the spike. For most yachts, a spike scaled to 
-inch (8 mm) wire—7½ inches (191 mm) long—is appropriate.
All of rigging—right up through its most abstract engineering complications—is based on principles and procedures relating to this tool. It is used for pulling seizings and lashings tight, making splices, loosening jammed knots, and tightening shackles. It’s also called on to function as a crowbar, wrench, hammer, weapon, and musical instrument (ting!), so it pays to have a good one. By “good” I mean that it:
• Is made of smooth, hard steel, either carbon or stainless;
• Has a long taper and small flattened point for easier splicing, prying, and such; and
• Has a lanyard hole for tying the tool to your belt or rigging bag so that when you are working aloft, it does not accidentally become a weapon (thud) or a musical instrument (ting! splash!).
Length depends on the job and individual taste; 6 to 10 inches is a good range for shipboard use. Many people like the folding rigger’s knife-spike combination, but I don’t; a spike is too often needed in a hurry when you don’t have both hands free.
Fishery supply stores are the source for conventional spikes, but the ones available today are usually stubby things. If you want to make your own, see the accompanying sidebar “Universal Marlingspike Proportions.”
Note that, in a shop near Port Townsend, a very talented smith named Richard Soine is now producing Drew-style spikes. You can get them through our shop (see Sources and Resources).
Figure 1-9. The marlingspike, rigging’s most essential tool.
Figure 1-10. The rigging knife is a specialized blade intended for rough use. A sturdy, molded sheath keeps it safe and secure.
This is the spike’s complement, a specially designed blade that is equally suited to cutting heavy rope or trimming light seizings. The one shown above is of near-ideal design, incorporating some important features:
• A heavy, broad-backed blade. The neatest, quickest way to cut rope with a knife is to use a mallet to pound the knife through. Ordinary knives don’t stand up well to this treatment, or to heavy shipboard or loft use in general. Serrated knives are popular these days, because they are so good at cutting rope. Trouble is, they’re only good at cutting rope; a rigging knife is just as likely to be called upon for shaving, chipping, or prying on everything from plastic to lead. The back of the blade can be used as a seam-rubbing tool for canvas work and can be rubbed back and forth over the surface of wire rope to remove meathooks. You may need to round the edges of the back of the blade a bit, if they’re too sharp for this work. Use a fine file, followed by fine sandpaper.
• The point is fine enough to reach into tight spots or for delicate work, but blunt enough so you’re not liable to poke yourself accidentally some dark and stormy night.
• The blade is slightly curved. Most rigger’s knives are flat-bladed, but a little “belly” makes for easier sharpening and slicing, and it lets you cut rope on a flat surface, since the tangent point is aft of the tip, even with the presence of a finger guard.
• Like the spike, a good knife needs a lanyard hole. And again, avoid folding models; they’re all right in the shop, but afloat, and especially aloft, you often need a knife one-handed, and now. A good knife and spike combination comes from the Myerchin company. You’ll find their products at many chandleries. Pricier-but-worth-every-penny knives can be gotten from custom makers.
You’ll find a multitude of uses for the following Knots, Service, Seizings, and Constrictors.
It is difficult—even painful—to put much tension on twine or small-diameter rope using only bare hands. But cordage necessarily relies on tension, both for holding things in place and for making knots secure. The handiest solution to this problem is to attach to the twine some other, more comfortable-to-grip object, and then haul on that.
The traditional knot for this purpose is called the Marlingspike Hitch. It isn’t much, just a Slipknot made around a spike, but consider this: The Viking longboats of roughly 300 B.C. to 800 A.D., vessels capable of navigating the open ocean, were held together, partially or entirely, by linen twine lashings. Each lashing was hove taut with this stick-in-hitch procedure, which the Vikings called “marling”—hence “marlingspike” (commonly but with less regard for linguistic antecedents spelled without the “g”), “marline (n),” and incidentally, “mooring.” Rivets, nails, glue, and bolts eventually replaced lashings as hull fastenings, but the point remains that flimsy, inexpensive bits of twine can be made structurally significant with tension. With the advent of materials like Spectra, we have seen a sharp resurgence in the use of this and other hitches, because very high loads can now be put onto extremely small, slick line.
Figure 1-11A. The Marlingspike Hitch. Hold line between thumb and middle fingers of one hand. With other hand, lay spike across line and pivot it in a full circle, ending with the point behind the standing part.
Figure 1-11B. In mid-pivot, snag the standing part close to the spike with the tip of your middle finger. This makes it easy to grab (with thumb and forefinger) the bight of line on top of the spike and to pass it over the end of the spike.
Figure 1-11C. The completed knot.
The amount one can save in chrome-plated fittings alone can make spike knots worthwhile, and in an emergency they might be a sailor’s only recourse. Good knots to know, even if you’re not planning to raid the coast of England.
The single version of this knot has been all that anyone needed for a few thousand years, but today we sometimes need a double version for dealing with very small, very strong synthetic line. When in doubt, use a double. To tie it, start as though for a single Marlingspike Hitch, but pass the standing part around the tip of the spike twice, before completing the knot as usual.
The Marlingspike Hitch is used to draw up a variety of knots. Some of these knots are marvels of intricacy, but we’ll start with a simple one. Snub the end of some twine under two or three turns of its own standing part, around a piece of rope or wire rope (Figure 1-12). Make your hitch, and, exerting even tension, wind on a series of tight, tangent turns. That’s “service,” a means of protecting sails and rigging from chafe. Service is frequently seen over splices; on shrouds, especially where headsails come into contact with them; on mooring lines where they pass through chocks; and on grommets that go around rope-stropped blocks. When sealed with tar, service prevents rot and corrosion in the steel rigging it covers. Made over Spectra, it protects that material from ultraviolet as well as chafe. Served Spectra is basically immortal.
Service is properly applied, as shown in Figure 1-12A, B, over a bed of twine “worming” and tarred canvas “parceling,” usually with a specialized tensioning device called a serving mallet (see Chapter 6), but a marlingspike will do in a pinch. One might say it is used with absence of mallet. For more on service, see Chapter 6.
Figure 1-12A. Service applied tightly, with the aid of a Marlingspike Hitch, provides waterproofing and protects rope from chafe.
Figure 1-12B. Worming is set tightly, filling the spaces where moisture could gather. Parceling of tarred canvas or friction tape provides waterproofing and smooth bedding for service. Worming, parceling, and serving are treated more fully in Chapter 6.
Figure 1-12C. Structure of rope-yarn splice needed to start Round Seizing.
Figure 1-12D. Make splice and pass end through eye, forming Slipknot around legs of line to be seized.
Figure 1-12E. Wind on tight turns, as with service, binding legs together. When seizing is roughly square, half-hitch at bottom and proceed to make riding turns over first layer.
Figure 1-12F. Back at the top, pass the end through the eye of the rope-yarn splice and make two snug crossing or frapping turns.
Figure 1-12G. Finish with a Flat Knot on the back side of the seizing. Haul the knot tight and cut the end off close.
Figure 1-12H. A Round Seizing is used here to supplement an Anchor Hitch.
As turns of service are taken, the hauling part shortens. When it becomes too short, the hitch is capsized back into a straight length that in a few more turns becomes part of the service itself. This capsizing calls to notice a hidden characteristic of the Marlingspike Hitch. Notice that the direction from which strain comes on the knot minimizes any tendency for it to jam. To prove this for yourself, make the knot and anchor both ends. When it is pulled on from the wrong direction, it tends to slip around to one side of the spike and jam there. But if pulled the other way, it will remain stable, and disappear without any fuss once the spike is removed. Be careful, then, to make the hitch as shown.
Now consider seizings, a more sophisticated variety of binding knots than service. Seizing is defined in Steel’s Elements of Mastmaking, Sailmaking, and Rigging (see Bibliography) as “joining two ropes, or the ends of one rope together, etc., by taking several close turns of small rope, line, or spun yarn around them.”
That’s right: A seizing is basically service made around two or more parts. But the function is different, since a seizing does not just sit on a line—it must hold separate lines together against lengthwise or lateral strain. There are dozens of specialized seizings, but for general use the preferred knot is the Round Seizing. It starts with a layer of “round turns,” on top of which is laid a protective layer of “riding turns,” and finally a tightening finish of “crossing” or “frapping turns” (Figure 1-12E, F). The rigger’s way to secure the end is with a Flat Knot (Figure 1-12G).
As with service, each turn of a seizing is hauled tight with the aid of a marlingspike, but with a seizing one pulls harder across the face than around the corner. This keeps the rope from twisting as much from the force of the turns. The riding turns should be tight, but not be so tight that they displace the round turns. The importance of strong, consistent tension will soon become apparent; nothing looks or works worse than a slack or lumpy seizing.
The Round Seizing is ideal for ditty bag, water bucket, bosun’s chair, deadeye, and many other lanyards, as well as for joining grommet, shell, sheave, and thimble together for a rope-stropped block (see Figure 2-22). What’s more, it can be used in combination with other knots for added security. As an example of the latter, consider the Anchor Hitch (see Chapter 3) with the end seized to the standing part. This is neat, strong, and easily cast off to stow the anchor or to shorten the rode if it becomes chafed. When made on wire rope (see Round Seizing, Chapter 6), seizings can provide strength and security to rival any other terminal. But when made on rope, no matter how tightly and how well, they will slip under heavy lengthwise loads. This is because, unlike wire rope, fiber rope shrinks significantly in diameter in a heavy load. Spectra is even worse, because it is also very slick. Use seizings on rope with caution, and only for lateral loads.
No maintenance is needed for temporary seizings, but it’s an important consideration when you want your work to last. Rope rots, but as with wood or wire, regular inspection and maintenance will prolong its working life. If a stretch of service receives excessive chafe, replace it, then double-serve (two layers) or leather that spot to ease the problem. Seizings, too, can suffer from chafe or accidental cuts, but most often they and service are most affected by water, sun, and wind. See Chapter 6 for preservative mixes to apply to seizings and service.
Materials Tarred nylon seine twine makes excellent seizings, but extra care must be taken to pull hard enough to remove initial elasticity. Used as service, it holds up well but is vulnerable to sunlight, so regular slushing with a preservative mix is extra important.
Marline is the traditional material for seizings, but has given way almost entirely to the much more durable tarred nylon. If nylon isn’t available, look for marline made from hemp or linen. Avoid jute or sisal.
Figure 1-13. The old and the new side by side on a sprung tiller: John Henry versus the steam hammer, the Constrictor versus the hose clamp.
There are times when you’ll want to make a more temporary seizing. For this, nothing beats the Constrictor Knot, a convenient, relentlessly secure way to bind parcels, to keep rope ends from unlaying, or to hold things in place for the application of permanent seizings. To know the knot is to constantly find uses for it (Ashley recommends it for everything from flour sacks to atomizer bulbs). When drawn up sufficiently tight it is an amazing thing, at least as valuable as the kingly Bowline. It is by no means a new knot, just a neglected one. But then, old knots never die; they just wait for us to come to our senses. For example, hose clamps seem to be the emergency recourse of choice for binding cracked tillers, spars, boathooks, etc. Once I even saw one on the end of a raveling line. The prevailing attitude about them is that though they are expensive, time-consuming to apply, snag on everything, and look awful, they’re better than anything else for temporary repairs, right?
Wrong. For all the above jobs, and for hundreds of others besides, hose clamps can do little that Constrictor Knots can’t—including clamping hoses. A Single or Double Constrictor made with a piece of job-scaled nylon or polyester twine is a quick, easy, unobtrusive, durable, and essentially free way to bind things together. If the Bowline is the King of Knots, surely the Constrictor is the Queen.
In recent years, sailors and landspeople alike have been coming to their senses in sufficient numbers that a Single Constrictor Knot is no longer a rarity. But the Double Constrictor still is. The Double is for those situations where extra strength and security is a must, as for semi-permanent lashings, whippings, or for large gluing jobs where a hose, “C,” or other kind of clamp might be unavailable or too bulky. The double is also more secure in slick twine, especially when it’s waxed.
Either the Single or Double Constrictor can be tied with the end (Figure 1-14A, B) when you need to fasten it around a ring, stanchion, spoke, etc.
Figure 1-14A. To tie a Single Constrictor with the end, make a crossed round turn, crossing from right to left. Bring the end up on the left side of the standing part, then lead it over to the right and under the crossing point, away from you.
Figure 1-14B. The Double Constrictor gets an extra crossing turn, parallel with and to the left of the first. The end goes under three parts as it passes under the crossing point.
But whenever possible—whenever you can make the knot and then drop it over the constrictee—tie Constrictors in the bight (Figures 1-15 and 1-16), a faster method.
Figure 1-15. To tie the Single Constrictor “in the bight” (without using the ends), pick up the line with your hands about a foot apart, palms away from you. Holding the line with your ring and little fingers, use your other fingers to make a loop, right over left. Arrange your hands exactly as in the drawing, right palm facing you, left palm away. To complete the knot, just turn your hands over. Once you get it figured out, the whole process takes about four seconds.
Figure 1-16A. To tie the Double Constrictor in the bight, make a Clove Hitch and arrange it on your left hand as shown, with the upper end on the left. Cross the upper end over the right, then pull slack into the right-hand turn, and twist it 180 degrees, counterclockwise (the part nearest you moves to the right, toward your fingertips). Place the twisted loop over your fingertips to complete the knot.
Figure 1-16B. Tying the Double Constrictor using a Clove Hitch with the lower end on the inside.
Bear in mind that the Double does not draw up as easily as the single; work out as much slack as you can before pulling on the ends. And be sure none of the turns are twisted. The best way to tighten a Constrictor is to hitch a spike, stick, or the like to each end. Pull. With heavy nylon twine you can exert even more force by bracing one stick between your feet and holding the other with your hands (Figure 1-17). Make a wish. For extremely tight Constrictors made with rope for large jobs (splinting a broken boom, for instance), position the constrictee between two sheet winches and crank away. No matter what the scale or tension, always arrange the knot so that its Overhand Knot portion lies over a convex surface, or on a corner of a flat-surfaced item.
Figure 1-17. For very tight Constrictors, seat yourself on deck and hitch a spike (or functional substitute) onto each end of the twine. Brace one spike between your feet and hold the other in your hands. Pull.
Turk’s Head from Single Constrictor
Moving aside from strict utility for the moment, try making the circular braid known as a Turk’s Head from a Single Constrictor. When doubled or tripled, this knot makes a decorative ring for ditty bags, bellropes, bottles, wrists, oars, etc.
To turn a Single Constrictor into a Turk’s Head, arrange the knot around your left-hand fingers and open it up as shown. Pass the upper end down behind your fingers, up on the left side of the standing part, then pass it under, over, and under as shown, tucking up and to the right. Double and triple the knot by leading the end back into the knot, parallel with the standing part. A four-lead, three-bight knot results.
Viking raiders lashed together seagoing dragonships, but their skill was almost trifling compared to that of their victims in Europe. At that time and through the Renaissance, cathedral builders were lashing whole trees together steeple-high for scaffolding. Smaller buildings, carts, furniture, tools, and many other items of daily life also relied on rope for their construction. And it’s not as if things have changed so much, even here in the technical vastness of the future. Lashings are still used for scaffolds in Asian shipyards, in the backs of computer cabinets where they keep bundles of wire together and out of the works, for the outriggers that anchor suspended scaffoldings for window washers and masons, and at the docks of the most modern superferries, where electronically aided pilots still dock by caroming off a bunch of pilings lashed together with wire rope. In recent years, high-tech racing sailors have rediscovered low-tech deadeyes and lanyards to lash their shrouds to chainplates. And every morning you lash your shoes to your feet.
Far from being archaic, lashings still exist in enough profusion to fill a volume of descriptions. No doubt some compulsive cataloger will eventually do just that, but for the practical knotter it’s more important to understand the varying demands placed on lashings, and the basic techniques used in response. With these “elements of lashing,” one can tie confidently in a wide variety of circumstances.
Lashings rely on tension to do their work. A few tight turns put on with the aid of a marlingspike will sometimes suffice, but often the object to be lashed is heavy enough that some form of mechanical advantage must be used to provide adequate security. When something is to be lashed down to a deck, car roof, truck bed, or the like, lines are generally anchored on one side, passed over the cargo, and cinched down on the other side with one form of advantage—the pulley. (No, not a sheave turning on a pin, but the principle is the same.) Disregarding friction, the two arrangements on the left in Figure 1-18 provide a three-fold purchase. That is, the load is shared by three parts so that the part you haul on gets only one third of the load. Put another way, your efforts are multiplied three times; a 100-pound downward pull locks your cargo in place with, in theory, about 300 pounds of force. I say “about” because we can only disregard friction in theory.
The line on the left in Figure 1-18 is made into a pulley with the aid of a knot called a Trucker’s Hitch, of which there are many forms. This one is very fast and easy to tie (Figure 1-19A–C) and is a good knot for light-duty use and emergencies. Unfortunately, it and most other Trucker’s Hitches either jam under heavy tension or can spill if tension is removed. What’s more, the single loop makes a hard bend for the hauling part to go around, resulting in lower breaking strength and shorter rope life.
Figure 1-18. Trucker’s Hitches.
Figure 1-19A-C. Basic Trucker’s Hitch—a Slipknot made with one hand. End is led through ring, then through loop. Very handy but has tendency to jam.
Figure 1-19D, E. An improved Trucker’s Hitch, the Biegner Hitch—a Slipknot made with a bight. Less liable to jam, wider radius for rope to pass over
The knot used in the middle of Figure 1-18 offers some improvement. (It was introduced by Norman Biegner in the August 1980 issue of Cruising World.) As the illustration shows, the Biegner Hitch is a Slipknot made with a bight (Figure 1-19D, E), and the hauling part is rove through all three of the resulting loops. This knot resists jamming and presents a broad bearing surface; use it for medium-to-heavy loads or for any situation when you can take a little time. The most secure and slowest-to-tie loops are the nonslipping variety, detailed in the “Six in the Bight” section of Chapter 3. Use them for permanent lashings.
The right-most lashup in Figure 1-18 is a configuration that is about as involved a Trucker’s Hitch as you can get before friction defeats mechanical advantage. Here the line passed over the cargo is cut to an appropriate length and has a thimble spliced in its end. A separate lanyard is anchored by one end below, a bight is passed through the thimble, a Biegner Hitch is made in that bight, and the other end is rove through the hitch. This creates a six-part purchase. If that doesn’t do the trick, you need a come-along or some chain binders.
To compound the tension on a lashing, apply “frapping” turns. These are made at right angles to the basic lashing to snug it still more; these turns can be so effective as to rip ringbolts out, so use them with discretion. In Figure 1-20, frapping turns are taken on the head-tensioning strings of a drum, and they tighten the round turns made to finish the “mousing” of a hook (see the sidebar on page 17), to keep the load from hopping off the hook when things are slack. These two far-removed examples should help illustrate frapping’s extraordinary handiness and adaptability. Swaying or sweating up on a halyard is another application of the same principle.
Figure 1-20. Frapping can be put to such widely divergent uses as lashing drumheads and mousing hooks.
When you can’t frap, wedge. Figure 1-21 shows an impromptu clamp made for gluing up some stock. Round turns are made tightly around the work, but there’s no place to put frapping turns, so smooth, hard wedges, whose tips are under the lashing to start, are driven in to tighten as well as any clamp. For wide work, like a cutting board, it may be necessary to weight or clamp the work to keep it flat.
Before large bar clamps were generally available, wedged chains were used to hold deadwood assemblies in place for boring. It’s still an inexpensive alternative.
Figure 1-21. Wedging. Make a series of tight turns around the tip of a wedge whose corners have been rounded. Drive the wedge down to tighten the lashing.
Mousing a hook prevents the load from hopping out. But make certain before you apply the load that the load is on the hook, not on the mousing.
Consider the things you want to lash. What shapes are they? What materials? How heavy? Under what conditions are they expected to remain together? Is the lashing permanent or temporary? The answers to these questions will determine the configuration, degree of tension, and the kind and size of cordage used for the lashing. Remember that with mechanical advantage, you can often afford to be gentle. Don’t crush a light, fragile load. To preserve the rope, pad corners and contain the load just to the extent the situation demands. On the other hand, don’t be afraid to snug right down on a heavy subject; loose deck or freeway loads can be murderous.
Use a minimum of material, especially for heavy work. This promotes economy. Take the shortest distance between points, to minimize stretch. Avoid figure-eight turns unless nothing else will do—they use more line than round turns and so can generate more slack. Use several short pieces in preference to one long one for optimum fit, minimum slack, and insurance (if one parts, the others might hold). On the other hand, long pieces are sometimes appropriate when the idea is more to contain than to bind, or where only moderate tension is needed.
Sometimes, whether to use long or short lengths of cordage is a matter of judgment, as on the boom in Figure 1-22 where several techniques for lacing the foot of the sail are shown. The ideal technique would be strong, adjustable, unobtrusive, easy to remove, and would simultaneously snug the foot down and pull it aft. One method (Figure 1-22A) is to have a short line through each eyelet, the ends square-knotted around the boom. This uses a minimum of line and is stout and adjustable. Next comes a simple spiral through successive eyelets, a method employed on the Gloucester fishing schooners. While easy to apply, and remove, it can’t be adjusted along its length for changing sail shape. Half Hitches (Figure 1-22C) are less convenient but more snug. They are made in small line, one at a time, and tightened with the aid of a marlingspike. Make the hitch up close to the eyelet so that as it tightens it pulls the sail down and aft (the pulley principle). Better still, “marl” the sail on. The Marling Hitch (Figure 1-22D) is a form of overhand knot with the ends led at right angles to the turn. It is less likely to slip and pass slack along the boom than Half Hitches. Compare these two knots, the Marling Hitch and the Half-Hitch, until you are sure of the distinction between them.
Figure 1-22A. Boom lacing. Short lines square-knotted around boom; uses the least line and is fairly snug.
Figure 1-22B. Spiral lacing—quick and easy, but loose.
Figure 1-22C. Half Hitches—more time-consuming, but more snug.
Figure 1-22D. Marling Hitches—still more time-consuming, but still more snug.
Marling is an excellent general-purpose lashing for bundles of wood, pipe, etc., and especially for tarp-covered cartop loads, where it keeps the tarp from blowing to noisy shreds as you drive.
Moving forward from the main boom, we come to a doused headsail. It only needs to be held in place temporarily. We’ll want to break it out with a minimum of fuss, so marling is too time-consuming to use here.
The usual procedure is to tie “stops”—short lengths of rope or webbing—along the sail’s bundled length. This works well and uses little material, but short pieces aren’t really necessary, since a little slack matters less here than on the mainsail. And the oceans of the world are littered with dropped, blown, or washed overboard sail stops. So, take an old halyard instead (or use the sail’s downhaul), and get into “Swedish Furling.” No, this is not an ethnic joke like “Irish Pennant” or “Spanish Reel.” It’s a series of slipped hitches, again worked aft (Figure 1-23).
Figure 1-23. Swedish Furling. Easy to tie, a pleasure to untie.
Start with a Bowline, bring the standing part around the sail, and pass a bight of it through the eye of the Bowline. Pull the bight through until it is 12 to 18 inches long or so, depending on the size of the sail. Now bring the standing part around again, in the opposite direction, and pull another bight through the eye of the first one. Repeat this maneuver, making a zigzag of interlocking bights down the length of the sail. At the end, make a longer bight and half-hitch it around the sail, or belay it to a convenient cleat, post, or crewmember. To undo, cast off the last bight and haul on the standing part. Zip, zip, zip! Ready to hoist. This technique also works on boomed sails, though care must be taken to keep blocks and cleats from snagging the bights.
Moving aft, we come to a life-preserver bracket lashed to a lifeline stanchion. This is a permanent seizing of small twine made around a relatively light object. A sufficient number of turns taken in almost any pattern will hold it in place. But it might be nice if it didn’t break away when you grabbed it to keep from falling overboard, or at the very least if it didn’t shift under your weight when you leaned on it. When considering how strong to make a lashing, it is well to consider more than one intended use. Neatness is no small matter, either, nor is economy of time and materials. Even this quick job is worth doing well.
Start with parallel turns around the two pieces, as shown in Figure 1-24. Haul on each turn with your spike. Make four or five circuits, being sure that none of them rides over the others, as this would prevent an even distribution of strain. Next, make a not-quite-as-snug layer of riding turns (optional, not shown). These provide extra strength and protect the first layer from chafe. Finally, make three or four frapping turns very tightly. Secure with a Clove Hitch, tying a Figure-Eight Knot in the end as close to the hitch as possible. This is insurance against the end pulling free.
Figure 1-24. A marline lashing.
If the bracket is shaped to fit the rail, leaving no room for frapping turns, use wedges. Round their outer corners so they don’t cut the twine. Even a sprung tiller can be temporarily repaired by lashing and wedging battens, screwdrivers, driftwood, or what-have-you in place for some distance on either side of the crack.
Say you want to secure your dinghy for an extended passage. It’s not hard to work up a lashing that looks secure, but once at sea with the forces of wind, water, and its own weight to help it, that innocent little boat will be transformed into a master of escape—Houdinghy, if you will—out to defeat your attempts to contain it. As challenger, your first inclination might be to cover the hull with a rat’s nest of turns and hitches—the more-is-better school of knots. But this type of job is tedious to tie, difficult to remove, and just plain ugly. Worse still, it provides the escape artist with his greatest ally—slack. Extra turns mean more rope to stretch. Before you know it, things have worked loose and Houdinghy has stepped free, to the amazement of the wildly cheering crowd.
So instead, go with the less-is-more lashing in Figure 1-25 (see next page). Lay two or three lines from side to side, padding any sharp turns, and snug them down with Trucker’s Hitches to chock padeyes, as in Figure 1-18. By taking the shortest distance across the hull, you simultaneously minimize potential slack and create opposing forces, bracing the lines against each other. Bind everything together with frapping turns of smaller line, hauling the remaining initial elasticity from the larger pieces. For extra security, lead the painter forward and lash it tight, too. There you have it, a handsome, escape-proof setup that is as easy to make, adjust, or remove as it is to describe.
Figure 1-25. A lashing that will restrain the great Houdinghy.
No matter how carefully you study the above techniques, the odds are strong that you will eventually come up against a situation that seems to defy solution and for which neither this nor any other set of instructions has prepared you. It’s like the old Bob Newhart routine about the carefully trained rookie security guard. His first night on the job is in the Empire State Building, and King Kong shows up. (“There’s nothing about this in my manual.”)
As it happens, most lashings are extemporaneous. Some things are just too big, but success is usually a matter of simple adaptability. Relax, take an inventory of your materials, and mentally arrange them in different configurations. Invent.
