Great Video. Just to add some info. This works with smaller boats with smaller lines like the boat you are on, But the cleat hitch will change with bigger boats with bigger docklines, and ALWAYS mind your fingers, Fingers never go in the loops of the rope or under the horns of the cleat!
@@driver3899 Sorry for the late response. Anything over about 70 foot, you don't want to figure 8 and lock it off. If the wind blows and put tension on the line, you won't ever get it off because it has tightened down so much, especially with polyester docklines. That is when you are using cleats and larger lines though. If you are using Bollards or bull horns, or even a cleat with a capstan, its fine to lock it off because you can wrap it around a few more times and release the tension. Rare to have lines tighten so much that you have to cut them loose, but I've seen it happen, and in the worst timing as well!
@@lukereynolds96 That's awesome info thanks! Haha yeah I bet Murphy plays hell with the timing of when you end up having a jammed line and need to cut it free So essentially the last couple of wraps around a larger fixing point will take any strain and stopping it from tightening down the 8 so much it needs to be cut, but on smaller craft you can get away with just locking off because it causes less strain, does that sound about right?
You started out great, got your line leading to the back side of the cleat ✅️, the full wrap 95% of people don't do ✅️ but..... then half hitched it onto itself❌️. If that line comes tight (swell) it will sinch down on it self and you will have to cut it off. Make sure you get at least 2 full crosses on the top side of the cleat not including the initial full wrap around the base portion before finishing you tie by crossing under.
This should be required learning when you paper your boat. There are 6-7 good YT channels just dealing with these basics done incorrectly. In the past hour I have watched at least $25k worth of damage and some gymnastic stretching comedy complete with involuntary swimming due to not doing these basics.
Great point! I should have mentioned that in this video, but I wanted to keep it very specific to the knot tying itself. Fortunately, the dock that I was at had rubber trim on the edges.
You had everything good until the half hitch. Unnecessary and if a swell comes your gonna have a hell of time getting that half hitch undone. It’s called a hatchet knot for a reason. I go from boat around the dock cleat back to the boat we’re it’s cleated off. That way you can undo everything from the boat, no more undoing lines and trying to jump in a moving target.
NEVER use a locking hitch on a cleat... On a fixed dock the tide goes out you will never get that rope off without cutting the line. Or if the tide goes out fast enough it will rip the cleat of either the dock or the boat..
