Every line on a yacht has a job, and each job has its rope, its knot and a safe way to handle it. Let a cleat or a winch take the load your hands cannot.
What rope should I use for mooring lines, and what for sheets and halyards?
Use nylon for mooring lines and anchor warps: it stretches and absorbs shock loads. Sheets and halyards must not stretch, so they are polyester, or Dyneema for halyards.
| Rope | Behaviour | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Nylon | Stretches, absorbs shock | Anchor warp, mooring and tow lines |
| Polyester | Low stretch, hard-wearing | Sheets, halyards |
| Dyneema | Almost no stretch, slippery | Halyards; spliced, not knotted |
| Polypropylene | Floats; sunlight destroys it | Dinghy painter |
A mooring line in a swell takes snatch loads many times the steady pull, so it must stretch; a sheet or a halyard must not. Load a rope to about a fifth of its breaking strength at most: knots, wear and shock use up the rest.
A knot is the weakest point of a line, so a permanent loop is an eye splice. Three-strand rope is the easiest to splice by hand.
What are the essential sailing knots, and what is each one used for?
Tie a bowline for a fixed loop, a clove hitch for fenders, a round turn and two half hitches to a ring or post, a sheet bend to join two lines, and a figure of eight as a stopper.
| Knot | Job |
|---|---|
| Bowline | Fixed loop for a sheet or a bollard; will not untie under load |
| Figure of eight | Stopper in a sheet's end; does not jam |
| Clove hitch | Fenders: quick to adjust, can work loose |
| Round turn and two half hitches | Line to a ring or post; tied and freed under load |
| Reef knot | Binding reef points and sail ties, not joining ropes |
| Sheet bend | Joining two lines; doubled if slippery or unequal |
| Rolling hitch | Gripping along a loaded rope or chain |
| Anchor bend | Warp to the anchor ring |
| Lighterman's hitch | Heavy line on a bollard, eased and freed under strain |
| Trucker's hitch | Purchase to tighten a lashing |
A reef knot is right over left, then left over right; the same way twice is a granny, which slips or jams. In a sheet bend the thicker line forms the bight. Slip a knot only on a line you are watching.
How do I tie a line to a cleat properly?
Lead the line to the far horn of the cleat, take a full turn round the base, add figure-of-eight turns and finish with one locking hitch: more only jam.
Lead the line to the far horn of the cleat, take a full turn round the base, add figure-of-eight turns and finish with one locking hitch; more only jam. Keep that turn on to ease a loaded line, and take one on any line too heavy to hold. When two lines share a cleat, the first to leave goes on top.
Ashore, drop the loop over the bollard and adjust the line from the boat. Pass your loop up through another boat's loop first, so that either can leave. A slip line runs round the bollard with both ends aboard: let one go, pull in the other. No knots in it; rig it just before leaving, and have it all aboard before the propeller turns.
Which way do the turns go on a winch, and how many do I need?
Turns go on a winch clockwise: two to pull in slack, three or four as the load builds. Tension on the tail makes them grip.
Turns go on a winch clockwise: two to pull in slack, three or four as the load builds. Tension on the tail makes them grip. A self-tailing winch takes the tail over the arm into its jaws last.
A clutch holds a line so the winch is free for the next. Check its label before opening it. To ease a loaded halyard, take the load on the winch, then open the clutch; after hoisting, close it before the turns come off. It grips only its own rope diameter. A cam cleat lets go when you pull in a little and lift.
How do I throw a line so it actually reaches the person catching it?
To throw a line, make the inboard end fast first, then split the coil, half to throw and half to pay out. Aim above and just beyond the catcher; for a long throw, send a light line first.
To throw a line, make the inboard end fast first. Split the coil, half to throw and half to pay out, and aim above and just beyond the catcher. If it falls short, pull it in fast, clear of the propeller. For a long throw, send a light line first and haul the heavy one across.
How do I coil a rope on a yacht so it doesn't twist?
Coil three-strand rope clockwise, with the lay, and braid in figure-of-eight loops, which add no twist. Start from the fixed end so that twists run out of the free end.
| Enemy | Cure |
|---|---|
| Chafe | Fairlead, a sleeve at the quay edge, sheets swapped end for end |
| Salt | Rinse in fresh water, dry before stowing |
| Grit | Keep lines off the ground |
| Frayed end | Tape, cut through the tape, heat-seal, whip |
| Heat | A line surging round a drum melts |
Replace a sheet whose cover has worn through to the core. At night, tie halyards off away from the mast.
Coil three-strand rope clockwise, with the lay, and braid in figure-of-eight loops, which add no twist. Start from the fixed end so that twists run out of the free end. Bind the coil and tuck the end through before stowing it.
Questions from this topic, as the app asks them. Open one to see the answer.
What do you replace it with?
A. Low-stretch polyester or Dyneema braid
Halyards need low stretch to hold luff tension; nylon stretches.
You need to put a loop in the end of a mooring line to drop over a bollard. Which knot?
C. Bowline
A bowline makes a fixed loop that will not slip and unties after loading.
This line is being made fast to a cleat. What completes it correctly?
D. A full turn round the base, figure-of-eight turns, one locking hitch
The turn takes the load; the locking hitch holds without jamming.
You have finished winching in the genoa sheet. What do you do with the winch handle?
B. Take it out and stow it
A handle left in fouls the sheets, gets kicked overboard or injures someone.
You are on the foredeck as this line starts to run. Where do you put your feet?
A. Outside the loop, clear of the line
A bight snaps tight the instant the line takes up: never stand in one.
What do you do with the mooring lines before you stow them?
D. Rinse in fresh water, then dry them
Salt crystals cut the fibres and stiffen rope; rope stowed wet goes mouldy.
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