How to Tie a Rolling Hitch Knot

The rolling hitch knot is the knot to use if you find yourself sailing with a jammed winch and you need to take the tension off the winch rope. Or, should you find yourself overboard holding on to a trailing rope, tie a rolling hitch knot to secure yourself to the boat without constricting the rope around you. The knot will constrict around the rope itself.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Identify the object that you plan to tie the rolling hitch knot around. This knot is commonly used around a pole, rod, fence or another line. It can be used to secure a line that has jammed on a sailboat winch.

2. Thread the rope around the object or rope twice in a loose manner in the direction that you are going to pull.

3. Cross the line over the two turns.

4. Go around once more, tucking the line between the last two turns.

5. Pull to tighten the knot parallel to the object or rope it is attached to. This knot can be loosened to adjust it up or down on the rope or object to which it is attached.

Tips & Warnings

• This knot is found in scouting handbooks and can be used to secure tents to a stake.
• The pull using this knot should be parallel to what it is tied to (such as pulling a log). Pulling on this knot in a right angle will cause the knot to spill.

Resources

• Apparent Wind features illustrations of the rolling hitch knot.
• Chrokee Scouting demonstrates knot tying.