How to Tie a Rope to a Boat Cleat

Unless you're the Flying Dutchman, you have to tie up eventually.

Unless you're the Flying Dutchman, doomed to sail at--but never around--Africa's Cape of Good Hope forever, you'll have to tie your boat up sooner or later. How you manage your lines is viewed as a direct testimonial to your deck seamanship and your sailing skills. A bow line must lead forward from the cleat on deck to the bollard--the wooden post on the dock to which you tie your boat; the stern line must lead aft from the cleat to the bollard. Set your lines on the bollards before tying off to the cleats.

Instructions

1. Grasp the rope about 6 feet from its end--called the bitter end--and bring the rope to the cleat. Note the resemblance of the cleat to the head of a bull with horns. Wrap the rope around the bottom part of the cleat--the bull's face that's topped by the horizontal "horns"--three times.

2. Pull the bitter end upward under the horn nearest the stern after making the last wrap. Pull the end across the top of the cleat and under the horn nearest the bow.

3. Pull the bitter end upward after crossing under the "bow" horn of the cleat. Pull the end across the top of the cleat and under the "stern" horn to complete the first figure-8 wrap. Make two more figure-8 wraps under the horns and over the cleat. Rest the bitter end on top of the cleat but do not secure it in any way.

Tips & Warnings

• Always keep the bitter end inside the bulwarks of the boat after you've made your final figure-8 wrap. Coil it on the deck at the cleat.

• Some sailors encourage the novice to make the last loop of the figure-8 loose. They advocate tucking the bitter end through the wrap. Don't do it: If the vessel surges at her mooring lines, enough force will jam the bitter end in the loop and force you to cut the lines.

• Never stand in a straight line with a line under strain. When a nylon or manila line is set up, the energy of a surge or a strain on the line is stored throughout the length of the line. When these ropes part, they snap straight back, discharging all of that energy. The snap-back can maim or kill.

References

• "The American Merchant Seaman's Manual"; W. Hayler; 1981
• Music With Ease: Source of the Legend of the Flying Dutchman