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Hitch — object-dependent

Cleat Hitch

Friction on hardware · Physical hitch theory

DiagramsHow to tie it

Does not pick a knot

This page does not pick a knot for you. DNA, molecules, quantum braids and vortices stay off Decide.

Cleat Hitch — finished structureFinished structure. Full turn on the far horn, figure-eights across both horns, locking hitch under the last cross.
finished · schematic

Full turn on the far horn, figure-eights across both horns, locking hitch under the last cross.

Finished structure

Full turn on the far horn, figure-eights across both horns, locking hitch under the last cross.

Failure modes

When this family fails, it fails as these. The recovered end still outranks the name.

Cleat family

Far-horn first turn, figure-eights, one lock that still breaks by hand.

  • !First turn on the near horn — the hitch jams
  • !Piled extra locks that weld under surge
  • !No full turn on the base, so the crosses walk off
Fails when
  • !Several locking hitches stacked, so the turns jam under load
  • !A full extra round turn on the base, which can clamp down and jam
  • !Too few figure-eights for the load, so the line creeps
  • !First turn on the near horn, trapping the loaded line under the crossings
Geometry

  • First turn on the near horn

    Hitch jams and will not cast off under surge

    The far horn must take the first turn so the lock can still be broken · step 01

  • Piled extra locks

    Crosses weld under surge; knife job

    One clean figure-eight is the working finish · step 02

  • Jammed lock hitch

    Cannot cast off while the boat is still loading the line

    The lock must break by hand — that is the hitch · step 03

  • No full turn on the base

    Figure-eights walk off the horns

    The base turn, not the crosses, takes the surge · step 01

If you saw this

  • Cannot cast off under surge

    Check

    • ?Far-horn first turn
    • ?Lock breaks by hand

    Then

    • →Re-make with one clean lock
    • →Do not add extra locks under load

  • First turn on the near horn

    Check

    • ?Hitch jams and will not cast off under surge
    • ?Inspect step 01

    Then

    • →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.

  • Piled extra locks

    Check

    • ?Crosses weld under surge; knife job
    • ?Inspect step 02

    Then

    • →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.

  • Jammed lock hitch

    Check

    • ?Cannot cast off while the boat is still loading the line
    • ?Inspect step 03

    Then

    • →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
This failed — start Diagnose

What holds it

  • ·A hitch is object-dependent. Remove the spar, cleat, ring or pile and the structure is usually the unknot.
  • ·Bayman / Maddocks–Keller describe a no-slip regime from wrap count and friction. The prediction is approximate, and only for hitches.

What topology does not predict

  • ·Closed-loop knot invariants (Jones, Alexander) do not say whether a clove hitch will walk on a smooth spar.
  • ·No manufacturer working load is implied by wrap count.
  • ·Wet, iced, or HMPE covers change friction — topology is silent.

Not for

  • ·Joining two free rope ends — that is a bend
  • ·A standing loop that must survive after the object is gone
  • ·Permanent standing rigging (splice instead)
  • ·A jammed lock hitch you cannot break by hand

Same pattern, different job

No sourced twin among these knots. Related knots stay on the Library card.

Sources