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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, finishedCleat Hitch, finished

Finished structure

Drawn from a rope model of this knot: which strand passes over which comes from where the rope actually lies.

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