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Hitch — object-dependent

Rolling 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.

Rolling Hitch, finishedRolling 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.

Grip-hitch family

Directional bite on a standing part — slide-test before you trust it.

  • !Turns on the wrong side of the load
  • !Failed slide-test, still used
  • !A clove where a rolling or icicle third turn was the job
Fails when
  • !The riding turns are on the side away from the pull, so the hitch walks along the rope without gripping
  • !The turns were not pushed hard together before loading, so it creeps a little at a time
  • !The spar or loaded rope is slick, such as Dyneema or Spectra
  • !The pull comes off at an angle instead of along the spar, dragging the turns out of shape
Geometry

  • Turns on the wrong side of the load

    Hitch will not grip and slides off

    Both first turns must sit on the load side · step 01

  • Clove instead of rolling third turn

    Wrong hitch — walks under along-line pull

    The third turn is what makes it a rolling hitch · step 02

  • Failed slide-test, still used

    Snubber walks and dumps the load back on the windlass

    If it walks on the test, do not trust it · step 04

If you saw this

  • Hitch slides down the standing part

    Check

    • ?Two load-side turns
    • ?Pull along the standing part

    Then

    • →Add a turn
    • →Do not use on HMPE without a different plan

  • Turns on the wrong side of the load

    Check

    • ?Hitch will not grip and slides off
    • ?Inspect step 01

    Then

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

  • Clove instead of rolling third turn

    Check

    • ?Wrong hitch — walks under along-line pull
    • ?Inspect step 02

    Then

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

  • Failed slide-test, still used

    Check

    • ?Snubber walks and dumps the load back on the windlass
    • ?Inspect step 04

    Then

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

Same failure class, different geometry. Open the plates — Diagnose still starts from the symptom.

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
  • ·Slick HMPE standing part
  • ·A hitch that must hold both ways equally

Same pattern, different job

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

Sources