Round Turn & Two Half Hitches

A round turn or stacked turns take the load; the lock only keeps them there — and still breaks by hand.

• !No round turn — the lock is asked to carry surge
• !Turns not stacked, so the hitch walks on a tide
• !Expected to jam when the job was a release-able dock line

• !The second half hitch runs the opposite way, so the pair are not a clove hitch and can creep apart as the load comes and goes
• !A gap is left below the hitches, so the turn and hitches shift as the boat surges and the tail works shorter
• !The tail is short and pulls back through a hitch as the load cycles

• No round turn

  Half hitches walk as soon as the load cycles

  The turn is the hitch; the half hitches only lock it · step 01

• Opposite-direction hitches

  The pair walks instead of nesting

  Both hitches must face the same way · step 03

• Hitches left floating

  Surge walks the lock down the standing part

  Dress the pair up to the turn before you walk away · step 04

• Hitches walk or the rope slips on the spar

  Check

  • ?Full round turn visible
  • ?Two nested half hitches

  Then

  • →Add the round turn
  • →Extra turn on HMPE or splice instead

• No round turn

  Check

  • ?Half hitches walk as soon as the load cycles
  • ?Inspect step 01

  Then

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

• Opposite-direction hitches

  Check

  • ?The pair walks instead of nesting
  • ?Inspect step 03

  Then

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

• Hitches left floating

  Check

  • ?Surge walks the lock down the standing part
  • ?Inspect step 04

  Then

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

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

• Clove Hitch