Anchor Bend
Round turn through a ring, tuck through both turns, half hitch. Seize a standing job.
Intermediate · Polyester / Nylon rope / Polypropylene / Natural fibre
Connection card
Anchor Bend
For rope → ring or shackle.
Round turn on a ring or spar, then two half hitches — the anchor bend grips by friction.
This card does not say how strong the knot is. A retention figure comes from a bench, in one material, at one diameter, tied by somebody who ties it all day — and the line in your hand is none of those. What it does tell you is whether the thing you have just tied is the thing the record describes.
What this plate is telling you
Round turn through a ring, tuck through both turns, half hitch. Seize a standing job.
Save this as a picture and it works with a dead signal and a nearly dead battery, which is when a joint is most often tied badly. The rest of this page — the steps, the seating sequence, the failure modes and the bench — is for the evening before.
Why this knot
What it earns its place with, what it costs, and what to reach for instead.
- A job you must undo every five minutes
- Slick HMPE without a seizing
- Making only one pass through the ring, so there is nothing for the end to tuck under
- Tucking the working end under only the nearer turn instead of under both
- Leaving the half hitch off, or leaving it loose up the standing part away from the turns
- Sending the anchor down with the tail loose on a rode that stays on the anchor
- Round Turn & Two Half HitchesBeginner
Makes a rope fast to a post or ring
- BowlineBeginner
A fixed loop in the end of a rope, such as a mooring line to a ring or post
Before you start
- ·Leave the two turns loose enough to slide a finger under, so the working end can be tucked under both of them.
- ·Leave enough tail past the half hitch to seize it to the standing part.
- ·If the rode will stay on the anchor, have waxed twine or tape ready. Animated Knots notes many seize the tail for extra security.
- ·Animated Knots notes that most people add one or two extra half hitches.
Step 1 of 4 · move 1 of 1. Pass a round turn through the ring
Space plays or pauses. Keys 1, 2, 3 and 4 set the speed. Arrow keys change the move.
swipe to step
01.1
Pass a round turn through the ring
- Hold:
- Left hand holds the standing part below the ring
- Move:
- Right hand takes the end through the ring twice, turns side by side
You should now see: Two open turns share the ring. The end finishes below them, not yet tucked.
Pass the working end through the anchor ring twice, going the same way both times, and leave the two turns loose enough to slide a finger under.
Two turns of rope lying side by side through the ring, slack enough that a finger fits between them and the metal.
Making only one pass through the ring. With a single strand there is nothing for the end to tuck under in the next step, and the knot ends up as plain half hitches.
Fix: Pull the end back out and make both passes before tucking. If the turns have been pulled tight against the ring, loosen them so the tuck will fit.
Why: Two turns spread the load around the ring. Keeping them slack now leaves room to tuck the end under both of them at the next step.
- Single pass, no round turn — Hitch slips on the ring in a swell. The round turn is the hitch.
arrow keys work
Tying procedure — Anchor Bend
Step 01 / 4
Pass the working end through the anchor ring twice, going the same way both times, and leave the two turns loose enough to slide a finger under.
You should now see: Two turns of rope lying side by side through the ring, slack enough that a finger fits between them and the metal.
If it goes wrong: Making only one pass through the ring. With a single strand there is nothing for the end to tuck under in the next step, and the knot ends up as plain half hitches.
Fix: Pull the end back out and make both passes before tucking. If the turns have been pulled tight against the ring, loosen them so the tuck will fit.
Why: Two turns spread the load around the ring. Keeping them slack now leaves room to tuck the end under both of them at the next step.
Step 1 of 4 · move 1 of 1
Pass a round turn through the ring
Hold: Left hand holds the standing part below the ring
Move: Right hand takes the end through the ring twice, turns side by side
You should now see: Two open turns share the ring. The end finishes below them, not yet tucked.
Step 02 / 4
Bring the working end across the standing part and tuck it under both turns together, between the turns and the ring, entering from the same side it came out of.
You should now see: The working end trapped under both turns, forming the first half hitch, with two strands of the turn lying over it against the ring.
If it goes wrong: Tucking under only the nearer turn. It looks finished, but the end is held by one strand and eases open under a pulsing load. Count two strands over the tucked end.
Fix: Pull the end back out and tuck it again under both turns at once. Then work the turns down so they lie flat and side by side on the ring.
Why: This tuck is what separates the anchor bend from a round turn and two half hitches. When the rode loads, the turns clamp the end against the ring.
1Under both turnsStep 2 of 4 · move 1 of 1
Tuck the working end under both turns
Hold: Left hand keeps both turns open
Move: Right hand carries the end behind the standing part and under both turns
You should now see: The end is captured under both original turns, not merely wrapped on the standing part.
Step 03 / 4
Take the working end around the standing part and back out through its own loop to tie a half hitch, then slide it down snug against the turns.
You should now see: A half hitch on the standing part sitting right against the tucked turns, with a tail of rope left beyond it.
If it goes wrong: Leaving the half hitch off, or leaving it loose up the standing part. The tucked end can then work back out of the turns as the rode swings.
Fix: Tie the half hitch if it is missing, and push it down until it touches the turns before pulling it tight.
Why: The half hitch stops the tucked end from backing out. Animated Knots notes that extra half hitches are commonly added for anchor work.
Step 3 of 4 · move 1 of 1
Add one half hitch around the standing part
Hold: Left hand holds the tuck against the ring
Move: Right hand circles the standing part and brings the end through its own loop
You should now see: One half hitch grips the standing part below the tucked turns.
Step 04 / 4
Pull the standing part hard to set the knot. If the rode will stay on the anchor, seize the tail to the standing part with waxed twine, or tape it down.
You should now see: Turns flat against the ring, the hitch tight, and the tail bound to the standing part so it cannot flap or work loose.
If it goes wrong: Sending the anchor down with the tail loose. Over weeks of soaking and swinging the hitch can loosen, and underwater there is no way to see it happen.
Fix: Bring the anchor up and seize or tape the tail before it goes back down. Look the knot over on deck each time the anchor comes aboard.
Why: Seizing holds the tail in place so the half hitch cannot back off while the knot spends long periods moving with little load on it. Once the anchor is down, the knot cannot be inspected.
Step 4 of 4 · move 1 of 1
Dress the turns hard against the ring
Hold: Left hand loads the standing part
Move: Right hand works the tuck and the hitch up, then pulls the tail
You should now see: Two ring turns, the tuck under both, one snug half hitch, and a tail you can seize on a standing job.
What this is based onChanged, not yet re-reviewed
- Record
- Reviewed 2026-08-14. 2 sources are cited for this record.
- Drawing
- Changed to fix faults found in its pictures or its film, and checked by the drawing checks. No person has looked at the change. Not yet re-reviewed, and not yet tied from the drawing. Recorded 2026-10-22.
- Known limits
- No audit has looked at this drawing since it was changed, so it may have faults that are not listed here.
- Strength
- 80–85% of the weaker line, arborist climbing rope, attaching a carabiner, stated with no test behind it; the US Naval Institute's manila-rope table puts the same knot (as the fisherman's bend) at 65%, and neither publisher shows the working that would settle the difference. Instructor consensus — Bartlett Arborist Supply. No published break test is cited; the band is where instructors agree, not a measurement.
Watch the tie
Drawn from this knot's sequence — the same rope as the steps. Not a recording of hands. It does not start until you press play.
Another recording
How to Tie an Anchor Hitch KnotAnimatedKnots · Opens on YouTubeAn outside recording of this construction. It is not the drawing above, and nothing here loads from YouTube until you follow the link.
Seating sequence — where failures are born
The step list compresses the finish. Run these phases in order, one at a time.
01 Form
Build the structure loose enough to see every turn.
None. Shape first.
02 Dress
Nest every turn. Crossed parts will walk or jam.
Light — hold the shape.
03 Set
Load the standing part so the intended turns take the strain.
Working load, not a snatch.
04 Check
Confirm the lock still breaks or inspects as the job requires.
None extra.
05 Commit
Only load it after the structure reads correct. Wrong means remake.
Working load, not a snatch.
Finished structure — what correct looks like
Drawn from a rope model of this knot: which strand passes over which comes from where the rope actually lies.
- Structure
- Round turn through the ring, working end through both turns, half hitch on the standing part
- Standing line
- Round turn on the ring carries swell; the tuck and half hitch only lock
- Tag end
- Half hitch set; tail seized or taped if this stays on the ring
- Wraps
- Both ring turns captured by the working-end tuck
- Seating
- Hard dress, then seize a standing job
Verify before you load it
Every line is pass or fail. One fail means retie — do not load a knot you argued with.
- 01Round turn through the ring, working end through both turns, half hitch on the standing part
- 02Hard dress, then seize a standing job
- 03Half hitch set; tail seized or taped if this stays on the ring
- 04Both ring turns captured by the working-end tuck
- 05A single pass through the ring is not this hitch
- 06Seized tail on a rode that will stay wet
Field notes — dark, cold, gloves
- ·Dress is the lock. A pretty knot that is not dressed is not finished.
- ·HMPE usually wants a splice, not a hitch you learned in polyester.
- ·If you cannot break or inspect it under the load you expect, it is the wrong job.
When this family fails, it fails as these. The recovered end still outranks the name.
A hitch that cinches to the ring or shackle and is not meant to break by hand.
- !Second turn tied outside — two half hitches, not a jam
- !Expected to untie after a snatch
- !HMPE without a splice — the hitch strips the cover
- !The end is tucked under only one turn, and the knot eases open under a pulsing load
- !Only one pass went through the ring, so the knot is plain half hitches with no turns clamping the end
- !The half hitch is missing or loose, and the tucked end works back out of the turns as the rode swings
- !The tail was left unseized on a rode that stays down, and over weeks of soaking and swinging the hitch loosens unseen
Single pass, no round turn
Hitch slips on the ring in a swell
The round turn is the hitch · step 01
Working end missed a turn
Tuck does not lock and the rode walks
The working end must pass through both turns · step 02
Unseized standing job
Soak and swell work the tail loose
A rode that lives underwater gets seized or taped · step 04
Hitch works loose after a soak
Check
- ?Working end through both turns
- ?Half hitch dressed
Then
- →Seize the tail
- →Retie wet
Single pass, no round turn
Check
- ?Hitch slips on the ring in a swell
- ?Inspect step 01
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Working end missed a turn
Check
- ?Tuck does not lock and the rode walks
- ?Inspect step 02
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Unseized standing job
Check
- ?Soak and swell work the tail loose
- ?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.
Get it right with everything in your favour0/5 clean
Nothing logged on this knot yet, so it starts on the bottom rung.
Good light, dry hands, a table. Until the sequence is automatic here there is nothing for the harder rungs to test — you would only be learning that difficult conditions are difficult, which you already knew.
How · Tie it, check it against the list, log it. Five clean and the ladder opens.
Nothing marked. Log it clean, or mark what happened first.
Strength, and where the number comes from
80–85% of the weaker line
Instructor consensusarborist climbing rope, attaching a carabiner, stated with no test behind it; the US Naval Institute's manila-rope table puts the same knot (as the fisherman's bend) at 65%, and neither publisher shows the working that would settle the difference
Does Your Knot Reduce the Strength of Your Rope? — Bartlett Arborist Supply
Percentages come from published tests on their own line, their own knot-tyer and their own pull rate. Yours is a different system. Treat a figure as a reason to test, not as a result you already have.
Record reviewed 2026-08-14
Vetted references
- Animated Knots — Anchor Hitch
Animated Knots by Grog
- How to Tie an Anchor Hitch Knot
AnimatedKnots
Take the Working deck quiz — can you recognise this knot's finished state and failure modes?
Related knots
Check the finished knot against what correct looks like before you load it.