Cleat Hitch
Far-horn first turn, figure-eights, locking hitch that still breaks by hand.
Beginner · Polyester / Nylon rope / Polypropylene / Natural fibre / Dyneema / HMPE
Connection card
Cleat Hitch
For rope → cleat.
Full turn on the far horn, figure-eights across both horns, locking hitch under the last cross.
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
Far-horn first turn, figure-eights, locking hitch that still breaks by hand.
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.
Before you start
- ·Check which way the load comes from. The first turn goes on the horn farthest from it.
- ·The line should go round the horns and cross the middle without piling up. An undersized cleat will not take a clean hitch.
- ·One figure-eight is the minimum, and only for a short stay in sheltered water. Add figure-eights for heavier loads or rough water.
- ·To cast off, ease the strain first with the engine or by pushing off. Keep fingers out from between a loaded line and the cleat.
Step 1 of 4. Lead the line to the horn farthest from where the load comes in. Pass it around under that horn, then around under the near horn, so it wraps the base of the cleat.
First turn on the far horn — never the near horn.
First turn on the far horn — never the near horn.
swipe to step
01
Lead the line to the horn farthest from where the load comes in. Pass it around under that horn, then around under the near horn, so it wraps the base of the cleat.
Line passing under both horns and around the base, ending at the near horn ready to cross over the top. When you ease your grip, the wrap takes some of the pull off your hands.
Starting on the horn nearest the load, so the loaded line gets trapped under the crossings that follow, or crossing over the top before wrapping under both horns.
Fix: Take the line off and start again at the far horn, going under both horns before any cross. Skip a second full wrap around the base; Animated Knots notes it can clamp down and jam.
Why: Starting at the far horn keeps the loaded part of the line clear of the turns you add next. The wrap under both horns holds the boat while you finish, and leaves the crossings free to lift off later.
- 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.
- No full turn on the base — Figure-eights walk off the horns. The base turn, not the crosses, takes the surge.
arrow keys work
Tying procedure — Cleat Hitch
step 01 · schematic First turn on the far horn — never the near horn.
Step 01 / 4
Lead the line to the horn farthest from where the load comes in. Pass it around under that horn, then around under the near horn, so it wraps the base of the cleat.
You should now see: Line passing under both horns and around the base, ending at the near horn ready to cross over the top. When you ease your grip, the wrap takes some of the pull off your hands.
If it goes wrong: Starting on the horn nearest the load, so the loaded line gets trapped under the crossings that follow, or crossing over the top before wrapping under both horns.
Fix: Take the line off and start again at the far horn, going under both horns before any cross. Skip a second full wrap around the base; Animated Knots notes it can clamp down and jam.
Why: Starting at the far horn keeps the loaded part of the line clear of the turns you add next. The wrap under both horns holds the boat while you finish, and leaves the crossings free to lift off later.
If wrong: First turn on the near horn — Hitch jams and will not cast off under surge.
If wrong: No full turn on the base — Figure-eights walk off the horns.
step 02 · schematic Figure-eights lying flat across both horns.
Step 02 / 4
Bring the line diagonally over the top of the cleat, around under the far horn, and back diagonally over the top to pass under the near horn, making one figure-eight.
You should now see: Two diagonals crossing in an X on top of the cleat, each passing under a horn, with the wrap around the base still in place underneath.
If it goes wrong: Piling on turn after turn and hitch after hitch until the horns are buried. It looks secure, but you can no longer see how the line runs and it is slow to cast off.
Fix: Unwind back to the base wrap and one clean figure-eight. For a heavier load or rough water, add another full figure-eight rather than extra locking hitches.
Why: Animated Knots treats two crossings, one figure-eight, as the minimum for a short stay in sheltered water and adds more figure-eights for storm loads. Extra figure-eights add grip; stacked locking hitches jam.
If wrong: Piled extra locks — Crosses weld under surge; knife job.
step 03 · schematic Locking hitch under the last cross, still breakable by hand.
Step 03 / 4
Twist an underhand loop into the line so the tail end lies underneath, then drop the loop over the horn and pull it snug so the tail is pinned under the last wrap.
You should now see: The locking turn lying alongside the last diagonal and pointing the same way, with the tail coming out from underneath it rather than across the top.
If it goes wrong: Making the loop the other way so the tail sits on top and nothing locks, or adding two or three locking hitches that pinch each other and jam under load.
Fix: Lift the loop off the horn, flip it so the tail sits underneath, and drop it on again. Keep a single locking hitch and take any extras off.
Why: One locking hitch stops the figure-eights shaking loose while the line is slack. Hook the Horizon warns that several locking hitches jam under load, and Animated Knots notes that large vessels often leave it off so the line releases quickly.
If wrong: Jammed lock hitch — Cannot cast off while the boat is still loading the line.
step 04 · schematic If you cannot cast off under load, remake it.
Step 04 / 4
Pull the standing line to seat the turns and tuck the tail clear. Then check that, with the strain eased, the locking hitch lifts off the horn and the turns unwind by hand.
You should now see: A neat hitch with every turn visible. With the strain off, the locking hitch lifts free and the turns come away in reverse order without a knife.
If it goes wrong: A hitch that will not come off. The locking hitch stays stuck on the horn even with the line slack, because the turns under it have pulled into a hard lump.
Fix: Take the strain off with the engine or by pushing the boat off, work the turns loose, and retie with a clean figure-eight and one locking hitch. Keep fingers clear of a loaded line.
Why: On a dock line, being able to let go matters as much as holding. Easing the strain first lets the turns come away cleanly and keeps your hands out from between a loaded rope and the cleat.
Watch the tie
A Perfect Cleat HitchMaryland School of Sailing · Opens on YouTubeExternal video from a creator we follow — not produced by us. Nothing on this page 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
Full turn on the far horn, figure-eights across both horns, locking hitch under the last cross.
Full turn on the far horn, figure-eights across both horns, locking hitch under the last cross.
- ·Full turn on the far-horn base, one or two figure-eights, locking hitch under the last cross
- ·Base turn seated, crosses flat, lock dressed but not jammed
- ·Locking hitch parts lie parallel under the last cross — still breakable by hand
- ·Figure-eights flat across both horns — not a pile of extra locks
Verify before you load it
Every line is pass or fail. One fail means retie — do not load a knot you argued with.
- 01Full turn on the far-horn base, one or two figure-eights, locking hitch under the last cross
- 02Base turn seated, crosses flat, lock dressed but not jammed
- 03Locking hitch parts lie parallel under the last cross — still breakable by hand
- 04Figure-eights flat across both horns — not a pile of extra locks
- 05No extra locks stacked on the first turn; no near-horn start
- 06One clean lock. If you cannot break it by hand with load still on, remake it
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.
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
- !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
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
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.
Get it right with everything in your favour0/5 clean
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.
Not ideal for
- ×Permanent standing rigging (splice instead)
- ×A jammed lock hitch you cannot break by hand
Strength, and where the number comes from
Not established
A make-fast rather than a join, and no published test states what a cleat hitch costs the line; the sailing-school material describes dressing, not strength.
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.
- Animated Knots — Cleat Hitch (Dock Line)
BoatUS — How to Tie a Cleat Hitchno link on file
- Hook the Horizon — The Cleat Hitch
Record reviewed 2026-08-14
Vetted references
- Animated Knots — Cleat Hitch (Dock Line)
Animated Knots by Grog
- Hook the Horizon — The Cleat Hitch
Hook the Horizon
- A Perfect Cleat Hitch
Maryland School of Sailing
Check the finished knot against what correct looks like before you load it.