Pile Hitch
Bight round the post, tucked under the standing part, then dropped over the top. Temporary. The standing part takes the load.
Beginner · Polyester / Nylon rope / Polypropylene / Natural fibre
Connection card
Pile Hitch
For loop dropped over a post, rope → bollard / piling.
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
Bight round the post, tucked under the standing part, then dropped over the top. Temporary. The standing part takes the load.
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
- ·The bight goes over the top of the post, so the top has to be reachable. On a post you cannot get over, use a round turn and two half hitches.
- ·Make the bight long enough to go around the post and back over its top. How long depends on the thickness and height of the post.
- ·Animated Knots does not recommend it as a permanent mooring hitch. For an overnight or unattended stay, use a round turn and two half hitches or a bowline.
- ·It needs no rope end, so it can be tied in the middle of a line.
Step 1 of 4 · move 1 of 1. Fold a long bight and pass it round the post, both strands together
swipe to step
01.1
Fold a long bight and pass it round the post, both strands together
- Hold:
- Left hand holds the line leading away and the short tail together
- Move:
- Right hand takes the bight round the back of the post and brings its end to the front
You should now see: Both strands of the bight side by side round the post, and the end of the bight at the front with plenty to spare.
Fold a long bight in the line and wrap it around the back of the post near its top, keeping both strands of the bight together.
Both strands of the bight lie side by side around the back of the post, and the end of the bight comes round to the front with plenty to spare.
Making the bight too short. It gets around the post but cannot be lifted back over the top later, which you only find out at step 3.
Fix: Unwrap it and pull more line into the bight, enough to go around the post and back up over its top.
Why: The bight has to go around the post and then over its top, so the length it needs depends on how thick and how tall the post is.
arrow keys work
Tying procedure — Pile Hitch
Step 01 / 4
Fold a long bight in the line and wrap it around the back of the post near its top, keeping both strands of the bight together.
You should now see: Both strands of the bight lie side by side around the back of the post, and the end of the bight comes round to the front with plenty to spare.
If it goes wrong: Making the bight too short. It gets around the post but cannot be lifted back over the top later, which you only find out at step 3.
Fix: Unwrap it and pull more line into the bight, enough to go around the post and back up over its top.
Why: The bight has to go around the post and then over its top, so the length it needs depends on how thick and how tall the post is.
1End of the bightStep 1 of 4 · move 1 of 1
Fold a long bight and pass it round the post, both strands together
Hold: Left hand holds the line leading away and the short tail together. Move: Right hand takes the bight round the back of the post and brings its end to the front.
You should now see: Both strands of the bight side by side round the post, and the end of the bight at the front with plenty to spare.
Step 02 / 4
Bring the end of the bight around to the front of the post and tuck it under the line where it leads away from the post.
You should now see: The end of the bight comes out from under the line leading away and points toward the top of the post, held in place by that line.
If it goes wrong: Taking the bight over the line instead of under it. Nothing traps the line against the post, and the hitch pulls apart as soon as the line is loaded.
Fix: Pull the bight back out and tuck it under the line leading away, so that line is trapped between the bight and the post.
Why: The line leading away ends up pinned under the bight. Loading it squeezes the wrap against the post, which is where the hitch gets its grip.
1Under the line leading awayStep 2 of 4 · move 1 of 1
Tuck the end of the bight under the line where it leads away from the post
Hold: Left hand keeps the line leading away pulled slightly out from the post. Move: Right hand pushes the end of the bight up under that line, between it and the post.
You should now see: The end of the bight coming out from under the line leading away and pointing toward the top of the post, held in place by that line.
Step 03 / 4
Lift the end of the bight up and drop it over the top of the post, then slide it down until it sits on top of the wrap.
You should now see: The bight rings the post just above the wrap, the line leading away is trapped beneath it, and it stays on when you pull the line.
If it goes wrong: Leaving the bight hanging in front of the post instead of taking it over the top. It looks finished from the boat, but one pull on the line unwraps it.
Fix: Lift the bight over the top of the post. If it will not reach, go back to step 1 and make the bight longer.
Why: This step needs the top of the post to be reachable. On a post you cannot get over, use a hitch tied with the end, such as a round turn and two half hitches.
1Over the topStep 3 of 4 · move 1 of 1
Lift the end of the bight over the top of the post and drop it down onto the wrap
Hold: Left hand keeps the tuck in place. Move: Right hand opens the bight, lifts it over the top of the post and lets it fall.
You should now see: The bight ringing the post just above the wrap, with the line leading away trapped beneath it.
Step 04 / 4
Pull the standing part firmly so both strands of the wrap tighten evenly against the post, then let the load come onto the standing part.
You should now see: Both strands of the wrap bed down side by side against the post with no slack loop, and the hitch does not creep when the standing part takes load.
If it goes wrong: One strand of the wrap left slack, so the load comes on one strand only. Another is leaving the boat on it overnight; Animated Knots does not recommend it as a permanent mooring hitch.
Fix: Work the slack strand tight and load the standing part again. For an overnight or unattended stay, retie with a round turn and two half hitches or a bowline.
Why: Ashley calls it remarkably secure and easy to cast off, which suits a short stop alongside a post. Because it needs no rope end, it can also be tied in the middle of a line.
Step 4 of 4 · move 1 of 1
Pull the line leading away so both strands of the wrap bed down, then load it
Hold: Left hand holds the short tail. Move: Right hand pulls the line leading away until the wrap and the collar close on the post.
You should now see: Both strands of the wrap bedded down side by side on the post, the collar on top of them, and the hitch not creeping under load.
Watch the tie
Fast Temporary Mooring With A Pile HitchWhyKnot · 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
Drawn from a rope model of this knot: which strand passes over which comes from where the rope actually lies.
- ·Bight passed once round the post, tucked under the standing part, then dropped over the top as a collar above the turn
- ·Both strands of the turn bedded down before the standing part takes the load
- ·Bight end dropped over the top of the post, ringing it above the turn
- ·One doubled turn round the post with the collar sitting on it, not a pile of extra turns
Verify before you load it
Every line is pass or fail. One fail means retie — do not load a knot you argued with.
- 01Bight passed once round the post, tucked under the standing part, then dropped over the top as a collar above the turn
- 02Both strands of the turn bedded down before the standing part takes the load
- 03Bight end dropped over the top of the post, ringing it above the turn
- 04One doubled turn round the post with the collar sitting on it, not a pile of extra turns
- 05Bight tucked under the standing part; taken over it, nothing traps the line
- 06Collar over the top of the post above the turn. Temporary. Tide means round turn and two half hitches
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 finished eye dropped over a post — both legs share. Temporary, not overnight.
- !Only one leg loaded — the hitch walks as a girth
- !Bight never taken over the top of the pile
- !Left as overnight mooring on a tide
- !The bight went over the standing part instead of under it, so nothing traps the line and the hitch pulls apart under load
- !The bight was left hanging in front of the post instead of over the top, and one pull on the line unwraps it
- !It is left as a permanent mooring, which Animated Knots does not recommend for this hitch
Bight never taken over the top
Hitch walks up and off the pile
The bight must go over the top of the post to form the collar · step 03
One strand of the turn left slack
Walks off under the first surge
Both strands of the turn must bed down together, or one strand takes the load alone · step 04
Left through a tide cycle
Temporary hitch asked to be a mooring plan
Overnight cyclic tide is round turn and two half hitches · step 04
Hitch walks up and off the pile
Check
- ?Bight over the top
- ?Bight tucked under the standing part
- ?Pile taller than the hitch
Then
- →Retie with a longer bight
- →Switch to round turn and two half hitches for a soak
Bight never taken over the top
Check
- ?Hitch walks up and off the pile
- ?Inspect step 03
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
One strand of the turn left slack
Check
- ?Walks off under the first surge
- ?Inspect step 04
Then
- →Retie. Do not dress a defective structure and call it seated.
Left through a tide cycle
Check
- ?Temporary hitch asked to be a mooring plan
- ?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
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
- ×Overnight cyclic tide (use round turn and two half hitches)
- ×A finished eye you already have (cow hitch)
- ×HMPE
Strength, and where the number comes from
Not established
A temporary hitch with no published break test; nothing citable states a percentage.
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 — Pile Hitch
- WhyKnot — Fast Temporary Mooring With A Pile Hitch
Cited tying video already attached to this record.
Record reviewed 2026-08-14
Vetted references
- Animated Knots — Pile Hitch
Animated Knots by Grog
- Fast Temporary Mooring With A Pile Hitch
WhyKnot
Check the finished knot against what correct looks like before you load it.