Six knots and a cleat

Day Skipper ropework is a short list used constantly. The bowlinebowlineThe knot that puts a fixed loop in a rope’s end — strong, and unties after load.full glossary → puts a fixed loop in the end of a line — mooring lines onto posts, sheets onto a headsail — strong, and it unties even after load. The clove hitchclove hitchThe quick adjustable hitch — fenders on a rail. Not for anything that matters if it slips.full glossary → hangs fenders from a rail: quick, adjustable, not for anything that matters if it slips. The round turn and two half hitches makes fast to a ring or bar and can be released under load — the round turn takes the strain while you work. The figure-of-eight is a stopper, fat enough that a sheet cannot escape through its block.

Joining two ropes: a reef knot only for binding something (it capsizes as a bend); unequal thicknesses want a sheet bend, or a double sheet bend if it matters. Rope itself divides by stretch: polyester for sheets and halyards (low stretch is the point), nylon for anchor warps and mooring lines (stretch absorbs snatch loads).

CleatingcleatThe deck fitting ropes are made fast to: full turn round the base, then figure-eights.full glossary →: a full turn around the base of the cleat first, then figure-of-eight turns across the horns, finished with — opinions vary by boat — a final flat turn or a locking hitch. The full base turn is the part that takes the load; lines led straight to crossing turns jam.

One more knot completes the set: the ROLLING HITCHrolling hitchThe knot that grips along a loaded rope — used to take the strain off a jammed sheet.full glossary →, the knot that grips ALONG a loaded rope or bar instead of around a post. Two turns on the load side jam against the pull, one turn the other side locks it. Its party trick is rescue work — clap it onto a winch-jammed sheet with a spare line, take the strain on the spare, and the jam goes slack enough to clear.

Winches, clutches and the riding turn

Loaded ropes are handled by machinery, and the machinery has manners. A WINCHwinchThe geared drum that multiplies your pull on a loaded rope. Turns go on clockwise.full glossary → takes two or three clockwise turns (always clockwise) before any load comes on, more turns as the load grows; a SELF-TAILING winch adds a gripping jaw on top so one person can wind and tail together. Feed the rope to the drum at a slight upward angle from below — a flat or downward lead is how you make a RIDING TURNriding turnA rope turn jammed over another on a winch drum — prevented by feeding the rope fair, cleared with care.full glossary →, one turn buried under another, locked solid by the load. Prevention is the lead and not stacking turns early; the cure is never fingers — take the load off with another line and a rolling hitch, then unpick at leisure.

CLUTCHESclutchA lever jammer that holds a loaded line so the winch can serve other ropes. Load the winch before opening one.full glossary → (jammers) hold a loaded line so the winch can be borrowed by its neighbours — but opening one under full load fires the rope through your hand: take the load back onto the winch first, then open. Winch handles live in pockets, not on drums (a loaded rope will throw one overboard or at a head). And rope between jobs is COILED with the lay and stowed so it runs: the tangle you didn’t bother with is always the line you need in a hurry.

Last, the materials shelf beyond polyester and nylon: POLYPROPYLENE floats — which is exactly what you want in a rescue throwing line and nothing else; and the modern high-modulus fibres (Dyneema-type HMPE and friends) are stronger than steel for their weight with near-zero stretch — halyard and racing money, lovely, and nothing a Day Skipper must own.