Marlinespike hitch

Marlinespike hitch

Names	Marlinespike hitch, marlingspike hitch, boat knot
Category	Hitch
Related	Overhand slip knot, stein knot
Releasing	Non-jamming
Typical use	Pulling heavily on rope or twine, historically used by sailors
Caveat	Intended as temporary hitch; not stable unless loaded
ABoK	#559, #1186, #1789, #1880, #2030

The marlinespike hitch is a temporary knot used to attach a rod to a rope in order to form a handle.^[1] This allows more tension than could be produced comfortably by gripping the rope with the hands alone. It is useful when tightening knots and for other purposes in ropework.

As the name suggests, the type of rod traditionally used with this hitch is a marlinespike. The advantages of this hitch over others which might serve the purpose are its quickness of tying and ease of releasing. Topologically it is a form of the noose, but in practice this hitch is not allowed to collapse into that shape. When it does capsize into a traditional noose, it can jam against the rod, making it much more difficult to release.^[2]

The hitch is frequently used by hammock campers to attach whoopie slings to tree huggers.

A constrictor knot prepared for tightening using two rods and marlinespike hitches

Tying

Below is a basic method of tying. The knot can also be made by using the rod itself to form the loop, but the tying method does not affect the performance of the resulting hitch.

Begin with an overhand loop, that is, a loop which the working part passes over the standing part:

Fold the loop over the working part, towards the standing part such that the standing part is visible through the center of the loop:

In stiffer material the first two steps can be accomplished in a single motion by twisting the working part with the fingers until a loop forms and flops over the standing part.

Use the rod to snag a bight of the standing part through the loop, that is, pass the rod over the near side of the loop, under the standing part and then over the far side of the loop:

Before tensioning, excess slack can be removed by pulling simultaneously on both the working and standing parts:

In actual use the hitch should be loaded only from the standing side.

Undesirable capsized form

If the working end is loaded rather than the standing part, the knot will capsize into an overhand noose:

While this form may still hold when the standing part is subsequently loaded, it can jam badly against the rod. This is especially troublesome if the rod is not tapered.

References

↑ Clifford W. Ashley, The Ashley Book of Knots (New York: Doubleday, 1944), 330.
↑ Ashley, 303, 305.

Knots

By type

Bends	Adjustable bend Albright special Ashley's bend Alpine butterfly bend Basket weave knot Beer knot Blood knot Carrick bend Double fisherman's knot Fisherman's knot Flemish bend Grief knot Halyard bend Harness bend Heaving line bend Hunter's bend Nail knot One-sided overhand bend Racking bend Sheet bend Shoelace knot Shroud knot Simple Simon under Single carrick bend Surgeon's knot Surgeon's loop Triple fisherman's knot True lover's knot Water knot Zeppelin bend Zeppelin loop

Binding	Boa knot Bottle sling Constrictor knot Corned beef knot Granny knot Ground-line hitch Jamming knot Miller's knot Packer's knot Reef knot Strangle knot Thief knot Transom knot

Climbing	Autoblock Bachmann knot Beer knot Bowline on a bight Alpine butterfly knot Directional figure eight Double anchorman knot Double bowline Farmer's loop Figure-eight knot Figure-eight loop Figure-of-nine loop Friction hitch Klemheist knot Munter hitch Overhand loop Prusik Trident loop Yosemite bowline

Coils	Butterfly coil Alpine coil

Decorative	Carrick mat Chinese button knot Celtic button knot Diamond knot Fiador knot Friendship knot Matthew Walker knot Turk's head knot Wall and crown knot

Fishing (angling)	Angler's loop Arbor knot Bimini twist Blood knot Fisherman's knot Half blood knot Improved clinch knot Knotless knot Nail knot Palomar knot Snell knot Trilene knot Triple fisherman's knot Turle knot Uni knot

Hitches	Adjustable grip hitch Anchor bend Axle hitch Bachmann knot Bale sling hitch Barrel hitch Becket hitch Blackwall hitch Blake's hitch Boom hitch Buntline hitch Cat's paw Clove hitch Cow hitch Double overhand noose Falconer's knot Farrimond friction hitch Friction hitch Garda hitch Gripping Sailor's hitch Ground-line hitch Half hitch Halter hitch Highpoint hitch Highwayman's hitch Hitching tie Icicle hitch Improved clinch knot Killick hitch Knute hitch Lobster buoy hitch Marlinespike hitch Munter hitch Ossel hitch Pile hitch Snuggle hitch Swing hitch Taut-line hitch Timber hitch

Loop	Angler's loop Artillery loop Bale sling hitch Bowline Bumper knot Carrick bend loop Cowboy bowline Diamond knot Double bowline Dropper loop Eskimo bowline Fiador knot Fireman's chair knot Friendship knot loop Halter hitch Handcuff knot Honda knot Jury mast knot Overhand loop Portuguese bowline Rigid double splayed loop in the bight Slippery eight loop Span loop Spanish bowline Tom fool's knot Trident loop Triple bowline Triple crown knot Water bowline Yosemite bowline Zeppelin loop

Running (slip)	Hangman's knot Running bowline Running highwayman's hitch Slip knot Tarbuck knot

Shanks	Catshank Dogshank Sheepshank

Stopper	Ashley's stopper knot Button knot Double overhand knot Monkey's fist Overhand knot Stevedore knot

Whipping	Common whipping Overhand knot with draw-loop Portuguese whipping Sailmaker's whipping West Country whipping

Lists of knots
Related topics

Lists of knots	Bends Bindings Decorative knots Hitches (friction) Macramé Mathematical

Related topics	Chinese knotting International Guild of Knot Tyers Lashing Rope splicing Seizing

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Marlinespike hitch

Tying

Undesirable capsized form

See also

References