Page 29 - The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice

Figure 1-11C. The completed knot.

Figure 1-11A. The Marlingspike Hitch. Hold line lashings. Each lashing was hove taut with this
between thumb and middle fingers of one hand. With stick-in-hitch procedure, which the Vikings called
other hand, lay spike across line and pivot it in a full “marling”—hence “marlingspike” (commonly but
circle, ending with the point behind the standing part.
with less regard for linguistic antecedents spelled
without the “g”), “marline (n),” and incidentally,
“mooring.” Rivets, nails, glue, and bolts eventually
replaced lashings as hull fastenings, but the point
remains that flimsy, inexpensive bits of twine can
be made structurally significant with tension. With
the advent of materials like Spectra, we have seen
a sharp resurgence in the use of this and other
hitches, because very high loads can now be put
onto extremely small, slick line.
The amount one can save in chrome-plated fit-
tings alone can make spike knots worthwhile, and in
an emergency they might be a sailor’s only recourse.
Good knots to know, even if you’re not planning to
raid the coast of England.
The single version of this knot has been all that
anyone needed for a few thousand years, but today
we sometimes need a double version for dealing
with very small, very strong synthetic line. When in
doubt, use a double. To tie it, start as though for
a single Marlingspike Hitch, but pass the standing
part around the tip of the spike twice, before com-
pleting the knot as usual.
The Marlingspike Hitch is used to draw up a
variety of knots. Some of these knots are marvels
of intricacy, but we’ll start with a simple one. Snub
the end of some twine under two or three turns of its
own standing part, around a piece of rope or wire
Figure 1-11B. In mid-pivot, snag the standing part
close to the spike with the tip of your middle finger. rope (Figure 1-12). Make your hitch, and, exert-
This makes it easy to grab (with thumb and forefin- ing even tension, wind on a series of tight, tangent
ger) the bight of line on top of the spike and to pass it turns. That’s “service,” a means of protecting sails
over the end of the spike. and rigging from chafe. Service is frequently seen
over splices; on shrouds, especially where headsails

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