Page 349 - The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice

of Half Hitches laid up in mind-numbing sequence.
The finished product is functional and nearly attrac-
tive, assuming that you “set” each hitch in a consis-
tent fashion against the previous hitch. But use two
lines, hitch them alternately in opposite directions,
Figure 10-1. French Hitching is a series of Half and you have Moku Hitching (Figure 10-2), down-
Hitches, with each hitch closely succeeding the pre- right eye-catching and involved enough to keep the
vious one. Snug the hitches firmly against each other mind alive. Again it’s important to draw each hitch
and they’ll form a smooth spiral. up snugly and consistently, and to see that the two
spirals proceed at the same pace. When the spirals
cross, jump by with whichever side is closest for
a neat crossing. Many patterns can be made with
Moku Hitching by reversing hitch direction at dif-
ferent points in the spirals.
Why the name “Moku Hitching”? Because the
first place I saw it was on the gangplank of an old
Sacramento River sugar hauler of that name. Who
tied the knot or what they called it I do not know,
but it hasn’t appeared in any other knot book,
so it was probably originated by some unknown
marlingspike artist. Inspired by that individual I
set about developing an original hitch, and came
up with the one shown in Figure 10-3, St. Mary’s
Figure 10-2. Moku Hitching involves two lines half- Hitching. As you can see, it is made with three
hitched alternately in opposite directions. Tighten strands, the lowermost one always being hitched in
both spirals with identical, consistent tension. Cover the same direction over the other two. The result
the ends with Turk’s Heads. looks a lot like a three-strand rope laid over ser-
vice, a gratifyingly pretty knot to make. If you’re
feeling particularly energetic, try Moku-izing this
hitch, using two sets of three strands, run in oppo-
site directions.
Why “St. Mary’s Hitching”? False modesty; I
could have called it “Brion’s Spiral” or some such,
but instead named it after a fine little church build-
ing in Anacortes, Washington, where I used to live.
Knots should have names.
Both of these knots are new, and there are cer-
tainly many more out there waiting to be discov-
ered; play around some, improvise, and you just
might find one.

Figure 10-3. St. Mary’s Hitching is made with three
strands hitched in succession in the same direction.
The result looks like three-strand rope wrapped
around a stretch of service.

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