Page 113 - Buck Tilton - Outward Bound Ropes, Knots, and Hitches 2 ed.

Tautline Hitch: Step 2

With the working end, make two or three turns

around the standing part within the loop, as
shown in the photograph.

Like the trucker’s hitch (see page 34), the tautline hitch

creates a tight (or taut) line but does so with a simple knot
instead of a system of knots. Because it is simpler than the

trucker’s hitch, it is often taught to beginning knot tyers as a
method of creating tension, as in a tent line. The knot slides
freely but jams against the rope or cord it is tied around

when a load is applied. Far more tension can be created with
a trucker’s hitch, and the trucker’s hitch is more secure, so

most knot tyers eventually leave the tautline hitch behind. It
does find use, however, in securing gear to a rope vertically

suspended, such as a rope hanging from the limb of a tree.