Page 70 - Adlard Coles "The Knot Bible"

HITCHES

Cleat hitch on a pin
KNOT SCORE
Before there were cleats, there were pins. Most of the running rigging on a Strength

traditional square-rigger was tied off on pin rails fixed to the bottom of Security
the shrouds or on fife rails located on deck around the bottom of the Diffi culty Tying

Diffi culty Untying
masts. Although little used on modern sailboats, the principle is the same
Usefulness
as a cleat fastened to a mast.

1 Take a turn around the bottom 2 Pass the working end diagonally 3 Take a couple more diagonal
of the belaying pin (or cleat). across and around the top of the pin turns to make a fi gure-eight shape.
(or cleat). Make sure there are at least two
crossing turns.

KNOT KNOW-HOW

Before the invention of cleats, belaying
pins were used to tie off nearly all of a
ship’s running rigging. On a square-rigger,
that might mean upwards of 50 belaying
pins on each side of the ship. Not only did
each line have to be ‘belayed’, but any
leftover line had to be coiled and hitched
on the pin too (page 187). In the case
of the upper sails, that might mean
hundreds of feet of line. Not a job for
the faint-hearted.

4 If tying off a flag halyard, fi nish

with a half hitch on the top part of
the pin.

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