Page 51 - Buck Tilton "Outward Bound Ropes, Knots, and Hitches"

Ropes, Knots, and Hitches

Tautline Hitch

tHIS KnOt pROvIdeS LeveRAge tO
tAKe up SLACK In A ROpe OR CORd
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

i
t
XX
Tautline H XXch: Step 1 Tautline Hitch: Step 2

T a k XXX
XXXe the working end around
With the working end, make
or through a secure or tie-down two or three turns around the
point (such as the ring in the standing part within the loop,
photograph) and back under the as shown in the photograph.
standing part to form a loop.

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