hitch · round turn + two halves · 1·12
a round turn around the bar, then two half hitches in the working part around the standing part. the round turn takes the load while you tie the rest. unlike the clove hitch it does not walk; unlike most loop knots it can be undone after weight. this is the knot for the dock cleat, the strop on the lobster pot, the swing tied to the tree.
the rope on the small bridge over the back stream has been on a double hitch for nine years; the rope is older than the child it was first hung for. on the ferry the captain teaches it once, and the deckhand uses it the rest of his life.
if you are not sure, this is the knot. it forgives a lot.
— a knot for the rope you will come back to in winter.
clove hitch · bowline · harbour · bridge