Cleat Hitching -- Forms, style, etiquette?!
 

Recently I decided to take my D40 along to document the state of the practice
of random cleat hitching in a small, small-craft marina in Wildwood South Jersey.
(This is the southern part of "New" Jersey, where those stereotypical denigrations
of the state have absolutely no traction -- farmlands (the Garden State), pine barrens,
coast lines (albeit choked in places w/grandiose marketing dreams). My commute
takes me through Clifford Ashley's old waypoint of Bridgeton & Port Norris/Bivalve
(a bit of a deliberate devation -- much crabbing, few oysters).)

I posted 16 photos on the Int.Guild of Knot Tyers [sic] Practical Knots forum,
at
http://igkt.net/sm/index.php?topic=1440.0

Some of these are wonders to behold ! :) :D

Besides raising the obvious question Why don't folks know (... better)?,
the frequent sharing of a cleat (new-fangled, S-shaped ones, here) raises
the question of etiquette in doing that. Is it expected? (Well, I think that
the circumstances frequently give no good option.) And in the case where
the underlying line must be removed, is the remover expected to re-tie the
overlying hitch as it was done (might be hard to remember/figure), or ... ?!

Of the entire set of hitches I saw that brief visit (35?), maybe just a couple
could be matched to book-wise instructions; many are more nearly works
of art -- or comedy. (Actually, had I thought them art, I'd have used more
megapixels in photographing them -- but in fact stayed at 1.5mp.)

Then there is this S-shaped cleat: it gives different aspects to different
approaches -- i.e., from its left vs. right (seems better from its right, viewed
from the dock, boatwards).

Also, am I right in suspecting that one loses friction as the line-/cleat-size
ratio diminishes (relatively small line for cleat)? -- take extra fig.8 wraps,
or maybe put in a full round turn to start?!

--dl*
====

Grace
 

Hi Dan,
As I've said in related posts, very, very few people belay efficiently to cleats, or to anything else. When I say "efficiently", I mean in a way that one can start by controlling any load that the line can handle, securing it so that you can walk away and not having the belay slip or jam, and then slack the load and cast off without binding or racing.
The grace for most people is that loads that can test a belay are rare in the marina world, so you can get by with just about any configuration that generates sufficient friction. The problem is that someday a serious load might just appear, and you will not be able to handle it. And this is exactly what has happened, many times, with some fairly horrific results. I have a photograph, for instance, of a foul belay to a bollard. At the moment the picture is taken, the rope is smoking, and some of the line handlers are falling down. A second later one of them had a broken leg, and a nearby heavy-duty cart was splintered.
Cleats, belaying pins, and the like, are highly-evolved tools, cabable of marvels. Few people will train themselves up to the belay's potential, and I can't do much about that. But I can enjoy the rhythm and logic and utility of a good belay, and hope that my example and my enjoyment will influence others.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss

But you already have, with the fine examples of how to properly do it in the book. I had the misfortune of having to untie a 270ft boat that a longshoreman had thrown hitches on the bollord when the tide was out and the lines were slack, then the tide came in and cinched them up nice and tight.

On this vain what is the best hitch when you don't have a suitible cleat? As in our marina where things are falling into the water and I have to take a wrap around the dock framing.

Jake

Options
 

Hi,
We usually use some variant on the Capstan Hitch, often made with a bight, to keep from dragging the long end through or around. But we've also been known to drill a hole in a timber and insert a bar to belay to, or to lash a heavy-duty carabiner to the timber, and belay to that.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss

Somewhere among my keystrokes was a question, or trickle of them.

What's expected where cleats are evidently shared?

And are there Rules of Thumb for how many wraps ("throws" would be a medical
term, here) are needed vis-a-vis line-/cleat-thickness ratio? In at least one of the
cases I photographed, there was an obvious mismatch of line/cleat sizes, with
the line being relatively thin.

(-;

ps: Next up for the IGKT forum are some *amazing* eye splices!

I'll take a stab at your etiquette question.

Your pictures show examples of what I call "knitting". If you are forced to undo someone's knitting and then resecure the line, I think the proper action is to tie the knot you know will do the job. Do a proper cleat hitch on a cleat. Tie a proper bowline to replace the original questionable loop. Tie a round turn and two half hitches to rehang a fender.

In my view, your duty is to make sure the line and knot are doing the job. The original knot is the work of someone who doesn't know better and is unlikely to criticize your good work. It would be irresponsible to leave them with a knot that failed later. Leave a long tail neatly coiled or faked.

Recreating their "work of art" or their knitting would bother my conscience. I can sleep at night knowing my cleat hitch is secure and neat.

Clyde

What about rings?
 

My marina uses only those stupid rings instead of cleats. I have made fixed docklines for my regular docking needs. But, what's the right way to belay to a ring for transient docking?

I have talked to the marina owners several times and they are adamant about no cleats.

-Smitty

Old School
 

Hello,
I've been so long in getting back to this because it is a big can of variables, fit for more of an essay than I can do here. But the short form is that the rule of thumb I learned, long ago, is that a cleat should have an inch of length for every sixteenth of an inch of line diameter. So a 1/4" line takes a 4" cleat, and a 3/4" line takes a 12" cleat. The idea is that this will give you a cleat that is strong enough for the line, big enough that the turns don't get kinked or crowded, and has enough bearing surface to generate enough friction that two full turns will make for a good belay (i.e., no slippage, no jamming of the finishing hitch, control of load at the first turn).
The problem is that this rule of thumb was developed in the days of natural fibers, which are at best half the strength of synthetics, and usually less slick. A further problem is that manufacturers seem to delight in undersizing cleats -- how many times have you had to deal with trying to jam a line onto a dinky little cleat?
So first, make sure that you have the right size cleat, and that it is installed and backed correctly. Then you might want to add an extra half turn before the finish, to generate a bit more friction. If you need to belay a too-small line to the cleat, err on the "knitting" side of things, to get more rope surface area on the cleat, to prevent slipping and jamming.
As for rings and other non-cleat items, like rails and posts, some version of the Capstan Hitch, usually made with a bight, is my first choice. Another option is a Round Turn, again with the bight, if the line is long, followed by a Camel Hitch or Camel Rigger's Hitch. A third, and very attractive alternative, where practicable, is to take the line through the ring and back to the boat. You get a doubled line, and a belay you can control from on board.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss