Why Knots Matter on the Cut

A narrowboat is a heavy object, and water is never still. A fifteen-tonne boat nudged by a passing hire boat, a lock emptying, or a gust across an open stretch of the Grand Union will all test whatever is holding you to the bank. Most mooring failures are not caused by weak rope but by a knot that was tied in a hurry, shaken loose by a passing boat, or simply not up to the job.

You do not need a sailor's full repertoire. Four or five reliable knots, tied correctly and quickly in the wet and the dark, will cover almost everything you meet between a rural visitor mooring and a busy town centre. Learn them at home, in the warm, with a mug of tea — not mid-lock with a wind blowing.

The Bowline: Your Fixed Loop

If you learn only one knot, learn the bowline. It creates a loop that will not slip or tighten under load, yet unties easily once the strain comes off — which is exactly what you want when a rope has been holding a boat all night in the rain.

Make a small loop in the standing part of the rope, about a metre from the end. Bring the working end up through the loop, round behind the standing part, and back down through the loop. The old rhyme — the rabbit comes out of the hole, round the tree, and back down the hole — is genuinely useful for teaching your crew.

On a narrowboat the bowline earns its keep when you want a loop that cannot jam: dropping over a mooring bollard, securing a fender line, or attaching a spring line to a ring. It works best in the braided or three-strand nylon and polyester ropes most canal boats carry. A bowline in slick polypropylene can shake loose when the rope is slack — add a half hitch with the tail as a safety if that is all you have on board.

Round Turn and Two Half Hitches: The Mooring Workhorse

This is the knot most experienced boaters reach for when tying up to a ringside mooring or a wooden post. The round turn takes the whole load of the boat onto the post immediately, so you are not fighting the weight of the hull while you finish the knot. Then two half hitches lock it off.

• Pass the rope right around the bollard or ring twice, keeping the turns neat and side by side.
• Bring the working end around the standing part and through the loop you have made — that is one half hitch.
• Repeat for a second half hitch, tucking the tail neatly.

The beauty of it is that you can adjust the length under load by easing the turns, and it comes apart easily even after a hard pull. If you are single-handing through a lock, this is the knot to have on your centre line.

The Clove Hitch: Quick and Adjustable

The clove hitch is the fast one. Two interlocking turns around a rail, a bollard, or a stanchion and it is on — ideal for hanging fenders, tying off a temporary line while you sort out a more permanent one, or securing a boat hook to a roof rail.

It is not, however, a knot to trust with your boat's entire security overnight. A clove hitch can creep when the load shifts repeatedly, and it can slip on smooth metal. Use it where you can keep an eye on it, or back it up with a half hitch. On square-section mooring posts you will find it holds better than on round ones.

Tying Off on a Cleat

Most narrowboats have at least a couple of cleats, and knowing how to use them properly saves a great deal of faffing. Take a full turn around the base of the cleat first — that alone will hold a surprising amount of load. Then lead the rope diagonally across the top and around the opposite horn, in a figure of eight, one or two turns. Finish with a turn that tucks under itself to lock it off.

Never finish with a pile of random turns. A proper figure-of-eight pattern can be released in seconds under tension, which matters if a lock is filling and you need to let the line run. When you leave the boat for the day, ease the tension slightly so the rope is not bar-tight against the cleat; a little slack allows for changing water levels.

Practise Before You Cast Off

Knots are muscle memory. Tying a bowline once at the kitchen table will not help you at Braunston on a wet November afternoon. Spend ten minutes a day for a week and you will have them for life.

• Keep a short 2-metre length of old mooring line on board purely for practice — a 14mm or 16mm line handles like the real thing.
• Practise with cold, wet hands, and in gloves. That is how you will actually tie them.
• Check your knots before you leave the boat, and again after any big wash from a passing boat.
• Replace frayed or glazed mooring lines before they fail — most last three to five seasons of regular cruising.
• Inspect the eye splice at the boat end; a spliced eye, not a knot, belongs on your mooring studs.

Get these five skills under your belt and tying up becomes a calm, one-minute job rather than a scramble. That leaves more time for the bit you actually bought the boat for: watching the herons and the hedgerows slide past at three miles an hour.