Coiling and hanging a dock line
Line handling · easy
Used for
- Stowing the spare end of a dock line neatly after it is cleated
- Hanging dock lines in a locker or from a rail so they are ready to throw
- Keeping lines free of twists and tangles so they run out cleanly
How to tie it
- Start coiling from the end that is made fast (or from the eye), so the free end finishes on the outside.
- Hold the coil in one hand and lay loops into it with the other, keeping them all about the same size.
- With three-strand line, coil clockwise and give the line a slight twist with each loop so it lies flat.
- With braided line, or any line that fights you, let it fall into figure-eight loops instead of forcing round ones.
- Leave a few feet of tail when you reach the end.
- Wrap the tail around the coil a few times near the top, the first wrap crossing over itself to lock.
- Push a bight of the tail through the top of the coil above the wraps.
- Hang the coil by that bight from a hook, rail or cleat.
Check it: The coil hangs in neat, even loops with no kinks, and when you undo the wraps and drop it, the line pays out without snarling.
Cautions
- Do not force half-twists into braided line; they turn into tangles when you throw it.
- Coiling three-strand line the same way every time tightens its twist; now and then coil it against the lay or lay it out straight to relax.
- Dry lines before stowing them in a closed locker.
- On the dock, keep leftover tail coiled or flaked out of the walkway so nobody trips.
To untie: Undo the wraps, set the coil down, and pull from the end that has to run first.
Sources (6)
higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com · media.defense.gov · globalsecurity.org · boatingcompass.org · navytribe.com · boatus.com
General guidance for recreational boaters, researched from the sources listed and written in our own words. Your equipment manuals, local knowledge, the Navigation Rules and a qualified instructor come first.