How to tie a taut line hitch knot with animated help

Learn how to tie a nautical knot, but not just any old knot... an taut line hitch knot. You'll never have any troubles again tying taut line hitch knots, thanks to this Marinews animated tutorial. You can learn by simply watching the knot tying animation at a moderate speed, or if need be, click on "learn by steps" to get step-by-step rope knot instructions for taut line hitch knots.

The Taut line Hitch is used to attach a line to a rod, pole, spar or another rope. It advantage is it great ability to hold under lateral tension. It is designed to withstand lengthwise movement when pulled from a single angle. Its most common use is for tying a line to another where the pull is to come the same direction of the rope it is tied to (parallel to). The Taut line hitch can be manually moved up and down to any point along the object it is tied to and uses a simple friction to hold its position under tension.

Rope knots can basically be divided into the following groups:

1. Bends - Joining two lines by intertwining them, without splicing, or sewing.
2. Hitches - A knot that secures a rope or line to another object.
3. Stopper – Used to bind strands at the end of a rope to stop fraying or unraveling. Also formed to stop a rope slipping through a hole or to provide a weight or handhold.
4. Bindings – Much like hitches. They are used to bind either lines or objects together. Their aim is to keep objects in place.
5. Splices – Describes the act of joining the ends, or the end and a standing part, of rope by interweaving strands. They are not knots in themselves.
6. Loops – Loops create structures used to tie, or secure, another object or line to another line. They can be formed at the end or midway a length of rope.
7. Plaits - Weaving several lines together to form a pattern and a cohesive structure.
8. Miscellaneous & Decorative – Knots that have decorative, dress or multiple category characteristics.