I am forever trying out ‘proper’ nautical ways of tying ropes, and can do a bowline provided I form the rabbit hole properly, and a clove hitch when I find something useful for it to do. But too often I seem to find myself reverting to the old reef knot or the ‘round turn and two half hitches’. In part, this is because these are the knots which I can do in my sleep and never forget. However, an equally important reason is that none of the other knots are any good for tying two rope ends tight.

In practice most situations on a boat seem to require a knot where you can pull the two ends tight and tie the knot at the same time. I call this a parcelling hitch. None of the fancier knots in the books of knots which I have looked at are any use for this, so one falls back on the reef knot or surgeon’s knot, where you can pull the two ends tight around whatever it is you want to secure, at the same time as you tie the knot. Or you use a round turn and two half hitches where a single rope end has to be tied tight to the mast or a ring-bolt.

But reef knots, as we know, are apt to work loose, and although you can usually get them fairly tight, it often takes someone else’s thumb to stop the rope slackening while you finish the knot. I thought I would see if I could devise a parcelling hitch that avoided these weaknesses. The result is shown in the diagram.

The first step is to tie a half hitch in one rope end and tighten it around the other rope end. You have to be careful to do it the correct way around. When the half hitch is tight, the two rope ends are pulled in opposite directions to tighten the rope. It should stay tight while you finish the knot. Click here for a sketch on how to form the knot.

To finish the knot, the ‘plain end’ is tied around itself and the other rope end as shown, so that the loops lie cosily next to each other. The two rope ends are then pulled tight again.

Try it! Let me know how you find it. Email me on stephentrahair@blueyonder.co.uk.