If you are out on the water and need to secure your boat, the Anchor Hitch is the best choice.
It’s used to fasten an anchor line to an anchor.
It’s sometimes called the Anchor Bend, but it’s actually a hitch, not a bend.
Let’s check this hitch in detail.
Anchor Hitch Details
Type: Hitch
Other Names: Fisherman’s Hitch, Fisherman’s Bend, Anchor Bend
ABoK Reference: #1723, #1841
How to Tie the Anchor Hitch
- Make a round turn with your rope around the shackle
- Feed the working end through and under the loops you just made
- Pull the end tight
- Tie a Half hitch knot around the standing line
- Tighten the knot.
To untie, loosen the Half Hitch at the end of the knot. Then, pull the working end back through the turns and release the rope free from the ring or object.
Securing the Anchor Hitch
The knot jams after being heavily loaded when used with modern slippery ropes.
If you are worried about jamming, add an extra loop around the object you’re tying your rope to.
Plus, if you want to secure the knot, you can join the working end and the standing end with some seizing.
You can also tie the Double Constrictor knot or Double Fisermand’s knots (only one half ) to hold the end of the line.
Anchor Hitch Vs Round Turn and Two Half Hitches
At first glance, the anchor hitch looks very similar to the Round Turn and Two Half Hitches.
The difference?
If you look at the Round Turn and half hitches, both Half hitches are tied by wrapping the working end around the standing part.
In the Anchor Hitch, the first Half Hitch passes through and under the first two turns in the knot and the second Half hitch is tied around the standing part.
It is more secure but a bit difficult to untie.
Pros and Cons
The anchor hitch is a secure and reliable way to tie the anchor to a ring.
The main advantage of this hitch is that it is suitable for use with slippery ropes as well.
When an anchor hitch is tied, it stays tightly and can be difficult to untie it later.
In fact, you may need to hammer it to loosen it up.
Applications and Uses
The Anchor Hitch is the recommended hitch for attaching a line to an anchor to secure large and small boats on the water.
They are used with drifting boats like canoes and kayaks.
The hitch is popular and widely adopted because it remains strong under dynamic loads.
It can jam in modern slippery ropes, but will just do fine under moderate loads.
Beyond boating, it is also used in rock climbing and arborist work to attach ropes to the carabiners.
Other Similar Knots
Bowline Knot
The Bowline knot forms a loop at the end of the rope.
It is used to tie mooring lines to a tree or a post.
It’s not suitable for anchoring because it tends to loosen up under the cyclic loads, especially when the knot is not properly tied.
Buntline Hitch
Buntline hitch is a self tightening hitch knot.
It’s not specialized for its use with anchoring. It’s mainly used to secure the foot of the sail to the buntlines.
Figure 8 on a Bight
The Figure 8 on a bight helps to create a loop in the rope so that you can clip off to an anchor point.
It’s actually tied by doubling the rope into a bight and tying a standard figure 8 knot.
Double Figure 8 Knot
The Double Figure 8 knot creates a double loop also known as bunny ears at the end of the rope.
It’s used in climbing especially for anchoring two anchor points with one strand of rope.
It allows the load to spread across the two anchor points which makes up for the safe climbing setups.
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