Pile Hitch
hitch knot
A dock piling driven into the seabed often has no accessible base to wrap a rope around - only a top a person can reach from a boat or the dock itself. The pile hitch handles that specific situation by needing no working end threaded around the post at all: a bight of rope, already formed well back from either end, is passed around the post, tucked under both of its own standing legs, and only then dropped over the top of the piling. That tuck under the standing parts is the entire locking mechanism - without it the bight simply lifts back off.
Because it's tied entirely from a bight rather than requiring an end to be passed around the post, it's genuinely the fastest way to secure a line to a piling from a moving boat or an awkward angle - there's no working end to thread, just a bight passed round, tucked under its own legs, and dropped over the top.
That speed comes with one hard limitation: it only works where the top of the post is actually accessible to drop the bight over. A post embedded in a way that hides its top, or a horizontal spar with no accessible end, defeats the whole method, and a clove hitch or similar wrap-around hitch is the only option in that case.
Dockworkers and boaters reach for it for that speed advantage, but it is worth being clear about what it is for. Ashley recommends it for medium and heavy lines, and it is a temporary hitch - it cannot be recommended as a permanent mooring. For a boat left unattended, a round turn and two half hitches or a bowline is the right choice.
The order of the moves is what people get wrong, and it is worth spelling out because the wrong order produces something that looks finished and is not. The bight goes around the post first, then under both of its own standing legs, and the drop over the top comes last. A bight simply dropped over a post and pulled down is not a pile hitch at all - it is a loop resting on a post, and it will lift straight off the moment the line goes slack or the angle of pull changes.
Because the hitch locks by trapping a bight under the standing parts rather than by tucking a working end through a series of turns, it also tends to be easier to release than some wrap-and-tuck hitches - a boater can lift the bight back off the post once the line is slack, rather than unpicking a clove hitch's turns, a secondary practical advantage alongside its quick initial attachment.
How to tie the Pile Hitch
- 1Form a bight in the rope, well back from either end.
- 2Pass the bight around the post, keeping both of its legs together.
- 3Tuck the bight under both standing legs where they meet at the post.
- 4Drop the tucked bight over the top of the post.
- 5Pull on the standing part to seat the hitch - the trapped bight is what locks it against the post.
Strength & security
Tied entirely from a bight dropped over the top of a post with no need to thread a working end around it, this is the fastest possible way to attach a rope to a piling accessible only from above - a real practical advantage on a dock where reaching around the base of a piling isn't possible.
Cautions: It needs the top of the post accessible to drop the bight over, so it can't be tied around an object with no reachable end. It is also a temporary hitch rather than a permanent one - Ashley recommends it for medium and heavy lines, but for a mooring left unattended a round turn and two half hitches or a bowline is the better choice.
Alternatives
- Clove Hitch
Works around any accessible point of a post, not just the top - useful wherever the pile hitch's drop-over method isn't possible because the post's top is out of reach.
FAQ
Can the pile hitch be tied one-handed while holding a boat off a dock?
It is quick, but not quite that quick - the bight has to be passed around the post and tucked under its own standing legs before it goes over the top, which generally wants two hands. What it does avoid is threading a working end around the base of a piling, which is the part that is genuinely impossible from a moving boat.
When can't I use a pile hitch?
Whenever the top of the post isn't accessible to drop a bight over - a clove hitch or similar wrap-around hitch is needed instead in that case.
Is the pile hitch faster to tie than a clove hitch?
Yes, where the post's top is reachable - dropping a pre-formed bight over the top and pulling it snug is quicker than threading a working end around the post.
Why is the pile hitch also called the lasso hitch?
We have seen that name attached to it, but we could not find it in Ashley, Animated Knots or any other reference we would rely on, so we no longer list it. If you have seen the pile hitch called something else in a published source, that name is worth more than one we cannot trace.
Gear that pairs with this knot
- 3-strand nylon dock line
Nylon stretches under a surging load and recovers, which is exactly what stops a boat shock-loading this hitch as it works against a dock or piling.
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