Month: July 2026

I still remember the first boat that came loose on my watch. The owner had tied off using a bowline through a snap hook, and over three days of tidal surge, that hook worked itself open. The boat drifted into a neighboring slip and put a nasty gouge along the starboard gunwale. That afternoon, I … Read more

I’ve tied this knot thousands of times — on floating docks, fixed piers, pilings, and cleats rusted so badly they barely deserved the name. If you’re searching for how to tie a cleat hitch dock style, you’re in exactly the right place. The cleat hitch is the single most important knot any boat owner can … Read more

I was working a job on Pensacola Bay about twelve years ago when a charter captain flagged me down from his slip. He needed to extend a dock line fast — his usual line had chafed through overnight, his boat was shifting in the wake, and the marina store wouldn’t open for another two hours. … Read more

I’ve been finishing rope ends for over twenty years along the Gulf Coast, and I still cringe when I see someone reach for a lighter to melt the tip of a braided line and call it done. That heat-shrink trick works on synthetics in a pinch — I won’t deny it — but it is … Read more