Uses: The Cleat Hitch secures a rope to a cleat. It is deceptively simple and an unwary skipper who invites visitors to cleat a mooring line may be astonished and dismayed by the unsatisfactory results. See also using a cleat hitch for Securing a Halyard.

First Horn: Initially the rope must be led round the most distant horn of the cleat followed by a turn in the same direction round the other horn. Starting round the wrong horn increases the risk of a jam.

No Round Turn: After passing the rope around two horns of the cleat, always cross over and make figure 8 turns afterwards. This is because the Figure 8 Turns lift the rope up against the horns and out of the way of the first turn. There is a risk if the initial turn continues around and under the first horn a second time (making a complete round turn). Now if a towline briefly becomes slack, the initial turn can separate away from the cleat and then clamp down on top of the second turn making it impossible to release the rope while there is load on the towline.

No Locking Hitch? Several skippers have written to say that there are situations when a Locking Turn should not be used:

• Large Vessels: The uniform practice on large vessels is to never cleat the ropes.
• Towing: Never cleat either end of a towline. First, a towline should always be monitored. Second, the ability to quickly release either end is essential.
• Sheeting a Sail: Never cleat the sheet controlling a sail - rapid release may be critically important in preventing a disaster, e.g., a capsize.

Use a Locking Hitch? In other situations a locking hitch is commonly used, e.g., the dock lines for a yacht left in a harbor, the halyards cleated to the mast, and flag halyards.

Number of Turns: In most of Ashley's illustrations he shows astonishingly few turns. However, he was writing when tarred hemp was the rope of choice. Today's ropes may be stronger, thinner, slippery, and more elastic (nylon rope stretches by more than 5% when loaded to 20% of its rated breaking strain). Some modern illustrations still show only a single crossover followed by a Half Hitch. An intermittent load on a nylon rope may transmit tension to the Half Hitch and make release awkward. I am indebted to Kevin Redden for the following practical advice: two crossovers is the bare minimum, and only for temporary use in sheltered conditions. In all other situations, always add more - certainly enough to handle any storm load.