Marlinespike Seamanship
By Ted Walsh
French Spiral Hitching
It is likely that you have a number of places on your CD a nee
vessel where there is a round or semi-round handgrip, boat hook, Cit . A
oar loom, or even a tiller, that has the potential to crack. rg
One method of reinforcement or emergency repair is Fs CP
French Spiral hitching. Of all the forms of grafting, hitching or Ze %
pointing, this is perhaps the easiest to master. It is easy to apply, y Poe
easy to tension, and is extremely strong. S dia ¥ he
Thad to extend the chafing protection on our long Why Ps
boathook and used French Spiral Hitching. The illustrations ae hp get
show the steps described below. > % “4
To determine how much line you will need, wrap line , ‘ied /
around the object to be covered with hitching and once the area a
has been covered, add about 10% more to be safe. To start, take LE S3,
one end of the line and tie a simple hitch around the object that id EID j PA >,
you are working on by passing the line around the object and
back under itself as shown in the illustrations. Pull the hitch tight a
and continue around again making the second hitch slightly
ahead of the previous hitch and pull tight. As you continue hitch-
ing the line, the continual placement of hitches one ahead of Ss
another will create the spiral. .
Here is a quick project using French Spiral Hitching: i.
Seam and caulking puller
A twenty-penny nail is shaped with a plumber’s torch &
and hammer. A handle is made out of wood from a split dowel, %
grooved and finish-shaped with files, and the whole bound yh
together with French Spiral Hitching. Sy SED hs
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aan ScTS ON
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DZ The hardest part of a project like
this is just keeping track of the line.
It will want to snag on objects,
tangle and even wander off.
