Popular slide and grip knot, may fail with modern ropes.
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Rolling Hitch Details
Found in: Boating, Hitches, Horse & Farm, Scouting, Slide & Grip
Also known as: Magner’s Hitch, Magnus Hitch
Description: The Rolling Hitch Knot – Ashley Version 2 (ABOK # 1735, p. 298) connects a smaller rope to a larger one. This knot works best with the pull lines positioned in near-parallel alignment.
Naming: Richard Dana published The Seaman’s Friend in 1841 and applied the name Rolling Hitch as we use it today. Before that, people called it the Magnus Hitch or Magner’s Hitch. The term Rolling Hitch referred to the Round Turn and Two Half Hitches. Later authors, like Ashley, used Dana’s naming. Ashley called a variation of the Rolling Hitch the Magnus Hitch. In this variation, the last half hitch wraps around the standing end the other way. This technique helps to prevent torsion or twisting (ABOK #1736, p. 298).
Warning:Some modern ropes are very slippery, e.g., Spectra®, Dyneema®, and Polypropylene. A Rolling Hitch will not hold at all in such materials.
Uses: The Rolling Hitch Knot is useful for taking the strain off a rope with a foul turn on a winch. You can use it to ease the strain on a hawser when moving the “Bitter End” to the “Bitts.” However, the Rat-Tail Stopper works better. You can also use it to make a Midshipman’s Hitch. This is an adjustable loop at the end of a rope. It has many uses on boats, like acting as a spring line to a dock or as a boom-vang. At home, it serves as an adjustable Clothesline Hitch.
(Reference source: animatedknots.com)
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