The Half Hitch Knot

And Its Kiting Applications

The simple Half Hitch has many uses, but I have just a few for the MBK Kites. In particular, the Roller and Dopero kites, where this knot is easily unpicked to adjust the wing-tip ties where they attach to the lower horizontal spar. However, this is also it's main disadvantage in that it eventually comes loose! It's fine for a single long flight though.

Another very handy application is attaching a plastic ribbon tail around the lower end of a vertical spar. A single hitch is quick and easy, yet sufficiently secure. The crushed plastic helps to prevent loosening, and the forces on a tail in flight are very low anyway. I have never lost a tail this way!

3 Half Hitches

3 Half Hitches

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Half Hitch Knot

1. Around and across

2. Around the back and through

3.Pull tight

4. Around the back again

5. Back through and pull tight

6. As many times as you like!

Actually, there is one other use for the Half Hitch in the Dowel kites... The nose of the Sode has a loop tied around it, when rigged ready to fly. The loop is Lark's Headed around the upper horizontal spar's bow-line. Effectively, it's just 2 lines side-by-side, which are then hitched around the nose of the kite to hold some tension in the sail. Because of all the insulation tape over the nose, just the one hitch seems to hold fine! A bit surprising, but it sure is handy since it's very easy to unpick before packing down the kite.

If multiple hitches are used in any situation, the top one will quickly loosen off unless it's secured with glue. Eventually, the next hitch starts to loosen too, and so on down the line. Having said that, I've never lost a kite where the flying line has been secured with just 3 half-hitches. In fact, if the line is passed around a railing twice, before doing the half-hitches, just 2 of them seems to be completely secure.

You can use a couple of hitches to attach a bridle line to its spar, as long as a drop of glue is added. In this situation the glue can also be used to prevent the knot from shifting along the spar. These days I prefer to use a Double Wrap Slip Knot here.

Try my Kiting Knots e-book PDF for more convenient access to all the step-by-step knot-tying instructions featured on this site. It's printable and has a clickable Table of Contents.

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