The rolling hitch (or Magnus hitch) is a knot used to attach a rope to a rod, pole, or other rope. A simple friction hitch, it is used for lengthwise pull along an object rather than at right angles. The rolling hitch is designed to resist lengthwise movement for only a single direction of pull.
A common usage while sailing is for rigging a stopper to relax the tension on a sheet so that a jammed winch or block can be cleared.
Famous quotes containing the words rolling and/or hitch:
“But dread
was in her, a bloodbeat, it was against the rolling dark
oncoming river she raised bulwarks....”
—Denise Levertov (b. 1923)
“Now that is the wisdom of a man, in every instance of his labor, to hitch his wagon to a star, and see his chore done by the gods themselves. That is the way we are strong, by borrowing the might of the elements. The forces of steam, gravity, galvanism, light, magnets, wind, fire, serve us day by day and cost us nothing.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)