Can we talk about tying off to a hammerhead for current?

I used to think that was just lazy and dangerous, but a senior diver in Norfolk showed me how he does it with a specific knot and a backup line. Watched him work a full tide cycle on a bridge inspection without drifting once. Now I actually trust the method for shallow water jobs. Anybody else have a trick they were totally against until they saw it done right?

2 comments

2 Comments

nina1805d agoMost Upvoted

The first time I saw a guy tie off to a hammerhead in Norfolk harbor I almost had a heart attack. He used a clove hitch with two half hitches and a separate safety line clipped to his D-ring. He didn't move an inch through a full six hour ebb tide. I had to eat my words real quick after that. Now for shallow work under 30 feet I do it myself with a good backup and a quick release knot. But I still won't trust it in heavy surge or around moving boats.

faith_thomas4d ago

Respectfully I gotta disagree a little bit. A clove hitch on a hammerhead is sketchy no matter how good your backup is, especially if the tide swings and the hammerhead shifts. I've seen those things roll underwater with just a little current and if that happens your knot is toast no matter how clean it was tied. Quick release or not you're still trusting a lot to a piece of steel that wasn't designed for tying rope to. For shallow work I'd rather just use a proper anchor or a dock cleat if one's nearby, even if it means a longer line.