Anchor bend: reliable holding

The anchor bend is a knot that defies one of the fundamental characteristics of knots used in seafaring: the ability to secure firmly while still being easily undone when needed.

Once tightened, the anchor bend becomes a “permanent knot,” as sailors often say—if the line needs to be changed for any reason, a knife is required to cut it. This quality makes it one of the most secure knots, belonging to the so-called “wrapping knots” family.

Its most common use—hence the name—is to attach a line to the shackle or ring of an anchor, but it’s also handy for tying a lazy line to a chain or a small line to a dock ring.

The anchor bend is among the simplest knots to tie, but it works best with small- to medium-diameter lines to ensure it holds effectively. With larger-diameter lines, it becomes harder to execute and less reliable in terms of holding strength.

The first step is to pass the working end through the shackle, as shown in this example, or through the anchor ring, the hole located at the end of the anchor shaft.

Next, loop the working end around the shackle three times. If the shackle, as in this case, is very small, two loops may suffice while still ensuring the knot holds firmly. However, the traditional method involves three loops.

At this point, pass the working end over the loops and then through them.

That’s it! Simply tighten the knot, and it’s secure. While this already guarantees the knot’s reliability, you can further ensure absolute security by adding half hitches to the working end or tying a simple knot, as shown in the photo below.

When creating the loops, make sure not to twist the line for a proper and tidy execution.

As mentioned earlier, the anchor bend belongs to the large family of “wrapping knots.” It shares this category with knots like the round turn, the clove hitch, and the cleat hitch. Also included in this group are the half hitch, the rolling hitch, and the hooked half hitch.