What knife should one bring on the boat while sailing?

You really want a knife with a marlinspike. Since it is kind of uncomfortable to wear a fixed blade sheath knife and a separate marlinspike on a belt nowadays, you probably want a folding knife with a good, solid locking mechanism. That way the knife blade will not accidentally fold up on your fingers while you are using it. This is a real risk, since you may be on a rolling boat, with wet hands, prying or sawing through tough sailcloth or rope. From painful experience I can tell you that is not the kind of situation where you want your knife blade folding up onto your knuckles.
The marlinspike is important, because you use it to pry open knots that are wet, frozen, or simply too tight to loosen with your fingers alone. I have yet to find any knot jammed so tight that I cannot open it up enough to untie by using my marlinspike. I ALWAYS carry a knife with a marlinspike when I am out sailing.
Additionally, you probably want a knife blade with a blunt end instead of a point, sometimes called a “sheeps foot” style. Again, the rolling boat and wet hands make the likelihood of accidentally poking things (or crewmembers) much greater than it would be ashore. You will also want a lanyard ring or loop built into the knife, so that you can tie it to you somehow with a piece of line or webbing. Nothing is sadder than seeing a really nice knife fade out of sight into the deep when your aforementioned wet hands let it slip overboard.
I also like to have a knife blade that is partially serrated. When things go wrong at sea, (and they will), there are times you absolutely, positively must cut through a rope RIGHT NOW, and having a bit of serrated edge will make one piece of rope into two pieces a whole lot faster.
I am on my second Camillus 696 Rigger’s Knife, the first one having fallen overboard (see note above about tying it to you with a lanyard).

They are no longer made, sadly, but you can find them on e-Bay sometimes. I found my current one at an estate sale. My first one was a gift from my wonderful wife when I bought my first boat, and I think Camillus was still manufacturing them back then.
Camillus has a newer model marlinespike knife, which I also own, and it is much smaller and lighter than the classic 696.

I often carry this one because it is easier to slip into a pocket, and the blade stays very sharp for a long time between honings. The marlinspike is much smaller than the 696, which makes it less useful, but it is definitely good enough for most tasks, and the lock on the knife blade is very secure.
I have bought a few other folding marlinspike knives over the years, some expensive, some cheap, but none of them feel as good in my hand or are as solidly made as the original Camillus 696.
QUESTION: “What knife should one bring on the boat while sailing?”

Wanbasion Black Stainless Steel Knife Set, Sharp Kitchen Knife

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