NORMAN. A short wooden bar, with a head, used in one of the holes of the windlass, when there is little strain on the cable. To NIPPER or NIP ropes, is to stop them with several turns of rope-yarn, or spun-yarn, round each, and the ends made fast. MOUSING A HOOK. Taking several turns of spunyarn round the back and point of a hook, and fastening it, to prevent its unhooking. MESSENGER. A cable-laid rope, used to heave in the cable. JAWS. Two cheeks, forming a semi-circle, which enclose the after-part of the mast, so as to confine, by the help of the parral, the inner end of the boom or gaff.

ARM-GASKETS; those gaskets used at the extremities of yards. QUARTER-GASKETS; those used between the middle and extremities of the yards. FALL. The rope that connects the blocks of a tackle; but the fall sometimes implies only the loose part which is pulled upon to produce the desired effect. EYELET-HOLES. The holes made in the head and reefs of sails.FAKE. EYE of A SHROUD. The upper part, which is formed into a sort of collar to go over the mast heads.

Large ships having two pair of pendents to the main and fore masts, the after pendents are one foot longer than the foremost ones. JIB-HORSES are doubled, and served with spun-yarn one fathom in length in the bight, and knotted with a over-hand knot, at the distance of every yard. Those for large ships consist of nine foxes, and those for smaller of seven. The whole is then plaited together for eighteen inches in length; then leave out one fox, and so keep lessening, one fox at a time, till you come to five.

In ships that use cantilevered jib booms, the jib topping lift is very important, as it alleviates the mechanical load transmitted by the jib boom. The whole body of ropes by which the yards, booms and sails are manipulated constitute the running rigging, since they are in constant use, to trim yards, and make or shorten sail. The longitudinal pressure is counteracted by the bobstays, stays and backstays. A ship is not rigged until she is provided with all the spars, sails and cordage required to move and control the hull. The straight or curved pieces of wood or metal, called davits, from which the boats carried along the bulwarks are hung, belong to the rigging.

A temporary or preventer backstay is used when great pressure is to be met. Halyards – the ropes on which one pulls to hoist something. E.g. the main-top-gallant-halyard would be the rope on which one pulls to hoist the main-top-gallant-sail. Rope was made in a long narrow building called a ropewalk. Some ropemaking operations started outdoors and eventually were covered and enclosed.

How We Choose the Sail Rope

Manilla Ropeseems to be better adapted to certain purposes on board ship than hemp, being more pliable, buoyant, causing less friction, and not so easily affected by moisture. It is used for hawsers, tow-lines, and for light-running rigging and gun-tackle falls. The Book of Allowances states that the cheap first cost of Manilla as compared with hemp is more than compensated by the greater market value of the hemp when worn-out. This statement is not correct if applied to the current relative values of hemp and Manilla junk in this country.

Whether you’re new to yachting and sailing, or a seasoned veteran, you may find something in this guide that catches your eye. There are a lot of things to consider when looking for the perfect sail boat rope. We have searched high and low to bring you the best sail boat ropes in 2023. Not only that, but we’ve also included some handy tips to help you make a more informed decision. Of course there are ropes aboard that have stuck to their origins and have not changed their names like some Hollywood starlet. Most notable is the bolt rope, a rope sewn into the edge of a sail for reinforcement.

Polypropylene three-strand rope

COLLARS. FORE-STAY-COLLARS are fitted to the circumference of the bowsprit, and spliced together at the ends; wormed, parcelled, and served the whole length; then doubled, and a heart seized in the bight. The splice is to lie on the back of the heart with quarter seizings, a score being cut on each side of the heart, large enough to admit from nine to twelve turns of seizing; the seizing is to be snaked on the back, to lie closely. They have an iron hook and thimble spliced in the inner ends, and are served over the splice. TRUCKS. Small pieces of wood, of various shapes, used for different purposes. FLAG-STAFF-TRUCKS are round flat pieces of elm, with a small sheave on each side. They are fixed, by a square mortise-hole made in the middle, upon the upper end of flag-staffs, and are used to reeve the haliards.

Guys, which control spinnakers, are a rope used to keep steady any weighty body whilst it is hoisting or lowering, particularly when the ship is shaken by a tempestuous sea. Guy is likewise a large slack rope, extending from the head of the main-mast to the head of the fore-mast, and having two or three large blocks fastened to the middle of it. This is chiefly employed to sustain the tackle used to hoist in and out the cargo of a merchant ship, and is accordingly removed from the mast-heads as soon as the vessel is laden or delivered. The rigging must provide the crew with the means of going aloft, and with standing ground to do their work when aloft. Therefore the shrouds are utilized to form ladders of rope, of which the steps are called ratlines, by which the crew can mount. Near the heads of the lower masts are the tops platforms on which men can stand and in the same place on the topmasts are the crosstrees, of which the main function is to extend the topgallant shrouds.

This is a factor of both creep and ‘bedding in’, which is when individual fibre components in the rope and/or splice settle into their preferred position when under load. So, if funds are tight, upgrade the main halyard first and see how you get on. Main halyards should definitely be made out of some variety of Dyneema, ideally with a Technora coat or its equivalent. Lines that are set up tightly then left are a different story, however. If your halyards are wearing through and need replacing, it’s a no-brainer. Sailing boat rope of modern ropes isn’t the only area where there have been developments, however.