Boltropes were made fro m high-grade softlaid hemp, tarred or untarred depending on the preference of the sailmaker. The line was generally stretched for several hours before it was sewn in to place. A bench hook was secured to a fas tener or post on the sailmaker's bench and hooked into the sail berween previously-sewn stitches. Victory's sail's boltro pe was clearly sewn with tight, even stitches by virtue of the fact that, 200 years later, the roping is still intact and strong. Steel noted that, ideally, the boltrope should be made of "the best Riga-Rhine hemp." Records indicate that this rope was made at the Chatham D ockyard ro pewalk, though where the hemp came from is not known . Acco rding to Steel, "Earing cringles are m ade of an additional length (of fo urteen twists or turns) of the leech rope left at the head of the sail, which, being turned back, fo rms the cringle by splicing its end into the leech rope and cross-stitching the whole of the splice; the first stitch to be given twice, and the last stitch three times." The makeup of Victory's topsail earrings consists of fo urteen turns plus the added length to complete the splice. Roping along the head of the sail was passed through the strands of the eyesplice and fini shed off by means of a double wall knot. There rem ains the puzzling question as to why the head rope connected to the leech ro pe earring by passing the head rope between the strands and then finishing it
off with a do uble wall knot. The only other example of this technique is evidenced on the sails of Vasa, the Swedish warship which sank in 1628 and was discovered in 1956. A possible explanation fo r this co nnection was to reduce the bulk in the eye of the earring. Sailmakers later attached the head ro pe to the eye by backing the strands as opposed to the "over and under m ethod." C ringles are partial rings made of single strands of rope worked into or around the boltrope, to which reefin g gear is secured, such as reef earrings and bundines. There are two types of cringles-those worked directly into the boltrope (bowline and bundine cringles) and those fo rmed thro ugh holes in the leech (reef and reefing
Vasa' s earring from 1628, never completed, shows a single wall knot at the end ofthe head rope.
A served cringle on HMS V ictory's topsail
cringles). According to Steel, "the openings of the bowline cringles are at the distance of fo ur turns or twists of the strands in the bolt-rope asunder, and the ends are first stuck in an opening, made with a marline spike, under two strands of the bolt-rope; then, passing over The head rope on Victory's topsail was passed through the strands of the next, they are the eye splice and finished off by means ofa double wall knot. stuck under one strand; and agai n passing over another, they are fin ally stuck under the next." Victory's reef earring and reef tackle cringles were constructed by passing the strands th ro ugh holes in the leech tabling and lining. The cringles were served to protect the strands from chafe. Steel ins tructed that "the clues and top-b rims be
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wo rmed while the boltrope is sewn to the sail , and before both parts are confined . Fourteen turns or twists of the strands in the length of the clue rope are left at the lower corners of all sails fo r the clues, which are wormed with sizeable spunyarn, served, m arled and seized. The due-ropes are marled three fee t each way on the leech and foot." The clew of Victory's fo re topsail was made with fourteen turns, precisely as described by Steel. The missing element on each of the clews was the seizing. The seizing squeezes the bight of the clew together to prevent it from spreading open under strain. Steel's Elements ofMastmaking, Sailmaking, and Rigging explained that "the serving is done three fee t along the clew leech and foo t." Eyelets in Victory's sail were made three inches from the edge and placed two inches apart. Thro ugh these eyelets, the sailmaker would pass the m arling to secure the boltrope to the sail over the service. The sailmakers in the Chatham Dockyard loft wo rked in thirteen holes in each the leech and foot. The boltrope was then attached by m arling hi tches, as described by Steel. Victory's topsail clew had leather chafe gear sewn aro und the eye
SEA HISTORY 111 , SUMMER 2005