Learning the
Constituents Though it is so ubiquitous aboard ship that it can seem like a simple common shipboard tool, rope is a carefully thought-out and constructed product. It begins as plant fibers spun into yarn and, in turn, twisted into strands. In most examples, fibers are twisted to the right, yarns to the left, and strands back to the right. Individual strands are then wound into a right-handed spiral to form a given circumference, then turned together into a left-handed or clockwise “lay,” ultimately forming a length of finished rope. Thus, when a line is pulled apart or begins to unravel, the next layer twists more tightly. How the direction of the twist and lay became standardized is unknown, but its consistency proved beneficial to sailors. Regardless of what ship they were on and where its rope had come from, they could depend on the direction of the lay in fibers, yarns, and strands without having to study individual lines and cordage, especially important in emergencies, when 24
safe and rapid splicing might be required. Sailors are notoriously superstitious, thus perhaps they avoided the Sinister (left twist) and universally chose the Dexter (right-hand twist) for the opening turn. Prior to the mid-twentieth century, rope was made from plant fibers such as hemp, sisal, manila, coir (fibers surrounding the coconut palm seed), and jute. Each fiber imparted specific characteristics to a rope. Hemp is hard and smooth; it was the
costly and difficult to obtain. Coir rope, also known as grass-line, was rough in texture and weak in performance, about one quarter the strength of hemp rope of equal diameter, but it could float and was used to control heavier lines. Inexpensive jute was weak but ideal for twines, whipping material, and matting.
strand yarn
material of choice for running rigging but easily deteriorated by overuse, chafe, and rot. Therefore, it was often tarred by dipping strands into vats of boiling pitch. Sisal, similar to hemp, was not as strong per weight and diameter as hemp, and its unruly fibers did not run smoothly through blocks. Strong and springy manila was
fiber
The most favored ropemaking material during the Age of Sail was hemp. The plant was cultivated thousands of years ago in China for making rope, clothing, and paper. Its value was so great that it was used as tribute to rulers. During the Middle Ages, this same plant became popular for making rope and cord across Europe. In
digital commonwealth, lesley jones collection
I
n the Age of Sail, a large sailing ship was rigged with miles and miles of rope. Before the introduction of steam engines aboard ships, wind provided their only means of propulsion, powering sails controlled by a complicated web of lines. Whether scrambling outboard along footropes aloft or manning the deck under straining canvas and rigging, seamen’s lives depended on quality rope and developing skills in how to manipulate it with knots and splices to turn it into a working rig. With time on their hands during long seagoing voyages, sailors before the mast— veritable experts in marlinespike seamanship—made good use of the available materials aboard ship by fashioning their own tools, gear, clothing, and even art—unknowingly creating a rich and lasting folk art tradition much recognized and valued today. Some was practical, some decorative—many were both. The most recognizable and perhaps abundant form of sailors’ art was decorative knotwork, developed from the regular knots, bends, hitches, and splices they used in their everyday work in the operation of their ships.
by Dr. Louis A. Norton
Dipping rope yarns in pitch helped the final product last longer in a saltwater and sea air environment. These rope yarns are being pulled through a tar trough at the Charlestown Navy Yard ropewalk in Boston. The quarter-mile-long granite building is the last ropewalk of its kind in existence in the United States. Between 1838 and 1970, most of the cordage for the Navy was produced here. SEA HISTORY 161, WINTER 2017–18