A ship made of rope
A sailing ship depended on rope to a degree that is easy to underestimate. Masts were held up by cordage, sails were raised, trimmed and reefed by it, and boats, anchors and cargo were hoisted and secured with it. A large square-rigged ship could have many miles of rope in its rigging, and its upkeep was a constant task. This is why a sailor’s reputation depended so heavily on how well he could handle cordage.
Until the nineteenth century, most ship’s rope was made from hemp, a strong plant fibre. Manila, from a plant grown in the Philippines, and later other fibres came into wider use during the nineteenth century, and wire rope began to appear in rigging as iron and steel ships developed. Rope was often treated with tar to resist rot and salt water, which made it stiffer and darker but longer-lived.
Two kinds of rigging
Sailors distinguish between standing rigging and running rigging. Standing rigging, such as the shrouds and stays, supports the masts and is meant to stay in place. It is set up with great care and stays largely fixed. Running rigging, such as halyards and sheets, moves through blocks (pulleys) and is used to raise, lower and adjust the sails. Because the running rigging is constantly in motion, it wears faster and needs frequent attention.
A well-known sailors’ habit is to say that a piece of cordage is a “rope” in the chandler’s store but becomes a “line” once it has a job on the ship. The distinction is not perfectly consistent in practice, and many specific names for ropes follow their use, such as halyard, sheet, brace or painter.
Knots, bends and hitches
Seamen traditionally divide their craft into knots, bends and hitches. A knot is a general term, while a bend joins two ropes together and a hitch attaches a rope to another object such as a spar or ring. This is a useful way of thinking about the repertoire, not a rigid system, and different writers and trades use the words slightly differently.
The sailors knots in everyday use were a modest set of dependable patterns rather than a huge collection. Some of the best-known names, such as the bowline, the reef knot, the clove hitch and the sheet bend, are still in use or still familiar. The reef knot takes its name from its use when reducing the area of a sail. Each was valued for being quick to make, secure under load and, ideally, easy to release afterward. This article does not give instructions, because the point here is historical: these knots became standard because ships needed fast, reliable ways to hold and release heavy loads.
Many other knots were used for specific jobs, such as stopper knots at the end of a rope to keep it from running out through a block. A sailor was expected to be able to work with them in the dark, in cold hands and in wet conditions, and sometimes while aloft.
Splicing
Where knots can weaken rope, splices join strands together by weaving them into each other. A splice could make a permanent loop at the end of a rope (an eye) or join two ropes into one. Splicing took skill and practice, and good splices were valued for their strength and neat appearance.
The same skill was used to repair rope, as worn or damaged lines could be mended instead of replaced. Because replacement rope was expensive and not always available at sea, frugality was part of seamanship. Old rope was also reused: frayed or discarded cordage was picked apart into fibres called oakum, used in caulking hulls.
Other small techniques supported this work. Whipping, a binding of thin twine around the end of a rope, kept it from unravelling. Seizing bound two parts of rope together. Sailors also used chafing gear, wrapped around rope where it rubbed against spars or rails, to prolong its life.
Learning the trade
Rope skills were passed on by working next to experienced seamen. Boys and apprentices learned by watching and practising, and a young sailor who could not splice or tie the needed knots was looked down on. The bosun (boatswain) was usually the senior hand responsible for rigging and for the quality of the ship’s rope work, and he organised the daily repair of lines and sails.
This is one of the reasons why the routines of shipboard daily life included regular rope work on deck. It also affected how crews worked together, since many tasks, such as hauling on a line, needed everyone to pull at the same moment, a rhythm helped by the work songs known as sea shanties.
Decorative ropework
Sailors did not just use rope for work. In spare time they made decorative items, often from scraps of rope and twine. Mats, fenders, rope handles for sea chests, and ornate coverings for tillers and rails all appeared on ships. The Turk’s head, a decorative knot that forms a woven ring, is one of the best-known examples. Elaborate sennit and other forms of braided cordage were used to dress up parts of the ship.
Such work often served both a practical and an aesthetic purpose. A well-made rope fender protected the hull, and an attractive handle made a chest easier to carry. The skill of the maker also showed pride in craftsmanship, and well-turned decorative ropework reflected well on the ship.
Rope in the age of rig change
The amount of rope a ship needed depended on its rig. A big square-rigged vessel, such as a ship of the line, required a complex set of lines to control many sails and yards. Fore-and-aft rigs, as with the headsail development of later sailing vessels, generally needed fewer hands and simpler gear. The earlier history of square sail origins shows how long rope-handling had been a basic skill.
When steel wire, chain and machinery replaced much of the traditional rigging, the need for large amounts of hand-made cordage declined. Yet rope never went away at sea. Ships still use lines for mooring and towing, and the vocabulary of knots, splices and lines continues in the language of sailing and in sailors’ folk tradition.
A significant modern reference is Clifford Ashley’s The Ashley Book of Knots, first published in 1944, which collected a huge range of knots and their uses. It is often cited as a record of knowledge that sailors and others had built over generations.