Search This Blog

Rope and lines

In most cases, rope is the term used only for raw material. Once a section of rope is designated for a particular purpose on a vessel, it generally is called a line, as in outhaul line or dock line. A very thick line is considered a cable. Lines that are attached to sails to control their shapes are called sheets, as in mainsheet. If a rope is made of wire, it maintains its rope name as in 'wire rope' halyard.
Lines (generally steel cables) that support masts are stationary and are collectively known as a vessel's standing rigging, and individually as shrouds or stays. The stay running forward from a mast to the bow is called the forestay or headstay. Stays running aft are backstays or after stays.
Moveable lines that control sails or other equipment are known collectively as a vessel's running rigging. Lines that raise sails are called halyards while those that strike them are called downhauls. Lines that adjust (trim) the sails are called sheets. These are often referred to using the name of the sail they control (such as main sheet, or jib sheet). Sail trim may also be controlled with smaller lines attached to the forward section of a boom such as a cunningham; a line used to hold the boom down is called a vang, or a kicker in the United Kingdom. A topping lift is used to hold a boom up in the absence of sail tension. Guys are used to control the ends of other spars such as spinnaker poles.
Lines used to tie a boat up when alongside are called docklines, docking cables or mooring warps. In dinghies the single line from the bow is referred to as the painter. A rode is what attaches an anchored boat to its anchor. It may be made of chain, rope, or a combination of the two.
Some lines are referred to as ropes:
  • a bell rope (to ring the bell),
  • a bolt rope (attached to the edge of a sail for extra strength),
  • a foot rope (for sailors on square riggers to stand on while reefing or furling the sails), and
  • a tiller rope (to temporarily hold the tiller and keep the boat on course).

Other terms

Sailboat on a mooring ball near Youngstown, NY, USA
Walls are called bulkheads or ceilings, while the surfaces referred to as ceilings on land are called 'overheads'or 'deckheads'. Floors are called 'soles' or decks. "Broken up" was the fate of a ship that hit a "rocky point" or was simply no longer wanted. The toilet is traditionally called the 'head', the kitchen is the galley. When lines are tied off, this may be referred to as 'made fast' or 'belayed.' Sails in different sail plans have unchanging names, however. For the naming of sails, see sail-plan.