Page:Small-boat sailing; an explanation of the management of small yachts, half-decked and open sailing-boats of various rigs; sailing on sea and on river; cruising, etc (IA smallboatsailing01knig).pdf/44

 CHAPTER III

SPLICES, KNOTS, AND TACKLES

Hawser and cable laid ropes—Worming, parcelling, and serving—Splicing—The various bends, hitches, and knots—Purchases and tackles—Racking a tackle—Selvagee strops—Clip-hooks.

To be familiar with the knots, bends, splices, purchases, in common use at sea is an indispensable qualification for the man who would command his own little vessel; for not only must he know how to handle the various ropes connected with his rigging, belay his sheets and halyards in orthodox fashion, tie his reef-points with the proper knot, and so forth, but he should also be able to effect all ordinary repairs on his rigging—to put a long splice in a broken halyard, for example, or to re-strop a block. This chapter by no means deals fully with this branch of our subject, but it should enable the amateur sailor to acquire a knowledge of the ropes sufficient for all practical purposes.

The cordage employed on a small craft is what is known as. If a hawser-laid or right-hand rope (as it is also called) is opened out, it will be found to consist of three strands, each strand being formed of several yarns, or threads of hemp