Page 327 - The Ashley Book of Knots
P. 327
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS
1931. An anchor post. A bight or loop, passed through a hole in a
post, is held fast with a toggle.
,,31
1932. A hand lead (for sounding the depth of water) was for-
merly fitted with a short leather strap or becket with a slit or hole
at either end of it. A LONG RUNNING EYE in the end of the lead line
was rove through the two slits in the strap.
1913 1933. A grommet is made through the eye of a deep-sea lead and
the lead line is attached with a LONG RUNNING EYE to the grommet
or becket.
1934. A wire grommet is best for a heavy lead. The sides of the
grommet are seized together so as not to disturb the passage of the
lead through the water.
1935. Robands, robbins or ropebands were required in bending
square sail. A single rob and is made fast with a TAG HITCH through
the eyelet holes in the head of the sail.
1936. Storm trysails are often secured to the mast with toggles
and beckets.
1937. Double robands were generally of FLAT SINNET ~ 2968. One
end of each had an eye and the other end was pointed. The shorter
tail was rove through the eyelet hole, from aft forward, then through
the eye or becket of its mate. The second rope band was then rove
"" ... "',' through the eye of the first one.
I
, t
~ .1\ :t 1938. Single reef points of small stuff were knotted at half length
3
:-,.' I through the sails. Nowadays they are sewed in.
They are called points because the early ones, which were of
(
(
~ "~ sinnet, were always tapered or pointed. Reef points of small stuff
I"
are always whipped twice, sinnet ones once. The name whipping
comes from the whipping or lashing received by reef points from
the wind.
1939. Double reef points of sinnet with an eye or becket in each
leg were common before the clipper days. The eye was made long
£1 , \ and a round turn was taken in it to serve as a stopper. The end of
III " each point passed through a grommet eyelet in the sail and through
the doubled eye of its mate. Then they were hove taut.
1940. A T chain hitching post was, in the horse-and-carriage days,
one of the commonest means of temporarily "hitching" a horse. The
chain passed around the horse's neck before it was toggled. As I
recall it, the toggle was always spoken of as "the bar."
If it was necessary to "hitch" a pair of horses-a very poor practice
indeed, for people who can't afford a coachman really should limit
themselves to one horse-the toggle was rove through all the rings
of both bits and toggled to the nigh bit ring of the nigh horse.
1941. For hoisting empty casks, a railroad spike makes an excel-
lent toggle that is inserted at the bunghole. A lanyard of fishline
should be made fast around the head of the spike with which it is
to be recovered when the lift is over, as otherwise it is likely to foul
in the bunghole.
1942. A watch chain ordinarily toggles to a waistcoat buttonhole
with a gold bar.
• 1943. A whaler's blubber toggle and eye strap will hold under a
•
. .
. ", . strain where a Ioo-pound iron hook will straighten. The toggle is
,
worked out by hand from a section of six-inGh white oak or hickory.
[ 3 18 1
