Page 439 - The Ashley Book of Knots

THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS

2652. The value of the LEFT-HANDED or SAILMAKER'S SHORl

SPLICE is that it preserves the lay of the rope so that the sail may be

sewed more evenly to the boltrope. Although when unsupported the

BACKHANDED SPLICE is less secure than the OVER-AND-UNOOR SPLICE,

the sail maker's stitches render it secure. Splices are always cross

stitched to the canvas. Kipping, in 1847, speaking of square sails, says:

2652 "The SHORT SPLICE is used upon the foot of sails, under the service,

or where the splice is not required to be made very long."

Crotch two three-strand ropes together, open the rope with a fid

and stick a strand left-handed as pictured in ~ 2632.

All strands having been stuck once, as in ~265I, it will be found

that they will "set" TJlore snugly if permitted to stagger as illustrated

at the top of this page, instead of being held a-tier. After all strands

have been stuck once the sailmaker takes the forward strand at the

right end and leads it to the right around and around the same

strand, cutting out a few yarns on the underside after each tuck so

that the tuck completely hides all ends. This is called "running

down" a strand. When the yarns are reduced to three or four, the

next strand is taken and "run down" in the same way and then th\"

thitcl. The final tucks of the three strands are carefully arranged so

thL" .1Ie not in the same cross section of the rope.

2653. By tapering t:'e strands, as described for SPLICE ~ 2643, a

particularly smooth SAILMAKER'S SPUCE may be made, backing the

strands as described in the last s lice and cutting out the yarns as

described in ~ 2643. The two nal tucks of each end should be

through the strand that is being followed. The ends are trimmed off

short. The splice must be much longer than the OVER-AND-UNDER

SPLICE (~2 543) and its security depends almost entirely on the tight-

ness with which the ends are laid up after tapering. Unless the work-

manship is really excellent the splice is not dependable.

2654. "The divil himself, with all hell to help him, couldn't make

a FOUR-STRAND, BACKHANDED SHORT SPLICE that was worth a damn."

This is an old sea adage which I first heard from Captain Daniel F.

Mullins. It is as true as it is terse.

2655. The course of a strand in an ordinary SAILOR'S SPLICE is over

• one and under one. In the THREE-STRAND BACKHANDED SPLICE the

course is over one and under two (see ~2649).

But in the FOUR-STRAND BACKHANDED SPLICE (~2654) that has just

been commented upon, the course would be over one and under

three.

265'1 This leaves a splice that is over one and under two in four-strand

rope and that so far has not been considered. A splice made in this

manner is more compact than ~2654 and perhaps more secure. But

even ~ 2 654 will be secure if served over. This method of tucking has

been used with six strands in wire splicing.

2656. The SAILMAKER'S SPLICE, per se, also called the TAPER
2655"

SPLICE, the SAILMAKER'S TAPER SPLICE and the SWEET POTATO SPLICi:.

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