Page 476 - The Ashley Book of Knots

ODD SPLICES

the boltrope. Instead of splicing-in the ends they are passed a second

time through the eyelet and knotted together on the underside of

the cringle. Divide the strands and then tuck once more.

2846. The ENGLISH CRINGLE, as tied by William A. Larson, fore-

man of the C. E. Beckman sail loft.

In all these cringles an even lay must be maintained. This is not

hard if the twist of the strand is not forced in any way and is tied 2840

loosely and later worked snug. Sailmakers frequently wax the

strands.

Cringles may be tied around thimbles and worked snug or they

may be completed first and the thimbles pounded in after. In the

latter case the thimbles must be entered on the canvas side. If en-

tered on the boltrope side they are apt to foul the edge of the canvas.

If you are employing a tarred hemp strand, rub the strand well

with a piece of canvas to smooth out the lay. A handsome cringle

can be made with hemp small stuff, the full size. The lay, of course,

is right-handed, so the cringle is tied the reverse of the directions

given here for a single-strand cringle. If you are tying with Manila,

employ if possible a single strand from a four-strand rope of the

same size as the boltrope, and disturb the lay as little as possible.

Stick the strand through the left eyelet with the long end at the

back. Take any desired number of turns and tuck the long end

through the right eyelet (from front to back) and continue to lay

in the long end to the left eyelet and this time tuck from back to

front. Tuck the short end through the right eyelet front to back and

to the right of the part already there. Each end is now backed, as

illustrated in the second diagram, until the two ends are tucked down

past each other as shown in the third diagram. Open the cringle well

with a fid before pounding in the thimble.

A cringle will make an excellent emergency handle for a suitcase.

2847. A cringle finished off on the crown. William A. Larson calls

this the DUTCH CRINGLE. It is the one tied when the thimble is to be

put in place before the cringle is worked snug. It was first shown to

me by Rodman Swift. It is started exactly as the last but, after pass-

ing through the eyelet a second time, is tucked as shown in the upper

left diagram, continued as in the lower left diagram and finished off

as in the upper right diagram.

2848. AMERICAN CRINGLE, also called FRENCH CRINGLE. This is

similar in appearance to the last, but the ends are tucked instead of

being knotted. It may be made around a thimble without additional

tucking.

2849. A SINNET CRINGLE can be made of signal line. Reeve the cord

through the outer side of the left eyelet, leaving the upper end very

short. Pin out the cringle over a copy of the lower diagram.

Tighten and sew-orseize-tne-two ends together on the inside. --

If a shorter cringle is desired, leave out the section between the

two dotted lines of the lower diagram. If a longer cringle is desired,

add one or two of these sections.