Page 530 - The Ashley Book of Knots
P. 530
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PRACTICAL MARLINGSPIKE SEAMANSHIP
The seI7.;agee, salvagee or warped strap is a skein or coil of mar-
line or rope yarn that is laid up as smoothly as possible, generally
around two belaying pins, and then is marled over. Made in this
way, the strap is used to wrap around stays to hook a block to and,
being much softer than rope, it has a better cling. Small selvagees,
served or grafted over, are used for block straps. Large ones, simi-
larly made but not served, are used for cargo slings. They are soft
and pliant, and do not mar the cargo.
3148. A strap with a large eye is used for either toggling or lash- 31~9
ing. A block that is to be bent to a spar is fitted in this fashion with
a round seizing.
3149. A selvagee for a block strap is parceled and served over
(two processes described later in the chapter). This illustration shows
an old block, with selvagee strap, turned in with a throat seizing
('#3377 and '#34 11 ).
3150. A tail block is employed when making a tackle fast to stand-
ing rigging. A selvagee is doubled and served over at the center with
spun yarn and seized snugly around the block with a round seizing. 3150
The yarns are opened and scraped down, so that the length tapers
very moderately to a point. It is then carefully marled ('# 3 II 5). A
single tail should always be dogged with the lay.
3151. A similar tail block is made of FLAT SINNET. An ordinary
31S- J 315'2.
rope 1S first spliced snugly around the block as pictured. The ends
are stuck only once. They are then scraped down and a round seiz-
ing put on ('# 3396). At six inches from the block, a snaked whipping
is put on ('# 345 3) and then the rope is made into seven foxes, tapered
and platted.
3152. A double tail block may be made either selvagee-fashion or
of FLAT SINNET. The two tails are made as described for the single
tail ('# 3 1 5' ).
3153. The oldest method of strapping a block, and one that is still
used, was with a R1GGER'S SHORT SPLICE (#2648). The splice was
always placed at the breech of the block.
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3154. A block with a thimble seized in the strap is termed an eye '3153 -
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block. On shipboard a thimble was seized in by means of a Spanish -
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windlass. The circumference of rope needed in making a strap is - 315'4
approximately one fourth to one third of the length of the block. A
block strap that is over three and one half inches in circumference
should be wormed and parceled before being served. The length of 315S"
rope required for the strap is about one and one half times the round
of the block. One half a turn should be removed from the lay of the G Uow
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rope before the ends are crotched. There should be four to seven o : g
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lower turns in an eye seizing, and one less riding turn. Methods of
seizing are given later in this chapter. 315"6
3155. Blocks are of two kinds: "mode" blocks, of several pieces,
and "morticed" blocks, which are chiseled out of a single piece of
wood. The early name for the grooved wheel in a block was shiver
which, after 1627, was contracted to shiv, the name that is used at
present.
3156. The several parts of a made block are riveted together.
3157. A hook block. Nowadays all blocks are strapped with grom- 3157
mets ('# 2864), selvagee straps being obsolete. When a grommet is
made for a hook block, it has to be made through the hole in the
hook.
3158. Jumpsurgee block is the old name for the block that Luce
calls a grafted block. Frequently they are grafted, only at the breech.
(See SPLICE '#2678.)
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