Page 539 - The Ashley Book of Knots
P. 539
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS
3247. This \\;as the whaling bark Sunbeam's "cutting tackle."
There were two tackles which worked independently and alter-
nately, one blanket piece being hoisted while another was being low-
ered. The two single purchases shown at the top were guys to hold
the tackle over the main hatch and the two falls, at the left, led for-
ward to the windlass. Although the lift was exceedingly heavy and
the blocks and falls enormous, the power was provided by a wind-
lass, so a compounded tackle was unnecessary, the lift in this case
being only four times the pull.
3248. A double threefold purchase, for getting a gun, boiler or
other heavy weight aboard, was given in Knight's Seamanship of
1908 .
JZ47 3249. A tackle that was shown by Bartolomeo Crescentio in 1607.
There are four shivs to each block, but the fall is divided into two
hauling parts and two standing parts, so that the total power of the
tackle is only three to one.
3250. This is the heaving-down tackle with which Peter Black,
master rigger, hove down the bark Josephine in 1893. Although I
was a small boy at the time, I was tremendously interested in the
operation and the sketch given here is made from a photograph taken
at the time.
The lower three-shiv block is attached to a heaving-down post,
the details of which are given as 'If: 20 17. The upper block is sus-
pended from the main top. The shell of the fall block is in mown
collection and measures 24" X 1912" X 1912". It took from our to
six hands to man each of the four arms of the heaving-down winch.
The fall runs from a lead block at the base of the heaving-down
post to the winch, and the standing end is made fast at the foot of
the mainmast. The increase of power is nine times the force exerted
at the winch. The shrouds at the starboard side are reinforced with
chains.
Peter Black was the last rigger to fit out the U.S.S. Constitution
for sea duty. There was no better rigger than he, so it is interesting
to see that his tackle is rigged so that there is friction between the
two back leads at the left. It would seem that the methods of reev-
ing large blocks used nowadays and (shown on the next two pages)
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3250
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