Page 594 - The Ashley Book of Knots

DECORATIVE MARLINGSPIKE SEAMANSHIP (APPLIED KNOTS)

wear and are often wet from rain-soaked clothes. Sea chests are the

only seats that sailors have in the forecastle. Netting is also to be

found in Chapter 2 under "The Netmaker," and in Chapter 18,

"Bends," where only the knots used are discussed.

3778. Very heavy rope is employed for cargo nets, flounder

dredging, and boarding nets. Ropes are seized together in pairs,

with round seizings, after which the pairs are assembled.

3779. Nowadays heavy nets are frequently made with metal clips,

and the floors of deep-sea dredges are usually of mail.

Boarding nets were formerly made of ratline stuff and, after being

well soaked in tar, were sanded and allowed to dry. A net so treated

cannot be cut with a sharp knife.

It is possible that nets covered in this manner with beach sand

would be of value in the fisheries. Beach sand, being round, will not

3178 3119
cut the hands or abrade the deck, but woulrl protect the rope.

3180 1781

3780. A CLOVE HITCH for bending to a headrope.

3781. A BALE SLING or STRAP HITCH is used for the same purpose.

3782. A decorative net may be made as follows: Stretch a head-

rope shoulder-high, middle a number of mesh ropes and make them

fast to the headrope at regular intervals with either a CLOVE HITCH,

which is the usual procedure, or with a BALE or STRAP HITCH,

which is perhaps more decorative. Adjacent strands are knotted to-

gether. A spool may be employed to keep the meshes of equal length

and the same pair are not tied together twice in succession .

. 3783. The CARRICK BEND lends itself effectively to decorative

•
nettmg.

3784. A decorative netting that makes a handsome fringe. Any

TWO-STRAND LANYARD KNOT having a proper lead may be used for

ootiuch a purpose.

of rope is rove through the center strands of the other ropes at

regular intervals, and seized in. Sometimes they are rove as KNOT

~.2856 and not seized. Braiding nets may be made in the same way.

All ends are spliced (~2 855) into a much heavier head rope, or else

are eye spliced around it. The net is fitted with clews for hoisting.

More frequently cargo nets are square. 3784

3786. The GRANNY MESH KNOT has several points in its favor. It is

more compact and more regular, and has a better lead than the com-

mon MESH KNOT. Although it tends to slip, it cannot spill. The or-

dinary MESH KNOT (~402 and ~403) tends to capsize but ordinarily

does not slip.

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