Page 191 - Barbara Merry - The Splicing Handbook

The Lizard not only looks better and works better, some consider it the perfect
solution for tricky problems in the fairlead and lashing department. It also has
the honorable pedigree that classic boat folks like.
Simply defined (by Gershom Bradford in The Mariner’s Dictionary), a Lizard

is “a piece of rope with a thimble or a bull’s eye spliced in one end.” Some
sailors call it a strop, while others call it a pendant (and yet pronounce them
“pennants”). How the term lizard came into it, I haven’t yet found out.
Historically, Lizards have been used to steady a line or to give a sheet a
change of direction. When used as a temporary expedient, they were tightly
lashed in place. As a more permanent fixture, one end or eye was often large
enough to fit around the mast. Small Lizards were used on the fittings of iron
works or tied to the shroud to control a halyard. The British, never lacking in
nautical imagination, sometimes called Lizards “jewel blocks.” Bradford notes
that jewel blocks and halyards in combination served the “lugubrious purpose”
of reeving the rope by which men were hanged on naval ships.

In that golden age, Lizards were made with quality hemp cordage, as wire
didn’t make its debut until the middle of the nineteenth century. Here, I provide
instructions for making a stainless-steel Lizard.

TOOLS & MATERIALS

4 feet (1.2 m) of 7 × 19 stainless steel wire
7-inch (175 mm) parrot-beak wire cutters
Tarred electrical or friction tape
40 feet (12.2 m) of #18 tarred nylon
Bench vise
Marlinspike (for this size wire
a small awl will do)
Sharp knife or scissors
Felt-tipped marking pen
Vinyl tape
Gel-type superglue
Safety glasses

Mark a spot 1 foot (300 mm) from one end of the stainless steel wire. (We’ll
call this section of wire the standing part.) Apply service this way: Starting at the
1-foot (300 mm) mark and continuing to about 6 inches (150 mm) from the other