Lanyards and Ratlines

[Fishooks]

I am always uncertain about the correct rope to use for ratlines and shroud lanyards. Some sources say straight natural hemp or manila for both...and others say they would both have been tarred with stockholm tar. My particular question this time relates to Caldercraft Victory ( the kit says natural) but i have the question every boat I build.

What is the consensus on Victory in 1805..and what is the wider view..?

[Kenchington]

Every ratline I have climbed was tarred to a black shade (remembering that even brown-looking hemp and manila rope typically contain some tar) – aside, that is, from those that were black plastic, masquerading as tarred hemp. I think that rigging lanyards have typically been made of tarred rope also, though I'd not swear to it.

 

Oddly, none of the contemporary texts that I can immediately place my hands on seem to say what was tarred and what not.

 

Trevor

[druxey]

First, it is considered standing rigging and therefore was tarred to preserve it. Secondly, sailors got this on them when they climbed the rigging, hence the traditional name 'tars'. I'm sure Trevor could confirm that!

[Kenchington]

The really messy job is tarring the shrouds and I've never done that. (The nearest I came to it was tramping around one of Kruzenshtern's capstans to hoist a Russian cadet who had been lowered too far down the rigging he was tarring. Happier times.)

 

But the mess on your hands when going aloft also comes from the shrouds because you should never, ever hold the ratlines. They have a very nasty habit of breaking at just the wrong moment, when a firm grip on the shroud will save you from embarrassment. One did fail on me, the very first time I went aloft (on a dubiously authorized climb, at age 13) and I have not needed to be told again.

 

Trevor

Edited Friday at 01:41 AM by Kenchington

[Fishooks]

thanks to both of you for that...it confirms my suspicion that I should use black thread for both. Light looks fancy, but I cant blive it is right

[Kenchington]

I agree. Though I'd not be dogmatic about what was done in 1805.

[Dr PR]

Falconer's Universal Dictionary of the Marine (1769) says the lanyards in deadeyes were smeared with hog's lard or tallow so it slips more easily through the holes. Consequently I would suspect that they aren't tarred heavily, But the fat probably oxidized to a brown color, so the lanyards wouldn't look like new rope - unless they were new.

 

He doesn't say anything about rat lines (rattlings) being tarred or not. But they are part of the standing rigging. Since the shrouds were tarred it is safe to assume the ratlines would be tarred also.

[Kenchington]

7 hours ago, Dr PR said:

the lanyards in deadeyes were smeared with hog's lard or tallow so it slips more easily through the holes

That's while setting up the rigging. The 19th-Century manuals of seamanship provide more detail on how that was to be done. What they don't seem to give us is any clarity on how heavily tarred was the rope that the  lanyards were made from. (Some of them go on about left vs. right lay and the reeving of the deadeyes, such that the twist imparted in the shroud by stretching it was countered by the twist imposed by asymmetry in the deadeye/lanyard system.)

 

Fishhooks' original question was focused on Victory, as she was in 1805. The ship's present refit is attempting to restore her to that point in her evolution, with research going all the way to examining surviving fragments of old paint layers, for guidance on the colours. McGowan's book presents the previous (1980s) major refit, including the decision to use black polypropylene rope for the standing rigging and a non-black version for the running gear (but without comment on the lanyards). I expect that somebody has thought about the best colours of rope to use in the current work. But I don't know how best to access information on what decisions have been made, nor why.

[rwiederrich]

It's a safe bet to keep this *running* rigging black...to represent the tarring.  It had to be preserved or it would rot. Lanyards were extremely susceptible to rot...being soaked in sea water and generally tightly fit...preventing good air circulation.  When the USS Constitution was recently rerigged...her naval architects chose black rigging for the lanyards , foot ropes and ratlines.  If they concluded it was appropriate...you can too.

All my clipper builds are rigged with black rigging for these standing fixtures.

 

 

 

Rob

Edited Friday at 04:05 PM by rwiederrich

[BANYAN]

WRT the lanyards, they were possibly 'white rope' which is a general term for untarred plain-laid natural fibre rope; it can be of any type including jute, manilla or sisal hemp. According to Luce (1868), page 49, white rope is used for lead and log lines, ensign, pennant and signal halliards; and for making block straps and tackle/purchase falls.

 

Trevor may have better information as to whether used with deadeyes though.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Fishooks]

thanks everyone for the thoughtful replies. Recognising that there is no certainty here i am going to use black for lanyards and ratlines.