Nautical Research Journal 53


Figure 36.


all the lines are adjusted and it is tied off under the platform. (Figure 36)


T e fi nal element of the standing rigging is the most repetitive, and the one where many mistakes are made. T e ratlines are small ropes, always about ½-inch diameter. Rather than being related to the size of the mast or spar, they are sized to the weight of a person and so are always the same, regardless of the size of the ship. In actual practice the ratlines have eye splices at either end that are tied to the outermost shrouds. T is is a detail that I would not model in anything but the largest scales. But the clove hitches that secure the ratlines to the inner shrouds are a detail that makes a diff erence and can easily be seen.


Tying the many hitches for all of the shrouds is time consuming, but not diffi cult if you treat it as a bit of knitting. I tie the ratlines from leſt to right since I am right-handed. Aſt er tying the line to the leſt outer shroud the line is taken over the next shroud and looped behind and underneath (Step 1). T e line is pulled forward under itself and looped up to create a diagonal loop (Step 2). T e line passes behind the shroud but above itself (Step 3), then forward but under the diagonal loop just formed (Step 4). T e free end is pulled snug and the clove hitch up or down on the shroud as needed. (Figure 37)


I use two tweezers with bent tips to knit the clove hitches. One in my right hand catches the line in


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100