Book Meme
Here's a little bit of weirdness for your Thanksgiving weekend. Everybody with a blog, please do this:
This passage seems long due to the 19th century over-use of the semicolon. Still, the nautical talk is great. We begin in mid-description of the procedure for rigging the foremast:
"The larboard pair is got up in the same manner, and so on until all are placed. Reeve the lanyards, if prepared with a knot on the end; a double wall and crowned is preferable, a matthew-walker being liable to capsize; the lanyard should be rove through the hole under the end of the shroud, because in setting it up, the strain comes on the shroud first, and keeps the dead-eye in its place; if put under the standing part, the strain coming on the end first, the dead-eye would slue round.
"Setting up the lower rigging.—The rigging is often placed and then set up, but I would prefer (if time would permit) having it pulled up as placed. When the first pair on each side are over and placed, and the lanyards rove through both dead-eyes, clap a selvagee strap on each shroud well up; to this hook the single block of a luff tackle; the double, to a blackwall hitch in the lanyard; then take the lower blocks of the pendant tackles and hook them to both the falle of the luffs on each side; reeve the tackle falls theough the leading blocks, and pull up, setting up both pair of shrouds at the same time, the men on the trestle-trees beating the shroud down as pulled up; when well up, place two pair more, and proceed in this manner until the mast is rigged.
"The advantage of pulling up a pair at each side, instead of singly, is evident from the fact that pulling up singly injures the seizing; as it is first dragged forward and then aft by the after leg, it is liable to slack the seizing, and perhaps snap the inside turns.
"In rigging the lower masts, I have seen the after swifter go over first; a plan that is now adopted in small vessels. In staying the mast these swifters should be set taut, the mast being previously wedged, and the stays set steadily up. I have heard some old sailors dispute this plan, it being new, but for my own part I think well of it.
"Note: The trestle trees might be got over without knocking out the after-chocks, by running up a derrick abaft the mast, well lashed abaft below the bibbs, having chocks placed between it and the mast, sufficient to admit of the free passage of the after chock of the trestle trees."
Sean the Blogonaut posted an open-invitation book meme:
- Grab the nearest book.
- Open the book to page 56.
- Find the fifth sentence.
- Post the text of the next seven sentences in your journal along with these instructions.
- Don’t dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.
This passage seems long due to the 19th century over-use of the semicolon. Still, the nautical talk is great. We begin in mid-description of the procedure for rigging the foremast:
"The larboard pair is got up in the same manner, and so on until all are placed. Reeve the lanyards, if prepared with a knot on the end; a double wall and crowned is preferable, a matthew-walker being liable to capsize; the lanyard should be rove through the hole under the end of the shroud, because in setting it up, the strain comes on the shroud first, and keeps the dead-eye in its place; if put under the standing part, the strain coming on the end first, the dead-eye would slue round.
"Setting up the lower rigging.—The rigging is often placed and then set up, but I would prefer (if time would permit) having it pulled up as placed. When the first pair on each side are over and placed, and the lanyards rove through both dead-eyes, clap a selvagee strap on each shroud well up; to this hook the single block of a luff tackle; the double, to a blackwall hitch in the lanyard; then take the lower blocks of the pendant tackles and hook them to both the falle of the luffs on each side; reeve the tackle falls theough the leading blocks, and pull up, setting up both pair of shrouds at the same time, the men on the trestle-trees beating the shroud down as pulled up; when well up, place two pair more, and proceed in this manner until the mast is rigged.
"The advantage of pulling up a pair at each side, instead of singly, is evident from the fact that pulling up singly injures the seizing; as it is first dragged forward and then aft by the after leg, it is liable to slack the seizing, and perhaps snap the inside turns.
"In rigging the lower masts, I have seen the after swifter go over first; a plan that is now adopted in small vessels. In staying the mast these swifters should be set taut, the mast being previously wedged, and the stays set steadily up. I have heard some old sailors dispute this plan, it being new, but for my own part I think well of it.
"Note: The trestle trees might be got over without knocking out the after-chocks, by running up a derrick abaft the mast, well lashed abaft below the bibbs, having chocks placed between it and the mast, sufficient to admit of the free passage of the after chock of the trestle trees."
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