Hitches
for bowline bridles
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Top
Rope
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The purpose of the bowlines was to
keep the weather leech well out when sailing close-hauled. Many ship
historians have supposed that ships of the ancient Greeks and
Romans had bowlines, although they cannot prove it. Reliable evidence
of their existence dates from the early 13th century.
The bearing out spar. Before bowlines were
introduced the Viking ships and ships of the early Middle Ages carried
bearing opt spars in their ships. This was a
wooden spar with a shoulder at its outboard end, which was plugged into
a cringle in the leech rope. There were two wooden blocks with round
depressions fixed inside the bulwarks, and level with the mast; the
lower end of the spar
was stepped in these, and by this means sail was spread forward.
Bowlines
The run of the bowlines is usually shown clearly on the rigging plans.
The bowline bridles were hitched to the cringles of the leech ropes
toggled after 1819. Until the late 15th century the bowlines were
attached to the leech of the sail with two or at most three bridles. In
the 16th century the number of bowline bridles increased dramatically
in some areas, while in the early 17th century the number was reduced
again as follows: courses three bridles, or if a bonnet was fitted,
four bridles, the lowest of which was attached to the bonnet; fore
topsail three or four bridles, main topsail four bridles, mizen topsail
two or three bridles, topgallant sails two bridles. The bridles were
joined together by means of spliced eyes, thimbles, or more rarely
small blocks.
In the second half of the 19th century the bowlines disappeared.
The top rope was used to hoist and lower the
topmasts. It was hooked under the underside of the cap, reeved through
the sheave at the foot of the topmast, up through a block, which was
hooked to the cap, and down to the deck. On a model the top rope can be
omitted, as it was only used when sending up or striking the topmast,
and was only rigged at those times. The only traces to be seen are two
or four ringbolts on the underside of the cap.
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