Deadeyes:
1. Ancient Roman; 2. 9-10th century Viking;
3. 11-13th century; 4. 12-15th century; 5. 12-15th century; 6. 15-16th
century; 7. First half of 17th century; 8. After mid-17th century.
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Block strops
Almost
all blocks were stropped, i.e. they were bound in a spliced loop of
rope,
which formed an eye above the block by which it was fixed.
If the standing end of a tackle started at a block, then
either the block was fitted with a second strop eye, or the standing
end was eye spliced round the strop. Heavily loaded blocks were fitted
with double
strops.
The strops are impossible to splice neatly, owing to their
small size, so the best method is to lay the rope loop out so that its
ends are twisted into each other slightly, and then glue the ends
together. The glued area is then carefully situated so that it is
concealed by the seizing. If the strop is served, be sure to do this
before binding the block. After placing the block ifithe loop, the
excess is bound together with a seizing to form an eye.
Deadeyes
All shrouds, and some backstays and stays, were set up, or
tensioned, by means of deadeyes. In ancient times the deadeyes were
longish in shape, and looked very similar to hearts. In the Middle Ages
they were of similar shape,
with an opening at the top for the shroud, and three holes at the
bottom
for the tackle lanyard. In the 15th century the deadeyes were
triangular
and rather flat, and the shroud was laid in a groove called the score
round
the deadeye. From the middle of the 17th century on round deadeyes came
into use; they were also more curved in profile.
The diameter of the deadeyes was half as great as that of
the masts to which they belonged, and sometimes slightly larger.
Triangular deadeyes are made in a similar fashion to blocks. Grooves
are cut in a
triangular sectioned wood strip, using a circular saw, and then filed
out
slightly. The deadeyes are then cut off and hand sanded to final shape.
Round deadeyes can be made from round dowel, using a
similar method, although the use of a lathe makes the job much easier .
If this
machine is not available, your first recourse should be to the model
shop
for suitable items. The holes in the deadeyes are best drilled using a
jig.
The method of turning in the shrouds in the deadeyes is described in
detail
in the section SHROUDS
Hearts
have been in use since the Middle Ages, if not since ancient times, if
you include the earliest form of deadeye. From the late 17th century on
they enjoyed increasing popularity. Until the early 19th century the
hearts
were heart-shaped, but thereafter mostly round. Their diameter
corresponded
to that of deadeyes. Hearts have a large opening in the middle, and
usually
4 grooves to guide the lanyard; from the end of the 18th century hearts
began to appear with 6 or
7 grooves to take the same number of lanyard turns. The hearts were
stropped in a similar manner to the deadeyes.
In some cases fiddle blocks were used instead of double blocks.
Alternatively two single blocks were stropped together, one larger and
one smaller, and one above the other. The running part always ran first
through the smaller, then through the larger block.
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