On 2004-12-04, Jack Painter wrote:

"Sailman" wrote

BOLT ROPE.

BOLT-ROPE, (ralingue, Fr.) a rope to which the edges or skirts of the
sails are sewed, to strengthen and prevent them from rending. Those
parts of the bolt-rope, which are on the perpendicular or sloping
edges, are called leech-ropes; that at the bottom, the foot-rope; and
that on the top or upper-edge, the head-rope. Stay-sails, whose heads
are formed like an acute angle, have no head-rope. To different parts
of the bolt-rope are fastened all the ropes employed to contract or
dilate the sails.

That's a pretty neat description, unfortunately it has nothing to do with
the use of lines on a boat or ship. Materials that a sailmaker uses in
construction that help to form a finished product and no longer functions in
any way as an individual component are not examples of which we speak.

OK then, man-ropes and footropes (also, I discover, after some research,
called a "horse," but no matter). Both function as ropes. Neither
is installed by a sailmaker. (There *is* another item, called a
footrope, installed by a sailmaker along the foot of the sail. But
the footrope of which I speak is the one under the yard on which
a yardman might stand while furling or reefing a squaresail.)

So Jack's wrong. And I'm wrong too for following up with
a discussion of ropes in an alectronics newsgroup.

I *can* throw in a simple question for the electronics buffs,
though: what's your favorite way to wire a mast in which there
are things halfway up and things at the top (i.e., spreader-lights
and a steaming light about halfway up, masthead tricolor, anchor light,
maybe wind instruments, and VHF antenna at the top. In particular,
how do you handle the ground wiring. You can run a three-wire cable
up to the spreaders and a separate several wire cable up to the
masthead, where the 3-wire cable has GND, STEAM, and SPREADER,
and the masthead has GND, ANCHOR, TRICOLOR, ...

But that involves an extra gound wire. You could also run a "tap"
from a multi-wire cable at the midpoint to provide ground to the
spreader and anchor lights.

ANy thoughts?

--John

"John F. Hughes" wrote

I *can* throw in a simple question for the electronics buffs,
though: what's your favorite way to wire a mast in which there
are things halfway up and things at the top (i.e., spreader-lights
and a steaming light about halfway up, masthead tricolor, anchor light,
maybe wind instruments, and VHF antenna at the top. In particular,
how do you handle the ground wiring. You can run a three-wire cable
up to the spreaders and a separate several wire cable up to the
masthead, where the 3-wire cable has GND, STEAM, and SPREADER,
and the masthead has GND, ANCHOR, TRICOLOR, ...

But that involves an extra gound wire. You could also run a "tap"
from a multi-wire cable at the midpoint to provide ground to the
spreader and anchor lights.

ANy thoughts?

--John

What ground wires? DC lighting never uses a ground, what are you talking
about? One positive lead one negative lead, end of lighting story. Of course
in a large mast with thousands od tiny ss screws protruding into it, you
will discover what grounding DC lighting and instruments does unless you
protect the wiring in pvc conduit.

Jack
with never a rope on the boat

What ground wires? DC lighting never uses a ground, what are you talking
about? One positive lead one negative lead, end of lighting story. Of course
in a large mast with thousands od tiny ss screws protruding into it, you
will discover what grounding DC lighting and instruments does unless you
protect the wiring in pvc conduit.

Ah. I see your point. Very helpful. Manrope.