Vince Brannigan wrote:

Brian Sharrock wrote:
"Mike1" wrote in message
...

In old "pirate" movies, you'll sometimes see, during a fight, a man pull
out a special-shaped wooden pin or club and use it as a weapon.
Sometimes he has one or more on him, but often he yanks it from a
mounting bracket on the rail of the ship (where there appear to be many
of things, for, I presume, tying down lines to tack the sails).

Question: Do these pins have a specific name?


Answer: Yes! -couldn't resist the temptation to

Question: what is the specific name for the items discussed?

Answer: Belaying pins. Ropes, line, halyards, sheets etc, etc,
are belayed onto the appropriate pin so that the rope-work
looks tiddly and Bristol fashion and that the crew can
fumble
in the dark and select the correct piece of string. Note
that
the rope-work is _not_ tied-off in a knot or bend which may
jam
but they are wound around the head of the pin and the tail
of the pin - belayed - then the remaining length is coiled
and
handed onto to head of the pin.

Hope that helps

--

Brian

almost there

Belaying pins actually function as a machine. The pin protudes through
the pin rail. the "rope" comes down vertically past the pinrail and a
"turn" is takn around the tail of the pin. This changes the angle of
pull 90 degrees and allows more people to pull on the rope than if it
just came down vertically. The rope can also be attached to a
windlass. Friction between the rope and the pin rail adds to the work
load, but in a trained crew is also used to grab the rope while you
change hands or tie off the rope. the rope is tied off by taking a
"hitch" in the rope in which the standing part is crossed over itself
and dropped over the top of the pin. Pulling on the rope tightens down
the "belay knot" (yes its a knot) on the head of the pin

if the load is very heavy and you need more friction you can take a
second belay by taking a second turn aroun the tail and making a
"double belay".

Vince

Actually, I learned how to do that in my high school theater, which
had a fully functional pin rail for all the crap the scenery folks wanted
hung in the air over the actors heads. We did have much more, ummm,
colorful names for them though.

--Dale