KNOTTING AND SPLICING ROPES AND CORDAGE

Rope, though usually of hemp, is made of other materials for certain purposes. Coir rope (cocoa-nut fibre), being light and buoyant, is useful for warps, rocket lines, life-buoy lines, and drift-nets. Manilla grass is adapted for reef points, yachts’ hawsers, and wherever tar would be injurious. Hide is required for wheel-ropes, or where great strength with pliability and small circumference is needed. Cotton is serviceable for fancy work, etc. The “yarns” are formed by twisting the hemp right-handed; the “strands,” by twisting or laying up the yarns left-handed; and the rope, by laying up the strands right-handed....FROM THE BOOK.