DICTIONARY OF

Ropewalk 284 Round in
Ropewalk. Covered walk, 100 to 200 fathoms in length, in which ropes are laid up.
Formerly, men walked backward while paying out hemp fibres whose ends were attached to
rotating hooks at end of the ropewalk. This method has been superseded by the use of
machinery.
Rope Winch. Machine having three, or more, rotating 'whirlers‘ used for laying up the
strands of a rope.
Rope Yarn. Single yarn laid up in same direction as that of the strands of a rope.
Rope Yarn Knot. Correct way of joining two yarns. Yams are split and married; two
opposite foxes, one from each yarn, are led round to form a reef knot.
Roping Needle. Stout needle used when sewing canvas to rope. Has a pointed end that
curves upward from line of needle.
Roping Palm. Used when sewing canvas to roping. Indentations in the 'iron' are larger, and
fewer, than those in a sailmaker's palm.
Ro-Ro Ship. A 'roll-on, roll-off' vessel built with doors in her ends or slides to allow, when
berthed, vehicles to drive on or off.
Rorqual. Type of whale that raids fishing-grounds in practically all seas. It is not hunted,
because its blubber yield is small.
Rose. Name given to a compass card, or other diagram, having radiating lines. 2. Strum.
Rose Box. Strum Box.
Rosebur. Roove, or washer, over end of a clinched nail or fastening.
Rose Knot. Wall knot followed by crown knot, and each knot followed round; finished with
a diamond knot, and ends tucked through centre.
Rose Lashing. Under and over lashing finished off with concentric turns around the
crossings and between the turns.
Rotator. Log unit having inclined vanes that cause it to rotate as it is drawn through the
water.
Rotary Stream. Tidal stream that changes its direction through 360° in one cycle.
Rotor Ship. Experimental ship of the 1920s. Propelled by wind-pressure acting on rotating
towers.
Rotten Ice. Floes that have become honeycombed through melting.
Rough Log. Log-book kept, on deck, by officer of the watch.
Rough Tree. Shaped, but unfinished, mast or spar.
Rough Tree Rail. Timber resting on tops of frames and forming the upper part of a bulwark.
Round. To sail round a buoy, promontory or other fixed point, at a uniform distance, when
changing direction.
Round House. Originally, the poop. Later, a square cabin amidships and abaft mainmast of
a sailing ship.
Round In. To haul the fall of a tackle and close the distance between its blocks.