pendant

The Sailor's Word-Book

A strop or short piece of rope fixed on each side, under the shrouds, upon the heads of the main and fore masts, from which it hangs as low as the cat-harpings, having an iron thimble spliced into an eye at the lower end to receive the hooks of the main and fore tackles. There are besides many other pendants, single or double ropes, to the lower extremity of which is attached a block or tackle; such are the fish-pendant, stay-tackle-pendant, brace-pendant, yard-tackle-pendant, reef-tackle-pendant, &c., all of which are employed to transmit the efforts of their respective tackles to some distant object.


♦ Rudder-pendants. Strong ropes made fast to a rudder by means of chains. Their use is to prevent the loss of the rudder if by any accident it should get unshipped.

Related Words

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  • distinguishing pendant

    In fleets and squadrons, instead of hoisting several flags to denote the number of the ship on the l...

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  • gurnet-pendant

    A rope, the thimble of which is hooked to the quarter-tackle of the main-yard; it is led through a h...

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  • reef-pendant

    A rope going through a cringle in the after-leech of a boom main-sail, and through a check sheave-ho...

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  • truss-pendant

    That part of a rope-truss into which the truss-tackle blocks are seized. ...

    The Sailor's Word-Book

  • boom-brace pendant

    A rope attached to the extremity of a studding-sail boom, and leading down on deck; it is used to co...

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  • clear the pendant

    See up and clear the pendant. ...

    The Sailor's Word-Book

  • hoisting the pendant

    Commissioning a ship. ...

    The Sailor's Word-Book

  • main-tackle pendant

    A stout piece of rope with a hook in one end, and a thimble in the other, sometimes used for hauling...

    The Sailor's Word-Book

  • top-tackle pendant

    The pendant used with the above. The top-mast is swayed up by a top-rope or hawser. The pendant, whi...

    The Sailor's Word-Book

  • winding-tackle pendant

    A strong rope made fast to the lower mast-head, and forming the support of the winding-tackle. ...

    The Sailor's Word-Book