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It's a Sheave, not a Pulley

6K views 35 replies 21 participants last post by  Cruisingdad 
#1 ·
Sheave is the maritime term for a pulley, much the same as galley is the maritime term for kitchen. Ships, boats, and even un-manned scows do not have pulleys on board, they have sheaves.

I have a few maritime dictionaries asquired over the years and the word pulley does not appear in any of them. Sheave is the only word used for the object. I do not purport to know the reason in the way that I know why a floor is not a deck ( a floor being something completely different than a deck on a vessel).

de Kerchove's Maritime Dictionary, which runs close to a thousand pages, describes a sheave thusly:

A grooved wheel in a block, mast, yard, and so on, over which a rope passes. The sheave, which is bushed, rotates upon the pin. Sheaves are made of wood, bronze, or galvinized cast iron or steel. for running riggin where severe or heavy intermittent strains are expected, as in the case of runners and topping lifts, brass sheaves are used.

Wooden sheaves are made of lignum vitaem wood bushed with bronze. Iron or steel sheaves are used with flexible wire rope to prevent galvanic action, which would soon damage the rope. They are of much greater diameter than those for fiber rope (15-20 times the rope's diameter). The groove should fit the rope accurately so as to support it for one third of it's circumference. in practise the diameter of the groove at the bottom should be 1/16th inch greater than the diameter of the rope, with an angle of flare from 50 to 60 degrees. end quote

Elevator pasengers may refer to pulleys, those who wish not to appear lubberly should call a sheave a sheave. Thank you for your time and attention.
 
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#2 ·
SA,
I worked for a guy named Bjornie Ricksford for a time. Are you kin to him.
He would see us walking down th deck and ask us where we were going. We would always say "down stairs( below ) to the back porch (fantail). He would get red faced and call us names:) You believe that!
 
#7 ·
Yikes Your killin me Hog:) I might try that with the missus next time she goes to the mast. I wonder if thats were the term dodger came from. dodger... dodge her. makes you go hmmmm!

SA my fondest memory of Mr. Ricksford was when he was teaching me to plot DR positions. He asked me where I thought we were and I replied " I THINK we are right here." and put my index finger on the chart.
He replied "Well matt at a time like this you realy need to KNOW we are there, not think we are. And when someone askes you where we are don't point with your finger. Mash down with your thumb it gives a little more margine for error."
He was a great teacher. :)
 
#8 ·
and

Rope is never called rope?

and line is never cable?

Rigging is standing and running. Rigging doesn't really run. Rigging doesn't stand.

Spars are masts, booms, yardarms etc... BUT only a boom is a spar?

A bollard is never a cleat? But can cleat to a bollard?

The steering wheel is the WHEEL but it's always at the Helm?

A turnbuckle hasn't any buckle in it.

A pilot house is called that but do all boats have pilots?

"keel" is always used to mark steel. But steel will really mark your keel!

Heeling is not listing. Listing doesn't mean your selling your boat.

You can have sheaves without blocks but you can never have a block without a sheave!

Why do we go on like this?? :D :confused: :rolleyes:
 
#11 ·
and

If I a gal "debriefs" A guy it doosn't mean shes getting fresh! (inspired by another thread :D )

And a windlass is never called a winch but it is a winch.

And I could stay up all night thinking of things to add to this thread! :D
 
#15 ·
There are two reasons to insist on precise (if arcane) terminology or diction.

One: to facilitate communication between people engaged in a common pursuit, minimizing confusion or error. This is important when safety is involved or the pursuit entails careful delineation of items or fine conceptual gradation.

Two: to impress, belittle, or bully people with one's superior knowledge or grasp of the jargon. "You call it a pulley, I know it's a sheave, I'm better than you."

I suppose, just occasionally, people may die if a sailor mistakes a pulley for a sheave. But mostly, I suspect those who wave about this kind of techno-purism want to assert their superiority and ownership of the field. Bullpucky. Most sailing terminology developed from pidgin, negotiated between sailors of many languages and traditions. Zarghons (jargons) and arcana are inherently arbitrary, so insisting there is one God-given name for the bits on boats is chauvanistic and stupid. And people who insist on pure, never-changing lexicons l have no understanding how communication between human beings occurs nor how languages evolve.

As long as the right rope (cord, sheet, cable) gets pulled at the right time, the purpose has been served.
 
#16 ·
There are two reasons to insist on precise (if arcane) terminology or diction.

One: to facilitate communication between people engaged in a common pursuit, minimizing confusion or error. This is important when safety is involved or the pursuit entails careful delineation of items or fine conceptual gradation.
But then you go on to assert...

And people who insist on pure, never-changing lexicons l have no understanding how communication between human beings occurs nor how languages evolve.
ISTM these two assertions contradict one another, and I disagree with the latter. I think it is important to use common terminology in any pursuit. It matters not how or why it was derived. It is what it is. It is every bit as reasonable to expect a sailor to know the difference between a sheet and a chock as it is for any average person to know the difference between a hammer and a screwdriver, and to know the proper naming of each.

Jim
 
#17 ·
The dumbing down of the English language is already well apace. "I mean, y'know" substitutes for actual communication of nuanced thought. I see no reason to commit lexiconic suicide for the feelings of self worth of those too lazy to learn how to communicate afloat. We are blessed with an encyclopedic volume of terminology that has withstood the test of time, and yes it has been refined through the ages, that precisely communicates specific meanings. Why would we throw it away for the comfort of someone who doesn't know and, more importantly isn't willing to learn, the difference between the capstan and the captain? The end result of that is that every little thing becomes the "hoogee" or the "como-se-llama".

And, contrary to what might be erroneously assumed, this is not an attempt to exclude those new to the sea. It is rather a call to them to immerse themselves in the wonderful lexicon that makes up our avocation and thereby be able to grow and enjoy it to the fullest possible extent. Every profession has a lexicon. And those we most admire and respect as true professionals or highly accomplished amateurs know the meanings of the words that are part and parcel of their avocation. Do you wish to be viewed as a seaman or a lubber? If you don't sound like you know what you're talking about it's unlikely that it will be assumed you do.
 
#18 ·
When understood, precise nautical terminology not only indicates the exact piece of equipment addressed, but frequently the way it interacts with other pieces of equipment, and as a side element, the bit of history associated with it.

On a ship of 100 or more years ago, there would be several dozen ropes/lines and blocks, etc. associated with even the most simple of sail maneuvers, each of which might have a force on it (or simply sheer mass) great enough to injure an ignorant handler. That's the reason for such varied terminology, and its persistence today makes for easier sailing. If I am helming, and I say "please get me my slicker in the port settee locker forward", I have a reasonable assurance that I'll have it in 30 seconds or less, and it will be a slicker, not my foulies and not a windbreaker.

Certainly among recreational sailors, the use of nautical terms can border on pretension, as we have so few control lines and light loads on most of them in many situations, but I can assure you that in a race situation or in offshore cruising, such language avoids ambiguity and increases safety and efficiency.

That said, the nautical use of "floors" and "ceilings" seems designed to baffle, even as certain names of splices seem designed to amuse.
 
#19 ·
Civility dictates that we tailor our use of the argot to the the level of fluency common to the least familiar in our conversational group. If you find yourself discussing sailboats with the less-knowledgeable newcomer, and insist upon correcting every incorrect mention they make, you're going to achieve nothing except paint yourself as a supercilious wank. If you occasionally mention that things have different names when they are used on boats, then you come across as a helpful but somewhat irritating person. If you just relax and use the same words that the normal newbies use when you're trying to help them, you'll communicate much more easily. They might even buy you a beer. :)
 
#20 ·
Just lift up the knot in that rope in the tooth like holder on the rightside of that slider thing with the pullpin type dealey that, stops the big swingy thing at the bottom of the sail from getting loose from the other rope that lets it go in and out further from the boat when the wind picks up .


Or


Ease the starboard traveler



P.S. Strike sails dont drop them
 
#21 ·
A WARP is a rope that is attached to the anchor at one end and the boat at the other. Also called a rope, cable, rode and many other names.
 
#23 ·
Sailormann is quite correct when talking with the newbie on shore. Once on board though things tend to go to pot in a hurry. It has been my experience that those who have issues with such as bow/stern and port/starboard, etc... soon get into a situation where they cannot communicate and the deficiencies of their lack of language skills becomes hazardous-mostly to themselves. "Watch out for the whimmydiddle" is not of much help when the previous declaration was "jibe-ho" and the newbie has no knowledge of what that arcane term means.

Kind and gentle to the new illiterate sailor, yes. Leave him in such a condition, hell no!
 
#24 ·
Kind and gentle to the new illiterate sailor, yes. Leave him in such a condition, hell no!
My belief is that the newbies who are interested in pursuing the sport start asking questions quickly - and once they do I think that it's polite for us to help them learn as much, and as quickly as possible. But I wait for them to ask ... after all, there is only so much information in my head and if I start giving it away, I want to make sure that it goes to a good home ;)
 
#25 ·
Sheave

You know that round thing on your car engine that has a v-belt running on it that drives an alternator or water pump or airconditioning compressor, it's also a sheave. but a lot of people would call it a pulley. Thats ok most people will understand what you mean. When you put a sheave between a couple of pieces of material so that it becomes portable it turns into a block.The round part with the groove that a line or belt runs on is a sheave, you are right. But it is also correct to call a block a block.
 
#27 ·
Well, I wanted ta larn my younguns proper an all, but my wife made me promise not ta talk like a sailor in front of them. :D


I think a lot of passing it along is not getting authoritarian about it; if you do that it comes off as so much intellectual flatulence. I am still learning it as I go and I still often refer to a rope instead of a line or sheet, often on purpose because that is what the person I am speaking to will understand and hand me the length of fiberous material I desire. When there is time, I do explain to the kids (my usual crew) some terminology but the listening window is pretty small.
 
#30 ·
While the term Sheave is preferred, sheave is a synonym for pulley according to most definitions of both words.
 
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