Once a rope has a job on a boat it is usually called a line, and most lines have their own names: sheets, halyards, the outhaul, the kicker, mooring lines and so on. Rope is the general word for the material.
On a boat, rope that has been given a job is usually called a line, and each line is named after what it does. Rope is still the word for the material on the reel, or a spare length in the locker. Using the proper names avoids confusion: “ease the jib sheet” is clear, whereas “let that rope out” could mean any of a dozen.
The main lines on a typical yacht are:
- Sheets, which control the angle of the sails: the mainsheet and the two jib sheets.
- Halyards, which hoist the sails up the mast.
- Sail controls: the outhaul pulls the foot of the mainsail out along the boom; the cunningham pulls down the luff; the kicker or vang holds the boom down; the reefing lines pull the sail down to a smaller size; the furling line rolls the jib up.
- Mooring lines, which hold the boat alongside: bow lines and stern lines, and springs, which run diagonally fore and aft and stop the boat moving along the berth.
- The rode, the anchor’s chain or rope, and the painter, the line on the bow of a dinghy.
The sheets, halyards and sail controls are called the running rigging. The fixed wires that hold the mast up are the standing rigging.
A few related words: to make fast is to secure a line, usually on a cleat; a bight is a loop in a line; the bitter end is its far end. Keep lines coiled and tidy, and never stand in a coil of rope that is running out.
More in the book: Chapter 1, The sailing boat