# Ropes aboard a ship **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 11, 2006, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ropes-aboard-a-ship/383696 "2006-12-11T16:10:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ropes-aboard-a-ship/383696/1 "2006-12-11T16:10:58Z")
In post #7 of [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=397059), our esteemed moderator **tomndebb** responds thusly to the phrase “learn the ropes”: [Quote=tomndebb] Learn the lines. There are no ropes on a ship or boat. [/Quote] This didn’t seem right to me, as I was able to bring to mind three examples of specific ‘ropes’: boltropes, manropes and footropes. I consulted _The Ashley Book of Knots_, which has this to say (page 24): [Quote=Clifford Ashley] The word ‘rope’ is seldom heard aboard ship, where it generally refers to new stuff in unbroken coils. But ‘rope’ is also the inclusive term applied to all cordage, and a man is no sailor until he has “learned the ropes.” There is an old saying that “there are seven ropes aboard a ship,” but there are actually over sixty that have borne the name. [/Quote] My question is whether Ashley’s contention is correct, and what are the names of other ‘ropes’. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ropes-aboard-a-ship/383696/2 "2006-12-11T16:16:40Z")
From the Wiki entry on [rope](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rope): > [@](#): > > A piece of rope that has a purpose is called a line, especially in nautical usage. Examples include clothesline, chalk line, anchor line, stern line, fishing line etc. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ropes-aboard-a-ship/383696/3 "2006-12-11T16:22:33Z")
[QUOTE=Xema] . . . and what are the names of other ‘ropes’. [/QUOTE] Lines that adjust (trim) the sails are called [sheets](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailing). ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ropes-aboard-a-ship/383696/4 "2006-12-11T16:30:50Z")
[QUOTE=Small Clanger] Lines that adjust (trim) the sails are called [sheets](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailing). [/QUOTE] Yes - it’s certainly true that most of the dedicated cordage aboard a ship is not referred to as a ‘rope’. But Ashley’s point is that there are a number of exceptions, and the phrase “learn the ropes” is current. I was looking for other examples that include ‘rope’ in their name. ---
**Author:** ![Skipper\_Too](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Skipper\_Too](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skipper_Too)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ropes-aboard-a-ship/383696/5 "2006-12-11T17:51:53Z")
I have one rope to add, Most ships have a Bell Rope, attached to the Clapper on the Ship’s Bell. Does anyone when you can find the heaving line? ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ropes-aboard-a-ship/383696/6 "2006-12-11T18:22:25Z")
[QUOTE=Xema] My question is whether Ashley’s contention is correct, and what are the names of other ‘ropes’. [/QUOTE] My understanding is that any working cordage is a line (or other term). Things like boltropes (a rope attached to the edge of a sail by which it is attached to a mast, boom or other spar) and footropes (ropes under yards on which sailors may stand while working along the yard) are essentially fixed. Therefore, “pull on that rope” is something that sets sailors teeth on edge. As for other types of lines used in sailing (other than those of the form ‘[descriptive term] line’): [ul] [li]Halyards are used to hoist sails[/li][li]Sheets and guys are used to control sails[/li][li]Topping lifts and downhauls are used to raise and lower spars[/li][li]Outhauls and cunninghams are used to control the shape of sails by adjusting their corners on a spar[/li][li]The rode is the anchor line or chain[/li][li]Stays and shrouds are the cables used to support a mast[/li][li]Whipping is small thread or line wrapped around the end of another line so it doesn’t fray[/li][/ul]