# 'Splice the Main Brace' **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 4, 2017, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/splice-the-main-brace/803514 "2017-12-04T04:39:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/splice-the-main-brace/803514/1 "2017-12-04T04:39:04Z")
It’s an old naval term meaning _‘Break out the Booze’_. How did that happen? ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/splice-the-main-brace/803514/2 "2017-12-04T04:44:12Z")
google is your friend here. From the age of sail. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/splice-the-main-brace/803514/3 "2017-12-04T04:44:56Z")
“Splicing the main brace” was one of the most difficult repairs to make on a sailing ship. If it was done successfully, the men would be rewarded with an extra ration of rum. Eventually it became a term for a celebration. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/splice-the-main-brace/803514/4 "2017-12-04T04:48:01Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > google is your friend here. From the age of sail. **Moderating** From the GQ rules: > [@](#): > > [W]e aren’t … interested in hearing how simple it was for another poster to find the answer in a search engine. If it’s that simple to find the answer, go ahead and post the answer If you’re going to Google it, at least post the actual answer. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/splice-the-main-brace/803514/5 "2017-12-04T12:49:03Z")
I’m curious as to what brought this up, especially at this moment. I know the term mainly\* from the C.S. Forester novel _Lieutenant Hornblower_, which I’ve re-read more times than I can count. And, in fact, I was just watching the BBC/A&E series _Hornblower_ – in fact, the episode _Mutiny_ which contains that scene. But that’s because I stumbled across a copy of the complete Hornblower series on DVD, and was watching all the episodes I’d missed when it was broadcast. Is somebody re-broadcasting them right now, or have they become available on Netflix or something? Or did the OP just chance to read Lieutenant Hornblower? - but not entirely – I’ve got several books and references on that period. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/splice-the-main-brace/803514/6 "2017-12-04T12:55:18Z")
How does one splice the mainbrace? What cordage is it made of? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/splice-the-main-brace/803514/7 "2017-12-04T16:01:03Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > How does one splice the mainbrace? What cordage is it made of? It was one of the main fore-and-aft supports for the masts, and might be 5 inches in diameter. Since it ran through blocks, it couldn’t be repaired by being knotted or by a splice that would increase its diameter. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/splice-the-main-brace/803514/8 "2017-12-04T17:04:41Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > It was one of the main fore-and-aft supports for the masts, and might be 5 inches in diameter. Since it ran through blocks, it couldn’t be repaired by being knotted or by a splice that would increase its diameter. I think the supports for the masts were called ‘stays’ or ‘shrouds’. If wikipedia is to be believed, the braces were used to turn the booms holding the sails. The mainbraces (there would be one on each side) would be pretty important; you couldn’t turn without them. No sailor would permanently repair a line with a knot-- too weak. A splice is a more permanent repair. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/splice-the-main-brace/803514/9 "2017-12-04T17:16:12Z")
The original ‘splice the mainbrace’ was used to any unusual and very heavy duty task - so if a ship had to winch itself from a sandbank then this would likely be rewarded. Having had one of two tots in the past, all I can say is that sailors of yore must have been pretty well half cut most of the day, one measure of grog is quite a gobful to get down, and its not like they let you take your time drinking it - you have to pretty much get it down in one, its a precaution to prevent sailors from saving it up and having a big day with the results sometime in the future. ---
**Author:** ![4d3fect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/4d3fect/32/9728_2.png) [@4d3fect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4d3fect)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/splice-the-main-brace/803514/10 "2017-12-04T18:55:16Z")
I only knew it from my hard work drinking Pusser’s Painkillers in the Bahamas. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/splice-the-main-brace/803514/11 "2017-12-04T18:56:10Z")
> [@casdave](#): > > The original ‘splice the mainbrace’ was used to any unusual and very heavy duty task - so if a ship had to winch itself from a sandbank then this would likely be rewarded. > > Having had one of two tots in the past, all I can say is that sailors of yore must have been pretty well half cut most of the day, one measure of grog is quite a gobful to get down, and its not like they let you take your time drinking it - you have to pretty much get it down in one, its a precaution to prevent sailors from saving it up and having a big day with the results sometime in the future. Yes, 2 oz of 100 proof rum in 4 oz of water, I think. Originall it was eight pints of small beer. That would keep you full and hydrated and slightly buzzed. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/splice-the-main-brace/803514/12 "2017-12-04T18:58:08Z")
Perhaps I should have asked, “How does one go about splicing a mainbrace?” I know a normal 3-strand rope can be repaired using a “long splice” which should enable it to pass through blocks and pulleys; this needs to be done carefully and properly to avoid weakening the rope. But what is the right way to splice a huge cable? As far as knots go, there are shroud knots that can be used for temporary repairs (during battle, say), but, as **Quercus** notes, these are not as strong as a splice, nor do they preserve the diameter of the rope. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/splice-the-main-brace/803514/13 "2017-12-04T19:07:42Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yes, 2 oz of 100 proof rum in 4 oz of water, I think. That would be a tenth of a pint of rum. The wikipedia history of the Royal Navy rum ration claims each sailor got 1/8 of a pint, which doesn’t seem like all that much. Farther down it mentions half a pint of spirits, which sounds more like it. ---
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/splice-the-main-brace/803514/14 "2017-12-04T19:14:54Z")
As Quercus says, braces are used to turn the yards in the horizontal plane, and losing one is a pretty big deal - although I disagree with those who say the ship couldn’t be maneuvered. (Clew up the mainsail and use the main sheets & tacks in conjunction with the remaining braces, you infernal lubbers!) Braces follow a complicated path in the rigging - a mainbrace would run through fairleads up along the mizzen shrouds and change to a horizontal direction via a block. Probably block-and-tackle for large ship where you have to overcome the wind acting on the mainsail to brace it around. So there’s no doubt it’s a seriously annoying repair job, and because there are blocks involved, you can’t knot or short-splice, even under battle conditions. I’ve been poking around on Royal Navy boards to see if there’s a first known instance of using the euphemism, but no luck. Consensus seems to be it started as a way to reward the crew and enter it into the logbook without raising civilian eyebrows. A sailor would, at the very least, want to know if it was the port or starboard mainbrace that underwent repair. Interestingly, the term is still in the NATO-authorized signal flag guide - AD28. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/splice-the-main-brace/803514/15 "2017-12-04T20:53:17Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > That would be a tenth of a pint of rum. The wikipedia history of the Royal Navy rum ration claims each sailor got 1/8 of a pint, which doesn’t seem like all that much. Farther down it mentions half a pint of spirits, which sounds more like it. Yes, after adding water, it comes to half a pint of Grog. wiki: The rum ration, or “tot”, consisted of one-eighth of an imperial pint (70 mL) of rum at 95.5 proof (54.6% ABV), given out to every sailor at midday. Senior Ratings (Petty Officers and above) received their rum neat, whilst for Junior Ratings it was diluted with two parts of water to make three-eighths of an imperial pint (210 mL) of grog. 70Ml= 2.4oz. In other words, a “double”. Mixed then with water and perhaps lime juice to equal a tot of about half a pint. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/splice-the-main-brace/803514/16 "2017-12-04T21:33:37Z")
How do you splice a rope? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/splice-the-main-brace/803514/17 "2017-12-04T21:37:57Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > How do you splice a rope? Sorta weave it together: > **[BoatUS Expert Advice](https://www.boatus.com/expert-advice)** > > BoatUS Magazine, the largest boating magazine in the US, provides boating skills, DIY maintenance, safety and news from top experts. > **[Splicing Knots](https://www.animatedknots.com/splicing-knots)** > > Splicing Knots. A Splice is usually significantly stronger than a knot and is intended to be permanent. Undoing a splice and re-making it takes much more time than doing the same with most knots. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/splice-the-main-brace/803514/18 "2017-12-04T21:41:11Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > How do you splice a rope? [Like this.](http://stoneycreeker.com/knots/images/fig_2-42.gif) ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/splice-the-main-brace/803514/19 "2017-12-04T22:55:54Z")
To understand how the rigging on a RN sailing ship in the 18th century worked, you first need to learn a new language. > [@](#): > > FORE-BRACES reeve through the pendent-block; the standing parts make fast round the collar of the main stay, on each side, with a hitch, and the end seized. The leading part reeves through a single block, lashed on each side the main-stay-collar, close up to the rigging, then leads down, and passes through a sheave-hole in the bitts, at the fore part of the quarter-deck, and there belays. Brigs lead the same. > > MAIN-BRACES reeve through a single block in the pendent; the standing part makes fast with a clench round an eye-bolt in the upper part of the quarter-piece; the leading part reeves through a snatch-block close aft upon the gunwale, and belays round a cleat on the inside. > > SPAN FOR MAIN-BRACES has two legs, with a thimble spliced in the end of each leg, which reeves the standing and leading part of the brace, and the span makes fast with a half-hitch, and the end seized up round the mizen-shrouds. > > PREVENTER-BRACES, in war, are reeved through a block lashed round the yard-arm, and reeve through a block in a span, round the bowsprit-cap; they then lead in upon the fore-castle, and the standing parts make fast round the cap. The main-brace reeves through the block on the yard-arm, then through a block lashed to the fore-shrouds, close below the catharpins; they then lead down upon the fore-castle, and the standing-part makes fast to the shrouds above the block with a hitch and the end seized. Brigs reeve the same.TOPSAIL-SHEET-BLOCKS are next put over the yard-arms, strapt with an eye the size of the yard-arm.LIFT-BLOCKS are next spliced into the strap of the topsail-sheet-blocks: the lifts reeve through the block in the span round the mast-head, between that and the topmast, then lead down abreast the shrouds, and reeve through a block fastened to the side, and are there belayed.JEARS, in large ships, are two large tackle. The hanging blocks at the mast-head are hove up close on each side, by the top-burton-tackles, and lashed. A broad elm cleat is nailed on each side the mast-head, above the blocks, as a stop for the lashing. Every turn of lashing is alternately passed through the strap of the block, and over the cleat on the opposite side, and the ends of the lashing are well stopt. The other two blocks are strapt with a double strap to the size of the yard, with a long and a short leg. They lash on each side of the middle or slings, within the cleats. The long leg of the strap goes down the aftside of the yard, and meets the bight of the short leg on the foreside, and lashes, every turn passing alternately through each bight, rose fashion. The blocks, at the mast-head and on the yard, are connected by their falls, which lead upon deck. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2017, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/splice-the-main-brace/803514/20 "2017-12-04T23:10:44Z")
I’ve never sailed, but I have spliced ropes, and from my experience, I can see how splicing the main braces might be a royal nuisance. But I also have a hard time seeing how it could be an all-hands-on-deck situation. It seems to me that for the splicing itself, you couldn’t have any more than two people working on it (presumably, the two most nimble-fingered crewmen) without getting in each others’ ways. And maybe you might have a few more brawny guys pulling on something or another to create enough slack for the nimble-fingered guys to work. But what would everyone else be doing? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/splice-the-main-brace/803514.md?page=2)