Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1905-01-21
ROPES AND HAWSERS.
Points About Measuring Them That Mos
Landsmen Don't Understand.

Landslnen Do1t Understand.
"Pipes. said dealer in ship supplies,
"are measured by their diameter Thus
when we speak OF a 6-inch pipe we mean
/ a pipe inches in diameter.
But haWScrS are measured by their
circumference: and so when we speak of
a G-inch hawser we do not mean Il haW-
ser q inches in diameter but one 6 inches
around, or > inches in diameter. All
nautical men so understand hawser
measurements aud never think OF them
in any other way.
The landsman. now. wien he hears
OF big hawsers N use. is likely to think
Of them as he would of pipe, as being Of
the measurements described. in diameter.
For instance: lie reads of seagoing
tue. picking up Il disabled ship AT sea
4 and passing an S-inch hawser to her,
and of how they got Il strain on it, in
the Eeayy sea running, that pOnderous
/ haWser parted like Il packthread So he
wonders how hawser of that size could
/ part even under such Il strain.
But the nautical man wonders ut it
less; for he knows that the hawser de
scribed as an S-inch was one of 5 inches
IN clrcuference, or of aboout 23S inches
in diameter and not inches in diameter,
! or bigger than a stovepipe.
An S-inch hawSer is. nevertheless. Il
| big and powerful hawser. \ Manila
hawser of this size viii stand strain
of 10000 pounGs; and a coil of 200 faith
ons of ) inch Manila rope will weigh
300 pounds, or considerably more than
Il ton.
Rope used to be made in coils of a
thousand feet in length, but now n stand
ard coil is OF 200 fathoms, or 1900 feet.
Lengths of Il hundred fathoms or less
are, however, commonly used in tow
| Ing.
by cOrdage men and nautical men all
ropes down to and including ropes meas
Hring an inch and quarter round are
measured IN the same mHnnet. Ropes of
| less than an inch and It quarter i'll cir
conference are described and ordered by
threads.
rope is made up of number of
Strands each strand comprising number
| of threads, which are composed Of the
fiber material. The number of threads
IN rope varies according to its size.
The rope next smaller than that
known as inch and a quarter is a rope Of
fifteen threads, and having circumfer-
ence of shade more than an inch and
an eighth and diameter Of threc-eighths
Of an inch full a coil of 200 fathoms of
fifteen thread Manila rope weighs fifty
pounds, and such rope when new will
bear a strain OF 1000 pounds.
Six thread rope has a diameter of one
quarter Of an inch; 200 fathoms of Ma
Mia six thread weights twenty-five
pounds, and new six thread Manila will
stand q strain of $40 pounds.
1T takes sixty feet of six thread Ma
Ep.a to make a pound; three and three
56xrter inches in length of a ten inch
Manila hawser viii weigh as much.
The hawSer most commonly used for
ordinary towing is six inch, having Il
diameter Of two inches Two hundred
fathoms Of six inch weighs about 1900
pounds, and Il new Manila rope of this
size will stand strain of 10000 pounds
Sea-going tugs, handling heavy vessels
or tows outside, carry seven and eight
inch, and it may be ten inch hawserS
though eight inch would he about as
heavy as would be carried by most sea-
going tugs
a ten inch hawscr has Il diameter of
three and II quarter inches, and coil of
200 fathoms will weigh 5000 pounds, and
a new Manila hawser of this size will
stand a strain of 10000 pounds Such
a hawser might be used for towing a
string of big and heavy coal harges at
sea, AMI for such towing Il twelve inch
hawser might be used, hut the twelve
inch, as we'll as some still larger. fifteen
inch haWsers. which have sometimes
been made would be more likely to be
put to some special uSc as for wrccking
purposes. New York Sun.