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The trick to coiling lines
You need to coil lines so that they may be tidied away and ready to be quickly deployed again. Coiling ropes looks simple, but when it comes to it the rope tends to fight the coiling and never lays flat to make those beautiful even coils. Almost all my early attempts looked like an impression of the path an atom makes around the nucleus rather than the beautifully coiled ropes that instruction books present.

A help to get up the mast solo or where the assisting crew member is challenged
Going up the mast single handed, or indeed supported by someone who is not very strong, is not an easy task and very dangerous. With no one to support the single hander, or with someone who is able do little more than tension a safety line, the person going aloft is totally reliant on their own strength to pull themselves up.

Keeping lines in place, the figure of eight knot
Lazy line ends have a tendency to fly out through blocks, up and out of masts.

Marking out and cutting a round object such as an oar, boom or mast etc.
Accurately marking out a line on a round object and then cutting it is not a simple task. It is far more likely to go wrong than right.

Making maintenance of awkward devices a littler easier
Carrying out maintenance in difficult areas is all too commonly encountered on a seagoing vessel. There is never the right tool, or if not the right reach for some tasks.

Releasing seized nuts and bolts
Bolts and nuts like almost every fastening, have a tendency to seize up on boats due to the challenging sea going environment.

Releasing a sheared off bolt by welding
Bolts and nuts, like most fastenings, have a tendency to seize on boats due to the challenging seagoing environment. Apply just a touch too much pressure and the tension suddenly becomes soft or rubbery, and you are either breaking the bolt or stripping the threads. Most likely the former leaving a seized and often inaccessible bolt shaft sheared off.

Making secure and easy end joints
Wood screws tend not to bite securely into an end grain, making it difficult to construct strong end-joints with wood screws alone.

How to prevent a line's natural tendency to fray
Almost all lines get worn and unravelled at the edge. This natural attrition, if left unattended, shortens the lines and makes for an ugly appearance.

A simple means to connect to lines and cables to support a parallel load
Connecting to a cable or line and supporting a parallel load is not an easy task and few knots can do it without slipping down the line.


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