Reference · How-tos · Ropework

A messenger with turned rollers, eye splices and a lanyard

Lay a messenger on the gun deck that brings the anchor cable to the capstan: turn rollers from offcuts, make an eye splice at both ends and join the eyes with a lanyard.

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1. 1Work out the layout on the drawing

   Draw or look up the run of the messenger on the gun deck: from the capstan forward, round the rollers in the corners, and back. At the fore end, where the anchor cable is hauled up, there is no roller. So you need three, not four.

   

   Tip from pietsan: The messenger is for hauling in the anchor cable, not the rudder. That was a slip of the pen in the post, but a funny one.

2. 2Turn the rollers from offcuts

   Turn the rollers on the lathe from walnut offcuts left between the laser-cut parts. Make them exactly the height of the gun deck, so you can fix them to the pillars of the upper deck. They stand in the corners, out of sight, so small differences between the rollers will not show later.

   height equal to the gun deck

   

   Watch out: Turning is fun, but getting everything exactly the same is hard. Consolation: in the corners of the gun deck nobody will see it.

3. 3Make an eye splice at both ends

   Splice an eye into each end of the 1.6 mm messenger: unlay the strands, tuck them alternately under the strands of the standing part and pull tight. Bind off the loose ends with a small whipping. The second splice already goes better than the first, and it is certainly strong.

   messenger 1.6 mm left-hand laid

   

   

   Tip from Herby63: In thin rope you do not splice, you imitate it: double the rope, push a needle through both parts just below the bight, pass the short end through the eye of the needle and pull it through the bight, tighten, a drop of CA, cut short (Dutch forum, 'Vaardigheden, tips en weetjes', October 2021). Stephan Kertész still managed a real eye splice in 0.3 mm thread. (Herby63, Stephan Kertész)

   Watch out: The first splice comes out untidy. Expect to make it again; the second one is already neater.

4. 4Do not pass the eyes through each other

   It is tempting to pass the second eye through the first before closing it, and that is what I did at first. Then they are fixed, but they can never be undone again and the length is fixed. Keep both eyes separate.

   

   Tip from pietsan: You must make an eye at both ends; in use these were joined with a lanyard. The eyes must be able to come apart again.

   Watch out: This is shown, of all places, on the drawing on page 36 of my own build log. So look carefully at your own sources before you start splicing.

5. 5Join the eyes with a lanyard

   Fasten a thin line to one eye with two half hitches. Then pass it alternately through both eyes a number of times, so the eyes are drawn towards each other. Finish off with two half hitches round the lanyard itself.

   

   Tip from Pingu57: Look on scoutwiki.org and type 'talreep' (lanyard) in the search box.

6. 6Fit the rollers and lay the messenger

   Glue the three rollers in the corners of the gun deck against the pillars of the upper deck. Lay the messenger in a loop over the deck, round the rollers and round the capstan. Hang the messenger from the deck beams on one side, as shown in The Anatomy of the Ship.