Fig. 156.—Pilot Ladder.
For a 25-ft. ladder of a better kind, illustrated in Fig. 154, two dozen oval rungs of wood will be required, having at the ends scores rasped as shown at Fig. 155. The rungs may be 12 in. long. Nine fathoms of 4-in. four-stranded rope must be well stretched and the turns taken out, stretched again, etc. Middle it and seize a thimble in the bight, making this fast to a post. Then stretch out both parts together, and mark off the positions for the rungs with chalk, 12 in. apart. At every chalk mark, and round each part of rope separately, put a seven-turn whipping of tarred nettle stuff (this is sold in hanks). Now begin at the end nearest the bight or lower end, open the strands with a fid and spike above the seizings or whippings, and push in a rung, taking care to avoid twisting the rope by inserting the spike between the two strands best situated. When all the rungs are in and the ladder hangs without much twist, the open parts of the strands may be drawn together with a marlinespike and a piece of sennit or by carefully using a screw cramp above the rungs; then a six-turn seizing of nettle stuff put tightly on above each of the rungs keeps them in place. The top rung should be rather stouter than the rest to allow a deeper score. Splice a thimble into each end, and into each thimble a fathom of eighteen-yarn stuff for lashings. This is a good ladder to hang down clear, and is used over ships’ sterns and from lower booms, the lower thimble being convenient for boats’ “painters.”
Fig. 157.—Side Piece of Pilot Ladder.
To hang against a ship’s side, where room for the toe projecting over the rung is needed, a pilot ladder (Fig. 156) is more comfortable, but more difficult to make. The steps are usually of teak, mortised into diamond-shaped side pieces (see Fig. 157) about 8 in. deep by 5 in., with a score rasped out all round the edges. About twenty-three or twenty-four of these steps will be required for a 25-ft. ladder, and eighteen fathoms of 2½-in. three-stranded rope. Prepare by stretching well as before; cut in two equal parts and mark the middle of each length. Place one of the steps immediately over the marks and seize it tight in place by bringing the parts of rope round the score on each side to meet above. If the next step is placed on this seizing and so on, the completed ladder is too stiff to roll up; it is therefore necessary to put two seizings between each step, leaving about 2½ in. of free rope between them. When the steps are thus seized in place, the ends on each side are made even, spliced together, and fitted with thimbles for the lashings.
Fig. 158.—Beginning Mat.
Mats are used on board ship to prevent chafing. In making wrought mats a piece of small cord is stretched tight horizontally at about the height of a man, and fastened at each end. Across this, hanging by their middles, nettles are placed. These are often made of “foxes”—that is, three or more rope-yarns twisted together by hand, and each rubbed down with tarred canvas or a handful of rope-yarn. Beginning with the nettle nearest the left hand, it is crossed as A (Fig. 158). Another nettle is then brought up close to the first, and crossed in the same way. The end B is then passed over the strand C, and pushed to the back; another nettle is then brought forward, crossed as before, and one part of it put over the part D, and pressed back. The work is continued this way, working diagonally until a sufficient width is obtained (Fig. 159); then, as no more nettles are added, and the outside nettle on the right is brought over from time to time, a selvage is formed as on the left side. Take care not to twist each of the nettles together at the bottom, so that they may retain their twist until the next in succession is brought down to interweave with them. There is a little difficulty at starting, but afterwards everything goes on easily. Each nettle from the right passes over the next one to it on the left, and is pushed back, the one that has been passed over being taken up first over the next and pushed back as before. Each twist should be pressed tight as it is made. When the mat is deep enough, a selvage is made by straining another piece of cord along the bottom, securing both ends. As each nettle comes down it is half-hitched to this, and the next nettle is laid up at the back of it, and so on alternately.
Mats are frequently thrummed; this is done by raising the nettles lying on the top of the mat with a marlinespike or pricker after the mat is finished, and putting short pieces of the nettle stuff underneath. The thrums are then cut off to the same length, and opened out. Of course, wrought mats may be made of any material and used for a variety of purposes. They make most excellent door-mats, and are of everlasting wear. For this purpose they should not be made of tarred stuff. Very pretty mats may be constructed of twine for the foundation and various coloured pieces of worsted for the thrums.