The Sailor's Word-Book / An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc.

by W. H. Smyth

LIMMER. The side-rope to a poop or other ladder.

LIMPET. A well-known shell-fish, giving rise to the brackish proverb, "Sticking fast like a limpet to a rock."

LINCH OR LINS PIN. The iron pin which keeps the trucks of a gun-carriage confined to the axle-tree.

LINE, To. To cover one piece with another. Also, to mark out the work on a floor for determining the shape of a vessel's body.—To line a ship, is to strike off with a batten, or otherwise, the directional lines for painting her. (See [Toe a Line].)

LINE. The general appellation of a number of small ropes in a ship, as buntlines, clue-lines, bowlines, &c. Also, the term in common parlance for the equator. Also, in the army, distinguishes the regular numbered regiments of cavalry and infantry from the artillery and guards, to whom exceptional functions are assigned. In fortification, it means a trench, approaches, &c. In a geometrical sense, it signifies length without breadth; and in military parlance, it is drawing up a front of soldiers.—Concluding line. A small rope, which is hitched to the middle of every step of a stern-ladder.—Deep-sea line. A long line, marked at every five fathoms with small strands of line, knotted, and used with the deep-sea lead. The first 20 fathoms are marked as follows: 2 and 3 fathoms with black leather; 5 with white bunting; 7 with red; 10 with leather and a hole in it. Then 13, 15, and 17 repeat the previous marks of 3, 5, and 7. Two knots indicate 20, three knots 30, four knots 40 fathoms, and so on, with an additional knot for every ten. Meanwhile a single knot indicates the intermediate fives. Besides this system some pilots prefer their own marks, as in the Hooghly, where they always measure the line for themselves. The term "deep-sea line" must not now be confined to the use of the lead for the ordinary purposes of safe navigation; deep-sea soundings for scientific purposes are recorded in thousands of fathoms, in which case the line is sometimes made of silk, the object being to obtain the largest amount of strength with a small weight.—Fishing-lines. Particular kinds of lines, generally used for fishing snood, mackerel, whiting, cod, albacore, &c.—Hand-line. A line about 20 fathoms long, marked like the first 20 fathoms of the deep-sea line. It is made fast to a hand-lead of from 7 to 14 lbs., and used to determine the depth of water in going in or out of a harbour, river, channel, &c.—Hauling-line. Any rope let down out of a top, &c., to haul up some light body by hand.—Knave-line. A rope fastened to the cross-trees, under the main or fore top, whence it comes down by the ties to the ram-head, and there it is rove through a piece of wood about 2 feet long, and so is brought to the ship's side, and there hauled up taut to the rails.—Life-line. A rope occasionally extended in several situations for persons to lay hold of, to prevent their falling.—Mar-line. A particular kind of small line, composed of two strands very little twisted; there is both tarred and white mar-line. That supplied for the gunner and for bending light sails is untarred.—Navel-line. A rope depending from the heads of the main and fore masts, and passed round to the bight of the truss to keep it up, whilst the yard is being swayed up, or when the truss, in bracing sharp up, is overhauled to the full.—Spilling-lines. Ropes fixed occasionally to the square sails, particularly the main and fore courses in bad weather, for reefing or furling them more conveniently; they are rove through blocks upon the yard, whence leading round the sail they are fastened abaft the yard, so that the sail is very closely confined.—White-line. That which has not been tarred, in contradistinction to tarred line.

LINE-BREADTH. See [Breadth Line].

LINE OF BATTLE. A disposition of the fleet at the moment of engagement, by signal or previous order, on which occasion the vessels are usually drawn up as much as possible in a specified bearing, as well to gain and keep the advantage of the wind, as to run the same board, about 1 cable, or 100 fathoms distant from each other. The line-of-battle in sea-fights occurs both in Plutarch (Themistocles) and Froissart.

LINE-OF-BATTLE SHIPS. Formerly those of 74 guns and upwards; or in these iron days, any vessel capable of giving and taking the tremendous blows of the larger ordnance.

LINE OF BEARING. A previously determined bearing given out by a commander-in-chief, as well as line-of-battle. "From line of battle form line of bearing," or reverse. The line of bearing must be that point of the compass on which the ships bear from each other, and from which the line of battle can readily be formed without losing speed or ground.

LINE OF COLLIMATION. See [Collimation, Line of].