Coast Guard sailor deploys a messenger line

A messenger line or just messenger is relatively light cordage used to pull a heavier cable across a gap or through a tube or duct. The term is also used for a line used to pull or lower a package along a downline or

jackstay A jackstay is a cable or bar between two points to support and guide a load between those points, or as an anchor to attach something to be constrained along that line. The term is mostly used in a marine context and originated on sailing ships. N ...

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heaving line Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like food poisoning, gastroenteritis ...

is a rope with a weighted end which can be thrown relatively easily across a gap. If it is attached to a heavier line, warp, or chain and then used to pull the heavier line across the gap it is being used as a messenger line. The name ''heaving line'' refers to the function of pulling the line, and ''messenger line'' to the function of transferring the object it is fastened to.

Applications

* A heaving line thrown from a ship to shore then used to pull the mooring warp from the ship to a bollard. * A light line installed inside a mast during manufacture, which is later used to reeve a halyard or pull an electrical cable into place. * A line used to lower a toolbag or equipment along a downline to a diver. * A line used to lower a weight (messenger) along a taut line to trigger a mechanism. For example: to close the mouth of a towed sampling net.

References

{{Underwater diving, divsup Cables