Tarring is protecting some types of natural fibre and

wire file:Sample cross-section of high tension power (pylon) line.jpg, Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample d ...

rope A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger ...

by coating it with

tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black b ...

Hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a plant in the botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial and consumable use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest ...

rope, which was typically used for standing rigging, requires tarring.

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

and cotton ropes were used for running rigging and were not tarred as this would make the rope too stiff to run easily through blocks. Regular tarring at sea was required when sailing ships used hemp rope - once every 6 months for a ship on a long voyage.

Application

Hemp rope is treated with

Stockholm tar Pine tar is a form of wood tar produced by the high temperature carbonization of pine wood in Hypoxia (environmental), anoxic conditions (dry distillation or destructive distillation). The wood is rapidly pyrolysis, decomposed by applying heat and ...

, sometimes mixed with

coal tar Coal tar is a thick dark liquid which is a by-product of the production of coke and coal gas from coal. It is a type of creosote. It has both medical and industrial uses. Medicinally it is a topical medication applied to skin to treat psoria ...

. Most is applied in situ (commonly while the ship is at sea); some parts of the rigging may be slacked off, or upper masts may be sent down to improve access. To access stays and backstays, a seaman is lowered slowly down the stay on a gantline that is fastened loosely to the stay with a bowline. The seaman applies the tar from a bucket as he goes down. The gantline is tended by someone on deck. The shrouds can be tarred from the ratlines, sometimes combined with fitting new ratlines or re-seizing the existing ones. Lee rigging is typically worked on underway, as drips or spilt tar usually fall into the sea rather than on deck.

Steps

The process of protecting

wire rope Steel wire rope (right hand lang lay) Wire rope is composed of as few as two solid, metal wires twisted into a helix that forms a composite ''rope'', in a pattern known as ''laid rope''. Larger diameter wire rope consists of multiple strands of ...

standing rigging Standing rigging comprises the fixed lines, wires, or rods, which support each mast or bowsprit on a sailing vessel and reinforce those spars against wind loads transferred from the sails. This term is used in contrast to running rigging, w ...

is described in the book Star of India, The Log of an Iron Ship - Page 116, Footnote 3

To protect wire rigging from moisture and resultant rusting, it first is " wormed" by laying small line in the spiral grooves between the strands, to make a smoother surface. It then is "parceled" by wrapping in the same direction with long strips of cotton duck (burlap if you're poor) and finally it is "served" by wrapping it in the opposite direction with hambroline, a three-stranded tarred hemp cord, a little smaller in diameter than a lead pencil. Finally it is well treated with
Stockholm tar Pine tar is a form of wood tar produced by the high temperature carbonization of pine wood in Hypoxia (environmental), anoxic conditions (dry distillation or destructive distillation). The wood is rapidly pyrolysis, decomposed by applying heat and ...
.

Historic manufacture of tarred rigging

"The use of tarred

rigging Rigging comprises the system of ropes, cables and chains, which support and control a sailing ship or sail boat's masts and sails. ''Standing rigging'' is the fixed rigging that supports masts including shrouds and stays. ''Running rigg ...

is now of less interest to seafaring man than formerly because of the rapid and extensive development of steam power. However, tarred rigging is used today on craft of various types to such an extent that the production of tarred goods is an important branch of the cordage industry. The tar best suited for cordage comes from various members of the pine tree family and is obtained by the

distillation Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

process, either by using the old

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or Chemical Changes, chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects m ...

or by modern

retort In a chemistry laboratory, a retort is a device used for distillation or dry distillation of substances. It consists of a sphere, spherical vessel with a long downward-pointing neck. The liquid to be distilled is placed in the vessel and heat ...

s. It is conceded that the kiln-made article is superior for tarred rigging and therefore it is used principally in making first-quality tarred rope. The tar, as it comes from the kiln, is poured into barrels which are shipped to the cordage works. The way this tar is handled and how it is made to penetrate and adhere to the yarn, as is done by the

Plymouth Cordage Company The Plymouth Cordage Company was a rope making company located in Plymouth, Massachusetts. History The company, founded in 1824, had a large factory located on the Plymouth waterfront. By the late 19th century, the Plymouth Cordage Company h ...

, North Plymouth, Mass., may be described as follows: "The tar is heated to 200 degrees or more in tanks from which the liquid feeds into long copper-lined troughs, where the tarring takes place. Through these "coppers," so called, run steam pipes to further regulate the temperature. Excessive heating would cause the loss of the tar's good qualities, and to prevent this the supply in the "coppers" must be freshened frequently. As the yarns, heavily saturated with tar, come from the "copper" they are compressed between two rollers, adjusted to leave in the yarn as much or as little tar as needed for the particular goods being made and to turn back the surplus. The pull which carries the yarn through the tar and between the rollers comes from two large drums, around which the yarns travel preparatory to reeling on to the friction-driven receiving

bobbin A bobbin or spool is a spindle or cylinder, with or without flanges, on which yarn, thread, wire, tape or film is wound. Bobbins are typically found in industrial textile machinery, as well as in sewing machines, fishing reels, tape measures ...

s. Goods of nine-thread size and under are usually tarred in the completed rope form, but the process is essentially the same as with the yarns. The rich golden brown color of the tarred goods—an outward sign of right materials and methods—has become recognized as the Plymouth mark of the weather-resisting qualities contained in the goods."

Notes

References

{{Reflist

External links