Left hand laid anchor cable?

[FF]

Have been reading the Kidd series from Stockwin and they described the anchor cable as left hand laid. 1800 or so.

Sure it was for bigger boats ,but any ideas why left hand?

Good read, part fiction pulled from history of the time. Similar to Master & Commander .

 

[OldDan1943]

TEASE
Right/Left, guess that depends on which end of the rode you are viewing and which way you are facing.

 

[O C Diver]

TEASE
Right/Left, guess that depends on which end of the rode you are viewing and which way you are facing.

No, if you look at it from the end, the twist is the same at either end.

Ted

 

[trawlercap]

Right hand is most common. We needed right and left hand depending on the winch to properly spool and spread in the water.

 

[Alaskaflyer]

Have been reading the Kidd series from Stockwin and they described the anchor cable as left hand laid. 1800 or so.

Sure it was for bigger boats ,but any ideas why left hand?

Good read, part fiction pulled from history of the time. Similar to Master & Commander .

I suspect the answer is based on the design of the winch on the vessel. I've never been a true sailor or fisherman - or a logger - but I know from my other interests that the lay of your cable dictates the direction it should be wound on a drum, or vice versa.

 

[dwhatty]

Have been reading the Kidd series from Stockwin and they described the anchor cable as left hand laid. 1800 or so.

Sure it was for bigger boats ,but any ideas why left hand?

Good read, part fiction pulled from history of the time. Similar to Master & Commander .

The Kydd series is quite good. I'm on the latest. Book 23.

 

[rgano]

The cable he was referring to in Kidd's time was a heavy fibrous-based rope.

 

[Alaskaflyer]

The cable he was referring to in Kidd's time was a heavy fibrous-based rope.

Yes, and I’ll go out on a limb here having never served on a ship of the line or anything similar, or having read these books (and it sounds like I need to!), but on a large ship with a capstan for raising the anchor, having a mismatched rope twist with the design of the capstan would introduce twirling in the anchor as it was raised, or perhaps foul the hawse fairlead, or the manner in which the line spools on the drum.

 

[rgano]

Yes, and I’ll go out on a limb here having never served on a ship of the line or anything similar, or having read these books (and it sounds like I need to!), but on a large ship with a capstan for raising the anchor, having a mismatched rope twist with the design of the capstan would introduce twirling in the anchor as it was raised, or perhaps foul the hawse fairlead, or the manner in which the line spools on the drum.

Based on what we have heard here from some pros, you may be right. In my professional life I had cognizance over numerous wire cable hoists, ammo hoists, davits and one very shipboard crane, all of which required periodic reversal of the wire cable as well as weight tests every few years. In all that time I never heard of any of my people or inspectors speak of the handedness of the cables or a specific requirement for same. Just sayin', that's all.

 

[trawlercap]

It's uncommon to need a left hand lay wire. On our big trawlers we ran 1,000 fathoms of 25mm or 1" steel wire on our two main winches. The wire leads strait back to the stern, then fan way out to the side. As it is hauled in, you want the wire to tighten as it rolls on the drum. On the port winch, we needed left hand lay. If you use the wrong lay, it will open the wire, and transfer it down the wire. Overt time it wears out much faster. It's all history now, we all switched to Dux synthetic line, no more wire on the boat.

123' 1800 HP 1/2 million pound fish hold.