Small-stuff

Small-stuff

Small-stuff is a nautical and knot-tying term for thin string or twine, as opposed to the thick, heavy ropes that are more often used in sailing. It is commonly used in a whipping to bind the ends of ropes to prevent fraying.

Historically, the term referred to cordage less than one inch in circumference.Clifford W. Ashley, "The Ashley Book of Knots" (New York: Doubleday, 1944), 603.] Much of the small-stuff onboard ships, especially that used for decorative or fancy ropework, was made by the sailors themselves reusing materials unlaid from old and leftover pieces of larger rope and cable. [Ashley, 549.]

References


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