Today we have replaced some expensive rope with some very expensive rope, both from English Brands. To be fair their rope is very good value and of the best quality.
The piece in question is the mainsail peak halyard, an unusual innovation for a Thames barge where the peak (the top corner of a four sided sail away from the mast) of the mainsail is usually fixed to the end of the spreet (the diagonal spar holding up the main sail) for the season. Having a double purchase, high strength, low stretch halyard (a rope used to pull up a sail) allows us to lower our mainsail without lowering the mast and spreet, better for maintenance and reducing windage.
At 55 m long the halyard is a small part of the 2.5 km. of rope that is hanging from the spars overhead.
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