The Collaborative International Dictionary
Footrope \Foot"rope`\, n. (Aut.)
The rope rigged below a yard, upon which men stand when reefing or furling; -- formerly called a horse.
That part of the boltrope to which the lower edge of a sail is sewed.
Wiktionary
n. 1 (context nautical English) a rope attached to the lower part of a sail 2 (context nautical English) a rope attached to a yard that sailors stood on to stabilize it when furling or reefing
Wikipedia
Each yard on a square or gaff rigged sailing ship is equipped with a footrope for sailors to stand on while setting or stowing the sails.
Formerly, the footrope was the rope sewn along the lower edge of a square sail, and the rope below the yards was called the horse or Flemish horse. These terms will be encountered when reading the classic 18th and 19th century sailing manuals, and may still be used today when referring to older ships.
Although square sails are mostly worked from the deck, in order to be properly stowed (and released from this stowage) they must be folded by hand and tied to the yard with gaskets. This requires sailors to go aloft, during which time they stand on the footropes. The ropes are made of either fibre or wire, and are almost always protected from wear by being wormed, parcelled and served, so that the visible outer coating is of tarred thin line. They are attached to the yard via the jackstays or "handrails" to which the sails are also fastened, tied on with many turns of thin line. The inner parts of the footrope are held up towards the yard by vertical lines called stirrups; one of these is visible in the picture on the right. Also visible is the flemish horse that the outermost sailor stands on; because this yard is quite small the flemish horse actually extends fairly close to the centre.
Sailors get onto the footropes from the ratlines up the mast. Lower down, where everything is bigger, there may be a small length of footrope bridging the gap between ratlines and yard; this is especially necessary on the windward side when the yards are braced hard round, as the gap becomes quite large. Because the yard must be free to move, this footrope is rather loose and hence unstable. Higher up the gap is small enough to step across, though it may be a stretch when hard-braced. Since the footrope will react to the extra weight placed on it, the practice on some ships is to call "stepping on port" (or starboard) before getting on, to warn those already using it.
Once on the yard, modern sailors are able to clip their harnesses onto a safety wire that runs along it (on most ships they will have been unsecured until this point) - in the past, crews enjoyed no such protection. The sailors will now edge out along the footrope until they are spread evenly along the yard. Leaning forwards over the yard helps with balancing on the footrope, but where the buntlines come down to the yard it is necessary to lean back or crouch down to get around them. The outermost member of the crew must step off the footrope (calling "stepping off starboard" (or port) if that is the practice) across a small gap onto the flemish horse in order to reach the end of the yard where the clew of the sail is to be hauled up or let go.
Because the footrope provides a rather narrow area to stand on, it can cause sore feet after a while. Modern sailors joining a tall ship are advised to take footwear with a solid sole that will spread the load, rather than the flexible deck shoes and seaboots used on yachts.
Category:Nautical terms
Usage examples of "footrope".
The footrope was not all that bad, if he hooked the heels of his shoes along it, and if he kept leaning forward.
The footrope he was on on the mizzen topsailyard was down at a forty-five- degree angle, and new men were skittering it until it almost tucked under the yard in their panic.
He glanced up to where a cluster of sailors, standing on the topsail footrope with one arm each about the yard, were awaiting the command to break out the topsail.
He glanced one last time at his work, ensuring that the sail was properly reefed, and moved quickly along the footrope with a sure balance learned while crossing treacherous seas for nearly two years.
She curled her feet about the footrope she had braced them on and made her grip more firm.
It took some time to do this, as there was 370 acres of it, its perimeter enclosed by a wire-cable lifeline and footrope with running lights at five-meter intervals.
Even at this distance Kydd could see that the sailor was disdaining to cling on, instead balancing between the tiny footrope he stood on while leaning familiarly against the big spar.
Bowyer lay over the yard before swinging down, his feet finding the footrope, and moved outward to where the clewgarnet blocks hung below the yard.
As he had learned, he leaned his weight over the thick yard until his feet were firmly in the footrope, pushing down and back, and arms clinging to the yard inched his way outward.
Warley was on the lee yardarm when the footrope gave way under him and he fell, plunging far clear of the side and instantly vanishing in the terrible sea.
Temporarily blinded and the breath knocked out of him, his bare feet lost their grip on the footrope, and suddenly he was swinging by his hands, the weight of his body dragging him down.
As they hauled him back onto the yard and his feet at last found the footrope, he glimpsed a boat being lowered from the Alexander, obviously to look for the lost seaman.
A swanneck driven into the earth secured the end of the fine yellow footrope closest to me.
When it came my time, I stepped past the Kidona swanneck that secured the footrope of the bridge and out onto it.
The only weapon to hand was the cavalla saber thrust into the earth and securing the footrope of the bridge.