Definition

Noun: 1. (Nautical) A short horizontal piece of rope fastened between the shrouds (the supporting ropes or cables) of a sailing ship. Multiple ratlines, spaced at regular intervals, form a rope ladder used by sailors to climb up and down the masts and rigging.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The sailor climbed the ratlines with ease to adjust the sails.
  • A broken ratline made the ascent to the crow's nest more dangerous.
  • The old ship's rigging still had its original hemp ratlines.

Advanced Usage

• "To swarm up the ratlines": To climb the rigging quickly and skillfully, often in a group.
  • At the captain's command, the crew swarmed up the ratlines to furl the sails before the storm.
• The term is almost exclusively used in the context of traditional sailing ships and historical maritime narratives.

Variants and Related Words

• Ratlin (noun): An alternative, less common spelling of "ratline."
• Shroud (noun): One of the large ropes or cables that give lateral support to a ship's mast. Ratlines are tied between these.
• Jacob's ladder (noun): A more general term for a rope ladder on a ship. On a square-rigged ship, the ratlines collectively form the Jacob's ladder on the shrouds.

Synonyms

• Rope ladder: A general term for a ladder made of rope.
• Rung: While a "rung" is a single step on any ladder, in nautical context, a ratline serves as the rung of the rope ladder formed by the shrouds.

Notes

• The word is most often used in its plural form, "ratlines", as they function as a set forming a complete ladder.
• Its usage is highly specialized to the field of sailing and nautical history. In modern contexts, it is rarely encountered outside of historical fiction, maritime museums, or descriptions of tall ships.

Noun

1. (nautical) a small horizontal rope between the shrouds of a sailing ship; they form a ladder for climbing aloft