footrope
Sign in to savethumb|Sailor standing on a footrope, outer foot on the Flemish horse. thumb|The footrope (lightly outlined in red) on the topgallant yard, far above the water. See also the picture at Flemish horse (rigging)
Article
6 sectionsContents
- History
- Description
- See also
- Footnotes
- References
- Bibliography
thumb|Sailor standing on a footrope, outer foot on the Flemish horse. thumb|The footrope (lightly outlined in red) on the topgallant yard, far above the water. See also the picture at Flemish horse (rigging)
A footrope is a rope suspended underneath a yard or bowsprit for sailors to stand on while working on the sails. It is a feature of square rigged sailing vessels from the middle of the 17th century onwards. Before its invention, sailors would lie or sit on the yards to stow or loose sails.