[TheForge] Re: Tackle terminology?

[Mike]

>>I was a little surprised to see this.  Has anyone ever heard
>>the term "nigger head" applied to a portion of a guy derrick?
>
> Also known as a "Gypsy". It's a small auxiliary drum usually fitted on
> one or both ends of a winch or windlass. To use one, take one or more
> turns with the bight of the rope around the drum and take in or pay
> out the slack of the free end.

Thirty years ago, there were still a few hard-bitten hold-outs
hereabouts using lobster trap haulers to the capstans of which that
term was applied.  Wooden drum, hand-whittled from spruce, ca. 8"
diameter by 8" or 10" long, often with tire tread nailed tightly to
it, mounted vertically on a rotating shaft near the rail.  Gaff up the
trap buoy, take a turn or two of the line around the drum and take in
the slack until you can grab the trap as it comes over the rail.
Accident-prone, especially in icy weather.

The term has died out, not because of any fulminating outbreak of
racial sensitivity but because the drums have now long been replaced
with steel, or aluminum "pie pans" that are easier and much safer to
use.  Downside is that you can't make reliable pie pans with a saw,
bit brace and draw knife.  Requires a trip to the machine shop or the
commercial fishing supply place and actual cash money.



- Mike

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Michael Spencer                  Nova Scotia, Canada       .~. 
                                                           /V\ 
mspencer@tallships.ca                                     /( )\
http://home.tallships.ca/mspencer/                        ^^-^^

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