Rope Ladder going up stays. Name ?

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by SVTatia

I was told that with a teak board its a lot easier to climb as the shrouds don't have a tendency to "bend in" as you place you weight on the steps. Is this right?

Yes. Climbing ours is like climbing a normal ladder. Easy. And I can do it barefooted.

[coopec43]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

But isn't it pronounced ratlin's?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHB0qZLS6dI

Now navysurfer is there anything else we can help you with?

[TrentePieds]

Yes, it's "rattlings".

As someone pointed out already, English "sailorspeak" is closely related to the sailorspeak in the languages of the sundry ethnic/linguistic groups that ring the North Sea.

I think it's a safe assumption, therefore that the "ing" part of the word "ratlines" corresponds exactly to the "ing part of the Scowegian word "vævlinger" and the German/Frisian/Platdeutsch word "Wefflingen". An older German word for ratlines was "Webelienen" ("Weaving lines")

The grammatical function of the "ing" suffix is to transform a verb into a noun rather like gerunds do in modern English. Thus the Scowegian word "vævling" (a single "crossline") is the verb "to weave" transformed into a noun. Just exactly analogous to German "Webelienen".

"Rat", in the modern English word "ratlines, is, I believe, a corrupted form of the word "raddle". "A raddle" is a weavers tool used to assist in spacing the "warps" (threads that run fore'n'aft) on a loom, just exactly as ratlines "space" the shrouds on a sailing ship.

So there you have it: Clear and concise. The pronunciation is most definitely "rattlings" :-)

Selv tak :-)!

TrentePieds

[StuM]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

Yes, it's "rattlings".

I'd pronounce "rattlings" as three syllables: "rat -ell -ings" (as in the adjectival form of the noun "rattle' and the verb "to rattle"

A simple spoken contraction of "ratlines" to "ratl'ns" is much more logical without needing to delve into supposed ancient derivations from other languages.

(Similar to the simple contractions of "boatswain" and "forecastle")

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

But isn't it pronounced ratlin's?

ˈrætlɪn or ˈrætlɪŋ

Compare: marline, pronounced ˈmɑːlɪn