Messenger line

A messenger line or just messenger is relatively light cordage used to pull a heavier cable across a gap or through a tube or duct.^[1]^[2] The term is also used for a line used to pull or lower a package along a downline or jackstay.^[3]

A heaving line is a rope with a weighted end which can be thrown relatively easily across a gap. If it is attached to a heavier line, warp, or chain and then used to pull the heavier line across the gap it is being used as a messenger line. The name heaving line refers to the function of pulling the line, and messenger line to the function of transferring the object it is fastened to.

Applications[edit]

A heaving line thrown from a ship to shore then used to pull the mooring warp from the ship to a bollard.^[1]
A light line installed inside a mast during manufacture, which is later used to reeve a halyard or pull an electrical cable into place.^[2]
A line used to lower a toolbag or equipment along a downline to a diver.^[3]
A line used to lower a weight (messenger) along a taut line to trigger a mechanism. For example: to close the mouth of a towed sampling net.

References[edit]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Wärtsilä Encyclopedia of Marine Technology: Messenger line". Wärtsilä. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Reeving halyards". The Rigging Company, LLP. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Barsky, Steven. M; Christensen, Robert W. (2004). The Simple Guide to Commercial Diving (Illustrated ed.). Hammerhead Press. p. 92. ISBN 9780967430546.

[Wartsila-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Wärtsilä Encyclopedia of Marine Technology: Messenger line". Wärtsilä. Retrieved 6 January 2019.

[Reeving_halyards-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Reeving halyards". The Rigging Company, LLP. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2019.

[Barsky_and_Christensen_2004-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b Barsky, Steven. M; Christensen, Robert W. (2004). The Simple Guide to Commercial Diving (Illustrated ed.). Hammerhead Press. p. 92. ISBN 9780967430546.

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