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| Epigraph |
"In a knot of eight crossings, which is about the average-size knit. there are 256 different 'over-and-under' arrangements possible. . . Make only one change in this 'over and under' sequence and either an entirely different knot is made or no knot at all may result."
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS  Quoyle: A coil of rope
"A Flemish flake is a spiral coil of one layer only. It is made on deck so that it may be walked on if necessary."
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS In the old days a love-sick sailor might send the object of his affections a length of fishline loosely tied in a true-lover's knot. If the knot as sent back as it came the relationship was static. If the knot returned home snugly drawn up the passion was reciprocated. But if the knot was capsized - tacit advice to ship out. "The strangle knot will hold a coil well . . . It is first tied loosely and then worked snug."
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS "Cast Away, to be forced from a ship by a disaster."
THE MARINER'S DICTIONARY "A Rolling Hitch will suffice to tie a broom that has no grove, provided the surface is not to slick."
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS Oh make 'er fast and stow yer gear,
Leave 'er Johnny, leave 'er!
An' tie 'er up to the bloomin' pier,
It's time for we to leave 'er!
OLD SONG The common eider is called "gamy bird" in Newfoundland for its habit of gathering in flocks for sociable quacking sessions. The name is related to the days of sail, when two ships falling in with each other at sea would bath their yards and shout the news. The ship to windward would back her main yards and the one to leeward her foreyars for close maneuvering. This was gamming. "On shipboard the knot is seldom called for, but in small boats, especially open boat that are easily capsized, the necessity frequently arises for instant casting off, and the SLIPPERY HITCH is found indispensable."
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS "The merit of the hitch is that, when snugly applied, it will not slip down the post. Anyone who has found himself at full tide, after a hard day's fishing, with his painter fast to a stake four or five feet below high high-water mark, will be inspired to learn this knot."
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS "Voyage, an outward and homeward passage; although the passage from one port to another is often referred to in insurance polices as voyage."
THE MARINER'S DICTIONARY In the nineteenth century jewelers made keepsake ornaments from hair of the dead, knotting long single hairs into arabesqued roses, initials, singing birds, butterflies.< "To prevent slipping, a knot depends on friction, and to provide friction there must be pressure of some sort. This pressure and the place within the knot where it occurs is called the nip. The security of a kot seems to depend solely on its nip."
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS "A cringle will make an excellent emergency handle for a suitcase."
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS In Wyoming, they name girls Skye. In Newfoundland it's Wavey. The knots of the upholsterer are the half-hitch, the slip-knot, the double half-hitch, and the tuft knot. "The housewife's needs are multifarious but most of her requirements are not peculiar and most of what she requires is to be found in the general classifications."
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS "Ship's Cousin, a favored person aboard ship. . ."
THE MARINER'S DICTIONARY "The lobster bouy hitch . . . was particularly good to tie to timber."
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS "The Russian Escape. A prisoner . . . secured to his guard . . . In his efforts to escape he rubs his hands together until the heels of his hands pinch a bight of the rope. It is then an easy matter to roll the bight down as far as the roots of the fingers where it can be grasped with the finger tips of one hand and slipped over the fingers of the other hand. The prisoner then pulls away and the . . . rope slips over the back of his hand and under the hand cuff lashing."
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS "The Pirate and the Jolly Boat.
A pirate having more prisoners than he has room for, tows one boatload astern.
All knives are taken away, and the boat made fast with the bight of a doubled line. The after end of the line is ring hitched to astern ringbolt. CLOVE HITCHES are put around each thwart, and the line is rove through the bow ringbolt and brought to deck. They are told to escape if they can.
How do they escape?"
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS "Fog . . . The warm water of the Gulf Stream penetrating high latitudes is productive of fog, especially in the vicinity of the Grand Banks where the cold water of the Labrador Current makes the contrast in the temperatures of adjacent waters most striking."
THE MARINER'S DICTIONARY "The mesh knot is the ordinary way of tying the SHEET BEND when it is made ith a netting needle."
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS "The mysterious power that is supposed to reside in knots . . . can be injurious as well as beneficial."
QUIPUS AND WITCHES' KNOTS "The difference between the CLOVE HITCH and TWO HALF HITCHES is exceedingly vague in the minds of many, the reason being that two have the same knot form but one is tied around another object, the other around its own standing part."
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS "If there is a vibration from the outside that tilts all your pictures askew, hang them from a single wire which passes through both screw eyes and makes fast to two picture hooks."
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS "Deadman - An 'Irish pennant,' a loose end hanging about the sails or rigging."
THE MARINER'S DICTIONARY "Galley news, unfounded rumors circulated about a vessel."
THE MARINER'S DICTIONARY To rescue someone who has fallen through the ice, the fingers of the rescuer's hand and the victim's hand are bent together in an opposing grip.
"Fingernails should first be close-pared."
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS "The bight of a rope . . . has two meanings in knotting. First, it may be any central part of a rope, as distance from the ends ad standing part. Second, it is a curve or arc in a rope no narrower than a semicircle. This corresponds to the topographical meaning of the word, a bight being an indentation in a coast so wide that it may be sailed out of, on one tack, in any wind."
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS "A sailor has little opportunity at sea to replace an article that is lost overboard, so knotted lanyards are attached to everything movable that is carried aloft: marlingspikes and fids, paint cans and slush buckets, pencils, eyeglasses, hats, snuffboxes, jackknives, tobacco and monkey pouches, amulets, bosuns' whistles, watches, binoculars, pipes and keys are all made fast around the neck, shoulder, or wrist, or else are attached to a buttonhole, belt or suspender."
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS "To untangle a snarl, loosen all jams or knots and open a hole through the mass at the point where the longest end leaves the snarl. Then proceed to roll or wind the end out through the center exactly as a stocking is rolled. Keep the snarl open and loose all times and do not pull on the end; permit it to unfold itself."
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS "Magic nets, snares, and knots have been, and in some instances probably still are, used as lethal weapons."
QUIPUS AND WITCHES' KNOTS Sailors once wore their hair in queues worked two ways; laid up into rattails, or platted n four-strand square stinnets. The final touch called for a pickled eelskin chosen from the brine cask. The sailor carefully rolled the eelskin back (as a condom is rolled), then worked it up over his queue and seized it. For dress occasions he finished it off ith a red ribbon tied in a bow. "Days Work, consists, at least, of the dead reckoning from noon to noon, morning and afternoon time sights for longitude and a meridian altitude for latitude."
THE MARINER'S DICTIONARY Straightjacket: A coat of strong material, as canvas, binding the body closely for restraining the violently insane or delirious, violent criminals, etc. Some confine the arms to the body, others have long sleeves, without openings, which may be knotted together. "The slingstone hitch. . . is used in anchoring lobster pots. It may e tied either in the bight or in the end. Pull the ends strongly, and the turns in the standing part are spilled into the loops."
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS "A leash for a large dog of rawhid belt lacing. Taper and skive four thongs, form a loop with the small end of the longest strand, and sieze all strands together. Lay up a FOUR-STRAND SQUARE SINNET. Surmount it with a large BUTTON KNOT. Cover the seizing with a leather shoestring TURK'S HEAD."
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS There are still old knots that are unrecorded, and so long as there are new purposes for rope there will always be new knots to discover."
THE ASHLEY BOOK OF KNOTS | |
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| Dedication |
For Jon, Gillis and Morgan | |
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| First words |
Here is an account of a few years in the life of Quoyle, born in Brooklyn and raised in a shuffle of dreary upstate towns. | |
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| Quotations |
Walking keeps you smart. fried bologna isn't bad. Desire reversed to detestation like a rubber glove turned inside out. We run a car wreck photo every week, whether we have a car wreck or not. That's our golden rule. In Wyoming they name girls Skye, in Newfoundland it's Wavey. | |
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▾References References to this work on external resources.  Wikipedia in English (3)
▾LibraryThing members' description ▾Book descriptions
In this touching and atmospheric novel set among the fishermen of Newfoundland, Proulx tells the story of Quoyle. From all outward appearances, Quoyle has gone through his first 36 years on earth as a big schlump of a loser. He's not attractive, he's not brilliant or witty or talented, and he's not the kind of person who typically assumes the central position in a novel. But Proulx creates a simple and compelling tale of Quoyle's psychological and spiritual growth. Along the way, we get to look in on the maritime beauty of what is probably a disappearing way of life. (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:55 -0400) (see all 4 descriptions) ▾Open Shelves Classification The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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jphilbrick | Dec 3, 2009 | 
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