Quote:
Originally Posted by John Wagenseil
Some bomb ketchs and gun boats from the earlier sail period had chain stays where rope stays would have been damaged by the muzzle blast.
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Interesting. That sounds very practical. I bet the chain was blacksmith hammered though.
In Underhills book he explains that square sail sheets are bent over a pulley and wire
rope will fail because the strands are bent and the sail will move the rope slightly
causing the strands to fail. Like bending a paper clip until it fails.
Chain works here because it is more flexible, IE nothing is in bending.
So chain was used instead of wire rope when they both became cheaply available.
cheers Jim