A nautical cable is a band of tightly woven and clamped ropes, of a defined

cable length A cable length or length of cable is a nautical unit of measure equal to one tenth of a nautical mile or approximately 100 fathoms. Owing to anachronisms and varying techniques of measurement, a cable length can be anywhere from 169 to 220 metres ...

, used during the age of sail for deep water anchoring, heavy lifting, ship to ship transfers and towing during blue sea sailing and other uses.

Waterproof lines

Ordinary

rope A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly ...

is not waterproof. When a ship anchors in relatively deep water (greater than about ), the anchor and rope that is let down becomes prohibitively difficult to raise again, even with a mechanism like a capstan. This ultimately limits the depths available with ordinary rope to within the weight bearing capacity of the rope. The rope will become so heavy with water it will break. The traditional instructions, according to the British Royal Navy in the age of sail, are: Three large strands of tightly woven rope of about in length are themselves tightly woven in a direction counter to the weave,Cable-laid rope
Oxford Reference or twist, of the rope and clamped together over intervals to provide one strong length of rope that is effectively waterproof. The three ropes are so tightly wound counter to the weave of the constituent ropes that the fibers are compressed and the individual weaves stressed, sealing out the water and resulting in a length of about , the UK traditional definition of

. Using a cable, the raising of the anchor, or any activity involving submerging the cable, is not more strenuous than lowering.

Hawsers

Hawsers Hawser () is a nautical term for a thick cable or rope used in mooring or towing a ship. A hawser passes through a hawsehole, also known as a cat hole, located on the hawse.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, third edition ...

are not cables. Hawsers are ropes of arbitrary length woven together to increase the strength of the overall line, but are not considered waterproof as the weave of the hawser goes with the weave of the ropes. This has been come to be known as "hawser laid" and "cable laid". Confusion between cables and hawsers is rampant because both cables and hawsers can be used through the

hawsehole Hawsehole is a nautical term for a small hole in the hull of a ship through which '' hawsers'' may be passed. It is also known as a cat hole. In the (British) Royal Navy, a man who had risen from the lowest grade to officer was said to have "come ...

References

* . Als
"fathom"
from the same work (pp. 88–89, retrieved 12 January 2017). * . {{sailing-stub Sailing