Derrick for loading large wooden objects onto the Band Saw at the Port Greville Shipyard

    Large Version

Derricks and Pile Drivers

Sheers or sheer-legs being used to place
the Mizzen Mast in a Schooner at Cape Dor












Nautical terminology quoted from the following book.

A Sea of Words: A Lexicon and Companion For Patrick’ O’Brian’s Seafaring Tales
Dean King, with John B. Hattendorf and J. Worth Estes
Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1995




Quote #1(Derrick)

"A crane that is made from a strong spar or boom equipped for hoisting and that pivots at the foot of the central post to work at various angles."

Quote #2(Sheers or sheer-legs and Guys)

"sheers or sheer-legs: A device consisting of two or three long poles lashed together at the top by GUYS, and spread apart at the base, used to support hoisting TACKLE on ships and in dockyards for lifting heavy weights, especially in raising and fixing MASTS.”

Guy: “A rope used to guide and steady something hoisted or lowered. Also a rope, chain, or rod used to secure or steady anything liable to shift or be carried away, such as a MAST. To “clap on a guy” is to put a stop to."

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