spunyarn

For the coral, they lower down a swab, composed of what is called spunyarn on board our ships of war, hanging in distinct threads, and sunk by means of a great weight, which, striking against the coral in its descent, disengages it from the rocks; and some of the pieces being intangled among the threads of the swab, are brought up with it above water.

Travels through France and Italy 2004

I filled him up with tarry spunyarn, nailed sheet copper round him, bent some parts in the fire; and we are paying-in without more trouble now.

Memoir of Fleeming Jenkin 2005

This was more for effect than from any defect of vision, for he was as sharp as a needle; and could see a bit of spunyarn adrift or a rope out of place aloft even quicker than the commander, keen-sighted as he was.

Crown and Anchor Under the Pen'ant John B. [Illustrator] Greene

He was an old hand who had been at sea so long that he seemed to smell of salt water and tar; while his face was like a piece of pickled beef covered with a quantity of hair that resembled spunyarn more than anything else, being as stiff and wiry as an untwisted rope.

Crown and Anchor Under the Pen'ant John B. [Illustrator] Greene

The boatswain, climbing up with marlinspikes and bunches of spunyarn rovings, or kneeling on the yard and ready to take a turn with the midship-stop, had acute and fleeting visions of his old woman and the youngsters in a moorland village.

The Nigger of the Narcissus 1897

Two days before the 'Jessie Dodd' was put ashore I broke the wheel chain and tied the links with spunyarn.

Doctor Luke of the Labrador Norman Duncan 1893

About five minutes after she started I cut the spunyarn.

Doctor Luke of the Labrador Norman Duncan 1893

I filled him up with tarry spunyarn, nailed sheet copper round him, bent some parts in the fire; and we are paying-in without more trouble now.

Memoir of Fleeming Jenkin 1887

Abaft that again was the sail-room, well-stocked with bolts of canvas of varying degrees of coarseness and several sails, many of which seemed to be quite new, neatly rolled up into long bundles, stopped with spunyarn, and each labelled legibly with the description of the sail.

Overdue The Story of a Missing Ship Harry Collingwood 1886

Of the hands forward, some of the watch were aloft, working at odd jobs about the rigging, while the drowsy clinking of a spunyarn winch somewhere on the forecastle, in the shadow of the head sails, accounted for the remainder.

The Cruise of the "Esmeralda" Harry Collingwood 1886