stray-line

Definitions

noun In whaling, that part of the towline which is in the water when fast to a whale.
noun The unmarked part of a log-line, next to the chip, which is allowed to run off before beginning to count, in order to clear the chip from eddies at the stern. The limit of the stray-line is indicated by a rag called the stray-mark.

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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'O, they'll go out in a boat and drag a creeper -- that's a grapnel -- along the bottom till it catch hold of the stray-line.'

Wessex Tales Thomas Hardy 1884
'Then we shan't try anywhere else all this dark -- that's what we call the time between moon and moon -- and perhaps they'll string the tubs to a stray-line, and sink 'em a little-ways from shore, and take the bearings; and then when they have a chance they'll go to creep for' em. '

Wessex Tales Thomas Hardy 1884
The first part of the line is called the stray-line, and its object is to allow the log-ship to settle properly in the water, as well as to take it clear of the eddy.

The Pirate of the Mediterranean A Tale of the Sea William Henry Giles Kingston 1847
‘Then we shan’t try anywhere else all this dark — that’s what we call the time between moon and moon — and perhaps they’ll string the tubs to a stray-line, and sink ’em a little-ways from shore, and take the bearings; and then when they have a chance they’ll go to creep for ’em.’

Wessex Tales 2006
‘O, they’ll go out in a boat and drag a creeper — that’s a grapnel — along the bottom till it catch hold of the stray-line.’

Wessex Tales 2006