Watermanship Page: 29
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18. BOOM LADDERS. These are rope ladders with
round wooden rungs, hung from a boom or other pro-
jection over a ship's side. They may be descended hand
under hand on either rope, placing a leg on either side
with the rung end toward the body; descend one rung
at a time, leg and arm on the same side working to-
gether. Thus, two men can use the ladder simulta-
neously. (See fig. 17.)
19. JACOB'S LADDERS. These are rope ladders with flat
steps. Hands grasp the vertical ropes and feet skip one
step at a time. Hand and leg on the same side move
together.
20. SINGLE ROPES. a. General use. Ropes of various
sizes and lengths are usually on deck. They can be at-
tached to parts of the ship and thrown over the side to
descend to the water. It is always better to climb down
the side than to jump off a ship.
b. Methods of descending ropes. Climb over the side
and grasp the rope with the feet before grasping with the
hands to go down hand under hand. Grasp the rope one
hand over, not on, the other. Arms are slightly bent.
There should be a sensation of holding and gripping,
rather than hanging. Descend slowly, hand under hand.
c. Leg grips. The leg grip depends on the tautness or
slackness of the rope, its size and weight, the length of
descent, and the condition of the hands.
(1) Taut rope (fig. 18). On a taut rope the legs are
crossed with one knee drawn up and the toes lifted.
The rope runs along the inside of this leg, over the front
of the ankle, and down the outside edge of the foot.
The other foot is crossed over so it clinches the rope be.
tween the outside edges of the feet near the heels. Ap-
plying pressure with knees and feet slows the descent.
(2) Loose rope. When the rope is sufficiently loose
either of two leg grips may be used.
(a) Stirrup grip (fig. 19 [1]. Legs are straight and
held together. The rope lies along the outside of one29
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United States. War Department. Watermanship, book, April 25, 1944; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc96650/m1/35/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.