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By admin, May 30, 2010 7:37 pm

On a sailing ship, what is the “mizzen-chains” referring too?

I’ve been reading C.S. Forresters “Mr. Midshipman Hornblower”, and among lots of other obscure naval references, he mentions the “bow-chains” on a few occasions, and the “main-chains” and “mizzen-chains” also. It is not the anchor cable! The context is when he is boarding ship or leaving ship into a smaller boat. One passage talks about him “scrambling awkwardly into the mizzen-chains and looking down at the cutter alongside” while the man in the boat can “only just reach up to the chains with his long boat-hook”. When they get to the other ship “the main-chains of the brig were far lower than the mizzen chains” of the other “but this time he had to jump upwards” to reach them. Also, the two sailors that went before him are standing looking down at him, but it doesn’t say whether it’s the deck they’re on. Anyway, it’s not anywhere in the “glossary of nautical terms” on Wikipedia. Anyone have any idea what this term means?

I think these are the chainplates for the stays holding the mizzen mast. The wires supporting the smaller rear mast (mizzen mast) are attached to the boat with chainplates. I would imagine these could get quite large.

Let’s talk sails.

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