Engineering:Earing

Short description: Small line (rope) used to fasten the corner of a sail to a spar or yard

Dog-watches at sea

In sailing, an earing is a small line (rope) used to fasten the corner of a sail to a spar or yard.

Background

In the Age of Sail, a position at the Weather Earing (the earing at the windward side of the ship) was considered a place of honor for the topmen, and on a merchant ship was the position of the second mate during reefing.

External links

• "Dana's Seaman's friend". 1845. https://books.google.com/books?id=cJ8epwiWIIQC&q=%22weather+earing%22&pg=PA481. 
• Dana, Richard Henry (1856). "The Nautical Magazine: A Technical and Critical Journal for the ...". https://books.google.com/books?id=8VwBAAAAQAAJ&q=%22weather+earing%22&pg=PA113.