Not P but Moby-Dick (71)

[Mike Jing]

So does the "nine-inch" refer to the circumference or the diameter, or is
it something else? I searched around and found a lot of mention of
"nine-inch cable" in books, but could not find such information.



On Thu, Feb 15, 2024 at 6:34 AM Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> Standard rope gauges were determined by the number of folds made in the
> rope walk. Standard sailing ship rigging usually varied from 1–1/4 inch dia
> to 10 inches in diameter, the latter used for towing another ship, tie up
> to docks, and far less often for anchors, chain being preferred for anchors.
> 2
>
>
>
> On Thu, Feb 15, 2024 at 3:31 AM Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> From Chapter 89:
>>
>> First: What is a Fast-Fish? Alive or dead a fish is technically fast, when
>> it is connected with an occupied ship or boat, by any medium at all
>> controllable by the occupant or occupants,—a mast, an oar, a nine-inch
>> cable, a telegraph wire, or a strand of cobweb, it is all the same.
>>
>> Here, the "nine-inch" refers to the girth of the rope, is that correct?
>>
>> Previous translations interpreted it as the length, which seems obviously
>> wrong to me.
>> --
>> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>>
>