Ratlines

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Ratlines" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Look up ratline in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Ratlines (/ˈrætlɪnz/) are lengths of thin line tied between the shrouds of a sailing ship to form a ladder.^[1] Found on all square-rigged ships, whose crews must go aloft to stow the square sails, they also appear on larger fore-and-aft rigged vessels to aid in repairs aloft or conduct a lookout from above.