fly block

noun

, Machinery, Nautical.

(in a Spanish burton or the like) a block, supported by a runner, through which the hauling part of the fall is rove.
any block that shifts with the movement of its tackle.

First recorded in 1835–45

The halyards should be a luff purchase, the fly-block being the double block, and the single block being hooked in the channels.

Reeve the end of your rope through the upper block, and make it fast to the strap of the fly-block.

Then make fast your hook to the bight of the rope, and reeve the other end through the fly-block for a fall.

Have the fly-block of the topsail halyards above the top, and rack the runner to the topmast backstay or after shroud.

Luck is like a fly-block and its yard: when one goes up, the other comes down.

April 25, 2024firkin

[fur-kin ]

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