Nautical Term: Flemish down

Definition of Flemish down

Flemish down is a method used to coil a rope flat on a ship’s deck. To accomplish this, each layer of the coil is placed outside the previous layer, starting from the middle. All the coils should be close together to ensure the rope lies flat on the deck.

For example, imagine a sailor needs to secure a heavy anchor rope. Using the Flemish down technique, the sailor coils the rope on the deck, each layer overlapping the previous one, starting from the middle. By following this method, the sailor ensures that the anchor rope lies flat on the deck, ready to be secured to the anchor.

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