MARITIME OBSERVATIONS. 299 
ing of the other cables; and I imagined it might be the 
fhort bending of the cable juft without the haufe-hole,. 
from a horizontal to an almoft vertical pofition, and the 
fudden violent jerk it receives by the rifing of the head of 
the fhip on the {well of a wave while in that pofition. 
For example, fuppofe a veffel hove up fo as to have her 
head nearly over her anchor, which ftill keeps its hold, 
perhaps in a tough bottom; if it were calm, the cable ftill 
out would form nearly a perpendicular line, meafuring the 
diftance between the haufe-hole and the anchor; but if 
there is a {well, her head in the trough of the fea will fall 
below the level, and when lifted on the wave will be as 
much above it. In the firft cafe the cable will hang loofe 
and bend perhaps as in figure 5. In the fecond cafe figure 
6, the cable will be drawn ftraight with a jerk, muft fuftain 
the whole force of the rifing fhip, and muft either loofen the 
anchor, refift the rifing force of the fhip, or break. But 
why does it break at the haufe-hole ? 
Let us fuppofe it a cable of three inches diameter, and 
reprefented byfigure 7. If this cableis tobe bent round the 
corner A, it is evident that either the part of the triangle 
contained between the letters a, b, c, muft ftretch confider- 
ably, and thofe moft that are neareft the furface ; or that 
the parts between d, e, f, muft be comprefled ; or both, 
which moft probably happens. In this cafe the lower half 
of the thicknefs affords no ftrength againft the jerk, it not 
being ftrained, the upper half bears.the whole, and the 
yarns near the upper furface being firft and moft ftrained, 
break firft, and the next yarns follow ; for in this bent 
fituation they cannot bear the ftrain all together, and each 
contribute its ftrength to the whole, as they do when the 
cable is {trained in a ftraight line. 
To. remedy this, methinks it would be well to have a 
kind of large pulley wheel, fixed in the haufe-hole, fup- 
pofe of two feet diameter, over which the cable might 
pafs ; and being there bent gradually to the round of the 
wheel, 
