⁉️ What the Friday is that?
Welcome back to our fortnightly posts where we will be introducing you to an important artifact that is in our collection, here at The Castle Heritage Centre.
➡️ This week’s artifact:
Keeping Ropes Shipshape: The Serving Mallet’s Timeless Role in Sailing
On traditionally rigged sailing ships, protecting ropes against wear, chafing, and water damage is critical. One of the oldest tools for the job is the serving mallet—a wooden hand tool shaped like a mallet with a semicircular groove that fits snugly around a rope.
The process, known as serving, begins by preparing the rope with “worming” and “parceling” to fill gaps and add a base layer. The serving mallet is then positioned around the rope, with twine or yarn fed from one end and wrapped around the mallet’s handle. By rotating the mallet, sailors create tension and lay down the serving tightly and evenly, forming a protective outer layer.
This technique not only safeguards the rope’s core strands from damage but also extends the life of critical rigging. Despite advances in modern materials, serving remains a staple practice on traditional sailing vessels, where both heritage and durability matter at sea.
Did you guess correctly? Well done, we had some brilliant answers, some correct, some close and some, well, just a bit random, but it made us giggle!
Did you know we hold an inspirational collection of documents and artifacts that play an important role in Bude, Stratton and the surrounding parishes rich heritage. You can also visit us seven days a week as we are open from 10am every day (including bank holidays).
