Jamie Goddard, owner of the Rope Guru in South Portland, counts among his customers utilities, ship builders and arborists. PHOTO / TIM GREENWAY Sales have more than doubled every year since Jamie ...

Mathematics is unpicking the secrets of a centuries-old nautical skill called splicing - joining two ropes together end to end by interweaving their strands 1. Chris Leech of rope and fibre ...

The mooring and towing of oil rigs and huge ships rely on the strength and durability of thick ropes and the splices that join those ropes. Yet the mathematical models used to evaluate ropes have long ...

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results. A crew does the ...