In "Two Years Before the Mast" Dana tells about having to go aloft to apply tar to lines to extend their life. He had to go aloft with a long line that had to be "rove" throug a block.(pulley to you and me.)
There are several meanings to "rove"
rove 1
vi.
roved, rov4ing 5ME roven, orig. an archery term as vt. < ?6
1 to wander about; go from place to place, esp. over an extensive area, with no particular course or destination; roam
2 to look around: said of the eyes
vt.
to wander over; roam through !to rove the woods"
n.
the act of roving; a ramble

rove 2
vt.
roved, rov4ing 5< ?6 to twist (fibers) together and draw out into roving before spinning
n.
Brit. var. of ROVING

rove 3
vt.
alt. pt. & pp. of REEVE2

reeve 1
n.
5ME reve, earlier irefe < OE gerefa < ge3 + base of *rof, row, number6
1 in English history,
a) the chief officer, under the king, of a town or district b) the overseer and chief peasant of a manor
2 the elected head of a village or town council in certain Canadian provinces

reeve 2
vt.
rove or reeved, rove or rov$en, reev4ing 5prob. < Du reven, to reef, in sense “use a rope in or as in reefing”6 Naut.
1 to pass (the end of a line) through a block, ring, etc.
2 to fasten by passing through or around something
3 to pass a line through (a block, ring, etc.)

reeve 3
n.
5? < irreg. pl. of RUFF16 the female sandpiper