shrouds - main lines used in the rigging
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Sorry Hyla, but I'm going to have to disagree with you on the subject of shrouds. Shrouds are static rigging - ie, they are used to hold the mast up and to induce certain bend characteristics into the mast to achieve the otpimum sail shape and gust response
for the conditions.
I think we're saying the same thing - that the shrouds are the heavier, vertical lines used as the backbone of the rigging, and thus are not hauled on, as sheets are. Sorry if I wasn't clear - I should also make clear that my knowledge of such things comes from extensive reading of historical fiction about the age of sail, rather than any affinity for and experience with the act of sailing itself. So I'm at least one step removed from what really happens with all them pieces of rope.
Brings to mind the character in the movie Metropolitan, who consistently critiques Jane Austen, and when asked if he had ever read her, says he doesn't need to - he reads literary criticism.
