Bilboes ( plurale tantum ) are iron restraints normally placed on a person's ankles. They have commonly been used as leg shackles to restrain prisoners for different purposes until the modern ages. Bilboes were also used on slave ships, such as the Henrietta Marie . According to legend, the device was invented in Bilbao and was imported into England by the ships of the Spanish Armada for use on prospective English prisoners. However, the Oxford English Dictionary notes that the term was used in English well before then.
24-407: Bilboes consist of a pair of U-shaped iron bars ( shackles ) with holes in the ends, through which an iron rod is inserted. The rod mostly has a large knob on one end, and a slot in the other end into which a wedge or a padlock is driven to secure the assembly. Bilboes occur in different sizes, ranging from regular large ones to smaller sizes particularly fitting women's ankles and even sizes to restrain
48-479: A chain shackle , D-shackles are narrow shackles shaped like a loop of chain, usually with a pin or threaded pin closure. D-shackles are very common and most other shackle types are a variation of the D-shackle. The small loop can take high loads primarily in line. Side and racking loads may twist or bend a D-shackle. This longer version of a D-shackle is used to attach halyards to sails , especially sails fitted with
72-503: A headboard such as on Bermuda rigged boats. Headboard shackles are often stamped from flat strap stainless steel, and feature an additional pin between the top of the loop and the bottom so the headboard does not chafe the spliced eye of the halyard. A pin shackle is closed with an anchor bolt and cotter pin, in a manner similar to a clevis . It is for this reason they are often referred to, in industrial jargon, as clevises . Pin shackles can be inconvenient to work with, at times, as
96-718: A 90° twist so the top of the loop is perpendicular to the pin. One of the uses for this shackle include attaching the jib halyard block to the mast , or the jib halyard to the sail, to reduce twist on the luff and allow the sail to set better. Modern strong fibers such as PBO ( IUPAC name: poly(p-phenylene-2,6-benzobisoxazole), aramids ( Kevlar , Technora , Twaron ), Vectran , carbon fibers , ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE, Dyneema, Spectra) and other synthetic fibers are used to make extra strong ropes which can also be tied into lockable loops called soft shackles . According to sailmagazine.com, "a soft shackle can handle just about every function performed by
120-420: A cross-hole in the threaded end a cotter pin can be used. One disadvantage of wire is that mousing can introduce galvanic corrosion because of material differences; it is especially bad when used in places where the shackle is exposed to air and water. Nylon is not recommended for use where significant movement of the shackle is expected. A twist shackle is usually somewhat longer than the average, and features
144-403: A liberal coating of lanolin or a heavy grease is not out of place on any and all threads. A shackle key or metal marlinspike are useful tools for loosening a tight nut . For safety, it is common to mouse a threaded shackle to keep the pin from coming loose. This is done by looping mousing wire or a nylon zip tie through the hole in the pin and around the shackle body. For pins that have
168-582: A metal shackle, in many cases better. Soft shackles articulate better, don’t rattle around when not under load, don’t chew up toe rails or beat up masts and decks, don’t hurt when they whack you on the head, are easier to undo and don’t have pins that fall overboard at a critical moment". A modern rope can lift as heavy loads as a steel wire 3 times as thick and much heavier. Metal shackles may be preferred because soft shackles can be cut by sharp edges, burned, or deteriorate in some environments. One disadvantage of soft shackles made of Dyneema and other modern fibers
192-425: A number of ways to the head of a triangular sail. The most common methods are as follows: The other end of the halyard is usually attached to the mast at its foot by way of a cleat . It is convention in some places to fasten the main halyard (for the mainsail ) on the starboard side of the mast and the jib halyard to the port side. This allows quicker access to the lines in a time-critical situation. "Jumping
216-473: A sailor's harness tether or to attach spinnaker sheets . Note: When this type of shackle is used to release a significant load, it will work rather poorly (hard to release) and is likely to have the pin assembly or the split ring fail. The pin is threaded and one leg of the shackle is tapped . The pin may be captive , which means it is mated to the shackle, usually with a wire. The threads may gall if overtightened or have been corroding in salty air, so
240-586: A voyage. Shackle A shackle (or shacklebolt ), also known as a gyve , is a U-shaped piece of metal secured with a clevis pin or bolt across the opening, or a hinged metal loop secured with a quick-release locking pin mechanism. The term also applies to handcuffs and other similarly conceived restraint devices that function in a similar manner. Shackles are the primary connecting link in all manner of rigging systems, from boats and ships to industrial crane rigging, as they allow different rigging subsets to be connected or disconnected quickly. A shackle
264-420: Is a fast action fastener which can be implemented single-handedly. It uses a spring-activated locking mechanism to close a hinged shackle, and can be unfastened under load. This is a potential safety hazard, but can also be extremely useful at times. The snap shackle is not as secure as any other form of shackle, but can come in handy for temporary uses or in situations which must be moved or replaced often, such as
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#1732858074558288-408: Is also the similarly shaped piece of metal used with a locking mechanism in padlocks . A carabiner is a type of shackle used in mountaineering . With a larger "O" shape to the loop, this shackle can take loads from many directions without developing as much side load . However, the larger shape to the loop does reduce its overall strength. Also referred to as an anchor shackle. Also known as
312-407: Is documented from Trinidad under British administration by governor Thomas Picton during the criminal procedure against eighteen-year-old Louisa Calderon in 1801. The former maid of governor Picton was accused of theft from his household and interrogated. She was also subjected to the picket torture, which first led to an extorted confession. Subsequently, she was left restrained in bilboes over
336-440: Is their susceptibility to be weakened by heat, also heat caused by friction. It is advisable to subject it to medium level loads for a while to remove any slack that may cause friction heat when loaded to its maximum. The stopping knot of a soft shackle may be a true lover's knot , a diamond knot , a double line celtic button knot or a chinese button knot (ABOK #600, ABOK #601, ABOK #603 doubled as one tail-end reverse-trails
360-660: The Turks and Caicos Islands from very early in the 16th century, which may have been a slave ship hunting Lucayans in the Bahamas . Bilboes were used to fasten two slaves together, so that the eighty-plus bilboes found on the Henrietta Marie would have restrained up to 160 slaves. Bilboes were usually not placed on every slave transported, nor were they left on for all of a voyage. Only the slaves that were strongest and presumably most likely to revolt or escape were kept in bilboes for all of
384-407: The bolt will need to be secured to the shackle body to avoid its loss, usually with a split pin or seizing wire. A more secure version used in crane rigging features the combination of a securing nut (hardware) located alongside the cotter pin. Pin shackles are practical in many rigging applications where the anchor bolt is expected to experience some rotation. As the name implies, a snap shackle
408-453: The continuous period of eight months while the legal inquest was in progress. The shackles were rigidly fastened to the wall of her confinement cell, so she was forced to remain in one place for the entire duration of her imprisonment. The charges were eventually dropped, so Louisa Calderon was released from her incarceration and the bilboes were taken off after months of being incessantly restrained. This excessive form of incarceration along with
432-606: The eye around the neck of the button. Halyard In sailing , a halyard or halliard is a line ( rope ) that is used to hoist a ladder , sail , flag or yard . The term "halyard" derives from the Middle English halier ("rope to haul with"), with the last syllable altered by association with the English unit of measure "yard". Halyards, like most other parts of the running rigging , were classically made of natural fibre like manila or hemp . Halyards can be attached
456-408: The halyard" is a technique used to raise a large sail quickly by employing a few crew members to work simultaneously on the halyard. The person jumping stands next to the mast and manually grabs the halyard as high as they can (sometimes this necessitates jumping) and pulling it down as fast and far as possible. While this crew member reaches for the next heave, a second crew member 'tails' or takes up
480-665: The humiliation. They were popular in England and America in the colonial and early revolutionary periods (such as in the Massachusetts Bay Colony ). They were used in England to "punyssche transgressours ageynste ye Kinges Maiesties lawes". Bilboes appear occasionally in literature, including Hamlet (Act V, Scene 2: "Methought I lay worse than the mutinies in the bilboes") and the journals of Captain Cook . A notable case of excessive use
504-401: The other, emerging tail-ends preferably buried in the opposing main part as it emerges together from the knot for Chinese finger trap attachment). Another preferred stopping knot is a two rope combined wall+crown+wall+crown knot (a two string rose knot ). The latter ones with the added thickness of the returning tail ends have the advantage of less of a sharp curvature at their weakest spot,
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#1732858074558528-583: The preceding torture was later assessed as inhumane in a juridic reappraisal. Bilboes were used to restrain slaves on slave ships . Components forming more than eighty bilboes have been recovered from the Henrietta Marie , an English slave ship that was wrecked in the Florida Keys in 1700 after delivering slaves to Jamaica . Bilboes were also found in the Molasses Reef Wreck , a Spanish wreck in
552-417: The slack created by the jumper, on a winch . When the person jumping can no longer pull up the sail simply by hanging on the halyard, they must "sweat" the line. To "sweat" the halyard is to take as much slack out of it as possible. This may be done with a winch, or manually. To manually sweat a halyard, the sweater grasps the line and, in a fluid motion, hauls it laterally towards themself, then down toward
576-412: The wrists. The rod can also be fastened to a wall or a rigid trestle as it was mostly used in prisons. This way the person is restrained to stay put, while only allowing movement of the feet sideways inside the limited range the rod allows for. Bilboes used as public punishment in former times combined physical discomfort with public humiliation . The person was often restrained barefoot , which added to
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