Closed Heart Block
Description
This is a heart shaped block known as a “Closed Heart”. It has a single D-shaped hole in the centre and is grooved around its circumference to take the standing rigging. Heart-shaped blocks were used in a similar way to deadeyes. It has one large hole in the middle to contain a lanyard, by which the stays or shrouds are extended. The lower side of this hole was scored 4 or 5 times for the lanyard. When the hearts were shackled to the deck, the groove was made to fit the strap. This item was likely to have been used to secure the stays and preventer-stays on a typical 74-gun ship.
See full details
Object Detail
Width: 260mm
Depth: 160mm (6 5/16")