downhaul

American  

[doun-hawl] / ˈdaʊnˌhɔl /

noun

Nautical.

1. any of various lines for pulling down a sail or a yard, as for securing in a lowered position when not in use.

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downhaul British  

/ ˈdaʊnˌhɔːl /

noun

1. nautical a line for hauling down a sail or for increasing the tension at its luff

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Etymology

Origin of downhaul

First recorded in 1660–70; down ¹ + haul

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

downhaul

I soon had my own fellow perfectly at my mercy, and got him so near the end of the jib downhaul, as to secure him with a turn or two of that rope.

From Afloat and Ashore A Sea Tale by James Fenimore Cooper

I was near the mate, but sprang past several, threw the downhaul over the windlass, and jumped between the knight-heads out upon the bowsprit.

From Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana

This did not matter, because he knew they must secure the sail before the tornado broke, and he pulled at the downhaul.

From Wyndham's Pal by Harold Bindloss

Now, then, is there no one to attend to the peak downhaul?

From Under the Meteor Flag Log of a Midshipman during the French Revolutionary War by Harry Collingwood

Some of you brail up the spanker here and man the jib downhaul.

From The White Squall A Story of the Sargasso Sea by J. Schonberg