LEADLINE

In this electronics age, the leadline is nearly forgotten. Today when a mariner wants to know the depth of the water he simply looks at an electronic readout. But in the old days, a crewman would go forward and swing a leadline, a heavy lead weight fastened to a line marked in fathoms. When heaved properly, the weight would hit the water far in advance of the ship, and plummet to the bottom touching down just as the line went vertical. The man would read the marking on the line where it touched the water and call out the depth to the deck officer.