seize

To seize is to bind two objects together, or to secure a rope to a spar or ring, using multiple close turns of small line, cord, or twine pulled tight and finished with hitches. The binding wraps around both items or around a single item multiple times, creating a permanent or semi-permanent fastening that distributes load and prevents slipping or movement. Seizing is distinct from knotting because it relies on friction and tension across multiple wraps rather than a single knot's mechanical lock.

Seizings are classified by their construction and purpose. A flat seizing uses flat material like waxed cotton tape laid side by side without overlap. Round seizing employs cordage wrapped in a spiral, often with a core of smaller line for grip. Throat seizing binds the end of a rope to prevent fraying and is worked around the rope just above the cut end. Racking seizing, used to join two ropes or secure a rope to a spar, works figure-eight patterns between parallel items. Palm and needle seizings, worked with a sailmaker's palm and needle, embed the line through the object itself rather than merely wrapping it.

The working material typically ranges from laid cotton twine to synthetic paraline, chosen for its grip and resistance to the tension required. The line is drawn tight with each wrap, often using a tooling called a marlinspike or fid to manage tension and separate the wraps neatly. Traditional maritime seizings are finished by burying the end of the line under the final wraps and beating it smooth with a wooden mallet to compress everything into a compact, hardened mass.

Seizings fail when wraps are too loose, allowing the bound items to shift under load, or when the binding material degrades from weather, salt water, or sunlight exposure. In industrial rigging, synthetic cordage seizings can slip if the material chosen is too smooth or too thin relative to the load. Moisture absorption in natural fiber seizings can cause them to swell unevenly and eventually separate.

The term derives from the Old French seisir, meaning to grasp or seize, and has been part of nautical vocabulary for centuries. Seizing is fundamental to traditional rope work because it creates a flexible, reversible fastening that does not weaken the rope it secures, unlike knots that pinch fibers and reduce breaking strength. In modern shipyards and rigging lofts, seizings remain standard for finishing wire rope eyes, securing loose ends on standing rigging, and lashing cargo, though mechanical swaging and synthetic fasteners have reduced their use in some applications.