Mariners equipment

The crew had to fold their hammocks very tightly, so small that they would fit through this rope loop, then they were stowed under the roof of their dining area. We were shown some of the sailors measuring "tools". One was a lump of lead tied to long knotted rope which was used to find the depth of water the ship was in. The lead was about 10" long and 5 " in diameter. This caused me to wonder if it was connected to the expression "swinging the lead" describing a lazy person. And lo in a second I get the answer from the amazing Internet! The lazy sailor stood and swung the lead without dropping it into the sea and hauling it back up - heavy work - until he thought someone would see him. You can just make out the lead sitting on the edge of the table here. The other tool we were shown was for measuring the speed a log line and reel - a triangle of wood on a knotted rope. One side of the triangle has to be part of a circle. It was tossed into the sea at the back of the ship and allowed to drag in the water for the length of time their hourglass sand ran through which was 28 seconds and the number of knots in that rope that were run out off a reel was the speed of the ship expressed as - knots. A knot is one nautical mile... One nautical mile is 6,076 feet or 1.852 kilometers per hour. I did not see the floating compass and primitive sextant or the large steering wheel - helm connected by large ropes to the rudder.