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A short, metal rod, generally tapered to rounded point or flat edge similar to a flat head screwdriver. A spike may look like a large nail, somewhere between six and as many as thirty-six inches long, but generally under one foot in overall length. The spike is used in making and unmaking knots, serving as a lever or purchase point for mechanical advantage in the former case and as a stiff probing and prying device in the latter.

The term "marlinspike seamanship" is an all encompassing reference to the knots, line-handling, and other small arts that supplement any sailor's skill-set.

The name is thought to derive from the Middle English word "marling", meaning "to wind" as when one [[service|serves a line]]. The [[marline]] used in such service derives from the same root.

A popular saying describes the so-called "Super Sailor" thus: Every hair a [[rope yarn]] and every finger a marlinspike.

== In the Canon ==
In [[The Surgeon's Mate (novel)|Surgeon's Mate]], [[Lieutenant Hyde]] described the means of making a proper escape from the fortress of [[Verdun]], lists, among other necessaries, "A really good knife and marline-spike, or at least a [[fid]], come in very handy...."

[[Category:Marlinspike seamanship]]