Service

From WikiPOBia

The wrapping of a line, typically marline around an object to protect it. At its most basic level, the service is a sacrificial covering, but it may also be a more easily protected material. It is easier and cheaper, for example, to sufficiently impregnated with tar as to be waterproof than to do the same for a three-inch hawser. Sometimes, too, the service may add its own strength. One of the most commonly served things is a splice, in which case the service helps to hold in the loose ends and prevent their becoming unlaid.