Pelican hook (nonfiction)

A pelican hook is a piece of nautical rigging hardware

It is composed of a hinged link held closed by a circumferential link capable of being released under load. Small examples are held closed by hand while the retaining link is displaced while larger examples are hit with a hammer or sledge hammer to release.

The asymmetric appearance of the two hinged pieces is similar in appearance to a pelican's beak.

It is frequently used to secure ships' anchors and life raft canisters but has many other applications.

Fiction cross-reference

• Crimes against physical constants
• Gnomon algorithm
• Gnomon Chronicles
• Pelican Hook Bay - site of an alleged illegal transdimensional prison

Nonfiction cross-reference

• Mathematician (nonfiction)
• Mathematics (nonfiction)

External links:

• Pelican hook @ Wikipedia