Gravity Line

A teardrop lead sinker sat forgotten in the groove of a timber worktable. It possessed ideal mass—compact, dense, and centered. I retrieved a length of tarred marline from my cuff, trimming the frayed fibers against the sharp edge of a copper roofing nail. Working the stiff cord through the eyelet, I secured it with a snug figure-eight knot and held the line at arm's length. Suspended six inches above the scarred wood, the weight swung through three dampening arcs before locking into an absolute vertical. Even with the harbor draft curling under the eaves, the plumb line held true against the upright timber beam. A reliable benchmark for plumb and elevation.