Boatswain’s Mate Chief Exam Prep 2026 – Complete Practice Test

A kink in the inner yarn that forces the surrounding yarns to the surface is called cockle (also known as hockle). This term specifically describes how a deformation inside the core causes the outer yarns to lift and form a visible ripple or bulge on the rope’s surface. It happens when the core yarn kinks or buckles during laying or handling, and the cover yarns have to accommodate that distortion, producing the characteristic surface irregularity. Understanding this helps you recognize internal core problems from surface clues, which can affect rope strength and performance. A generic kink isn’t specific to the inner-core effect, twist refers to rotational tension, and bloom describes surface fuzz or fiber growth, not an internal core kink pushing the surface outward.