The lay of the rope describes both the direction the strands are twisted and how tightly this has been done. Direction of lay: When the strands are twisted together to make rope, they can either be twisted together to the right (clockwise) or to the left (anti-clockwise). Rope twisted clockwise is referred to as Z-lay, rope twisted anti-clockwise S-lay. Some wide ropes traditionally used in shipping are made by combining three smaller diameter Z-lay ropes to create a thick, S-lay rope.
