Hawsepipes may be made of cast steel, in which case they are usually cast from wooden models made in place in the ship. they are now often built up of heavy plates,usually with cast steel lips welded to them.
The sketch shows one type of welded hawsepipe, with a lip, or “chafing ring”, welded to its lower edge. At the upper end it is welded to a block which has a raised lip to take the chafe of the cable, also slots into which plates can slide to close the pipe at sea. the chafing ring and block are riveted or bolted to the shell and deck plating. The lower plate of the pipe maybe thickened, or doubled to take the chafe of the cable.
the shell plating is doubled or thickened in the way of the hawsepipe. it is usually necessary to cut the frames and beams, in order to allow the pipe to pass. in this case compensation is made by fitting short fore and aft pieces, called “carling”, to support the cut ends and the frames may be reinforced.