Lincoln Colcord, who spent a part of his early life at sea with his father and sister {Joanna Colcord} often referred to what we call lines as "ropes." His father, Lincoln A. Colcord, also did the same in writing. As Lincoln A. was a master mariner based in Searsport, Maine, at the turn of the previous century, I would be inclined to take his usage as authoritative.