Taper,
Taper, in reference to the webbing used in trawls, means the angle of a cut used to shape the webbing, expressed as the ratio between the cuts that reduce the width of the webbing by cutting into the panel of webbing through one row of twine (bar cuts) and the cuts that extend the length of the panel of webbing by cutting straight aft through two adjoining rows of twine (point cuts). For example, sequentially cutting through the lengths of twine on opposite sides of a mesh, leaving an uncut edge of twines all lying in the same line, produces a relatively strong taper called all-bars; making a sequence of 4-bar cuts followed by 1-point cut produces a more gradual taper called 4 bars to 1 point or 4b1p; similarly, making a sequence of 2-bar cuts followed by 1-point cut produces a still more gradual taper called 2b1p; and making a sequence of cuts straight aft does not reduce the width of the panel and is called a straight or all-points cut.