noun

• 1Fishing
  A line used or pulled by hand for some purpose; especially a fishing line used without a rod, typically attached to the side of a vessel.

• 2Nautical
  Now chiefly in form hand line. A line attached to a hand lead, marked at regular intervals up to 20 fathoms, used for taking soundings in shallow water. Now chiefly historical.

  For a list of the different marks on a hand line, see for example M. Wood Sailing Tall (2004) iv. 48.