The origin of a lot of nautical terms are lost to history or hidden through the corruption of foreign tongues. However, for this new (to me) local term, a picture is worth a thousand words of explanation.
While sailing on an historic schooner in Maine, as we approached the anchorage, the mate turned to me and told me to "ballentine the halyard" in preparation of lowering sails. I was a bit surprised as I expected the order to flake out the halyard which was presently coiled and hung on the belaying pin. Recognizing my blank look, the mate quickly showed me what he wanted as he displayed an overlapping flaking method. What did "to ballentine" mean?
Wait for it
Landlocked