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Glossary of nautical terms
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This is a glossary of nautical terms; some remain current, many date from the 17th-19th century. See also Wiktionary's nautical terms and :Category:Nautical terms.
>1. When the boat is lying broadside to the sea.2. To ride out a storm with no sails and helm held to leeward.
Amidships (or midships) In the middle portion of ship, along the line of the keel.
>1.
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This is a glossary of nautical terms; some remain current, many date from the 17th-19th century. See also Wiktionary's nautical terms and :Category:Nautical terms.
A
- Above board On or above the deck, in plain view, not hiding anything.
- Above-water hull The hull section of a vessel above waterline, the visible part of a ship. Also, topsides.
- Act of Pardon / Act of Grace A letter from a state or power authorising action by a privateer. Also see Letter of Marque.
- Abaft Toward the stern, relative to some object ("abaft the fore hatch").
- Abaft the beam Further aft than the beam: a relative bearing of greater than 90 degrees from the bow: "two points abaft the port beam".
- Abandon ship! An imperative to leave the vessel immediately, usually in the face of some imminent danger.
- Abeam On the beam, a relative bearing at right angles to the centerline of the ship's keel.
- Abel Brown A sea song (shanty) about a young sailor trying to sleep with a maiden.
- Aboard On or in a vessel (see also "close aboard").
- Absentee pennant Special pennant flown to indicate absence of commanding officer, admiral, his chief of staff, or officer whose flag is flying (division, squadron, or flotilla commander).
- Absolute bearing - The bearing of an object in relation to north. Either true bearing, using the geographical or true north, or magnetic bearing, using magnetic north. See also "bearing" and "relative bearing".
- Accommodation ladder A portable flight of steps down a ship's side.
- Admiral Senior naval officer of Flag rank. In ascending order of seniority, Rear Admiral, Vice Admiral, Admiral and Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy). Derivation reputedly Arabic, from "Emir al Bath" ("Ruler of the waters").
- Admiralty A high naval authority in charge of a state's Navy or a major territorial component. In the Royal Navy (UK) the Board of Admiralty, executing the office of the Lord High Admiral, promulgates Naval law in the form of Queen's (or King's) Regulations and Admiralty Instructions.
- Admiralty law Body of law that deals with maritime cases. In UK administered by the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division of the High Court of Justice.
- Adrift Afloat and unattached in any way to the shore or seabed, but not under way. It implies that a vessel is not under control and therefore goes where the wind and current take her (loose from moorings, or out of place). Also refers to any gear not fastened down or put away properly. It can also be used to mean "absent without leave".
- Advance note A note for one month's wages issued to sailors on their signing a ship's articles.
- Aft Towards the stern (of the vessel).
- Afloat - Of a vessel which is floating freely (not aground or sunk). More generally of vessels in service ("the company has 10 ships afloat").
- Afternoon watch The 1200-1600 watch.
- Aground Resting on or touching the ground or bottom.
- Ahead Forward of the bow.
- Ahoy A cry to draw attention. Term used to hail a boat or a ship, as "Boat ahoy!"
- Ahull
- 1. When the boat is lying broadside to the sea.
- 2. To ride out a storm with no sails and helm held to leeward.
- Aid to Navigation (ATON) Any device external to a vessel or aircraft specifically intended to assist navigators in determining their position or safe course, or to warn them of dangers or obstructions to navigation.
- All hands Entire ship's company, both officers and enlisted personnel.
- All night in Having no night watches.
- Aloft Above the ship's uppermost solid structure; overhead or high above.
- Alongside By the side of a ship or pier.
Amidships (or midships) In the middle portion of ship, along the line of the keel.
- Anchor An object designed to prevent or slow the drift of a ship, attached to the ship by a line or chain; typically a metal, hook-like or plough-like object designed to grip the bottom under the body of water (but also see sea anchor).
- Anchorage A suitable place for a ship to anchor. Area of a port or harbor.
- Anchor's aweigh Said of an anchor when just clear of the bottom.
- Anchor ball Round black shape hoisted in the forepart of a vessel to show that it is anchored.
- Anchor buoy A small buoy secured by a light line to anchor to indicate position of anchor on bottom.
- Anchor chain or anchor cable Chain connecting the ship to the anchor.
- Anchor detail Group of men who handle ground tackle when the ship is anchoring or getting underway.
- Anchor light White light displayed by a ship at anchor. Two such lights are displayed by a ship over in length.
- Anchor watch Making sure that the anchor is holding and the vessel is not drifting. Important during rough weather and at night. Most marine GPS units have an Anchor Watch alarm capability.
- Andrew Traditional lower-deck slang term for the Royal Navy.
- Arc of Visibility The portion of the horizon over which a lighted aid to navigation is visible from seaward.
- Armament A ship's weapons.
- Articles of War Regulations governing the military and naval forces of UK and USA; read to every ship's company on commissioning and at specified intervals during the commission.
- ASDIC - A type of sonar used by the Allies for detecting submarines during the Second World War.
- Ashore On the beach, shore or land.
- Astern Toward the stern; an object or vessel that is abaft another vessel or object.
- Asylum Harbour A harbour used to provide shelter from a storm.
- ASW Anti-submarine warfare.
- Athwart, athwartships At right angles to the fore and aft or centerline of a ship
- Avast Stop! Cease or desist from whatever is being done.
- Awash So low in the water that the water is constantly washing across the surface.
- Aweigh Position of an anchor just clear of the bottom.
- Aye, aye Reply to an order or command to indicate that it, firstly, is heard; and, secondly, is understood and will be carried out. ("Aye, aye, sir" to officers). Also "yarr".
- Azimuth compass An instrument employed for ascertaining position of the sun with respect to magnetic north. The azimuth of an object is its bearing from the observer measured as an angle clockwise from true north.
- Azimuth circle Instrument used to take bearings of celestial objects.
B
- Back and fill To use the advantage of the tide being with you when the wind is not.
- Backstays Long lines or cables, reaching from the rear of the vessel to the mast heads, used to support the mast.
- Baggywrinkle A soft covering for cables (or any other obstructions) that prevents sail chafing from occurring.
- Bank A large area of elevated sea floor.
- Banyan Traditional Royal Navy term for a day or shorter period of rest and relaxation.
- Bar Large mass of sand or earth, formed by the surge of the sea. They are mostly found at the entrances of great rivers or havens, and often render navigation extremely dangerous, but confer tranquility once inside. See also: Touch and go, grounding. Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "Crossing the bar", an allegory for death.
- Barrelman A sailor that was stationed in the crow's nest.
- Bar pilot A bar pilot guides ships over the dangerous sandbars at the mouth of rivers and bays.
- Beaching - Deliberately running a vessel aground, to load and unload (as with landing craft), or sometimes to prevent a damaged vessel sinking.
- Beacon A lighted or unlighted fixed aid to navigation attached directly to the earths surface. (Lights and daybeacons both constitute beacons.)
- Beam The width of a vessel at the widest point, or a point alongside the ship at the mid-point of its length.
- Beam ends The sides of a ship. "On her beam ends" may mean the vessel is literally on her side and possibly about to capsize; more often, the phrase means the vessel is listing 45 degrees or more.
- Bear Large squared off stone used for scraping clean the deck of a sailing man-of-war.
- Bear down or bear away Turn away from the wind, often with reference to a transit.
- Bearing The horizontal direction of a line of sight between two objects on the surface of the earth. See also "absolute bearing" and "relative bearing".
- Beating - Sailing closer to the wind than about about 60° (see also reaching, running and tacking).
- Beaufort scale The scale describing wind force devised by Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort in 1808, in which winds are graded by the effect of their force (originally, the amount of sail that a fully-rigged frigate could carry). Scale now reads up to Force 17.
- Before the mast Literally, the area of a ship before the foremast (the forecastle). Most often used to describe men whose living quarters are located here, officers being quartered in the stern-most areas of the ship (near the quarterdeck). Officer-trainees lived between the two ends of the ship and become known as "midshipmen". Crew members who started out as seamen, then became midshipmen, and later, officers, were said to have gone from "one end of the ship to the other".
- Bend - A knot used to join two ropes or lines. Also see hitch.
- Belay
- 1. To make fast a line around a fitting, usually a cleat or belaying pin.
- 2. An order to halt a current activity or countermand an order prior to execution.
- Belaying pins Bars of iron or hard wood to which running rigging may be secured, or belayed.
- Berth A bed on a boat, or a space in a port or harbour where a vessel can be tied up.
- Bermudan rig A triangular mainsail, without an upper spar, which is hoisted up the mast by a single halyard attached to the head of the sail. This configuration, introduced to Europe about 1920, allows the use of a tall mast, enabling sails to be set higher where wind speed is greater.
- Best bower (anchor) The larger of two anchors carried in the bow; so named as it was the last, best hope.
- Between the Devil and the deep blue sea See Devil seam.
- Bight
- 1. Bight, a loop in rope or line: a hitch or knot tied "on the bight" is one tied in the middle of the rope, without access to the ends.
- 2. An indentation in a coastline.
- Bilge The bilge is the compartment at the bottom of the hull of a ship or boat where water collects so that it may be pumped out of the vessel at a later time.
- Bilge keels - A pair of keels on either side of the hull, usually slanted outwards. In yachts, they allow the use of a drying mooring, the boat standing upright on the keels (and often a skeg) when the tide is out.
- Bilged on her anchor A ship that has run upon her own anchor, so the anchor cable runs under the hull.
- Bimini Weather-resistant fabric stretched over a stainless steel frame, fastened above the cockpit of a sailboat or flybridge of a power yacht which serves as a rain or sun shade.
- Bimmy A punitive instrument
- Binnacle The stand on which the ship's compass is mounted.
- Binnacle list A ship's sick list. The list of men unable to report for duty was given to the officer or mate of the watch by the ship's surgeon. The list was kept at the binnacle.
- Bitt A post mounted on the ship's bow, for fastening ropes or cables.
- Bitter end The anchor cable is tied to the bitts, when the cable is fully paid out, the bitter end has been reached. The last part of a rope or cable.
- Bloody An intensive derived from the substantive 'blood', a name applied to the Bucks, Scrowers, and Mohocks of the seventeenth centuries.
- Blue Peter A blue and white flag (otherwise the flag for the letter "P") hoisted at the foretrucks of ships about to sail. Formerly a white ship on a blue ground, but later a white square on a blue ground.
- Boat A craft or vessel designed to float on, and provide transport over, water.
- Boatswain or bosun (both ) A non-commissioned officer responsible for the sails, ropes and boats on a ship who issues "piped" commands to seamen.
- Bobstay A stay which holds the bowsprit downwards, counteracting the effect of the forestay. Usually made of wire or chain to eliminate stretch.
- Bollard From 'bol' or 'bole', the round trunk of a tree. A substantial vertical pillar to which lines may be made fast. Generally on the quayside rather than the ship.
- Bombay runner Large cockroach.
- Bonded Jacky A type of tobacco or sweet cake.
- Booby A type of bird that has little fear and therefore is particularly easy to catch.
- Booby hatch A sliding hatch or cover.
- Boom A spar attached to the foot of a fore-and-aft sail.
- Booms Masts or yards, lying on board in reserve.
- Boom vang or vang A sail control that lets one apply downward tension on a boom, countering the upward tension provided by the mainsail. The boom vang adds an element of control to mainsail shape when the mainsheet is let out enough that it no longer pulls the boom down. Boom vang tension helps control leech twist, a primary component of sail power.
- Bottomry Pledging a ship as security in a financial transaction.
- Buoy A floating object of defined shape and color, which is anchored at a given position and serves as an aid to navigation.
- Bow The front of a ship.
- Bow-chaser, chase or chase-piece A long gun with a relatively small bore, placed in the bow-port to fire directly ahead. Used especially while chasing an enemy vessel to damage its sails and rigging. (quoted from A Sea of Words)
- Bowline A type of knot, producing a strong loop of a fixed size, topologically similar to a sheet bend. Also a rope attached to the side of a sail to pull it towards the bow (for keeping the windward edge of the sail steady).
- Bowse To pull or hoist.
- Bowsprit A spar projecting from the bow used as an anchor for the forestay and other rigging.
- Boy seaman a young sailor, still in training
- Box the compass To state all 32 points of the compass, starting at north, proceeding clockwise. Sometimes applied to a wind that is constantly shifting.
- Brail To furl or truss a sail by pulling it in towards the mast, or the ropes used to do so.
- Brake The handle of the pump, by which it is worked.
- Brass monkey or brass monkey weather Very cold weather, origin unknown. A widely circulated folk etymology claiming to explain what a brass monkey is has been discredited by several people including Snopes and the Oxford English Dictionary.
- Bridge A structure above the weather deck, extending the full width of the vessel, which houses a command centre, itself called by association, the bridge.
- Bring to Cause a ship to be stationary by arranging the sails.
- Broaching-to A sudden movement in navigation, when the ship, while scudding before the wind, accidentally turns her leeward side to windward, also use to describe the point when water starts to come over the gunwhale due to this turn.
- Buffer The chief bosun's mate (in the Royal Navy), responsible for discipline.
- Bulkhead An upright wall within the hull of a ship. Particularly a load bearing wall.
- Bull of Barney A beast mentioned in an obscene sea proverb.
- Bulwark (PronEng|'b?l?k) The extension of the ship's side above the level of the weather deck.
- Bumboat A private boat selling goods.
- Bumpkin or Boomkin
- 1. A spar, similar to a bowsprit, but which projects from the stern. May be used to attach the backstay or mizzen sheets.
- 2. An iron bar (projecting out-board from a ship's side) to which the lower and topsail brace blocks are sometimes hooked.
- Buntline One of the lines tied to the bottom of a square sail and used to haul it up to the yard when furling.
- Bunting tosser A signalman who prepares and flies flag hoists. Also known in the American Navy as a skivvy waver.
- Buoyed up Lifted by a buoy, especially a cable that has been lifted to prevent it from trailing on the bottom.
- By and large By means into the wind, while large means with the wind. By and large is used to indicate all possible situations "the ship handles well both by and large".
- By the board Anything that has gone overboard.
C
- Cabin an enclosed room on a deck or flat.
- Cabin boy attendant on passengers and crew.
- Cable A large rope; also a measure of length or distance. Equivalent to (UK) 1/10 nautical mile, approx. 600 feet; (USA) 120 fathoms, 720 feet (219 m); other countries use different values.
- Canister a type of anti personnel cannon load in which lead balls or other loose metallic items were enclosed in a tin or iron shell. On firing the shell would disintegrate releasing the smaller metal objects.
- Canoe stern - A design for the stern of a yacht which is pointed, like a bow, rather than squared off as a transom.
- Cape Horn fever The name of the fake illness a malingerer is pretending to suffer from.
- Capsize When a ship or boat lists too far and rolls over, exposing the keel. On large vessels, this often results in the sinking of the ship.
- Capstan A large winch with a vertical axis. A full-sized human-powered capstan is a waist-high cylindrical machine, operated by a number of hands who each insert a horizontal capstan bar in holes in the capstan and walk in a circle. Used to wind in anchors or other heavy objects; and sometimes to administer flogging over.
- Captain's daughter The cat o' nine tails, which in principle is only used on board on the captain's (or a court martial's) personal orders.
- Cardinal Referring to the four main points of the compass: north, south, east and west. See also "bearing".
- Careening Cause the ship to tilt on its side, usually to clean or repair the hull below the water line.
- Cat
- 1. To prepare an anchor, after raising it by lifting it with a tackle to the cat head, prior to securing (fishing) it alongside for sea. (An anchor raised to the cat head is said to be catted).
- 2. The cat o' nine tails (see below).
- 3. A cat-rigged boat or catboat.
- Catamaran A vessel with two hulls.
- Catboat A cat-rigged vessel with only one sail, usually on a gaff.
- Cat o' nine tails A short nine-tailed whip kept by the bosun's mate to flog sailors (and soldiers in the Army). When not in use, the cat was kept in a baize bag, hence the term "cat out of the bag". "Not enough room to swing a cat" also derives from this.
- Cat head A beam extending out from the hull used to support an anchor when raised in order to secure or 'fish' it.
- Centreboard A board or plate lowered through the hull of a dinghy on the centreline to resist leeway.
- Chafing Wear on line or sail caused by constant rubbing against another surface.
- Chafing gear Material applied to a line or spar to prevent or reduce chafing. See Baggywrinkle.
- Chain shot Cannon balls linked with chain used to damage rigging and masts.
- Chain-wale or channel A broad, thick plank that projects horizontally from each of a ship's sides abreast a mast, distinguished as the fore, main, or mizzen channel accordingly, serving to extend the base for the shrouds, which supports the mast.
- Chase guns Cannons mounted on the bow or stern. Those on the bow could be used to fire upon a ship ahead, while those on the rear could be used to ward off pursuing vessels.
- Cheeks
- 1. Wooden blocks at the side of a spar.
- 2. The sides of a block or gun-carriage.
- 1. A relatively sharp angle in the hull, as compared to the rounded bottoms of most traditional boat hulls.
- 2. A line formed where the sides of a boat meet the bottom. Soft chine is when the two sides join at a shallow angle, and hard chine is when they join at a steep angle.
- Chock-a-block Rigging blocks that are so tight against one another that they cannot be further tightened.
- Civil Red Ensign The British Naval Ensign or Flag of the British Merchant Navy, a red flag with the Union Flag in the upper left corner. Colloquially called the "red duster".
- Clean bill of health A certificate issued by a port indicating that the ship carries no infectious diseases. Also called a pratique.
- Clean slate At the helm, the watch keeper would record details of speed, distances, headings, etc. on a slate. At the beginning of a new watch the slate would be wiped clean.
- Cleat A stationary device used to secure a rope aboard a vessel.
- Clench A method of fixing together two pieces of wood, usually overlapping planks, by driving a nail through both planks as well as a washer-like rove. The nail is then burred or riveted over to complete the fastening.
- Clew-lines Used to truss up the clews, the lower corners of square sails.
- Close aboard - Near a ship.
- Close-hauled - Of a vessel beating as close to the wind direction as possible.
- Club hauling The ship drops one of its anchors at high speed to turn abruptly. This was sometimes used as a means to get a good firing angle on a pursuing vessel.
- Coaming The raised edge of a hatch, cockpit or skylight to help keep out water.
- Companionway A raised and windowed hatchway in the ship's deck, with a ladder leading below and the hooded entrance-hatch to the main cabins.
- Compass Navigational instrument that revolutionised travel.
- Corrector a device to correct the ship's compass.
- Counter The part of the stern above the waterline that extends beyond the rudder stock culminating in a small transom. A long counter increases the waterline length when the boat is heeled, so increasing hull speed.
- Courses the lowest square sail on each mast The mainsail, foresail, and the mizzen on a four masted ship (the after most mast usually sets a gaff driver or spanker instead of a square sail).
- Coxswain or cockswain The helmsman or crew member in command of a boat.
- As the crow flies A direct line between two points (which might cross land) which is the way crows travel rather than ships which must go around land.
- Crance/Crans/Cranze iron A fitting, mounted at the end of a bowsprit to which stays are attached.
- Cringle A rope loop, usually at the corners of a sail, for fixing the sail to a spar. They are often reinforced with a metal eye.
- Cro'jack or crossjack a square yard used to spread the foot of a topsail where no course is set, e.g. on the foremast of a topsail schooner or above the driver on the mizzen mast of a ship rigged vessel.
- Crow's nest Specifically a masthead constructed with sides and sometimes a roof to shelter the lookouts from the weather, generally by whaling vessels, this term has become a generic term for what is properly called masthead. See masthead.
- Cross Trees -
- Crutches - Metal Y shaped pins to hold oars whilst rowing.
- Cuddy A small cabin in a boat.
- Cunningham A line invented by Briggs Cunningham, used to control the shape of a sail.
- Cunt splice A join between two lines, similar to an eye-splice, where each rope end is joined to the other a short distance along, making an opening which closes under tension.
- Cuntline The "valley" between the strands of a rope or cable. Before serving a section of laid rope e.g. to protect it from chafing, it may be "wormed" by laying yarns in the cuntlines, giving that section an even cylindrical shape.
- Cut and run When wanting to make a quick escape, a ship might cut lashings to sails or cables for anchors, causing damage to the rigging, or losing an anchor, but shortening the time needed to make ready by bypassing the proper procedures.
- Cut of his jib The "cut" of a sail refers to its shape. Since this would vary between ships, it could be used both to identify a familiar vessel at a distance, and to judge the possible sailing qualities of an unknown one.
D
- Daggerboard A type of centerboard that is lifted vertically; often used in pairs.
- Davy Joness Locker An idiom for the bottom of the sea.
- Daybeacon An unlighted fixed structure which is equipped with a dayboard for daytime identification.
- Dayboard The daytime identifier of an aid to navigation presenting one of several standard shapes (square, triangle, rectangle) and colors (red, green, white, orange, yellow, or black).
- Deadeye A wooden block with holes which is spliced to a shroud. It is used to adjust the tension in the standing rigging of large sailing vessels, by lacing through the holes with a lanyard to the deck. Performs the same job as a turnbuckle.
- Deadrise The design angle between the keel (q.v.) and horizontal.
- Dead run - See running.
- Deadwood A wooden part of the centerline structure of a boat, usually between the sternpost and amidships.
- Decks the structures forming the approximately horizontal surfaces in the ship's general structure. Unlike flats, they are a structural part of the ship.
- Deck hand A person whose job involves aiding the deck supervisor in (un)mooring, anchoring, maintenance, and general evolutions on deck.
- Deck supervisor The person in charge of all evolutions and maintenance on deck; sometimes split into two groups: forward deck supervisor, aft deck supervisor.
- Deckhead The under-side of the deck above. Sometimes paneled over to hide the pipe work. This paneling, like that lining the bottom and sides of the holds, is the ceiling.
- Derrick A lifting device composed of one mast or pole and a boom or jib which is hinged freely at the bottom.
- Devil seam The devil was possibly a slang term for the garboard seam, hence "between the devil and the deep blue sea" being an allusion to keel hauling, but a more popular version seems to be the seam between the waterway and the stanchions which would be difficult to get at, requiring a cranked caulking iron, and a restricted swing of the caulking mallet.
- Devil to pay (or Devil to pay, and no pitch hot) 'Paying' the Devil is sealing the devil seam. It is a difficult and unpleasant job (with no resources) because of the shape of the seam (up against the stanchions) or if the devil refers to the garboard seam, it must be done with the ship slipped or careened.
- Directional light A light illuminating a sector or very narrow angle and intended to mark a direction to be followed.
- Disrate To reduce in rank or rating; demote.
- Dog watch A short watch period, generally half the usual time (e.g. a two hour watch between two four hour ones). Such a watch might be included in order to slowly rotate the system over several days for fairness, or to allow both watches to eat their meals at approximately normal times.
- Dolphin A structure consisting of a number of piles driven into the seabed or riverbed in a circular pattern and drawn together with wire rope.
- Downhaul A line used to control either a mobile spar, or the shape of a sail.
- Draft or draught (both ) The depth of a ship's keel below the waterline.
- Dressing down Treating old sails with oil or wax to renew them, or a verbal reprimand.
- Driver The large sail flown from the mizzen gaff.
- Driver-mast The fifth mast of a six-masted barquentine or gaff schooner. It is preceded by the jigger mast and followed by the spanker mast. The sixth mast of the only seven-masted vessel, the gaff schooner Thomas W. Lawson, was normally called the pusher-mast.
- Dunnage
- 1. Loose packing material used to protect a ship's cargo from damage during transport.
- 2. Personal baggage.
E
- Earrings Small lines, by which the uppermost corners of the largest sails are secured to the yardarms.
- Echo sounding - Measuring the depth of the water using a sonar device. Also see sounding and swinging the lead.
- Embayed The condition where a sailing vessel is confined between two capes or headlands, typically where the wind is blowing directly onshore.
- Extremis (also known as in extremis) the point under International Rules of the Road (Navigation Rules) at which the privileged (or stand-on) vessel on collision course with a burdened (or give-way) vessel determines it must maneuver to avoid a collision. Prior to extremis, the privileged vessel must maintain course and speed and the burdened vessel must maneuver to avoid collision.
F
- 1. A smooth curve, usually referring to a line of the hull which has no deviations.
- 2. To make something flush.
- 3. A rope is fair when it has a clear run.
- 4. A wind or current is fair when it offers an advantage to a boat.
- Fast - Fastened or held firmly (fast aground: stuck on the seabed; made fast: tied securely).
- Fathom A unit of length equal to , roughly measured as the distance between a man's outstretched hands.
- Fender An air or foam filled bumper used in boating to keep boats from banging into docks or each other.
- Fetch
- 1. The distance across water which a wind or waves have traveled.
- 2. To reach a mark without tacking.
- 1. A tapered wooden tool used for separating the strands of rope for splicing.
- 2. A bar used to fix an upper mast in place.
- Figurehead symbolic image at the head of a traditional sailing ship or early steamer.
- Fireship A ship loaded with flammable materials and explosives and sailed into an enemy port or fleet either already burning or ready to be set alight by its crew (who would then abandon it) in order to collide with and set fire to enemy ships.
- First rate The classification for the largest sailing warships of the 17th through 19th centuries. They had 3 masts, 850+ crew and 100+ guns.
- Fish
- 1. To repair a mast or spar with a fillet of wood.
- 2. To secure an anchor on the side of the ship for sea (otherwise known as "catting".)
- First Lieutenant In the Royal Navy, the senior lieutenant on board; responsible to the Commander for the domestic affairs of the ship's company. Also known as 'Jimmy the One' or 'Number One'. Removes his cap when visiting the mess decks as token of respect for the privacy of the crew in those quarters. Officer i/c cables on the forecastle. In the U.S. Navy the senior person in charge of all Deck hands.
- First Mate The Second in command of a ship
- Flag hoist A number of signal flags strung together to convey a message, e.g. 'England expects...'.
- Flank The maximum speed of a ship. Faster than "full speed".
- Flare
- 1. A curvature of the topsides outward towards the gunwale.
- 2. A pyrotechnic signalling device, usually used to indicate distress.
- Flatback A Great Lakes slang term for a vessel without any self unloading equipment.
- Flotsam Debris or cargo that remains afloat after a shipwreck. See also jetsam.
- Fluke The wedge-shaped part of an anchor's arms that digs into the bottom.
- Fly by night A large sail used only for sailing downwind, requiring little attention.
- Following sea Wave or tidal movement going in the same direction as a ship
- Foot
- 1. The lower edge of any sail.
- 2. The bottom of a mast.
- 3. A measurement of 12 inches.
- Footloose If the foot of a sail is not secured properly, it is footloose, blowing around in the wind.
- Footrope Each yard on a square rigged sailing ship is equipped with a footrope for sailors to stand on while setting or stowing the sails
- Forecastle A partial deck, above the upper deck and at the head of the vessel; traditionally the sailors' living quarters. Pronounced , "fo'csle". The name is derived from the castle fitted to bear archers in time of war.
- Forward Towards the bow (of the vessel)
- Founder To fill with water and sink ? Wiktionary
- Force - See Beaufort scale.
- Fore, foreward (and often written "for'ard") Towards the bow (of the vessel).
- Forefoot The lower part of the stem of a ship.
- Foremast jack An enlisted sailor, one who is housed before the foremast.
- Forestays Long lines or cables, reaching from the front of the vessel to the mast heads, used to support the mast.
- Foul
- 1. The opposite of clear. For instance, a rope is foul when it does nor run straight or smoothly, and an anchor is foul when it is caught on an obstruction.
- 2. A breach of racing rules.
- Frame A transverse structural member which gives the hull strength and shape. Wooden frames may be sawn, bent or laminated into shape. Planking is then fastened to the frames. A bent frame is called a timber.
- Freeboard The height of a ship's hull (excluding superstructure) above the waterline. The vertical distance from the current waterline to the lowest point on the highest continuous watertight deck. This usually varies from one part to another.
- Full and by Sailing into the wind (by), but not as close-hauled as might be possible, so as to make sure the sails are kept full. This provides a margin for error to avoid being taken aback (a serious risk for square-rigged vessels) in a tricky sea. Figuratively it implies getting on with the job but in a steady, relaxed way, without undue urgency or strain.
- Furl To roll or gather a sail against its mast or spar.
- Futtocks Pieces of timber that make up a large transverse frame.
G
- 1. The spar that holds the upper edge of a four-sided fore-and-aft mounted sail.
- 2. A long hook with a sharp point to haul fish in.
- Gaff rigged A boat rigged with a four-sided fore-and-aft sail mounted on an upper spar or gaff which extends aft from the mast.
- Gammon iron The bow fitting which clamps the bowsprit to the stem.
- Galley the kitchen of the ship
- Gangplank A movable bridge used in boarding or leaving a ship at a pier; also known as a "brow".
- Gangway An opening in the bulwark of the ship to allow passengers to board or leave the ship.
- Garbled Garbling was the (illegal) practice of mixing cargo with garbage.
- Garboard The strake closest to the keel (from Dutch gaarboard).
- Garboard planks The planks immediately either side of the keel.
- Genoa or genny (both ) - A large jib, strongly overlapping the mainmast.
- Ghost To sail slowly when there is apparently no wind.
- Gibe - See gybe.
- Global Positioning System (GPS) A satellite based radionavigation system providing continuous worldwide coverage. It provides navigation, position, and timing information to air, marine, and land users.
- Going about or tacking - Changing from one tack to another by going through the wind (see also gybe). When ready to go about the helmsman or skipper calls "Ready about", the crew then each call "Ready!", and as the turn is made the helmsman calls "Lee oh!".
- Gooseneck Fitting that attaches the boom to the mast, allowing it to move freely.
- Goosewinged - Of a fore-and-aft rigged vessel sailing directly away from the wind, with the sails set on opposite sides of the vessel – for example with the mainsail to port and the jib to starboard.
- Grapeshot Small balls of lead fired from a cannon, similar to shotgun shot on a larger scale. Used to hurt people, rather than cause structural damage.
- Grave To clean a ships bottom.
- Grog Watered-down pusser's rum consisting of half a gill with equal part of water, issued to all seamen over twenty. (CPOs and POs were issued with neat rum) From the British Admiral Vernon who, in 1740, ordered the men's ration of rum to be watered down. He was called "Old Grogram" because he often wore a grogram coat), and the watered rum came to be called 'grog'. Often used (illegally) as currency in exchange for favours in quantities prescribed as 'sippers' and 'gulpers'. Additional issues of grog were made on the command 'splice the mainbrace' for celebrations or as a reward for performing especially onerous duties. The RN discontinued the practice of issuing rum in 1970. A sailor might repay a colleague for a favour by giving him part or all of his grog ration, ranging from "sippers" (a small amount) via "gulpers" (a larger quantity) to "grounders" (the entire tot).
- Groggy Drunk from having consumed a lot of grog.
- Ground - The bed of the sea.
- Grounding - When a ship (while afloat) touches the bed of the sea, or goes "aground" (qv).
- Gunner's daughter see kissing the gunner's daughter.
- Gunwale ("gunnle") Upper edge of the hull.
- Gybe - To change from one tack to the other away from the wind, with the stern of the vessel turning through the wind. When ready to go about the helmsman or skipper calls "Ready to gybe", the crew then each call "Ready!", and as the turn is made the helmsman calls "Gybe oh!". A gybe may also happen accidentally when sailing downwind. (See also going about and wearing ship.)
H
- Halyard or halliard Originally, ropes used for hoisting a spar with a sail attached; today, a line used to raise the head of any sail.
- Hammock Canvas sheets, slung from the deckhead in messdecks, in which seamen slept. "Lash up and stow" a piped command to tie up hammocks and stow them (typically) in racks inboard of the ship's side to protect crew from splinters from shot and provide a ready means of preventing flooding caused by damage.
- Handy billy A loose block and tackle with a hook or tail on each end, which can be used wherever it is needed. Usually made up of one single and one double block.
- Hand bomber A ship using coal-fired boilers shoveled in by hand.
- Hand over fist To climb steadily upwards, from the motion of a sailor climbing shrouds on a sailing ship (originally "hand over hand").
- Handsomely With a slow even motion, as when hauling on a line "handsomely".
- Hank A fastener attached to the luff of the headsail that attaches the headsail to the forestay. Typical designs include a bronze or plastic hook with a spring-operated gate, or a strip of cloth webbing with a snap fastener.
- Harbor A harbor or harbour, or haven, is a place where ships may shelter from the weather or are stored. Harbours can be man-made or natural.
- Hard - A section of otherwise muddy shoreline suitable for mooring or hauling out.
- Harden up - Turn towards the wind; sail closer to the wind.
- Hardtack - A hard and long-lasting dry biscuit, used as food on long journeys. Also called ship's biscuit.
- Hatchway, hatch A covered opening in a ship's deck through which cargo can be moved or access made to a lower deck; the cover to the opening is called a hatch.
- Haul wind To point the ship towards the direction of the wind; generally not the fastest point of travel on a sailing vessel.
- Hawse-hole A hole in a ship's bow for a cable or chain, such as for an anchor, to pass through.
- Hawsepiper An informal maritime industry term used to refer to a merchant ships officer who began his or her career as an unlicensed merchant seaman and did not attend a traditional maritime college/academy to earn the officer license.
- Head The toilet or latrine of a vessel, which for sailing ships projected from the bows
- Head of navigation A term used to describe the farthest point above the mouth of a river that can be navigated by ships.
- Headsail Any sail flown in front of the most forward mast.
- Heave A vessel's transient, vertical, up-and-down motion.
- Heaving to Stopping a sailing vessel by lashing the helm in opposition to the sails. The vessel will gradually drift to leeward, the speed of the drift depending on the vessel's design.
- Heave down Turn a ship on its side (for cleaning).
- Heeling Heeling is the lean caused by the wind's force on the sails of a sailing vessel.
- Helmsman A person who steers a ship
- Highfield lever A particular type of tensioning lever, usually for running backstays. Their use allows the leeward backstay to be completely slackened so that the boom can be let fully out.
- Hitch - A knot used to tie a rope or line to a fixed object. Also see bend.
- Hog
- 1. A fore-and-aft structural member of the hull fitted over the keel to provide a fixing for the garboard planks.
- 2. A rough flat scrubbing brush for cleaning a ships bottom under water.
- Hogging The distortion of the hull where the ends of the keel are lower than the center.
- Hold In earlier use, below the orlop deck, the lower part of the interior of a ship's hull, especially when considered as storage space, as for cargo. In later merchant vessels it extended up through the decks to the underside of the weather deck.
- Holiday A gap in the coverage of newly applied paint, slush, tar or other preservative.
- Holystone A chunk of sandstone used to scrub the decks. The name comes from both the kneeling position sailors adopt to scrub the deck (reminiscent of genuflection for prayer), and the stone itself (which resembled a Bible in shape and size).
- Horn A sound signal which uses electricity or compressed air to vibrate a disc diaphragm.
- Horn timber A fore-and-aft structural member of the hull sloping up and backwards from the keel to support the counter.
- Horse
- 1. Attachment of sheets to deck of vessel (main-sheet horse).
- 2. (v.) To move or adjust sail by brute hand force rather than using running rigging.
- Hounds Attachments of stays to masts.
- Hull The shell and framework of the basic flotation-oriented part of a ship
- Hydrofoil A boat with wing-like foils mounted on struts below the hull.
I
- Icing A serious hazard where cold temperatures (below about -10°C) combined with high wind speed (typically force 8 or above on the Beaufort scale) result in spray blown off the sea freezing immediately on contact with the ship
- Idlers Members of a ship's company not required to serve watches. These were in general specialist tradesmen such as the carpenter and the sailmaker.
- Inglefield clip A type of clip for attaching a flag to a flag halyard.
- In Irons When the bow of a sailboat is headed into the wind and the boat has stalled and is unable to maneuver
- In the offing In the water visible from on board a ship, now used to mean something imminent.
- Inboard-Outboard drive system A larger Power Boating alternative drive system to transom mounted outboard motors.
- In-water survey a method of surveying the underwater parts of a ship while it is still afloat instead of having to dry-dock it for examination of these areas as was conventionally done.
J
- 1 - A sailor. Also jack tar or just tar.
- 2 - A flag. Typically the flag was talked about as if it were a member of the crew. Strictly speaking, a flag is only a "jack" if it is worn at the jackstaff at the bow of a ship.
- Jacklines or jack stays Lines, often steel wire with a plastic jacket, from the bow to the stern on both port and starboard. The Jack Lines are used to clip on the safety harness to secure the crew to the vessel while giving them the freedom to walk on the deck.
- Jack tar A sailor dressed in 'square rig' with square collar. Formerly with a tarred pigtail.
- Jenny - See genoa
- Jetsam Debris ejected from a ship that sinks or washes ashore. See also flotsam.
- Jib A triangular staysail at the front of a ship.
- Jibboom A spar used to extend the bowsprit.
- Jibe - See gybe.
- Jigger-mast The fourth mast, although ships with four or more masts were uncommon, or the aft most mast where it is smallest on vessels of less than four masts.
- Jollies Traditional Royal Navy nickname for the Royal Marines.
- Joggle a slender triangular recess cut into the faying surface of a frame or steamed timber to fit over the land of clinker planking, or cut into the faying edge of a plank or rebate to avoid feather ends on a streak of planking. The feather end is cut off to produce a nib. The joggle and nib in this case is made wide enough to allow a caulking iron to enter the seam.
- Junk Old cordage past its useful service life as lines aboard ship. The strands of old junk were teased apart in the process called picking oakum.
K
- Keel The central structural basis of the hull
- Keelhauling Maritime punishment: to punish by dragging under the keel of a ship.
- Kelson The timber immediately above the keel of a wooden ship.
- Killick A small anchor. A fouled killick is the substantive badge of non-commissioned officers in the RN. Seamen promoted to the first step in the promotion ladder are called 'Killick'. The badge signifies that here is an Able Seaman skilled to cope with the awkward job of dealing with a fouled anchor.
- Kissing the gunner's daughter bend over the barrel of a gun for punitive spanking with a cane or cat
- King plank The centerline plank of a laid deck. Its sides are often recessed, or nibbed, to take the ends of their parallel curved deck planks.
- Knee Connects two parts roughly at right angles, eg. deck beams to frames.
- Know the ropes A sailor who 'knows the ropes' is familiar with the miles of cordage and ropes involved in running a ship.
L
- Ladder On board a ship, all "stairs" are called ladders, except for literal staircases aboard passenger ships. Most "stairs" on a ship are narrow and nearly vertical, hence the name. Believed to be from the Anglo-Saxon word hiaeder, meaning ladder.
- Laker Great Lakes slang for a vessel who spends all its time on the 5 Great Lakes.
- Land lubber A person unfamiliar with being on the sea.
- Lanyard A rope that ties something off.
- Larboard The left side of the ship (archaic, see port). cf. starboard. Derived from the old 'lay-board' providing access between a ship and a quay.
- Large See by and large.
- Lateral system A system of aids to navigation in which characteristics of buoys and beacons indicate the sides of the channel or route relative to a conventional direction of buoyage (usually upstream).
- Lay To come and go, used in giving orders to the crew, such as "lay forward" or "lay aloft". To direct the course of vessel. Also, to twist the strands of a rope together.
- Laying down Beginning construction in a shipyard.
- Lazarette Small stowage locker at the aft end of a boat.
- League A unit of length, normally equal to three nautical miles.
- Leech The aft or trailing edge of a fore-and-aft sail; the leeward edge of a spinnaker; a vertical edge of a square sail. The leech is susceptible to twist, which is controlled by the boom vang and mainsheet.
- Lee side The side of a ship sheltered from the wind (cf. weather side).
- Lee shore A shore downwind of a ship. A ship which cannot sail well to windward risks being blown onto a lee shore and grounded.
- Leeway The amount that a ship is blown leeward by the wind. See also weatherly.
- Leeward In the direction that the wind is blowing towards.
- Let go and haul An order indicating that the ship is in line with the wind.
- Letter of marque and reprisal A warrant granted to a privateer condoning specific acts of piracy against a target as a redress for grievances.
- Lifebelt, lifejacket, life preserver or Mae West - a device such as a buoyant ring or inflatable jacket which keeps a person afloat in the water.
- Lifeboat
- 1. Shipboard lifeboat, kept on board a vessel and used to take crew and passengers to safety in the event of the ship being abandoned.
- 2. Rescue lifeboat, usually launched from shore, used to rescue people from the water or from vessels in difficulty.
- Liferaft - An inflatable, covered raft, used in the event of a vessel being abandoned.
- Line the correct nautical term for the majority of the cordage or "ropes" used on a vessel. A line will always have a more specific name, such as mizzen topsail halyard, which describes its use.
- Liner Ship of the line: a major warship capable of taking its place in the main (battle) line of fighting ships. Hence modern term for most prestigious passenger vessels: Liner.
- List The vessel's angle of lean or tilt to one side, in the direction called roll.
- Loaded to the gunwales Literally, having cargo loaded as high as the ship's rail; also means extremely drunk.
- Loggerhead An iron ball attached to a long handle, used for driving caulking into seams and (occasionally) in a fight. Hence: 'at loggerheads'.
- Loose cannon An irresponsible and reckless individual whose behavior (either intended or unintended) endangers the group he or she belongs to. A loose cannon, weighing thousands of pounds, would crush anything and anyone in its path, and possibly even break a hole in the hull, thus endangering the seaworthiness of the whole ship.
- Loose footed A mainsail that is not connected to a boom along its foot.
- Lubber's line A vertical line inside a compass case indicating the direction of the ship's head.
- Luff The forward edge of a sail.
- Luff up To steer a sailing vessel more towards the direction of the wind until the pressure is eased on the [sheet].
- Luffing
- 1. When a sailing vessel is steered far enough to windward that the sail is no longer completely filled with wind (the luff of a fore-and-aft sail begins to flap first).
- 2. Loosening a sheet so far past optimal trim that the sail is no longer completely filled with wind.
- 3. The flapping of the sail(s) which results from having no wind in the sail at all.
- Lying ahull Waiting out a storm by dousing all sails and simply letting the boat drift.
M
- Mae West - A Second World War personal flotation device used to keep people afloat in the water; named after the 1930s actress Mae West, well-known for her pneumatic torso.
- Magnetic bearing - An absolute bearing (qv) using magnetic north.
- Magnetic north - The direction towards the magnetic north pole. Varies slowly over time.
- Mainbrace One of the braces attached to the mainmast.
- Mainmast (or Main) The tallest mast on a ship.
- Mainsheet Sail control line that allows the most obvious effect on mainsail trim. Primarily used to control the angle of the boom, and thereby the mainsail, this control can also increase or decrease downward tension on the boom while sailing upwind, significantly affecting sail shape. For more control over downward tension on the boom, use a boom vang.
- Man of war or man o' war a warship from the age of sail
- Man overboard! A cry let out when a seaman has gone overboard.
- Marconi rig Another term for bermudan rig. The mainsail is triangular, rigged fore-and-aft with the lead edge fixed to the mast. Refers to the similarity of the tall mast to a radio aerial.
- Marina a docking facility for small ships and yachts.
- Marines Soldiers afloat. Royal Marines formed as the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot in 1664 with many and varied duties including providing guard to ship's officers should there be mutiny aboard. Sometimes thought by seamen to be rather gullible, hence the phrase "tell it to the marines".
- Mast A vertical pole on a ship which supports sails or rigging.
- Masthead A small platform partway up the mast, just above the height of the mast's main yard. A lookout is stationed here, and men who are working on the main yard will embark from here. See also Crow's Nest.
- Master Either the commander of commercial vessel, or a senior officer of a naval sailing ship in charge of routine seamanship and navigation but not in command during combat.
- Master-at-Arms A non-commissioned officer responsible for discipline on a naval ship. Standing between the officers and the crew, commonly known in the Royal Navy as 'the Buffer'.
- Matelot A traditional Royal Navy term for an ordinary sailor.
- Mess An eating place aboard ship. A group of crew who live and feed together,
- Mess deck catering A system of catering in which a standard ration is issued to a mess supplemented by a money allowance which may be used by the mess to buy additional victuals from the pusser's stores or elsewhere. Each mess was autonomous and self-regulating. Seaman cooks, often members of the mess, prepared the meals and took them, in a tin canteen, to the galley to be cooked by the ship's cooks. As distinct from "cafeteria messing" where food is issued to the individual hand, which now the general practice.
- Midshipman A non-commissioned officer below the rank of Lieutenant. Usually regarded as being "in training" to some degree. Also known as 'Snotty'. 'The lowest form of animal life in the Royal Navy' where he has authority over and responsibility for more junior ranks, yet, at the same time, relying on their experience and learning his trade from them.
- Mizzenmast (or Mizzen) The third mast on a ship.
- Mizzen staysail Sail on a ketch or yawl, usually lightweight, set from, and forward of, the mizzen mast while reaching in light to moderate air.
- Monkey fist a ball woven out of line used to provide heft to heave the line to another location. The monkey fist and other heaving-line knots were sometimes weighted with lead (easily available in the form of foil used to seal e.g. tea chests from dampness) although Clifford W. Ashley notes that there was a "definite sporting limit" to the weight thus added.
- Moor to attach a boat to a mooring buoy or post. Also, to a dock a ship.
- Mould A template of the shape of the hull in transverse section. Several moulds are used to form a temporary framework around which a hull is built.
N
- Navigation rules Rules of the road that provide guidance on how to avoid collision and also used to assign blame when a collision does occur.
- Nipper Short rope used to bind a cable to the "messenger" (a moving line propelled by the capstan) so that the cable is dragged along too (used where the cable is too large to be wrapped round the capstan itself). During the raising of an anchor the nippers were attached and detached from the (endless) messenger by the ship's boys. Hence the term for small boys: 'nippers'.
- No room to swing a cat The entire ship's company was expected to witness floggings, assembled on deck. If it was very crowded, the bosun might not have room to swing the 'cat o' nine tails' (the whip).
O
- Oakum Material used for caulking hulls. Often hemp picked from old untwisted ropes.
- Oilskins or oilies - Foul-weather clothing worn by sailors.
- Oreboat Great Lakes term for a vessel primarily used in the transport of iron ore.
- Orlop deck The lowest deck of a ship of the line. The deck covering in the hold.
- Outhaul A line used to control the shape of a sail.
- Outward bound To leave the safety of port, heading for the open ocean.
- Overbear To sail downwind directly at another ship, stealing the wind from its sails.
- Overfall Dangerously steep and breaking seas due to opposing currents and wind in a shallow area.
- Overhaul Hauling the buntline ropes over the sails to prevent them from chaffing.
- Overhead The "ceiling," or, essentially, the bottom of the deck above you.
- Overreach When tacking, to hold a course too long.
- Over the barrel Adult sailors were flogged on the back or shoulders while tied to a grating, but boys were beaten instead on the posterior (often bared), with a cane or cat, while bending, often tied down, over the barrel of a gun, known as (kissing) the gunner's daughter.
- Overwhelmed Capsized or foundered.
- Owner traditional Royal Navy term for the Captain, a survival from the days when privately-owned ships were often hired for naval service.
- Ox-eye A cloud or other weather phenomenon that may be indicative of an upcoming storm.
P
- Panting The pulsation in and out of the bow and stern plating as the ship alternately rises and plunges deep into the water
- Parbuckle A method of lifting a roughly cylindrical object such as a spar. One end of a rope is made fast above the object, a loop of rope is lowered and passed around the object, which can be raised by hauling on the free end of rope.
- Parrel A movable loop or collar, used to fasten a yard or gaff to its respective mast. Parrel still allows the spar to be raised or lowered and swivel around the mast. Can be made of wire or rope and fitted with beads to reduce friction.
- Part brass rags Fall out with a friend. From the days when cleaning materials were shared between sailors.
- Pay Fill a seam (with caulking or pitch), or to lubricate the running rigging; pay with slush (q.v.), or protect from the weather by covering with slush. See also: The Devil to pay. (French from paix, pitch)
- Paymaster The officer responsible for all money matters in RN ships including the paying and provisioning of the crew, all stores, tools and spare parts. See also: purser.
- Pier-head jump When a sailor is drafted to a warship at the last minute, just before she sails.
- Pilot Navigator. A specially knowledgeable person qualified to navigate a vessel through difficult waters, e.g. harbour pilot etc.
- Pipe (Bos'n's), or a bos'n's call A whistle used by Boatswains (bosuns or bos'ns) to issue commands. Consisting of a metal tube which directs the breath over an aperture on the top of a hollow ball to produce high pitched notes. The pitch of the notes can be changed by partly covering the aperture with the finger of the hand in which the pipe is held. The shape of the instrument is similar to that of a smoking pipe.
- Pipe down A signal on the bosun's pipe to signal the end of the day, requiring lights (and smoking pipes) to be extinguished and silence from the crew.
- Piping the side A salute on the bos'n's pipe(s) performed in the company of the deck watch on the starboard side of the quarterdeck or at the head of the gangway, to welcome or bid farewell to the ship's Captain, senior officers and honoured visitors.
- Pitch A vessel's motion, rotating about the beam/transverse axis, causing the fore and aft ends to rise and fall repetitively.
- Pitchpole To capsize a boat end over end, rather than by rolling over.
- Pontoon A flat-bottomed vessel used as a ferry, barge, car float or a float moored alongside a jetty or a ship to facilitate boarding.
- Poop deck A high deck on the aft superstructure of a ship.
- Pooped
- 1. Swamped by a high, following sea.
- 2. Exhausted.
- Port Towards the left-hand side of the ship facing forward (formerly Larboard). Denoted with a red light at night.
- Porthole or port - an opening in a ship's side, esp. a round one for admitting light and air, fitted with thick glass and, often, a hinged metal cover, a window
- Port tack - When sailing with the wind coming from the port side of the vessel. Must give way to boats on starboard tack.
- Press gang Formed body of personnel from a ship of the Royal Navy (either a ship seeking personnel for its own crew or from a 'press tender' seeking men for a number of ships) that would identify and force (press) men, usually merchant sailors into service on naval ships usually against their will.
- Preventer (gybe preventer, jibe preventer) A sail control line originating at some point on the boom leading to a fixed point on the boat's deck or rail (usually a cleat or pad eye) used to prevent or moderate the effects of an accidental jibe.
- Privateer A privately-owned ship authorised by a national power (by means of a Letter of Marque) to conduct hostilities against an enemy. Also called a private man of war.
- Propeller walk or prop walk tendency for a propeller to push the stern sideways. In theory a right hand propeller in reverse will walk the stern to port.
- Prow a poetical alternative term for bows.
- Purchase A mechanical method of increasing force, such as a tackle or lever.
- Pusser Purser, the person who buys, stores and sells all stores on board ships, including victuals, rum and tobacco. Originally a private merchant, latterly a warrant officer. Also, in modern use, a term for the Navy in general (pussers) or a sailor in particular (a pusser).
- Principal Warfare Officer PWO, one of a number of Warfare branch specialist officers.
Q
- Queen's (King's) Regulations The standing orders governing the British Royal Navy issued in the name of the current Monarch.
- Quarterdeck The aftermost deck of a warship. In the age of sail, the quarterdeck was the preserve of the ship's officers.
- Quayside Refers to the dock or platform used to fasten a vessel to
R
- Rabbet or rebate A groove cut in wood to form part of a joint.
- Radar Acronym for RAdio Detection And Ranging. An electronic system designed to transmit radio signals and receive reflected images of those signals from a "target" in order to determine the bearing and distance to the "target".
- Radar reflector A special fixture fitted to a vessel or incorporated into the design of certain aids to navigation to enhance their ability to reflect radar energy. In general, these fixtures will materially improve the visibility for use by vessels with radar.
- Range lights Two lights associated to form a range (a line formed by the extension of a line connecting two charted points) which often, but not necessarily, indicates the channel centerline. The front range light is the lower of the two, and nearer to the mariner using the range. The rear light is higher and further from the mariner.
- Ratlines Rope ladders permanently rigged from bulwarks and tops to the mast to enable access to top masts and yards.
- Reaching Sailing across the wind: from about 60° to about 160° off the wind. Reaching consists of "close reaching" (about 60° to 80°), "beam reaching" (about 90°) and "broad reaching" (about 120° to 160°). See also beating and running.
- Ready about - A call to indicate imminent tacking (see going about).
- Red Duster Traditional nickname for the Red Ensign, the civil ensign (flag) carried by United Kingdom civilian vessels.
- Reduced cat A light version on the cat o'nine tails for use on boys; also called "boys' pussy".
- Reef
1. Reef: To temporarily reduce the area of a sail exposed to the wind, usually to guard against adverse effects of strong wind or to slow the vessel.
2. Reef: Rock or coral, possibly only revealed at low tide, shallow enough that the vessel will at least touch if not go aground.
* Reef points Small lengths of cord attached to a sail, used to secure the excess fabric after reefing.
* Reef-bands Long pieces of rough canvas sewed across the sails to give them additional strength.
* Reef-tackles Ropes employed in the operation of reefing.
* Relative bearing - A bearing relative to the direction of the ship: the clockwise angle between the ship's direction and an object. See also "absolute bearing" and "bearing".
* Rigging The system of masts and lines on ships and other sailing vessels.
* Righting couple The force which tends to restore a ship to equilibrium once a heel has altered the relationship between her centre of buoyancy and her centre of gravity.
* Rigol The rim or 'eyebrow' above a port-hole or scuttle.
* Roll A vessel's motion rotating from side to side, about the fore-aft/longitudinal axis. List (qv) is a lasting tilt in the roll direction.
* Rolling-tackle A number of pulleys, engaged to confine the yard to the weather side of the mast; this tackle is much used in a rough sea.
* The ropes - the lines in the rigging.
* Rope's end - A summary punishment device.
* Rowlock - a bracket providing the fulcrum for an oar. Also see thole.
* Rubbing strake An extra plank fitted to the outside of the hull, usually at deck level, to protect the topsides.
* 'Rummage sale' A sale of damaged cargo (from French arrimage).
* 'Running rigging' Rigging used to manipulate sails, spars, etc. in order to control the movement of the ship. Cf. standing rigging.
* 'Running before the wind' or 'running' - Sailing more than about about 160° away from the wind. If directly away from the wind, it's a dead run.
S
*'Sagging' When a trough of a wave is amidship, causing the hull to deflect so that the ends of the keel ar higher than the middle. The opposite to hogging.
* 'Sail-plan' A set of drawings showing various sail combinations recommended for use in various situations.
* 'Saltie' Great Lakes term for a vessel that sails the oceans.
* 'Sampson post' A strong vertical post used to support a ship's windlass and the heel of a ship's bowsprit.
* 'Scandalize' To reduce the area and efficiency of a sail by expedient means (slacking the peak and tricing up the tack) without properly reefing, thus slowing boat speed. Also used in the past as a sign of mourning.
* 'Scow'
1. A method of preparing an anchor for tripping by attaching an anchor cable to the crown and fixing to the ring by a light seizing (also known as becue). The seizing can be broken if the anchor becomes fouled.
2. A type of clinker dinghy, characteristically beamy and slow.
* 'Scud' A name given by sailors to the lowest clouds, which are mostly observed in squally weather.
* 'Scudding' A term applied to a vessel when carried furiously along by a tempest.
* 'Scuppers' Originally a series of pipes fitted through the ships side from inside the thicker deck waterway to the topside planking to drain water overboard, larger quantities drained through freeing ports, which were hinged openings in the bulwarks.
* 'Scuttle' A small opening, or lid thereof, in a ship's deck or hull. To cut a hole in, or sink something.
* 'Scuttlebutt' A barrel with a hole in used to hold water that sailors would drink from. Also: gossip.
* 'Sea anchor' A stabilizer deployed in the water for heaving to in heavy weather. It acts as a brake and keeps the hull in line with the wind and perpendicular to waves.
* 'Seaboots' - High waterproof boots for use at sea. In leisure sailing known as sailing wellies.
* 'Sea chest' A watertight box built against the hull of the ship communicating with the sea through a grillage, to which valves and piping are attached to allow water in for ballast, engine cooling, and firefighting purposes.
* 'Seacock' a valve in the hull of a boat.
* 'Seaman' Generic term for sailor, or (part of) a low naval rank
* 'Seaworthy' Certified for, and capable of, safely sailing at sea.
* 'Self-unloader' Great Lakes slang term for a vessel with a conveyor or some other method of unloading the cargo without shoreside equipment.
* 'Sennet whip' A summary punitive implement
* 'Shakes' Pieces of barrels or casks broken down to save space. They are worth very little, leading to the phrase "no great shakes".
* 'Sheer' The upward curve of a vessel's longitudinal lines as viewed from the side.
* 'Sheet' A rope used to control the setting of a sail in relation to the direction of the wind.
* 'Sextant' - Navagational instrument used to measure a ship's latitude and longitude.
* 'Ship' Strictly, a three-masted vessel square-rigged on all three masts, or on three masts of a vessel with more than three. Hence a ship-rigged barque would be a four master, square-rigged on fore, main and mizzen, with spanker and gaff topsail only on the Jigger-mast. Generally now used to describe most medium or large vessels outfitted with smaller boats. As a consequence of this submarines may be larger than small ships, but are called boats because they do not carry boats of their own.
* 'Ship's bell' Striking the ship's bell is the traditional method of marking time and regulating the crew's watches.
* 'Ship's biscuit' - See hard tack.
* 'Ship's company' The crew of a ship.
* 'Shoal' Shallow water that is a hazard to navigation.
* 'Shoal draught' - Of a vessel with shallow draught, so capable of sailing in unusually shallow water.
* 'Shrouds' Standing rigging running from a mast to the sides of a ships.
* 'Sick bay' The compartment reserved for medical purposes.
* 'Siren' A sound signal which uses electricity or compressed air to actuate either a disc or a cup shaped rotor.
* 'Skeg' - A downward or sternward projection from the keel in front of the rudder. Protects the rudder from damage, and in bilge keelers may provide one "leg" of a tripod on which the boat stands when the tide is out.
* 'Skipper' The captain of a ship.
* 'Skysail' A sail set very high, above the royals. Only carried by a few ships.
* 'Skyscraper' A small, triangular sail, above the skysail. Used in light winds on a few ships.
*'Slop chest' A ship's store of merchandise, such as clothing, tobacco, etc., maintained aboard merchant ships for sale to the crew.
* 'Slush' Greasy substance obtained by boiling or scraping the fat from empty salted meat storage barrels, or the floating fat residue after boiling the crew's meal. In the Royal Navy the perquisite of the cook who could sell it or exchange it (usually for alcohol) with other members of the crew. Used for greasing parts of the running rigging of the ship and therefore valuable to the master and bosun.
* 'Slush fund' The money obtained by the cook selling slush ashore. Used for the benefit of the crew (or the cook).
* 'Small bower (anchor)' The smaller of two anchors carried in the bow.
* 'Snow' A form of brig where the gaff spanker or driver is rigged on a "snow mast" a lighter spar supported in chocks close behind the main-mast.
* 'Son of a gun' The space between the guns was used as a semi-private place for trysts with prostitutes and wives, which sometimes led to birth of children with disputed parentage. Another claim is that the origin the term resulted from firing a ship's guns to hasten a difficult birth.
* 'Sonar' A method of using sound pulses to detect, range and sometime image underwater targets and obstacles, or the bed of the sea. Also see echo sounding and ASDIC.
* 'Sou'wester' -
1. A storm from the south west.
2. A type of waterproof hat with a wide brim over the neck, worn in storms.
* 'Sounding' - Measuring the depth of the water. Traditionally done by swinging the lead, now commonly by echo sounding.
* 'Spanker' A fore-and-aft or gaff-rigged sail on the aft-most mast of a square-rigged vessel and the main fore-and-aft sail (spanker sail) on the aft-most mast of a (partially) fore-and-aft rigged vessel such as a schooner, a barquentine, and a barque.
* 'Spanker-mast' The aft-most mast of a fore-and-aft or gaff-rigged vessel such as schooners, barquentines, and barques. A full-rigged ship has a spanker sail but not a spanker-mast (see Jigger-mast).
* 'Spar' A wooden, in later years also iron or steel pole used to support various pieces of rigging and sails. The big five-masted full-rigged tall ship Preussen (German spelling: Preuίen) had crossed 30 steel yards, but only one wooden spar the little gaff of its spanker sail.
* 'Spindrift' Finely-divided water swept from crest of waves by strong winds.
* 'Spinnaker' A large sail flown in front of the vessel while heading downwind.
* 'Spinnaker pole' A spar used to help control a spinnaker or other headsail.
* 'Splice' To join lines (ropes, cables etc.) by unravelling their ends and intertwining them to form a continuous line. To form an eye or a knot by splicing.
* 'Square meal' A sufficient quantity of food. Meals on board ship were served to the crew on a square wooden plate in harbor or at sea in good weather. Food in the Royal Navy was invariably better or at least in greater quantity than that available to the average landsman. However, while square wooden plates were indeed used on board ship, there is no established link between them and this particular term. The OED gives the earliest reference from the U.S. in the mid 19th century.
* 'Squared away' Yards held rigidly perpendicular to their masts and parallel to the deck. This was rarely the best trim of the yards for efficiency but made a pretty sight for inspections and in harbor. The term is applied to situations and to people figuratively to mean that all difficulties have been resolved or that the person is performing well and is mentally and physically prepared.
* 'Squat effect' is the phenomenon by which a vessel moving quickly through shallow water creates an area of lowered pressure under its keel that reduces the ship's buoyancy, particularly at the bow. The reduced buoyancy causes the ship to "squat" lower in the water than would ordinarily be expected, and thus its effective draught is increased.
* 'Stanchion' vertical post near a deck's edge that supports life-lines. A timber fitted in between the frame heads on a wooden hull or a bracket on a steel vessel, approx one meter high, to support the bulwark plank or plating and the rail.
* 'Standing rigging' Rigging which is used to support masts and spars, and is not normally manipulated during normal operations. Cf. running rigging.
* 'Starboard' Towards the right-hand side of a vessel facing forward. Denoted with a green light at night. Derived from the old steering oar or 'steerboard' which preceded the invention of the rudder.
* 'Starboard tack' - When sailing with the wind coming from the starboard side of the vessel. Has right of way over boats on port tack.
* 'Starter' A rope used as a punitive device. See teazer, togey.
* 'Stay' Rigging running fore (forestay) and aft (backstay) from a mast to the hull.
* 'Staysail' A sail whose luff is attached to a forestay.
* 'Steering oar' or 'steering board' A long, flat board or oar that went from the stern to well underwater, used to control the vessel in the absence of a rudder..
* 'Stem' The extension of keel at the forward end of a ship.
* 'Stern' The rear part of a ship, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter to the taffrail.
* 'Stern tube' The tube under the hull to bear the tailshaft for propulsion (usually at stern).
* 'Stonnacky' A punitive device.
* 'Stopper knot' - A knot tied in the end of a rope, usually to stop it passing through a hole; most commonly a figure-of-eight knot.
* 'Strake' One of the overlapping boards in a clinker built hull.
* 'Studding-sails' ("stunsail") Long and narrow sails, used only in fine weather, on the outside of the large square sails.
* 'Surge' A vessel's transient motion in a fore and aft direction.
* 'Sway'
1. A vessel's lateral motion from side to side.
2. (v) To hoist: "Sway up my dunnage".
* 'Swigging' To take up the last bit of slack on a line such as a halyard, anchor line or dockline by taking a single turn round a cleat and alternately heaving on the rope above and below the cleat while keeping the tension on the tail.
* 'Swinging the compass' Measuring the accuracy in a ship's magnetic compass so its readings can be adjusted often by turning the ship and taking bearings on reference points.
* 'Swinging the lamp' Telling sea stories. Referring to lamps slung from the deckhead which swing while at sea. Often used to indicate that the story teller is exaggerating.
* 'Swinging the lead'
1. Measuring the depth of water beneath a ship using a lead-weighted sounding line. Regarded as a relatively easy job, thus:
2. Feigning illness etc to avoid a hard job.
T
* 'Tabernacle' A large bracket attached firmly to the deck, to which the foot of the mast is fixed. It has two sides or cheeks and a bolt forming the pivot around which the mast is raised and lowered.
* 'Tack' -
1. A leg of the route of a sailing vessel, particularly in relation to tacking (qv) and to starboard tack and port tack (also qv).
2. Hard tack: qv.
* 'Tacking' -
1. Zig-zagging so as to sail directly towards the wind (and for some rigs also away from it).
2. Going about (qv).
* 'Taffrail' A rail at the stern of the boat that covers the head of the counter timbers.
* 'Tailshaft' A kind of metallic shafting (a rod of metal) to hold the propeller and connected to the power engine. When the tailshaft is moved, the propeller may also be moved for propulsion.
* 'Taken aback' An inattentive helmsmen might allow the dangerous situation to arise where the wind is blowing into the sails 'backwards', causing a sudden (and possibly dangerous) shift in the position of the sails.
* 'Taking the wind out of his sails' To sail in a way that steals the wind from another ship. cf. overbear.
* 'Tally' The operation of hauling aft the 'sheets', or drawing them in the direction of the ship's stern.
* 'Teazer' A rope used as a punitive device.
* 'Thole' Vertical wooden peg or pin inserted through the gunwale to form a fulcrum for oars when rowing. Used in place of a rowlock.
* 'Three sheets to the wind' On a three-masted ship, having the sheets of the three lower courses loose will result in the ship meandering aimlessly downwind. Also, a sailor who has drunk strong spirits beyond his capacity.
* 'Thwart' - A bench seat across the width of an open boat.
* 'Timoneer' From the French timonnier, is a name given, on particular occasions, to the steersman of a ship.
* 'Tingle' A thin temporary patch.
* 'Toe-rail' A low strip running around the edge of the deck like a low bulwark. It may be shortened or have gaps in it to allow water to flow off the deck.
* 'Toe the line ' or ' Toe the mark' At parade, sailors and soldiers were required to stand in line, their toes in line with a seam of the deck.
* 'Togey' A rope used as a punitive device
* 'Topmast' The second section of the mast above the deck; formerly the upper mast, later surmounted by the topgallant mast; carrying the topsails.
* 'Topgallant' The mast or sails above the tops.
* 'Topsail' The second sail (counting from the bottom) up a mast. These may be either square sails or fore-and-aft ones, in which case they often "fill in" between the mast and the gaff of the sail below.
* 'Topsides' the part of the hull between the waterline and the deck. Also, Above-water hull
* 'Touch and go' The bottom of the ship touching the bottom, but not grounding.
* 'Towing' The operation of drawing a vessel forward by means of long lines.
* 'Travellers' Small fittings that slide on a rod or line. The most common use is for the inboard end of the mainsheet; a more esoteric form of traveller consists of "slight iron rings, encircling the backstays, which are used for hoisting the top-gallant yards, and confining them to the backstays".
* 'Traffic Separation Scheme' Shipping corridors marked by buoys which separate incoming from outgoing vessels. Improperly called Sea Lanes.
* 'Transom' a more or less flat surface across the stern of a vessel. Dinghies tend to have almost vertical transoms, whereas yachts transoms may be raked forward or aft.
* 'Trice' To haul and tie up by means of a rope.
* 'Trick' A period of time spent at the wheel ("my trick's over").
* 'Trim' Relationship of ship's hull to waterline.
* 'True bearing' - An absolute bearing (qv) using true north.
* 'True north' - The direction of the geographical North Pole.
* 'Tumblehome' A description of hull shape when viewed in a transverse section, where the widest part of the hull is someway below deck level.
* 'Turn - A knot passing behind or around an object.
* 'Turtling' When a sailboat (in particular a dinghy) capsizes to a point where the mast is pointed straight down and the hull is on the surface resembling a turtle shell.
U
* 'Under the weather' Serving a watch on the weather side of the ship, exposed to wind and spray.
* 'Under way' A vessel that is moving under control: that is, neither at anchor, made fast to the shore, aground nor adrift.
* 'Underwater hull' or underwater ship The underwater section of a vessel beneath the waterline, normally not visible except when in drydock.
* 'Up-behind' Slack off quickly and run slack to a belaying point. This order is given when a line or wire has been stopped off or falls have been four-in-hand and the hauling part is to be belayed.
* 'Upper-yardmen' Specially selected personnel destined for high office.
V
* 'Vang'
1 - A rope leading from gaff to either side of the deck, used to prevent the gaff from sagging.
2 - See boom vang.
* 'Vanishing angle' The maximum degree of heel after which a vessel becomes unable to return to an upright position.
* 'V-hull' The shape of a boat or ship which the shape of the hull comes to a straight line to the keel.
W
* 'Wake' Turbulence behind a vessel. Not to be confused with wash.
*'Waist' the central deck of a ship between the forecastle and the quarterdeck.
* 'Wales' A number of strong and thick planks running length-wise along the ship, covering the lower part of the ship's side.
* 'Wash' - The waves created by a vessel. Not to be confused with wake.
* 'Watch' A period of time during which a part of the crew is on duty. Changes of watch are marked by strokes on the ship's bell.
* 'Watercraft' Water transport vessels. Ships, boats, personal water craft etc.
* 'Waterway' A strake of timber laid against the frames or bulwark stanchions at the margin of a laid wooden deck, usually about twice the thickness of the deck plank.
* 'Waypoint' - A location defined by navigational coordinates, especially as part of a planned route.
* 'Wearing ship - Tacking away from the wind in a square-rigged vessel. See also Gybe.
* 'Weather gage' Favorable position over another sailing vessel to with respect to the wind.
* 'Weather deck' Whichever deck is that exposed to the weather usually either the main deck or, in larger vessels, the upper deck.
* 'Weather side' The side of a ship exposed to the wind.
* 'Weatherly' A ship that is easily sailed and maneuvered; makes little leeway when sailing to windward.
* 'Weigh anchor' To heave up (an anchor) preparatory to sailing.
* 'Wells' Places in the ship's hold for the pumps.
* 'White horses' or 'whitecaps' Foam or spray on wave tops caused by stronger winds (usually above Force 4).
* 'Wheelhouse' Location on a ship where the steering wheel is located, often interchanged with pilothouse and bridge.
* 'Wide berth' To leave room between two ships moored (berthed) to allow space for maneuver.
* 'Windage' Wind resistance of the boat.
* 'Windbound' A condition wherein the ship is detained in one particular station by contrary winds.
* 'Wind-over-tide' Sea conditions with a tidal current and a wind in opposite directions, leading to short, heavy seas.
* 'Windward' In the direction that the wind is coming from.
* 'Windlass' A winch mechanism, usually with a horizontal axis. Used where mechanical advantage greater than that obtainable by block and tackle was needed (such as raising the anchor on small ships).
* 'Worm, serve, and parcel' To protect a section of rope from chafing by: laying yarns (worming) to fill in the cuntlines, wrapping marline or other small stuff (serving) around it, and stitching a covering of canvas (parceling) over all.
Y
* 'Yard' The horizontal spar from which a square sail is suspended.
* 'Yardarm' The very end of a yard. Often mistaken for a "yard", which refers to the entire spar. As in to hang "from the yardarm" and the sun being "over the yardarm" (late enough to have a drink).
* 'Yarr' Acknowledgement of an order, or agreement. Also aye, aye.
* 'Yaw' A vessel's rotational motion about the vertical axis, causing the fore and aft ends to swing from side to side repetitively.
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