abaft - art of a given location on a ship
aback - a sail is aback when so sheeted to windward that it exerts a braking force on the yacht's forward motion, or when the wind comes on what should be its lee side
abaft the beam - indication of a position between a ship's beam (i) and her stern
abeam - at right angles to the fore-and-aft center line amid-ships
about - the position of a ship after she has tacked, or gone about
aft - behind, in the direction of the stern of a ship
aloft - at the mast head or in the higher yards and rigging
amidships - the middle of the ship, either in regard to her length or breadth
anemometer - an instrument for measuring the strength of the wind
aspect ratio - the relation of length to width in a sail, a wing, a rudder, a centerboard, or any other object
astern - behind the ship
athwart - at right angles to a ship's course
athwartships - running across a ship from side to side
backing - a wind is said to be backing when it shifts in a counter-clockwise direction (to one looking into the wind)
backstays - ropes extending aft from mastheads to the ship's sides, supporting the masts against forward strain
ballast keel - the lead or iron bolted onto the wooden structural keel to give a yacht stability
beam - (i) measurement across the ship at her widest part; (ii) a timber that runs horizontally across the ship, supporting the deck
bear away, to; bear off, to - to put the helm up (to windward) and turn the bow of the boat away from the wind
beam ends - a ship is on her beam ends when listing at an extreme angle so that her beams (ii) are near-vertical and she is in danger of capsizing
belay - (i) secure a rope by turning around a belaying pin; (ii) an order to cease or disregard
bend - to fasten to, or make fast
berth - (i) a sleeping place on board; (ii) the place ashore, in a dock, or at an anchorage, which is occupied by a vessel. To berth a vessel is to put her into such a place
betwixt (between) wind and water - at or near the waterline on a ship's hull
bight - (i) a loop or slack part in a rope; (ii) a large bay
binnacle - the wooden housing for the ship's compass, usually situated beside or before the wheel
bitter end - the free end of a line
bobstay - a chain, wire, or rod from the stem to the end of the bowsprit, to support it against the upward pull of the jib
bollard - (i) a post, usually on a pier or quay, to which mooring or warping lines are made fast; (ii) a metal fitting with two heads, on a vessel's deck at the bow or quarter, to which mooring lines are secured.
boltrope - a rope sewn along the edge of a sail to strengthen it and take the strain off the material
bonnet - panel laced to the foot of the sail to increase its area in light winds and removed in strong winds: a form of reefing prevalent from the late 15th century to the 17th
boom - a spar extending the foot of a sail
bow - the front end of a vessel
bowline - a rope made fast to the sides of a sail to pull it forward so that it is steady when the ship is close-hauled
bowsprit - a spar on which the jib is set projecting horizontally from the bow
box the compass - (i) to demonstrate familiarity with all the points of the compass; (ii) to drift aimlessly, as when a ship loses steerage and faces successively in all directions
brace - a rope attached to the end of a yard, by means of which the yard may be braced in order to trim the sails
brail - a rope which encircles a sail for the purpose of gathering it in to the mast, sprit, or yard
brail, to - to take in a sail by the brails
brig - a two-masted vessel square-rigged on both masts
brigantine - originally a small vessel with both sails and oars; later a two-masted vessel with square rig on the foremast and fore-and-aft rig on the mainmast
bring to - to bring to a halt
bulkheads - the partitions in a ship
bunt - the center of a square sail
buntlines - a rope used when reefing
buntline hitch - an excellent knot for attaching a dinghy painter made of synthetic line to a ring. It does not tend to come undone as two half hitches would. It is also used to attach a sheet to a sail, and takes up less space than a bow line.
by the lee - running with the wind on the same side as the boom
carronade - short squat naval gun, invented at the Carron Ironworks in Scotland in 1779, shaped like an apothecary's mortar, and capable of throwing a heavy shot high for a short distance; used to create 'plunging fire' to attack the decks of another ship from above or to hurl a bombardment over castle walls
catheads - (i) short, stout timbers projecting over the bows on either side of the bowsprit and housing the anchors; (ii) a woman's breasts
centerboard - a hinged vertical plate or board which can be lowered through a slot in the keel of a shoal-draught yacht or dinghy to provide lateral resistance
centerline - fore-and-aft line that runs along the exact center of the boat
channel - one of the ledges sometimes built out from the sides of a vessel to increase the spread of the shrouds
claw off, to - to beat away from a lee shore
cleat - a fitting to which a rope may be secured
clews - the bottom corners of a square sail; or the aftermost corner of a fore-and-aft sail
close-hauled - a method of tacking in an emergency which involved letting to the lee anchor and cutting its cable when the ship paid off
close to the wind - with the head of the ship directed as nearly as possible to the point from which the wind is blowing
compass point - a division of the compass card; 1/32 of a circle, or 11 1/4 degrees
compass rose - a circle, marked like a compass card, which is printed on a chart
contline - the spiral space between the strands of a rope
corvette - a type of small frigate
course steered - the direction in which the bow of the boat is pointed when underway
crank - said of a vessel that is unhandy, easily tipped; the opposite of "stiff"
crocus - a surgeon (from "to croak" = "die")
crosstree - a horizontal timber that spreads the shrouds
culverin - long (9-13 ft./2.8-4 m) narrow (5 in/17. cm calibre) naval gun capable of firing a 17-pound (7.7 kg) solid iron shot at long range
cutter - a single-masted boat with mainsail and usually two headsails, with the mast stepped close to amidships (from 40% to 50% aft of the bow, versus 33% for a sloop)
datum - the reference plane from which depths of water are measured and recorded on charts (as "charted depths" or "soundings") and, in coastal waters, to which height of tide is added algebraically to determine depth of the water.
"Dead Louse" - HMS Daedalus
dead reckoning (DR) - calculating a boat's position based on its course, speed, and time run from a previous position.
deviation - disturbing effect of boat's magnetic field upon its compass
dinghy - small open boat used as a tender or lifeboat
displacement - the weight of water displaced by a floating vessel; hence, the weight of the vessel itself.
downhaul - a rope used for pulling down a sail
down helm, to - to put the helm to leeward so as to bring the vessel's head toward the wind
doldrums - a sea near the Equator, out of the trade winds, where ships were likely to be becalmed
fathom - a measure of six feet used in describing depth, lengths of cable, etc.
fender - protective device between a boat and another object
Fiddler's Green - the sailor's mythical heaven, where rum and tobacco are free and inexhaustible
flemish - to coil a line in a neat spiral on deck
flying jib - the jib set furthest forward on a vessel with two or more jibs, typically on a jib-boom, an extension to the bowsprit
foot - the lower edge of a square sail
footrope - a rope running below a yard and supporting the feet of seamen while reefing
fore-and-aft - running from bow to stern; the opposite of athwartships
forecastle - pronounced foacs'l. The superstructure at the foremost part of a ship
foresail - the sail set from a schooner's foremast
forestay - the foremost stay (permanently fixed rope or cable) reaching from the top of a mast to the deck or bowsprit; with the backstay, preventing the mast from bending and giving it fore-and-aft support in the same way as shrouds give lateral support
forward - toward the bow
furling - bundling up a sail and securing it to a yard
gaff - spar to which the head of a fore-and-aft four-sided sail is laced and hoisted on the after side of a mast
give way - order for rowers to being pulling on their oars
grog - rum and water; in 1740, Admiral Vernon, "Old Grog," decreed that the pint of rum issued to a seaman each day should be diluted with two parts of water
ground squirrel - a pig
guffies - Marines
halyards (halliards; haulyards) - the ropes employed to hoist or lower spars, yards, or sails
haul the wind - to direct a ship to sail nearer to the direction from which the wind is blowing
hawse - (i) the area around the ship's bow containing the hawse-holes, through which the anchor cables pass; (ii) when anchored, the distance between the ship's bow and the anchor
heave to - to come into the wind with the minimum sail area exposed, and thus make no headway; a maneuver normally used to wait out rough weather
helm - the tiller or wheel and related steering gear
helmsman - the one who steers the boat with the tiller or wheel
hen frigate - a warship in which the captain (as sometimes occurred) had his wife aboard and, it was cynically said, was ruled by her
Jacob's ladder - rope ladder for access to upper parts of the rigging, but (unlike ratlines) not itself a part of the rigging. Of Mediterranean origin
jib - a large triangular sail set on a forward stay
jib-boom - extension to the bowsprit for mounting a flying jib
jib downhaul - a line from the head of a jib to block near the tack and then leading aft. Used to douse the jib without going forward
jury rig - a temporary fix, as in a "jury mast" improvised from a stout spar, made out of necessity; perhaps from the French journee, "day" or "for a day"
keel - the bottom-most fore-and-aft timber of the ship, on which its entire framework depends
kedge - (1) move boat by pulling it up to its anchor; (2) Type of anchor
(to) kiss the gunner's daughter - to be tide over a gun barrel and beaten on the buttocks, the usual punishment for boys aboard; hence the phrase "over a barrel" = "in an unpleasant position"
knot - a measure of ship's speed in nautical miles per hour; so-called after the knots tied at regular intervals in the log-line
larboard - the port side (left, facing the bow) of a ship, possibly from Norse blada bord or Old English laddebord, both meaning "loading side;" until 1844 this name was officially preferred to port
lead - a weight attached to a lead-line for determining the depth of water
lee gage - see the definition below of its opposite, the weather gage
lee shore - one onto which wind or current can force a boat; shore to leeward of boat
lee side - the sheltered side of the ship; i.e. the opposite side to that on which the wind is blowing
leeway - (1) sideways movement of a boat through the water caused by wind; (2) the angular difference due to wind between the true course steered and the true course over ground
line of battle - the line formed by the first-, second- and third-rate ships of a fleet before joining battle with another fleet. See below for rates.
line of position (LOP) - (1) A line, usually plotted on a chart, along which the boat lies, as determined from a single observation. (2) A visual or electronic reference line from or about a known navigational aid
luff - an order given to a helmsman to bring the ship's head up closer to the wind
marline spike - a pointed metal rod about 16 inches in length, used to separate strands of rope when splicing
mizzen (mizen) - the aftermost mast; the name probably derives from the French misaine or Italian mezzana - although both of these words mean "foremast"
pilot - a navigator expert in local conditions, often taken aboard to bring a ship into a port or anchorage
port - (i) the left-hand side of a vessel when looking forward. So named because when in port that side would go against the quay or jetty, avoiding damage to the steer-board. (ii) any aperture pierced through the hull, such as a gun-port.
-pounder - suffix denoting the size of a warship's gun, as defined by the weight of its shot, such as 5-pounder, 17-pounder, 32-pounder, etc.
quarter - sections of a ship to port and starboard of the stern
quarterdeck - section of the upper deck aft of the mainmast or its area
rate - system of classifying sailing warships according to the number of guns they carried, introduced into the Royal Navy in 1751 and adopted by most other armed fleets. In 1810 the number of guns per rate was increased, but the number of rates (six) remained the same. Normally only ships of the first three rates were judged capable of standing in the line of battle. Here the increased 1810 numbers are given in brackets after the 1715 numbers: sixth rate - any number of guns up to thirty-two if the vessel was commanded by a qualified captain, if not, the vessel was classified as a sloop and given correspondingly lighter duties (the number of guns for a sixth rate did not alter in 1810); fifth rate - thirty-two to fifty (sixty) guns; fourth rate - fifty (sixty) to seventy (eighty) guns; third rate - seventy (eighty) to eighty-four (ninety) guns; second rate - eighty four (ninety ) to 100 (110) guns; first rate - 100-110 guns or more.
ratlines - rope steps in the shrouds, giving access to upper parts of the rigging. Unlike a Jacob's ladder, ratlines were an integral part of the rigging
razee or rasee - during the 18th and 19th centuries, a period of rapid change in naval ship-building, a razee was a ship which was no longer suitable to fight in its original rate and had had a deck removed, thereby rating it at a lower level.
reef, to - process of reducing the area of sail exposed to the wind. Originally sail area was increased or decreased by attaching or removing bonnets, which required the whole sail to be lowered. The the introduction of footropes and reef-points in the 17th century it became possible to reef a sail from above without having to lower it to the deck
reef-point - short lengths of rope set into a sail to enable it to be reefed
spar - any wooden support used in the rigging of a ship
sprit - long spar stretching diagonally across a four-sided fore-and-aft rigged sail
spritsail - small square sail set under the bowsprit
spritsail topsail - small square sail set above the bowsprit
starboard - the right-hand side of a vessel as seen when facing forward
staysail - small fore-and-aft triangular sail temporarily fitted to stay and taking its full name (e.g. fore staysail) from the stay to which it is fitted
tackle - pronounced 'taykle', a corruption of 'take-all'. Two or more wooden blocks working in conjunction to multiply the power exerted on a rope
weather gage - in theory an advantageous situation when attacking from windward. The fleet with the weather gage could choose its point of action; could double round the enemy if it wished, and attack simultaneously from both sides; could send fireships down onto the enemy; and could be sure that the enemy's view would be obscured more than its own by drifting smoke. On the other hand, when either side got into difficulties, the fleet on the lee gage could escape more readily; and if the wind was strong enough to make the ships heel, it had a profound consequence on their ability to fire. The weather-gage fleet, leaning towards its enemy, would find its lower gun-ports too close to the water to be used: either the guns could not be trained sufficiently high, or the ports might even have to be closed. Yet in the same situation the lee-gage fleet, leaning away from its enemy, would have both or all its gun-decks well clear of the water.
yard - large wooden or metal horizontal spar carrying a sail
 
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