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Glossary of terms used in sailing
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aback
- A square sail is aback with the wind on the forward side. The sails are pressed toward the mast forcing the vessel astern.
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abaft
- A shipboard object being further aft than another.
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abaft the beam
- aft of the beam; bearing of object between beam and stern.
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abeam
- A term denoting position on the side of a vessel, amidships, or at right angles.
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ablock
or
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two block
- Tackle taken in until both blocks come together.
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aboard
- On or within the ship.
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about
- A ship is said to be going about, while tacking, as it changes the wind over the bow to the opposing tack.
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abox
- A square rigger hove to while maintaining position.
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abreast
- A term describing position "opposite to", side by side, alongside, or abeam.
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accommodation ladder
- Portable steps or ladder for climbing aboard a vessel.
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a-cockbill
- Square rigger yards dockside topped up at an angle to lower overhead clearance.
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to go on the account
- A phrase for a sailor turned pilot.
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Admiralty knot
- A unit for tracking distance, approximately 6080 feet.
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adrift
- A vessel having broken loose from it's moorings whilst untended, unoccupied, or otherwise without the knowledge of the crew.
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advance
- The distance a vessel maintains original course after rudder is put over.
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afloat
- Swimming while not touching or unable to touch the bottom or sea-floor.
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afore
- Term denoting a location or direction forward. Afore is opposite of abaft.
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afoul
- Tangled or fouled in any way.
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aft
- Position at, near, or towards the stern.
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after body
- The stern or rear section of a vessel.
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after bow spring
- A bow spring line (rope) leading aft on a vessel to secure whilst docking.
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after brow
- An aft portable gangplank.
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after quarter spring
- A spring line (rope) leading aft from a vessels bow to secure whilst docking.
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after waist spring
- A spring line (rope) coming from amidship and going aft, used to secure a docking vessel.
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after yards
- A unit of distance, denoting yards aft (behind) of the foremast.
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aground
- A term denoting a stranded vessel's keel or hull resting on the sea-floor or bottom.
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ahead
- A direction or position toward or in front of the bow of a vessel.
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ahoy
- A colloquial greeting used in the hailing a vessel or boat.
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a-hull
- A vessel 'hove to' under bare poles with the helm alee.
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air or flotation tank
- A sealed air tank for buoyancy used in the event of a capsized vessel.
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albatross
- The largest sea bird with a wing span up to 13 feet, lives in the Southern Hemisphere.
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all aback
- Condition whereby wind is pressing against the forward (front) side of square sails.
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all-a-taunt-O
- "ship shape", all gear hauled in tight, items secured.
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all hands
- Term for the entire crew.
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all in the wind
- pointing too high with all sails shaking.
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all night in
- Not maintaining a night watch.
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all standing
- fully equipped
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aloft
- up above; up the mast or in the rigging.
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alongside
- Positioned side by side, by the side of a vessel, or pier.
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alow
- Located below deck or low in the rigging near the deck.
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alow and aloft
- All sails are set.
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altar
- steps of a drydock.
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amain
- on the run, all at once.
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ambergris
- Sperm whale intestinal secretion gathered and used to blend perfume.
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anchor
- A hook which digs into the bottom or sea-floor to prevent a vessel from drifting.
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anchorage
- A suitable location for anchoring.
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anchor aweigh
- Anchor broken out of bottom or coming to surface.
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anchor hoy
- lighter with derrick for handling heavy anchors
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anchor lights
- Signal lights, illuminated on anchored vessels.
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anchor watch
- Term for crew deck detail to watch over an anchored vessel at night.
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anemometer
- An instrument mounted or hand-held, used to measure wind velocity.
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aneroid barometer
- An instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure, usually consisting of an enclosed container whose height changes with air pressure changes. The change is indicated by a connected dial or arm which moves in concert with the changing height. This more rugged design is contrasted with the traditional barometer which uses a glass column of liquid mercury.
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anti-cyclone
- A spiral eddy of wind with an outward flow.
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antifouling paint
- A poisonous boat bottom paint intended to slow or prevent underwater growth of barnacles and other nuisance growth on a submerged hull.
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anvil top
- A shape specific to a cloud; cirrus top or peak of thunderhead.
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apeak
- anchor cable in vertical line with vessel over anchor; position of square rig yards, or oars when vertical or nearly so.
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aport
- to the left or port side of a vessel when looking forward.
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apparent wind
- wind direction felt on sailboat under way.
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apron
- timber behind lower part of stem above fore end of keel.
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arm
- Lower part of sheet and kedge anchors.
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ash breeze
- A flat calm requiring engine power or other non-wind propulsion.
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astern
- A term for position or location in direction of stern or bearing behind a vessel.
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athwartship
- A term describing position or location across the keel of a vessel.
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atoll
- A small typically circular coral island enclosing a lagoon.
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atrip
- A term describing when an anchor has broken free from the bottom.
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a-try
- A sailboat underway in a gale with no sails set.
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autopilot
- A device which automatically maintains steering to a compass heading while underway.
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auxiliary
- An engine used as secondary propulsion in a sailboat.
- aweather
- to windward, towards the weather side.
- awning
- tarp covering boat or deck for protection from sun, rain, or snow.
- aye
- Yes; A response that a superior's orders are/were understood.
- backing
- The wind changes counterclockwise.
- backstay
- mast support leading aft to deck or to another-mast.
- running backstays
- temporary or shifting backstays.
- backwater
- stop rowboat movement by reversing direction of oars.
- back wind
- a sail backwinds another with the wind funneling on wrong side.
- bag
- a sail bags when the leach is taut yet the center of the sail is slack
- baggy wrinkle
- chafing gear made from old rope.
- balanced rudder
- part of rudder area is forward of rudder post.
- baldheaded schooner
- schooner without topsails
- ballast
- heavy material stowed inside a sailing vessel to provide stability.
- ballast tanks
- double bottom water tanks pumped out or flooded at will.
- bar
- shoal or bank
- capstan bars
- heavy timbers that work the capstan.
- bare poles
- sailing vessel in a gale with no sails set.
- sailing bare
- sailing with the sheets set too tight
- barge
- ship's boat used by flag officers.
- Thames Barge
- roomy, flat bottom English cargo vessel.
- bark (barque)
- A 3-masted, square rigged fore and main.
- barkentine
- A 3-masted, square rigged only on foremast.
- barnacle
- A small shell fish often found on the bottom of boats and other submerged surfaces.
- barney post
- A short Star class cockpit post with a jam cleat for the main sheet.
- barometer
- A meteorological instrument that measures changes atmosphere pressure.
- barratry
- A dishonest action
- barrier reef
- Exposed corral reef along a coast.
- batten
- Thin rigid strip inserted in a pocket on a sail to keep its shape.
- beachcomber
- Term for an unemployed seaman on the beach.
- beacon
- Used to indicate hazards or other types of navigation information.
- beak-head grating
- Another word for the bathroom on a boat, term originally specific to naval vessel.
- beam
- The maximum width of a vessel.
- beam reach
- Wind at right angles to keel.
- bear
- An object bears in the direction a person is looking.
- bear down
- To approach a vessel from the windward direction.
- bearing
- The apparent direction of an object as related to a vessels heading or compass reading.
- bear off
- To steer away from the wind, shore, or object.
- bear up
- Steering towards the eye of the wind, shore, or object.
- beat
- Advancing windward on alternate tacks.
- becalmed
- When a boat's sails hang limp and lifeless without wind.
- becket
- An eye or loop made out of fibre or rope wire.
- bees
- Pieces bolted to outer bowsprit end to reeve foretopmast stays thru.
- belay
- A change in a spoken order or directive, e.g. "Belay that order!". Also to secure a line to a cleat or pin.
- belaying pin
- A iron or wooden pin fitted into railing to secure lines.
- bell buoy
- A navigational buoy with a bell warning rang by wave motion.
- belly
- The fullness of a sail when it is filled with wind.
- belly strap
- Passing rope beneath a boat when carrying out a kedge anchor.
- below
- beneath or under the deck (seldom called downstairs).
- bench hook
- A hook with swivel in cloth counteracting pull of sailors needle.
- bend
- A knot where one rope is secured to another.
- to bend
- to make fast a sail to a spar or stay
- to bend a cable
- To secure a cable to an anchor.
- bending shackle
- Hardware that connects a chain or cable to an anchor ring.
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beneaped
or
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neaped
- A term for a boat ran aground at high tide where the following the high tide, can't float.
- bermudian sail
- British term for marconi or jib-headed sail.
- berth
- A boat dock or anchorage. Also a place where a person sleeps aboard a boat.
- berth deck
- Lower complete deck used for berthing near waterline.
- between decks
- The space between decks.
- bight
- A bend in a rope. Alternatively, a bend in shore making a cove, bay, or inlet.
- bilge
- A curve of hull between keel and gunwale. Alternatively the largest diameter of a cask.
- bilge blocks
- Blocks in a dry dock upon which a ships bilge rests.
- bilged
- Term for the situation which arises when a ship's bilge is broken.
- bilge keel
- keels at turn of bilge to reduce vessel rolling motion.
- bilge water
- The water that drains into and collects in a vessels bilge.
- bilge ways
- Timbers bolted together and propped under a keel for launching.
- bill
- The point at the end of an anchor fluke.
- bill board
- An inclined metal plate for the anchor to rest on without marring deck.
- bill of health
- A port health certificate obtained as a vessel clears port.
- bill of lading
- A receipt from a vessel for cargo received.
- binnacle
- A compass stand containing compensating magnets.
- bite
- The anchor takes hold of the sea bottom.
- bitter end
- The last inboard link of anchor chain or the end of the anchor line.
- bitts
- Deck posts used to secure mooring or towing lines.
- black gang
- Old term for an engine crew when coal was the principle fuel.
- blade
- The back side of an anchor palm, also the flat part of oar or propeller.
- blanket
- A windward sailboat takes the wind out of the sails on a sailboat too leeward. A bridge, building, or headland can also blanket sails.
- blocks
- Frames to support pulleys, to increase rope pull, or change line pull.
- bluff
- A steep shore or a full-bowed vessel.
- board
- A windward tack or leg when sailing closehauled.
- boat hook
- A pole with a hook used to retrieve a mooring buoy or ring.
- bosun's chair
- A canvas or wood seat or sling used to lift a man needing to working high above deck e.g. in the rigging or on the mast.
- boatswain's chest
- A chest containing bosun's tools.
- boatswain
- An officer or crewman in charge of line, boats, rigging, etc.
- bobstay
- Rod, chain, or wire from stem to cutwater securing bowsprit.
- bollard
- Vertical posts on dock to secure hawsers.
- bolsters
- Chafing gear for trestle tree rigging.
- bolts
- Early round iron bolts without threads that had to be peened over with a hammer.
- bolt rope
- A rope which is sewn around along a sails edge to increase sail-cloth strength.
- bone
- Spray at stem or cutwater when a vessel is underway.
- bonnet
- Additional sail area laced to bottom of square sails or jibs.
- booby hatch
- A small raised hatch.
- boom
- A horizontal spar to extend the foot of a sail.
- boom
- Spars that extend and support studding sails.
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boom cradle
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boom crutch
- A support for boom with it's sail furled.
- boom horse
- A metal traveler for a sheet block.
- boom irons
- Rings of yards for studding-sail booms to be rigged out.
- boomkin
- A spar which projects from the stern, used to secure backstay.
- boot top
- Term for the different color stripe of paint along the waterline.
- bottomry
- The Marine law term for mortgaging ships.
- wind bound
- Term to describe an adverse headwind keeping a sail-boat in port.
- bow
- The front section of a boat.
- bow breast
- A forward mooring line used for docking.
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