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NAUTICAL TERMS
Abaft the beam: Said of the bearing of an object
which bears between the beam and the stern (further back than the ship's
middle).
Abaft: A relative term used to describe the location of one object in
relation to another, in which the object described is farther aft than the
other. Thus, the mainmast is abaft the foremast (in back of).
Abandon ship: Get away from the ship, as in an emergency.
Abeam: The bearing of an object 90 degrees from ahead (in a line with
the middle of the ship).
Able bodied seaman: The next grade above the beginning grade of ordinary
seaman in the deck crew.
Aboard: In the vessel (on the ship).
Aboveboard: Above decks; without concealment of deceit (out in the
open).
Abreast: Abeam of (alongside of).
Accommodation ladder: The portable steps from the gangway down to the
waterline.
Admiral: Comes from the Arabic "Emir" or "Amir"
which means "First commander" and "Al-bahr which means "the
sea". Emir-al-barh evolved into Admiral.
Adrift: Loose from the moorings (not tied or secured).
Afloat: Floating.
Aft: At, near, or toward the stern (back end).
Aground: Resting on the bottom.
Ahoy: A call used in hailing a vessel or boat (hey!).
Air tank: A metal air-tight tank built into a boat to insure flotation
even when the boat is swamped.
Alee: To the leeward side (away from the wind).
Alive: Alert (pep it up!).
All hands: The entire crew.
All standing: To bring to a sudden stop.
Aloft: Above the upper deck (above).
Alongside: Side to side.
Amidships: In or towards the middle of a ship in regard to length or
breadth (center of).
Anchor: A device or iron so shaped to grip the bottom and holds a vessel
at anchor by the anchor chain.
Anchor bar: Wooden bar with an iron shod, wedge: shaped end, used in
prying the anchor or working the anchor or working the anchor chain. Also used
to engage or disengage the wild-cat.
Anchor chain: Heavy, linked chain secured to an anchor for mooring or
anchoring.
Anchor lights: The riding lights required to be carried by vessels at
anchor.
Anchor watch: The detail on deck at night, when at anchor, to safeguard
the vessel (not necessarily at the anchor; a general watch).
Anchor's aweigh: Said of the anchor when just clear of the bottom
(leaving or moving).
Ashore: On the shore (on land).
Astern: The bearing of an object 180 degrees from ahead (behind).
Athwartships: At right angles to the fore-and-aft line of the vessel
(sideways-across).
Avast: An order to stop or cease hauling (stop action at once).
Awash: Level with the water (water ready to, or slightly covering
decks).
Awning: A canvas canopy secured over the ship's deck as a protection
from the weather (covering).
Aye, aye, sir: The reply to an officer's order signifying that he is
understood and will be obeyed (I understand).
Bail: To throw water out of a boat; a
yoke, as a ladder bail (rung).
Ballast tanks: Double bottoms for carrying water ballast and capable of
being flooded or pumped out at will.
Ballast: Heavy weights packed in the bottom of a boat or ship to give
her stability.
Batten down: To make watertight. Said of hatches and cargo (tie up or
secure).
Beachcomber: A derelict seaman found unemployed on the waterfront,
especially in a foreign country (seaman without a ship).
Beam wind: A wind at right angles to a vessel's course (wind blowing at
the ship's side.)
Bear a hand: To assist or help.
Bear down: To approach (overtake or come up to).
Bearing: The direction of an object (with reference to you, your ship,
another object).
Becalmed: A sailing vessel dead in the water due to lack of wind (not
moving).
Becket: A rope eye for the hook of a block. A rope grommet used in place
of a rowlock. Also, a small piece of rope with an eye in each end to hold the
feet of a sprit to the mast. In general any small rope or strap used as a
handle.
Belay: To make fast as to a pin or cleat. To rescind an order (tie up).
Belaying pin: A wooden or iron pin fitting into a rail upon which to
secure ropes.
Bells: see Ships Time
Belly strap: A rope passed around (center) a boat or other object for
hanging.
Below: Beneath the deck (under).
Berth: A vessel's place at anchor or at a dock. Seaman's assignment.
Between decks: The space between decks. The name of the deck or decks
between the ceiling and main deck.
Bilge: The curved part of a ship's hull where the side and the flat
bottom meet.
Binnacle: The stand, usually of brass or non-magnetic material in which
the compass rests and which contains the compensating magnets (compass holder).
Bitter end: The last part of a rope or last link in an anchor chain.
Bitts: A pair of vertical wooden or iron heads on board ship, used for
securing mooring or towing lines. Similar to dock bollards.
Black gang: Member of the engine-room force, which included the
engineers, firemen, oilers, and wipers.
Block and block: Same as two blocks.
Block: An apparatus consisting of an outside shell and a sheave through
which a rope may be passed (pulley).
Boat-fall: A purchase (block and tackle) for hoisting a boat to its
davits.
Bollard: An upright, wooden or iron post to which hawsers or mooring
lines may be secured.
Boom: A spar used for fore and aft sails.
Boom cradle: A rest for a cargo-boom when lowered for securing for sea.
Boot-topping: The anti-corrosive paint used on and above the waterline.
Bos'n: Shortening of the old term "boatswain," an unlicensed
member of the crew who supervises the work of the deck men under direction of
the first mate.
Bos'n's chair: The piece of board on which a man working aloft is swung.
Bos'n's chest: The deck chest in which the bos'n keeps his deck gear.
Bos'n's locker: The locker in which the bos'n keeps his deck gear.
Bow: The forward part of a vessel's sides (front).
Bowsprit: A spar extending forward from the stem.
Boxing the compass: Calling names of the points of the compass in order.
Break ground: Said of anchor when it lifts clear of the bottom.
Breaker: A small cask for fresh water carried in ship's boats. A sea
(wave) with a curl on the crest.
Bridge: The raised platform extending athwart ships, the part of the
ship from which the ship is steered and navigated.
Bright work: Brass work, polished (also varnished wood work in yachts).
Bulkhead: Transverse or longitudinal partitions separating portions of
the ship ("walls" in a ship).
Bunk: Built-in bed aboard ship.
Bunker: Compartment for the storage of oil or other fuel.
By the board: Overboard (over the side).
By the head: Deeper forward (front end deepest in water).
By the Run: To let go altogether.
Cabin: The captain's quarters. The
enclosed space of decked-over small boat.
Cable-length: 100 fathoms or 600 feet (6 feet to a fathom).
Cable: A chain or line (rope) bent to the anchor.
Calm: A wind or force less than one knot (knot: 1 nautical mile per
hour).
Camel: A wooden float placed between a vessel and a dock acting as a
fender.
Capstan-bar: A wooden bar which may be shipped in the capstan head for
heaving around by hand (to heave up anchor or heavy objects by manpower).
Capstan: The vertical barrel device used to heave in cable or lines.
Captain of the Head: A guy who gets Head (toilet) cleaning detail.
Cardinal points: The four principal points of the compass: North, East,
South and West.
Cast off: To let go.
Caulk: To fill in the seams with cotton or oakum.
Chafing gear: A guard of canvas or rope put around spars, mooring lines,
or rigging to prevent them from wearing out by rubbing against something.
Chain locker: A compartment forward where the chain cable is stowed.
Charley Noble: The galley smoke-pipe (cook's stove pipe), named after
The English sea captain who was noted for the scrupulous cleanliness and shine
of the brass aboard his ship.
Check: To ease off gradually (go slower and move carefully).
Chief mate: Another term for first mate.
Chief: The crew's term for the chief engineer.
Chock: A heavy wooden or metal fitting secured on a deck or on a dock,
with jaws, used for the lead or to guide lines or cables.
Choked: The falls foul in a block. The falls may be chocked or jammed
intentionally for a temporary securing (holding).
Cleat: A fitting of wood or metal, with horns, used for securing lines
(tying up).
Clipper bow: A stem curving up and forward in graceful line.
Coaming: The raised frame work around deck openings, and cockpit of open
boats (hatch coaming).
Cockpit: The well of a sailing vessel, especially a small boat, for the
wheel and steerman.
Colors: The national ensign.
Cofferdam: The space between two bulkheads set close together,
especially between fuel tanks (two walls separated to use for drainage or
safety).
Coming around: To bring a sailing vessel into the wind and change to
another tack. One who is influenced to a change of opinion.
Cork fenders: A fender made of granulated cork and covered with woven
tarred stuff.
Cradle: A stowage rest for a ship's boat.
Crossing the line: Crossing the Equator.
Crow's nest: The platform or tub on the mast for the look-out.
Cut-water: The foremost part of the stem, cutting the water as the
vessel forges ahead.
Davit: A curved metal spar for handling
a boat or other heavy objects.
Dead ahead: Directly ahead on the extension of the ship's fore and aft
line.
Dead light: Steel disc, that is dogged down over a porthole to secure
against breakage of the glass and to prevent light from showing through.
Derelict: An abandoned vessel at sea (a danger to navigation).
Dip: A position of a flag when lowered part way in salute (method of
salute between vessels, like planes dipping wings).
Displacement: The weight of the water displaced by a vessel.
Distress signal: A flag display or a sound, light, or radio signal
calling for assistance.
Ditty-bag: A small bag used by seamen for stowing small articles.
Doldrums: The belt on each side of the Equator in which little or no
wind ordinarily blows.
Dolphin: A cluster of piles for mooring.
Double up: To double a vessel's mooring lines.
Dowse: To take in, or lower a sail. To put out a light. To cover with
water.
Draft: The distance from the surface of the water to the ship's keel
(how deep the ship is into the water).
Drag: A sea anchor contrived to keep a vessel's head to the wind and
sea.
Dressing ship: A display of national colors at all mastheads and the
array of signal flags from bow to stern over the masthead (for special
occasions and holidays).
Dry dock: A basin for receiving a vessel for repairs, capable of being
pumped dry (to repair vessel and scrape marine growth from bottom).
Dungarees: Blue working overalls.
Easy: Carefully (watch what you're doing).
End-for-end: Reversing the position of an object or line.
Ensign: (1) The national flag. (2) A junior officer.
Even keel: Floating level (no list).
Fake: A single turn of rope when a rope
is coiled down.
Fake down: To fake line back and forth on deck.
Fantail: After deck over counter. The part of a rounded stern which
extends past the rearmost perpendicular.
Fathom: Six feet. Comes from the Dutch word "fadom" which was
the distance between fingertips of outstretched hands.
Fend off: To push off when making a landing.
Fender: Canvas, wood or rope used over the side to protect a vessel from
chafing when alongside another vessel or a dock.
Field day: A day for general ship cleaning.
Flemish down: To coil flat down on deck, each fake outside the other,
beginning in the middle and all close together.
Fo'c'sle: A modem version of the old term "forecastle," or bow
section of the ship, where the crew lived.
Fog horn: A sound signal device (not necessarily mechanically operated).
Fog-bound: Said of a vessel when forced to heave to or lie at anchor due
to fog.
Fore peak: The part of the vessel below decks at the stem.
Forecastle: A compartment where the crew lives.
Forefoot: The heel of the stem where it connects to the keel.
Foul: Jammed, not clear.
Fouled hawse: Said of the anchor chain when moored and the chain does
not lead clear of another chain.
Founder: To sink (out of control).
Freeboard: The distance from the surface of the water to the main deck
or gunwale.
Freeing port: A port in the bulwark for the purpose of freeing the deck
of water.
Freighter: A ship designed to carry all types of general cargo, or
"dry cargo."
G.I.: Anything of Government Issue.
Gantline: A line rove through a single block secured aloft.
Garboard strake: The strake next to the keel (running fore and aft).
Gather way: To attain headway (to get going or pick up speed).
Gear: The general name for ropes, blocks and tackles, tools, etc.
(things).
Gilguy (or gadget): A term used to designate an object for which the
correct name has been forgotten.
Gipsey (gypsey): A drum of a windlass for heaving in line.
Glass: Term used by mariners for a barometer.
Glory hole: Steward's quarters.
Go adrift: Break loose.
Golden Slippers: Tan work shoes issued to U.S. Maritime Service trainees
Grapnel: A small anchor with several arms used for dragging purposes.
Grating: A wooden lattice-work covering a hatch or the bottom boards of
a boat; similarly designed gratings of metal are frequently found on shipboard.
Graveyard watch: The middle watch.
Green sea: A large body of water taken aboard (ship a sea).
Ground tackle: A term used to cover all of the anchor gear.
Grounding: Running ashore (hitting the bot-tom).
Gunwale: The upper edge of a vessel or boat's side.
Hail: To address a vessel, to come
from, as to hail from some port (call).
Half-mast: The position of a flag when lowered halfway down.
Halliards or halyards: Ropes used for hoisting gaffs and sails, and
signal flags.
Hand lead: A lead of from 7 to 14 pounds used with the hand lead line
for ascertaining the depth of water in entering or leaving a harbor. (Line
marked to 20 fathoms.)
Hand rail: A steadying rail of a ladder (banister).
Hand rope: Same as "grab rope" (rope).
Hand taut: As tight as can be pulled by hand.
Hand: A member of the ship's company.
Handybilly: A watch tackle (small, handy block and tackle for general
use).
Hang from the yards: Dangle a man from one of the yard arms, sometimes
by the neck, if the man was to be killed, and sometimes by the toes, if he was
merely to be tortured. A severe punishment used aboard sailing ships long ago.
Today, a reprimand.
Hatch: An opening in a ship's deck for passageway or for handling cargo
or stores.
Hawse buckler: An iron plate covering a hawse hole.
Hawse-pipes: A pipe lead-in for anchor chain through ship's bow.
Hawser: A rope used for towing or, mooring.
Head: The ship's water closet (toilet or wash-room). The upper edge of a
quadrilateral sail.
Head room: The height of the decks, below decks.
Heart: The inside center strand of rope.
Heave around: To revolve the drum of a capstan, winch or windlass.
(Pulling with mechanical deck heaving gear).
Heave away: An order to haul away or to heave around a capstan (pull).
Heave in: To haul in.
Heave short: To heave in until the vessel is riding nearly over her
anchor.
Heave taut: To haul in until the line has a strain upon it.
Heave the lead: The operation of taking a sounding with the hand lead
(to find bottom).
Heave to: To bring vessel on a course on which she rides easily and hold
her there by the use of the ship's engines (holding a position).
Heaving line: A small line thrown to an approaching vessel, or a dock as
a messenger.
Hemp: Rope made of the fibers of the hemp plant and used for small stuff
or less than 24 thread (1.75 inch circumference). (Rope is measured by
circumference, wire by diameter.)
High, wide and handsome: Sailing ship with a favorable wind, sailing dry
and easily. A person riding the crest of good fortune
Hoist away: An order to haul up.
Holiday: An imperfection, spots left unfinished in cleaning or painting.
Hold: The space below decks utilized for the stowage of cargo and stores.
Holy stone: The soft sandstone block sailors use to scrub the deck,
so-called, because seamen were on their knees to use it.
Horse latitudes: The latitudes on the outer margins of the trades where
the prevailing winds are light and variable.
House flag: Distinguishing flag of a merchant marine company flown from
the mainmast of merchant ships.
House: To stow or secure in a safe place. A top-mast is housed by
lowering it and securing it to a lowermast.
Hug: To keep close.
Hulk: A worn out vessel.
Hull down: Said of a vessel when, due to its distance on the horizon,
only the masts are visible.
Hurricane: Force of wind over 65 knots.
Inboard: Towards the center line of a ship (towards the center).
Irish pennant: An untidy loose end of a rope (or rags).
Jack: The flag similar to the union of
the national flag.
Jack Tar: Sailors were once called by their first names only, and Jack
was their generic name. Tar came from seamen's custom of waterproofing clothing
using tar.
Jacob's ladder: A ladder of rope with rungs, used over the side.
Jettison: To throw goods overboard.
Jetty: A landing wharf or pier; a dike at a river s mouth.
Jews harp: The ring bolted to the upper end of the shank of an anchor
and to which the bending shackle secures.
Jolly Roger: A pirate's flag carrying the skull and cross-bones.
Jump ship: To leave a ship without authority (deserting).
Jury rig: Makeshift rig (emergency rig).
Keel: The timber or bar forming the
backbone of the vessel and running from the stem to the stempost at the bottom
of the ship.
Keel-haul: To tie a rope about a man and, after passing the rope under
the ship and bringing it up on deck on the opposite side, haul away, dragging
the man down and around the keel of the vessel. As the bottom of the ship was
always covered with sharp barnacles, this was a severe punishment used aboard
sailing ships long ago. Today, a reprimand.
Keep a sharp look-out: A look-out is stationed in a position to watch
for danger ahead. To be on guard against sudden opposition or danger.
King-spoke: The upper spoke of a steering wheel when the rudder is
amidships, usually marked in some fashion (top spoke of neutral steering
wheel).
Knock off: To stop, especially to stop work.
Knocked down: The situation of a vessel when listed over by the wind to
such an extent that she does not recover.
Knot: Speed of 1 nautical mile per hour (1.7 land miles per hour).
Labor: A vessel is said to labor when
she works heavily in a seaway (pounding, panting, hogging and sagging).
Ladder: A metal, wooden or rope stairway.
Lame duck: Term for disabled vessel that had to fall out of a convoy and
thus became easy prey for submarines.
Landlubber: The seaman's term for one who does not go to sea.
Lanyard: A rope made fast to an article for securing it (knife lanyard,
bucket lanyard, etc.), or for setting up rigging.
Lashing: A rope securing pieces together.
Launch: To place in the water.
Lay aloft: The order to go aloft (go up above).
Lazaretto: A low headroom space below decks used for provisions or spare
parts, or miscellaneous storage.
Lee shore: The land to the leeward of the vessel (wind blows from the
ship to the land).
Leeward: The direction away from the wind.
Liberty: Permission to be absent from the ship for a short period
(authorized absence).
Life-line: A line secured along the deck to lay hold of in heavy
weather; a line thrown on board a wreck by life-saving crew; a knotted line
secured to the span between life-boat davits for the use of the crew when
hoisting and lowering
Logbook: A book containing the official record of a ship's activities
together with remarks concerning the state of the weather, etc.
Longitudinal: A fore and aft strength member of a ship's structure.
Longshoreman: A laborer who works at loading and discharging cargo.
Lookout: The man stationed aloft or in the bows for observing and
reporting objects seen.
Loom: The part of an oar between the blade and handle. The reflection of
a light below the horizon due to certain atmospheric conditions.
Loose: To unfurl.
Lubber line: The black line parallel with ship's keel marked on the
inner surface of the bowl of a compass, indicating the compass direction of the
ship's head.
Lurch: The sudden heave of the ship.
Lyle gun: A gun used in the life-saving services to throw a life line to
a ship in distress or from ship to shore and used when a boat cannot be
launched.
Make
colors: Hoisting
the ensign at 8 a.m. and down at sunset.
Make the course good: Steering; keeping the ship on the course given (no
lazy steering).
Make the land: Landfall. To reach shore.
Make water: To leak; take in water.
Man ropes: Ropes hung and used for assistance in ascending and
descending.
Manhole: An opening into a tank or compartment designed to admit a man.
Manila: Rope made from the fibers of the abaca plant.
Marlinspike: Pointed iron implement used in separating the strands of
rope in splicing, marling, etc.
Maroon: To put a person ashore with no means of returning.
Marry: To temporarily sew the ends of two ropes together for rendering
through a block. Also to grip together parts of a fall to prevent running out.
To marry strands to prepare for splicing.
Mast step: The frame on the keelson of boat (does not apply on ships) to
which the heel of a mast is fitted.
Master: A term for the captain, a holdover from the days when the
captain was literally, and legally, the "master" of the ship and
crew. His word was law.
Masthead light: The white running light carried by steam vessel underway
on the foremast or in the forepart of the vessel.
Masthead: The top part of the mast.
Mess gear: Equipment used for serving meals.
Messenger: A light line used for hauling over a heavier rope or cable.
Messman: A member of the steward's department who served meals to
officers and crew.
Mole: A breakwater used as a landing pier.
Monkey fist: A knot worked into the end of a heaving line (for weight).
Monkey island: A flying bridge on top of a pilothouse or chart house.
Mooring: Securing to a dock or to a buoy, or anchoring with two anchors.
Mother Carey's chickens: Small birds that foretell bad weather and bad
luck.
Mousing: Small stuff seized across a hook to prevent it from unshipping (once
hooked, mousing keeps the hook on).
Mud scow: A large, flat: bottomed boat used to carry the mud from a
dredge.
Mushroom anchor: An anchor without stock and shaped like a mushroom.
Nantucket
sleigh ride: A
term for what frequently happened to Nantucket whalers when they left the
whaling ship in a small boat to go after a whale. If they harpooned the whale
without mortally wounding it, the animal took off with the whaleboat in tow.
Neptune: The mythical god of the sea.
Net tonnage: The cubical space available for carrying cargo and
passengers.
Netting: A rope network.
Not under command: Said of a vessel when unable to maneuver.
Not under control: Same as not under command.
Oakum: Material used for caulking the
seams of vessels and made from the loose fibers of old hemp rope.
Off and on: Standing toward the land and off again alternately.
Officer of the watch: The officer in charge of the watch.
Oil bag: A bag filled with oil and triced over the side for making a
slick in a rough sea (to keep seas from breaking).
Oilskin: Waterproof clothing.
Old man: The captain of the ship.
On report: In trouble.
On soundings: Said of a vessel when the depth of water can be measured
by the lead (within the 100 fathom curve).
Ordinary seaman: The beginning grade for members of the deck department.
The next step is able bodied seaman.
Out of trim: Not properly trimmed or ballasted (not on even keel;
listing).
Outboard: Towards the sides of the vessel (with reference to the
centerline).
Over-all: The extreme deck fore and aft measurement of a vessel.
Overhang: The projection of the stern beyond the sternpost and of the
bow beyond the stem.
Overhaul: Get gear in condition for use; to separate the blocks of a
tackle to lengthen the fall (ready for use again).
Overtaking: Said of a vessel when she is passing or overtaking another
vessel.
Pad
eye: A metal eye
permanently secured to a deck or bulkhead (for mooring any blocks and tackle).
Painter: A short piece of rope secured in the bow of a small boat used for
making her fast.
Palm and needle: A seaman's sewing outfit for heavy work.
Pass a line: To reeve and secure a line.
Pass a stopper: To reeve and secure a stopper (hold a strain on a line
while transferring it).
Pass down the line: Relay to all others in order (a signal repeated from
one ship to the next astern in column).
Pass the word: To repeat an order for information to the crew.
Pay off: To turn the bow away from the wind; to pay the crew.
Pay out: To slack out a line made fast on board (let it out slowly).
Pay: To fill the seams of a vessel with pitch.
Pier head jump: Making a ship just as it is about to sail.
Pile: A pointed spar driven into the bottom and projecting above the
water; when driven at the corners of a dock, they are termed fender piles.
Pilot boat: A power or sailing boat used by pi-lots (men who have local
knowledge of navigation hazards of ports).
Pin: The metal axle of a block upon which the sheave revolves.
Pitch: A tar substance obtained from the pine tree and used in paying
the seams of a vessel. Motion of vessel.
Pitting: Areas of corrosion.
Planking: Broad planks used to cover a wooden vessel's sides, or
covering the deck beams.
Plait: To braid; used with small stuff.
Play: Freedom of movement.
Plimsoll mark: A figure marked on the side of merchant vessels to
indicate allowed loading depths. Named after Samuel Plimsoll, English Member of
Parliament and maritime reformer.
Plug: A wooden wedge fitting into a drainage hole in the bottom of a
boat for the purpose of draining the boat when she is out of water.
Point: To taper the end of a rope; one of the 32 divisions of the
compass card. To head close to the wind.
Poop deck: A partial deck at the stern above the main deck, derived from
the Latin "puppio" for the sacred deck where the "pupi" or
doll images of the deities were kept.
Pooped: An opening in a ship's side, such as an air port, or cargo port.
Port side: The left side of a vessel when looking forward.
Port: The left side of the ship.
Posh: elegant, luxurious. Originally an acronym for Port Over Starboard
Home. Created by British travelers to India or Australia, describing the
preferred accommodations aboard ship, which lessened effects of the tropical
sun on the cabins during the voyage.
Pouring oil on troubled waters: Heavy-weather practice of pouring oil on
the sea so as to form a film on the surface, thus preventing the seas from
breaking. To smooth out some difficulty.
Pratique: A permit by the port doctor for an incoming vessel, being
clear of contagious disease, to have the liberty of the port.
Preventer: A rope used for additional support or for additional
securing, e.g., preventer stay.
Pricker: Small marlinespike.
Privileged vessel: One which has the right of way.
Prolonged blast: A blast of from 4 to 6 seconds' duration.
Prow: The part of the bow above the water.
Punt: A rectangular flat- bottomed boat used by vessels for painting the
ship's side and general use around the ship's water: line, fitted with
oar-locks on each side and usually propelled by sculling.
Purchase: A tackle (blocks and falls).
Put to sea: To leave port.
Quarantine: Restricted or prohibited
intercourse due to contagious disease.
Quarter: That portion of a vessel's side near the stern.
Quartering sea: A sea on the quarter (coming from a side of the stern).
Quarters bill: A vessel's station bill showing duties of crew.
Quarters: Living compartments.
Quay: A cargo-discharging wharf.
Rake: The angle of a vessel's masts
from the vertical.
Ratline: A short length of small rope "ratline stuff" running
horizontally across shrouds, for a ladder step.
Reef: To reduce the area of a sail by making fast the reef points (used
in rough weather).
Reeve: To pass the end of a rope through any lead such as a sheave or
fair: lead.
Registry: The ship's certificate determining the ownership and
nationality of the vessel. Relieving tackle: A tackle of double and single
blocks rove with an endless line and used to relieve the strain on the steering
engine in heavy weather or emergency.
Ride: To lie at anchor; to ride out; to safely weather a storm whether
at anchor or underway.
Rig: A general description of a vessel's upper: works; to fit out.
Right: To return to a normal position, as a vessel righting after
heeling over.
Ringbolt: A bolt fitted with a ring through its eye, used for securing,
running, rigging, etc.
Rips: A disturbance of surface water by conflicting current or by winds.
Rise and shine: A call to turn out of bunks.
Roaring forties: That geographical belt located approximately in 40
degrees south latitude in which are encountered the prevailing or stormy
westerlies.
Rudder post: That part of a rudder by which it is pivoted to the
sternpost.
Run down: To collide with a vessel head on.
Rustbucket: Sailors' term for an old ship that needed a lot of paint and
repairs.
Sailing
free: Sailing
other than close; hauled or into the wind (wind astern).
Salty character: A nautical guy, often a negative connotation.
Salvage: To save a vessel or cargo from total loss after an accident;
recompense for having saved a ship or cargo from danger.
Scale: To climb up. A formation of rust over iron or steel plating.
School: A large body of fish.
Scuppers: Openings in the side of a ship to carry off water from the
waterways or from the drains.
Scuttle: To sink a vessel by boring holes in her bottom or by opening
sea valves.
Scuttle butt: The container of fresh water for drinking purpose used by
the crew; formerly it consisted of a cask.
Scuttle butt story: An unauthoritative story (a tall story).
Sea anchor: A drag (drogue) thrown over to keep a vessel to the wind and
sea.
Sea chest: A sailor's trunk; the intake between the ship's side and a
sea valve.
Sea dog: An old sailor.
Sea going: Capable of going to sea.
Sea lawyer: A seaman who is prone to argue, especially against
recognized authority (big mouth).
Sea painter: A line leading from forward on the ship and secured to a
forward inboard thwart of the boat in such a way as to permit quick release.
Seaworthy: Capable of putting to sea and able to meet sea conditions.
Secure for sea: Prepare for going to sea, extra lashing on all movable
objects.
Secure: To make fast; safe; the completion of a drill or exercise on
board ship.
Seize: To bind with small rope.
Semaphore: Flag signaling with the arms.
Set the course: To give the steersman the de-sired course to be steered.
Set up rigging: To take in the slack and secure the standing rigging.
Settle: To lower, sink deeper.
Shackle: A U-shaped piece of iron or steel with eyes in the end closed
by a shackle pin.
Shaft alley: Covered tunnels within a ship through which the tail shafts
pass.
Shake a leg: An order to make haste.
Shakedown cruise: A cruise of a new ship for the purpose of testing out
all machinery, etc. Shank: The main piece of the anchor having the arms at the
bottom and the Jew's harp at the top.
Shanghaied: The practice of obtaining a crew by means of force. Crews
were hard to get for long voyages, and when the unwilling shipmate regained
consciousness, he found himself bound for some remote port, such as Shanghai.
One who is forced to do something against his will.
Shape a course: To ascertain the proper course to be steered to make the
desired point or port. Shark's mouth: The opening in an awning around the mast.
Sheave: The wheel of the block over which the fall of the block is rove.
Sheer: A sudden change. The longitudinal dip of the vessel's main deck.
Sheet: The rope used to spread the clew of head sails and to control the
boom of boom sails.
Shell: The casing of a block within which the sheave revolves.
Ship: To enlist; to send on board cargo; to put in place; to take on
board.
Ships time: Ships time was counted by the half hour, starting at
midnight. A half hour after twelve was one bell; one o'clock, two bells; and so
on until four o'clock, which was eight bells. The counting then started over
again, with 4:30 being one bell.
Short stay: When the scope of chain is slightly greater than the depth
of water.
Shorthanded: Without sufficient crew.
Shot: A short length of chain, usually 15 fathoms (90 feet). (Method of
measuring chain.)
Shove in your oar: To break into a conversation.
Shrouds: Side stays from the masthead to the rail..
Side lights: The red and green running lights, carried on the port and
starboard sides respectively, of vessels under-way.
Sing out: To call out.
Sister hooks: Two iron flatsided hooks reversed to one another.
Skids: Beams sometimes fitted over the decks for the stowage of heavy
boats or cargo.
Skipper: The captain.
Sky pilot: A chaplain.
Skylight: A covering, either permanent or removable, to admit air and
light below decks.
Slack water: The condition of the tide when there is no horizontal
motion.
Slack: The part of a rope hanging loose.
Slip: To let go by unshackling, as a cable.
Slush: White-lead and tallow used on standing rigging.
Smart: Snappy, seamanlike; a smart ship is an efficient one.
Smothering lines: Pipe lines to a compartment for smothering a fire by
steam or by a chemical.
Snatch: block: A single block fitted so that the shell or hook hinges to
permit the bight of a rope to be passed through.
Snub: To check suddenly.
Sny: A small toggle used on a flag.
Sound: To measure the depth of the water with a lead. Also said of a
whale when it dives to the bottom.
Sound out a person: To obtain his reaction to something.
Southwester: An oil-skin hat with broad rear brim.
Span: A wire rope or line between davit heads.
Spanner: A tool for coupling hoses.
Sparks: The radio operator.
Speak: To communicate with a vessel in sight.
Spill: To empty the wind out of a sail.
Splice: To join two ropes together by tucking strands.
Spring line: Usually of the best wire hawsers; one of the first lines
sent out in mooring. "Springs in and springs out" a vessel.
Squall: A sudden and violent gust of wind.
Squeegee: A deck dryer composed of a flat piece of wood shod with
rubber, and a handle. Stanchions: Wooden or metal uprights used as supports
(posts).
Stack: The ship's funnel or smokestack.
Stand by: A preparatory order (wait: be ready).
Standard compass: The magnetic compass used by the navigator as a
standard.
Standing part: That part of a line or fall which is secured.
Standing rigging: That part of the ship's rigging which is permanently
secured and not movable, such as stay, shrouds, etc.
Starboard The right side of the ship.
Station bill: The posted bill showing stations of the crew at maneuvers
and emergency drills.
Staunch: Still, seaworthy, able.
Stay: A rope of hemp, wire or iron leading forward or aft for supporting
a mast.
Steady: An order to hold a vessel on the course she is heading.
Steerage way: The slowest speed at which a vessel steers.
Steering wheel: The wheel operating the steering gear and by which the
vessel is steered.
Stem the tide: Stemming the tide or sea means to head the vessel's bow
directly into the current or waves. Overcome adverse circumstances.
Stem: The timber at the extreme forward part of a boat secured to the
forward end of the keel.
Stern anchor: An anchor carried at the stern.
Stern board: Progress backwards.
Stern: The after part of the vessel (back of).
Stevedore: A professional cargo loader and unloader.
Stopper: A short length of rope secured at one end, and used in securing
or checking a running rope, e.g., deck stopper, boat fall stopper, etc.
Storeroom: The space provided for stowage of provisions or other
materials.
Storm warning: An announced warning of an approach of a storm.
Stove: Broken in.
Stow: To put in place.
Stowaway: A person illegally aboard and in hiding.
Strake: A continuous planking or plating fitted out to and from stem to
stern of a vessel's side.
Strand: A number of yarns, twisted together and which in turn may be
twisted into rope; a rope is stranded when a strain is broken; rope may be
designated by the number of strands composing. Rope is commonly three-stranded.
A vessel run ashore is said to be stranded.
Strap: A ring of rope made by splicing the ends, and used for slinging
weights, holding the parts of a block together, etc. A rope, wire or iron binding,
encircling a block and with a thimble seized into it for taking a hook.
Strongback: A light spar set fore and aft on a boat, serving as a spread
for the boat cover.
Surge: To ease a line to prevent it from parting or pulling, meanwhile
holding the strain.
Swab: A mop.
Swamp: Sink by filling with water.
Swell: A large wave.
Swing ship: The evolution of swinging a ship's head through several
headings to obtain compass errors for the purpose of making a deviation table.
Swinging over: Swing of the boom from one side of the ship to the other
when the tack is changed.
Taffrail log: The log mounted on the taffrail
and consisting of a rotator, a log line and recording device (to measure
distance run through the water).
Tail shaft: The after section of the propeller shaft.
Take a turn: To pass a turn around a belaying pin or cleat.
Take in: To lower and furl the sails.
Taking on more than you can carry: Loaded with more cargo than a ship
can safely navigate with. Drunk.
Tanker: A ship designed to carry various types of liquid cargo, from oil
and gasoline to molasses, water, and vegetable oil.
Tarpaulin: Heavy canvas used as a covering.
Taut: With no slack; strict as to discipline.
That's high: An order to stop hoisting.
Three sheets to the wind: Sailing with three sheet ropes running free,
thus making the ship barely able to keep headway and control. Drunk.
Throwing a Fish: Saluting
Thwart: The athwartships seats in a boat on which oars-men sit.
Thwartships: At right angles to the fore and aft line (across the ship).
Top-heavy: Too heavy aloft.
Tow: To pull through water; vessels towed.
Track: The path of the vessel.
Trades: The practically steady winds blowing toward the equator, N.E. in
the northern and SE. in the southern hemisphere.
Trice: To lash up.
Tricing line: A line used for suspending articles.
Trick: The period of time during which the wheelsman remains at the
wheel.
Trim: The angle to the horizontal at which a vessel rides.
Trip: To let go.
Tripping line: A line used for capsizing the sea anchor and hauling it
in.
Truck: The flat circular piece secured on the top of the mast.
Tug boat: A small vessel fitted for towing.
Turn in all standing: Go to bed without undressing.
Turn to: An order to commence ship's work.
Turn turtle: To capsize.
Turn-buckle: A metal appliance consisting of a thread and screw capable
of being set up or slacked back and used for setting up on rigging.
Two blocks: When the two blocks of a tackle have been drawn as close
together as possible.
Umbrella: The cone-shaped shield at the top
of the smokestack.
Unbend: To untie.
Under below: A warning from aloft (heads up).
Undermanned: Insufficient number of crew; shorthanded.
Undertow: A subsurface current in a surf.
Underway: Said of a vessel when not at anchor, nor made fast to the
shore, or aground.
Unship: To take apart or to remove from its place.
Unwatched: Said of a lighthouse not tended.
Up anchor: Hoist or haul in the anchor.
Vast: An order to cease (stop).
Veer: To slack off or move off; also said of a change of direction of
wind, when the wind shifts to a different direction.
Ventilator cowl: The swiveled opening at the top of a ventilator.
Ventilator: A wooden or metal pipe used to supply or to exhaust air.
Waist: The portion of the deck between
the forecastle and quarterdeck of a sailing vessel.
Wake: A vessel's track through the water.
Waste: Cotton yarn used for cleaning purposes.
Watch cap: A canvas cover secured over a funnel when not in use. Sailor's
headwear, woolen type, capable of covering the ears in cold weather.
Watch officer: An officer taking his turn as officer of the watch.
Water breaker: A small cask carried in ship's boats for drinking
purposes.
Water's edge: The surface of the water.
Water-logged: Filled with water but afloat.
Waterline: The line painted on the side of the vessel at the water's
edge to indicate the proper trim.
Watertight: Capable of keeping out water.
Waterway: The gutter at the sides of a ship's deck to carry off water.
Weather eye: To keep a weather eye is to be on the alert (heads up).
Weather side: The windward side (from where the wind is blowing).
Weigh: Lift anchor off the bottom.
Well enough: An order meaning sufficient (enough).
Where away: A call requesting direction in answer to the report of a
lookout that an object has been sighted.
Whipping: A method of preventing the ends of a line from unlaying or
fraying by turns of small stuff, stout twine or seizing wire with the ends
tucked.
White cap: The white froth on the crests of waves.
Wide berth: At a considerable distance.
Wildcat: A sprocket wheel on the windlass for taking links of the chain
cable.
Winch: An engine for handling drafts of cargo secured on deck and fitted
with drums on a horizontal axle.
Windlass: An anchor engine used for heaving in the chain cable and
anchor.
Wiper: A general handyman in the engine room.
Yaw: To steer wildly or out of line of
course.