Glossary of nautical terms (A–L)

This is a glossary of nautical terms; some remain current, many date from the 17th-19th century. See also Wiktionary's nautical terms, Category:Nautical terms, and Nautical metaphors in English.

A

Above board – On or above the deck, in plain view, not hiding anything.
Above-water hull – The hull section of a vessel above the 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 shanty (song) about a young sailor trying to sleep with a maiden.^[1]
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 Arabic, from Amir al-Bahr ("Ruler of the sea").
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 the UK administered by the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division of the High Court of Justice or supreme court.
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 (usually involuntarily).
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 – In the rigging of a sailing ship. 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 home – The term for when the anchor is secured for sea. Typically rests just outside the hawse pipe on the outer side of the hull, at the bow of a vessel.
Anchor light – White light displayed by a ship at anchor. Two such lights are displayed by a ship over 150 feet (46 m) in length.
Anchor rode – The anchor line, rope or cable connecting the anchor chain to the vessel. Also Rode.
Anchor watch – The crewmen assigned to take care of the ship while anchored or moored, charged with such duties as making sure that the anchor is holding and the vessel is not drifting. Most marine GPS units have an Anchor Watch alarm capability.
Andrew – Traditional lower-deck slang term for the Royal Navy.
Anti-rolling tanks — A pair of fluid-filled, usually water, tanks mounted on opposite sides of a ship below the waterline. Fluid would be pumped between them in an attempt to dampen the amount of roll.
Apparent wind – The combination of the true wind and the headwind caused by the boat's forward motion. For example, it causes a light side wind to appear to come from well ahead of the beam.
Arc of Visibility – The portion of the horizon over which a lighted aid to navigation is visible from seaward.
Archboard - The plank along the stern where the name of the ship is commonly painted.
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 – towards the stern (rear) of a vessel, behind a vessel.
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. From the Dutch hou' vast (“hold fast”), from houd (“hold”) + vast (“fast”).
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.
Axial fire – Fire oriented towards the ends of the ship; the opposite of broadside fire.
Aye, aye (Template:Pron-en) – 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 the proper reply from a hailed boat, to indicate that an officer is on board.
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 stern 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.
Bailer – A device for removing water that has entered the boat.
Balls to four watch – The 0000-0400 watch. (US Navy)
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.
Bar pilot – A bar pilot guides ships over the dangerous sandbars at the mouth of rivers and bays.
Barrelman – A sailor that was stationed in the crow's nest.
Batten –

1. A stiff strip used to support the roach of a sail, enabling increased sail area

2. Any thin strip of material (wood, plastic etc) which can used any number of ways

Batten down the hatches – To prepare for inclement weather, by securing the closed hatch covers with wooden battens so as to prevent water from entering from any angle.
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 earth’s 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 with sand for scraping clean wooden decks.
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 as close as possible towards the wind (perhaps only about 60°) in a zig-zag course to attain an upwind direction to which it is impossible to sail directly.(also tacking)
Beat to quarters - Prepare for battle (beat = beat the drum to signal the need for battle preparation)
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" (also see hawsepiper).
Belay –

1. To make fast a line around a fitting, usually a cleat or belaying pin.

2. To secure a climbing person in a similar manner.

3. An order to halt a current activity or countermand an order prior to execution.

Belaying pins – Short movable bars of iron or hard wood to which running rigging may be secured, or belayed.
Bend – A knot used to join two ropes or lines. Also see hitch.
Bermudan rig – A triangular mainsail, without any 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.
Berth (moorings) – A location in a port or harbour used specifically for mooring vessels while not at sea.
Berth (navigation)^[2] – Safety margin of distance to be kept by a vessel from another vessel or from an obstruction, hence the phrase, "to give a wide berth."
Berth (sleeping) – A bed or sleeping accommodation on a boat or ship.
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.
Between wind and water - the part of a ship's hull that is sometimes submerged and sometimes brought above water by the rolling of the vessel.
Bight (Template:Pron-en) –

1. Bight, a loop in rope or line – a hitch or knot tied on the bight is one tied in the middle of a rope, without access to the ends.

2. An indentation in a coastline.

Bilge – The compartment at the bottom of the hull of a ship or boat where water collects and must be pumped out of the vessel.
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 top – Open-front canvas top for the cockpit of a boat, usually supported by a metal frame.
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 or bitts – A post or pair mounted on the ship's bow, for fastening ropes or cables.
Bitter end – The last part or loose end of a rope or cable. The anchor cable is tied to the bitts; when the cable is fully paid out, the bitter end has been reached.
Block – A pulley or set of pulleys.
Blue Peter – A blue and white flag (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 small craft or vessel designed to float on, and provide transport over, or under, water.
Boat-hook – A pole with a hook on the end, used to reach into the water to catch buoys or other floating objects.
Boatswain or bosun (both Template:Pron-en) – A non-commissioned officer responsible for the sails, ropes rigging 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.
Body plan – In shipbuilding, an end elevation showing the contour of the sides of a ship at certain points of her length.
Bombay runner – Large cockroach.
Bonded jacky – A type of tobacco or sweet cake.
Bonnet – A strip of canvas secured to the foot of the course (square sail) to increase sail area in light airs.
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.
Boom gallows – A raised crossmember that supports a boom when the sail is lowered (obviates the need for a topping lift) .
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 sail. The boom vang adds an element of control to sail shape when the sheet 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.
Bosun – See boatswain.
Bottlescrew – A device for adjusting tension in stays, shrouds and similar lines.
Bottomry – Pledging a ship as security in a financial transaction.
Bow – The front of a ship.
Bow chaser – See chase gun
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.
Bow thruster – A small propeller or water-jet at the bow, used for manoeuvring larger vessels at slow speed. May be mounted externally, or in a tunnel running through the bow from side to side.
Boxing the compass – To state all 32 points of the compass, starting at north, proceeding clockwise. Sometimes applied to a wind that is constantly shifting.
Boy Seaman – a young sailor, still in training
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 – Used in the expression "it is cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey" (origin uncertain, see WP entry linked above)
Breakwater — A structure built on the forecastle of a ship intended to divert water away from the forward superstructure or gun mounts.
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.
Brig –

1. (historically) A vessel with two square-rigged masts.

2. (in the US) An interior area of the ship used to detain prisoners (possibily prisoners-of-war, in war-time) & stowaways, and to punish delinquent crew members. Usually resembles a prison-cell with bars and a locked, hinged door.

Brightwork – Exposed varnished wood or polished metal on a boat.
Bring to – Cause a ship to be stationary by arranging the sails.
Broach – When a sailing vessel loses control of its motion and is forced into a sudden sharp turn, often heeling heavily and in smaller vessels sometimes leading to a capsize. The change in direction is called broaching-to. Occurs when too much sail is set for a strong gust of wind, or in circumstances where the sails are unstable.
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 watertight, load-bearing wall.

Bulwark (Template:Pron-en in nautical use) – 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.

Bunting tosser – A signalman who prepares and flies flag hoists. Also known in the American Navy as a skivvy waver.
Buntline – One of the lines tied to the bottom of a square sail and used to haul it up to the yard when furling.
Buoy – A floating object of defined shape and color, which is anchored at a given position and serves as an aid to navigation.
Buoyed up – Lifted by a buoy, especially a cable that has been lifted to prevent it from trailing on the bottom.
Burgee – A small flag, typically triangular, flown from the masthead of a yacht to indicate yacht-club membership.
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.
Cable length — 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.
Caboose — a small ship's kitchen, or galley on deck.
Canister — a type of antipersonnel 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 with a shotgun-like effect.
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 — Tilting a ship on its side, usually when beached, to clean or repair the hull below the water line.
Carvel built — A method of constructing wooden hulls by fixing planks to a frame so that the planks butt up against each other. Cf "clinker built".
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 a single mast mounted close to the bow, and only one sail, usually on a gaff.
Catharpin — A short rope or iron clamp used to brace in the shrouds toward the masts so as to give a freer sweep to the yards.
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.
Cathead — A beam extending out from the hull used to support an anchor when raised in order to secure or 'fish' it.
CBDR — An acronym meaning constant bearing decreasing range.^[3] Because of the implication of disaster (ships might collide) it has come to mean a problem or an obstacle which is heading your way. Often used in the sense of a warning, as in "watch out for this problem you might not see coming."
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 locker — A space in the forward part of the ship, typically beneath the bow in front of the foremost collision bulkhead, that contains the anchor chain when the anchor is secured for sea.
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.
Charley Noble — The metal stovepipe chimney from a cook shack on the deck of a ship or from a stove in a galley .
Chase gun, chase piece or chaser — A cannon pointing forward or aft, often of longer range than other guns. Those on the bow (bow chaser) were used to fire upon a ship ahead, while those on the rear (stern chaser) were used to ward off pursuing vessels. Unlike guns pointing to the side, chasers could be brought to bear in a chase without slowing.
Cheeks —

1. Wooden blocks at the side of a spar.

2. The sides of a block or gun-carriage.

Chine —

1. An angle in the hull.

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 — Hole or ring attached to the hull to guide a line via that point
Chock-a-block — Rigging blocks that are so tight against one another that they cannot be further tightened.
Chronometer — A timekeeper accurate enough to be used to determine longitude by means of celestial navigation.
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 — The lower corners of square sails or the corner of a triangular sail at the end of the boom.
Clew-lines — Used to truss up the clews, the lower corners of square sails.
Clinker built — A method of constructing hulls that involves overlapping planks, and/or plates, much like Viking longships, resulting in speed and flexibility in small boat hulls. Cf "carvel built".
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. See Kedge
Coaming — The raised edge of a hatch, cockpit or skylight to help keep out water.
Cockpit — The area towards the stern of a small decked vessel that houses the rudder controls.
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.
Communication tube — A tube, usually armored, connecting the conning tower with the below-decks control spaces in warships.
Compass — Navigational instrument showing the direction of the vessel in relation to the Earth's geographical poles or magnetic poles. Commonly consists of a magnet aligned with the Earth's magnetic field, but other technologies have also been developed, such as the gyrocompass.
Corinthian — An amateur yachter.^[4]^[5]
Consort — Unpowered Great Lakes vessels, usually a fully loaded schooner, barge, or steamer barge, towed by a larger steamer that would often tow more than one barge. The consort system was used in the Great Lakes from the 1860s to around 1920.
Corrector — A device to correct the ship's compass, for example counteracting errors due to the magnetic effects of a steel hull.
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.
Counterflood — To deliberately flood compartments on the opposite side from already flooded ones. Usually done to reduce a list.
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 (Template:Pron-en) — 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.
Crosstrees — two horizontal struts at the upper ends of the topmasts of sailboats, used to anchor the shrouds from the topgallant mast.
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 or cut 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. Also used figuratively of people.

D

Daggerboard – A type of light centerboard that is lifted vertically; often in pairs, with the leeward one lowered when beating.
Davy Jones' Locker – An idiom for the bottom of the sea.
Day-blink – Moment at dawn where, from some point on the mast, a lookout can see above low lying mist which envelops the ship.
Day beacon – 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).
Dead ahead – Exactly ahead, directly ahead, directly in front.
Deadeye – A wooden block with holes (but no pulleys) 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, decky – 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.
Displacement – The weight of water displaced by the immersed volume of a ship's hull, exactly equivalent to the weight of the whole ship.
Displacement hull – A hull designed to travel through the water, rather than planing over it.
Disrate – To reduce in rank or rating; demote.
Dodger – A hood forward of a hatch or cockpit to protect the crew from wind and spray. Can be soft or hard.
Dogvane – A small weather vane, sometimes improvised with a scrap of cloth, yarn or other light material mounted within sight of the helmsman.
Dog watch – A short watch period, generally half the usual time (e.g. a two hour watch rather than a four hour one). Such watches might be included in order to rotate the system over different days for fairness, or to allow both watches to eat their meals at approximately normal times.
The Doldrums or equatorial calms – The equatorial trough, with special reference to the light and variable nature of the winds.^[6]
Dolphin – A structure consisting of a number of piles driven into the seabed or riverbed as a marker.
Downbound –

1. Adjective describing a vessel traveling downstream.

2. Adjective describing eastward-traveling vessels in the Great Lakes region (terminology as used by the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation).

Downhaul – A line used to control either a mobile spar, or the shape of a sail. A downhaul can also be used to retrieve a sail back on deck.
Drabbler – An extra strip of canvas secured below a bonnet (q.v.), further to increase the area of a course
Draft or draught (both Template:Pron-en) – The depth of a ship's keel below the waterline.
Dressing down

1. Treating old sails with oil or wax to renew them.

2. 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.
Drogue (Template:Pron-en) – a device to slow a boat down in a storm so that it does not speed excessively down the slope of a wave and crash into the next one. It is generally constructed of heavy flexible material in the shape of a cone. Also see sea anchor.
Dunnage (Template:Pron-en) –

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 (especially one which sails poorly to windward) is confined between two capes or headlands by a wind blowing directly onshore.
En echelon – Forward and aft gun turrets on opposite sides of the ship, example.
Engine order telegraph – a communications device used by the pilot to order engineers in the engine room to power the vessel at a certain desired speed. Also Chadburn.
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

Fair –

1. A smooth curve, usually referring to a line of the hull which has no deviations.

2. To make something flush.

3. A line is fair when it has a clear run.

4. A wind or current is fair when it offers an advantage to a boat.

Fairlead – A ring, hook or other device used to keep a line or chain running in the correct direction or to prevent it rubbing or fouling.
Fall off – To change the direction of sail so as to point in a direction that is more down wind. To bring the bow leeward. Also bear away, bear off or head down. This is the opposite of pointing up or heading up.
Fantail - Aft end of the ship, also known as the Poop Deck.
Fardage – Wood placed in bottom of ship to keep cargo dry.
Fast – Fastened or held firmly (fast aground: stuck on the seabed; made fast: tied securely).
Fathom (Template:Pron-en) – A unit of length equal to 6 feet (1.8 m), roughly measured as the distance between a man's outstretched hands. Particularly used to measure depth.
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.

Fid –

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.

Fife rail – A freestanding pinrail surrounding the base of a mast and used for securing that mast's sails' halyards with a series of belaying pins.
Figurehead – symbolic image at the head of a traditional sailing ship or early steamer.
Fireroom – The compartment in which the ship's boilers or furnaces are stoked and fired.
Fire ship – 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.
Fixed propeller – A propeller mounted on a rigid shaft protruding from the hull of a vessel, usually driven by an inboard motor; steering must be done using a rudder. See also outboard motor and sterndrive.
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.
Folding propeller – A propeller with folding blades, furling to reduce drag on a sailing vessel when not in use.
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
Force – See Beaufort scale.
Fore, forward, foreward (Template:Pron-en, and often written "for'ard") – Towards the bow (of the vessel).
Forecastle – A partial deck, above the upper deck and at the head of the vessel; traditionally the sailors' living quarters. Pronounced /ˈfoʊksəl/, "fo'csle". The name is derived from the castle fitted to bear archers in time of war.
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 bow 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.

Founder – To fill with water and sink → Founder (Wiktionary)
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

Gaff –

1. The spar that holds the upper edge of a four-sided fore-and-aft mounted sail.

2. A hook on a long pole to haul fish in.

Gaff rigged – A boat rigged with a four-sided fore-and-aft sail with its upper edge supported by a spar or gaff which extends aft from the mast.
Gaff vang – A line rigged to the end of a gaff and used to adjust a gaff sail's trim.
Gam – A meeting of two (or more) whaling ships at sea. The ships each send out a boat to the other, and the two captains meet on one ship, while the two chief mates meet on the other.^[7]
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.
Garbling – 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.
Gash – Any refuse or rubbish which is discarded into a refuse container or dustbin which is known as "gash fanny" (South African Navy).
Gash Fanny – Refuse container or dustbin.
Gennaker – A large, lightweight sail used for sailing a fore-and-aft rig down or across the wind, intermediate between a genoa and a spinnaker.
Genoa or genny (both Template:Pron-en) – A large jib, strongly overlapping the mainmast.
Ghost – To sail slowly when there is apparently no wind.
Gibe – See gybe.
Give-way (vessel) – Where two vessels are approaching one another so as to involve a risk of collision, this is the vessel which is directed to keep out of the way of the other.
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).
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, to maximize the amount of canvas exposed to the wind. Also see running.
Grapeshot – Small balls of lead fired from a cannon, analogous to shotgun shot but on a larger scale. Similar to canister shot but with larger individual shot. Used to injure personnel and damage rigging more than to cause structural damage.
Grave – To clean a ship’s 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).
Gunport — The opening in the side of the ship or in a turret through which the gun fires or protrudes.
Gunner's daughter – see kissing the gunner's daughter.
Gunwale (Template:Pron-en, "gun'll") – Upper edge of the hull.
Gybe or jibe (both Template:Pron-en) – To change from one tack to the other away from the wind, with the stern of the vessel turning through the wind. (See also going about and wearing ship.)
Jibe-ho – The command given to gybe.

H

Half-breadth plan – In shipbuilding, an elevation of the lines of a ship, viewed from above and divided lengthwise.
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.
Hand – To furl a sail.
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.
Hard-a-lee – See lee-oh.
Harden up – Turn towards the wind; sail closer to the wind.
Harness cask - A large usually round tub lashed to a vessel's deck and containing dried and salted provisions for daily use.
Harness tub - See "Harness cask".
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 loaded or access made to a lower deck; the cover to the opening is called a hatch.
Hauling wind – Pointing the ship towards the direction of the wind; generally not the fastest point of travel on a sailing vessel.
Hawse pipe, hawse-hole or hawse (Template:Pron-en) – The shaft or hole in the side of a vessel's bow through which the anchor chain passes.
Hawsepiper – An informal term for a merchant ship’s officer who began their career as an unlicensed merchant seaman, and so did not attend a traditional maritime academy to earn their officer's licence (also see before the mast).
Hawser – Large rope used for mooring or towing a vessel.
Head – The toilet or latrine of a vessel, which in sailing ships projected from the bows.
Header – A change in the wind direction which forces the helmsman of a close hauled sailboat to steer away from its current course to a less favorable one. This is the opposite of a lift.
Head of navigation – A term used to describe the farthest point above the mouth of a river that can be navigated by ships.
Head sea – A sea where waves are directly opposing the motion of the ship.
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.
Helm – the wheel and/or wheelhouse area. Also see wheelhouse.
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 ship’s bottom under water.

Hogging – When the peak of a wave is amidships, causing the hull to bend so the ends of the keel are lower than the middle. The opposite of sagging.
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.
Hull-down – Of a vessel when only its upper parts are visible over the horizon.
Hull speed – The maximum efficient speed of a displacement-hulled vessel.
Hydrofoil – A boat with wing-like foils mounted on struts below the hull, lifting the hull entirely out of the water at speed and allowing water resistance to be greatly reduced.

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.
Inboard motor – An engine mounted within the hull of a vessel, usually driving a fixed propeller by a shaft protruding through the stern. Generally used on larger vessels. Also see sterndrive and outboard motor.
Inboard-Outboard drive system – See sterndrive.
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.
In-water survey – a method of surveying the underwater parts of a ship while it is still afloat instead of having to drydock it for examination of these areas as was conventionally done.
Island – The superstructure of an aircraft carrier. A carrier that lacks one is said to be flush decked.

J

Jack –

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.

Jack Dusty – A naval stores clerk.
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.
Jibe-ho – See gybe-oh.
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 strake 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.
Jury rig – Both the act of rigging a temporary mast and sails and the name of the resulting rig. A jury rig would be built at sea when the original rig was damaged, then it would be used to sail to a harbor or other safe place for permanent repairs.

K

Kedge – A technique for moving or turning a ship by using a relatively light anchor known as a kedge. The kedge anchor may be droped while in motion to create a pivot and thus perform a sharp turn. The kedge anchor may also be carried away from the ship in a smaller boat, dropped, and then weighed, pulling the ship forward.
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 beating 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.
Kitchen rudder – Hinged cowling around a fixed propeller, allowing the drive to be directed to the side or forwards to manoeuvre the vessel.
Knee – Connects two parts roughly at right angles, e.g. deck beams to frames.
Knighthead –

1. A mitred backing timber which extends the after line of the rabbet in the stem to give extra support to the ends of the planks and the bowsprit.

2. A bollard or bitt.

3. Either of two timbers rising from the keel of a sailing ship and supporting the inner end of the bowsprit.

Knockdown The condition of a sailboat being pushed abruptly to horizontal, with the mast parallel to the water surface.
Knot – A unit of speed: 1 nautical mile (1.8520 km; 1.1508 mi) per hour. Originally speed was measured by paying out a line from the stern of a moving boat. The line had a knot every 47 feet 3 inches (14.40 m), and the number of knots passed out in 30 seconds gave the speed through the water in nautical miles per hour.
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.
Laid up — To be placed in reserve or mothballed. The latter usage is used in modern times and can refer to a specific set of procedures used by the US Navy to preserve ships in good condition.
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 – Obsolete term for the left side of a ship. Derived from "lay-board" providing access between a ship and a quay, when ships normally docked with the left side to the wharf. Replaced by port side or port, to avoid confusion with starboard.
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 – A small stowage locker at the aft end of a boat.
Lazy jacks, lazyjacks – A network of cordage rigged to a point on the mast and to a series of points on either side of the boom that cradles and guides the sail onto the boom when the sail is lowered.
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, mainsheet and, if rigged with one, the gaff vang.
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.
Leeboard – A fin mounted on the side of a boat (usually in pairs) that can be lowered on the lee side of the ship to reduce leeway (similarly to a centerboard, which see).
Leeway – The amount that a ship is blown leeward by the wind. See also weatherly.
Lee-oh or hard-a-lee – The command given to come about (tack through the wind) on a sailing boat.
Leeward (Template:Pron-en in nautical use) – In the direction that the wind is blowing towards.
Length overall, LOA – The length of a vessel.
Let go and haul – An order indicating that the ship is now on the desired course relative to the wind and that the sails should be trimmed ('hauled') to suit.
Letter of marque and reprisal or just Letter of marque – 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.
Lift – An enabling wind shift that allows a close hauled sailboat to point up from its current course to a more favorable one. This is the opposite of a header.
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.
Line astern – In naval warfare, a line of battle formed behind a flagship
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 prestigious passenger vessels: ocean liner.
List – A vessel's angle of lean or tilt to one side, in the direction called roll. Typically refers to a lean caused by flooding or improperly loaded or shifted cargo (as opposed to 'heeling', which see).
Loaded to the gunwales – Literally, having cargo loaded as high as the ship's rail; also means extremely drunk.
Lofting – The technique used to convert a scaled drawing to full size used in boat construction.
Loggerhead – An iron ball attached to a long handle, used for driving caulking into seams and (occasionally) in a fight. Hence: 'at loggerheads'.
Long stay – A description for the relative slackness of an anchor chain; this term means taught and extended.
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 hole – A port cut into the bottom of the mizzentop (crow's-nest) allowing easy entry and exit. It was considered "un-seamanlike" to use this easier method rather than going over the side from the shrouds, and few sailors would risk the scorn of their shipmates by doing so (at least if there were witnesses)
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.

Luff and touch her – To bring the vessel so close to wind that the sails shake.^[8]
Lying ahull – Waiting out a storm by dousing all sails and simply letting the boat drift.
Lumber hooker – A Great Lakes ship designed to carry her own deck load of lumber and to tow one or two barges. The barges were big old schooners stripped of their masts and running gear to carry large cargoes of lumber.
Lugger – A vessel rigged with lugsails.
Lugsail – A four-sided fore-and-aft sail supported by a spar along the top that is fixed to the mast at a point some distance from the center of the spar. See Lugger.

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 large bosom.
Magnetic bearing – An absolute bearing (qv) using magnetic north.
Magnetic north – The direction towards the North Magnetic Pole. Varies slowly over time.
Mainbrace – One of the braces attached to the mainmast.
Making way – When a vessel is moving under its own power.
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' (fallen from the ship into the water).
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".
Marlinspike – A tool used in ropework for tasks such as unlaying rope for splicing, untying knots, or forming a makeshift handle.
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.
Midshipman's nuts – Broken pieces of biscuit as dessert.^[9]
Midshipman's roll – A slovenly method of rolling up a hammock transversely, and lashing it endways by one clue.^[9]
Midshipman's hitch – An alternative to the Blackwall hitch, preferred if the rope is greasy. Made by first forming a Blackwall hitch and then taking the underneath part and placing over the bill of the hook.^[10]
Mile – see nautical mile.
Mizzenmast (or Mizzen) – The third mast, or mast aft of the mainmast, 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's 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

Nautical mile – a unit of length corresponding approximately to one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian. By international agreement it is exactly 1,852 metres (approximately 6,076 feet).
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.
Nay — "no"; the opposite of "aye."
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.
On station A ship's destination, typically an area to be patrolled or guarded.
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.
Outboard motor – A motor mounted externally on the transom of a small boat. The boat may be steered by twisting the whole motor, instead of or in addition to using a rudder.
Outdrive – The lower part of a sterndrive (qv).
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.
Overfalls – Dangerously steep and breaking seas due to opposing currents and wind in a shallow area, or strong currents over a shallow rocky bottom.
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.
Over-reaching – When tacking, holding 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
Parley – a discussion or conference, especially between enemies, over terms of a truce or other matters.
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.
Passageway - Hallway of a ship.
Paying – Filling a seam (with caulking or pitch), lubricating the running rigging; paying with slush (q.v.), protecting 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.
Pennant – A long, thin triangular flag flown from the masthead of a military ship (as opposed to a burgee, the flags thus flown on yachts).
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.
PIM – Points (or plan) of intended movement. The charted course for a naval unit's movements.
Pinnace –

1. A small vessel used as a tender to larger vessels.

2. A small "race built" galleon, squared rigged with either two or three masts.

Pintle – The pin or bolt on which a ships rudder pivots. The pintle rests in the gudgeon.
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 stern over bow, rather than by rolling over.
Planing – When a fast-moving vessel skims over the water instead of pushing through it.
Plotting room see "Transmitting station"
Point up - To change the direction of a sailboat so that it is more up wind. To bring the bow windward. Also called heading up. This is the opposite of falling off.
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.
Powder magazine – A small room/closet area in the hull of the ship used for storing gunpowder in barrels, or, "kegs", usually located centrally so as to have easy access to the grated loading area. Sometimes may be an enclosed closet with a door, so it can be locked and only the captain would have the key, similar to how rum is stored.
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.
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 (Template:Pron-en) – 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).
Receiver of Wreck – A government official whose duty is to give owners of shipwrecks the opportunity to retrieve their property and ensure that law-abiding finders of wreck receive an appropriate reward.
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.
Rode – The anchor line, rope or cable connecting the anchor chain to the vessel. Also Anchor Rode.
Roll – A vessel's motion rotating from side to side, about the fore-aft/longitudinal axis. Listing is a lasting, stable tilt, or heel, along the longitudinal axis. Roll is also an alternate name for the longitudinal axis (roll axis).
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 (Template:Pron-en) – 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.
Rudder – A steering device which can be placed aft, externally relative to the keel or compounded into the keel either independently or as part of the bulb/centerboard.
Rummage sale – A sale of damaged cargo (from French arrimage).
Running gear – The propellers, shafts, struts and related parts of a motorboat.
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 160° away from the wind. If directly away from the wind, it's a dead run.

S

Sagging – When the trough of a wave is amidships, causing the hull to deflect so the ends of the keel are higher than the middle. The opposite of 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 openings in the bulwarks.
Scuttle – A small opening, or lid thereof, in a ship's deck or hull.
Scuttlebutt –

1. A barrel with a hole in used to hold water that sailors would drink from. By extension (in modern naval usage), a shipboard drinking fountain or water cooler.

2. Slang for gossip.

Scuttling – Making a hole in the hull of a vessel or opening seacocks, especially in order to sink a vessel deliberately.
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. Often in the form of a large bag made of heavy canvas. Also see drogue.
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
Sextant – Navigational instrument used to measure a ship's latitude.
Shaft alley – Section of a ship that houses the propulsion shaft, running from the engine room to the stuffing box.
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.
Sheer plan – In shipbuilding, a diagram showing an elevation of the ship's sheer viewed from the broadside.
Sheet – A rope used to control the setting of a sail in relation to the direction of the wind.
Shift colors – Lowering the sailing national ensign from the truck and raising the in port one on the stern at the moment a vessel ceases to be underway. Also used in the other direction, lowering the in port ensign and raising the sailing ensign, as a ship gets underway. Often done with ceremony in Naval vessels. Also, slang for changing out of one's Navy uniform into civilian clothes to go ashore. (The U.S. Navy's newsletter for retired personnel is nicknamed Shift Colors from this slang usage.)^[11]
Shift tides – Sighting the positions of the sun and moon using a sextant and using a nautical almanac to determine the location and phase of the moon and calculating the relative effect of the tides on the navigation of the ship.^[12]^[13]
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 – Shallow draught, making the vessel capable of sailing in unusually shallow water.
Short stay – A description for the relative slackness of an anchor chain; this term means somewhat slack, but not vertical nor fully extended.
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: Preußen) had crossed 30 steel yards, but only one wooden spar – the little gaff of its spanker sail.
SOG - Speed of ground, it's the speed from your gps in MPH. Referenced on many fishing forums.
Spider band - An iron band around the base of a mast which holds a set of iron belaying pins.
Spider hoop - See "Spider band", above.
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.
Spring – A line used parallel to that of the length of a craft, to prevent fore-aft motion of a boat, when moored or docked.
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.
Splice the mainbrace – A euphemism, it is an order given aboard naval vessels to issue the crew with a drink, traditionally grog. The phrase splice the mainbrace is used idiomatically meaning to go ashore on liberty, intending to go out for an evening of drinking.
Spreader - A spar on a sailboat used to deflect the shrouds to allow them to better support the mast.
Spurling pipe – A pipe that connects to the chain locker, from which the anchor chain emerges onto the deck at the bow of a ship.
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.
Stand-on (vessel) – A vessel directed to keep her course and speed where two vessels are approaching one another so as to involve a risk of collision.
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 flat – In a vessel, the compartment containing the steering gear.
Steering oar or steering board – A long, flat board or oar that went from the stern to well underwater, used to steer vessels before the invention of the rudder. Traditionally on the starboard side of a ship (the "steering board" side).
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 chaser – See chase gun.
Stern tube – The tube under the hull to bear the tailshaft for propulsion (usually at stern).
Sterndrive – A propeller drive system similar to the lower part of an outboard motor extending below the hull of a larger power boat or yacht, but driven by an engine mounted within the hull. Unlike a fixed propeller (but like an outboard), the boat may be steered by twisting the drive. Also see inboard motor and outboard motor.
Sternway – The reverse movement of a boat or watercraft through the water.
Stopper knot – A knot tied in the end of a rope, usually to stop it passing through a hole; most commonly a figure-eight knot.
Stow – to store, or to put away e.g. personal effects, tackle, or cargo.
Stowage – the amount of room for storing materials on board a ship.
Stowaway – A trespasser on a ship; a person aboard a ship without permission and/or without payment, and usually boards undetected, remains hidden aboard, and jumps ship just before making port or reaching a port's dock; sometimes found aboard and imprisoned in the brig until the ship makes port and the prisoner can be transferred to the police or military.
Strake – One of the overlapping boards in a clinker built hull.
Stretcher – an inclined foot rest, attached to the boat, to which a rower may place and in some instances (usually in competition) attach his feet.
Studding-sails (Template:Pron-en, "stunsail") – Long and narrow sails, used only in fine weather, on the outside of the large square sails.
Superstructure – The parts of the ship or a boat, including sailboats, fishing boats, passenger ships, and submarines, that project above her main deck. This does not usually include its masts or any armament turrets.
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.
Tell-tale (sometimes tell-tail) – A light piece of string, yarn, rope or plastic (often magnetic audio tape) attached to a stay or a shroud to indicate the local wind direction. They may also be attached to the surface and/or the leech of a sail to indicate the state of the air flow over the surface of the sail. They are referenced when optimizing the trim of the sails to achieve the best boat speed in the prevailing wind conditions.
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 (Template:Pron-en) – 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.
Tiller – a lever used for steering, attached to the top of the rudder post. Used mainly on smaller vessels, such as dinghies and rowing boats.
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.
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.
Traffic Separation Scheme – Shipping corridors marked by buoys which separate incoming from outgoing vessels. Improperly called Sea Lanes.
Trailboard – A decorative board at the bow of a vessel, sometimes bearing the vessel's name.
Transmitting station - British term for a room located in the interior of a ship containing computers and other specialised equipment needed to calculate the range and bearing of a target from information gathered by the ship's spotters and range finders. These were designated "plotting rooms" by the United States Navy.^[14]
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.
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".
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 –

1. Relationship of ship's hull to waterline.

2. Adjustments made to sails to maximize their efficiency.

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.
Turnbuckle – see bottlescrew.
Turtleback deck – A deck that is not flat, but curved. The purpose is usually to shed water, but, in warships, it may be to make the deck more resistant to shells.
Turtling – The condition of a sailboat's (in particular a dinghy's) capsizing to a point where the mast is pointed straight down and the hull is on the surface resembling a turtle shell.
Two six heave - Royal Navy slang term meaning to pull. Originally a sailing navy term referring to the two members of a gun crew (numbers two and six) who ran out the gun by pulling on the ropes that secured it in place.

U

Unassisted sailing – A voyage, usually singlehanded, with no intermediate port stops or physical assistance from external sources.
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-and-down – A description for the relative slackness of an anchor chain; this term means that the anchor chain is slack and hangs vertically down from the hawse pipe.
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.
Upbound –

1. Adjective describing a vessel traveling upstream.

2. Adjective describing westward-traveling vessels in the Great Lakes region (terminology as used by the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation).

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 in which the contours of the hull come in 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.^[15]
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.
Watersail – A sail hung below the boom on gaff rig boats for extra downwind performance when racing.
Waterway

1 – Waterway, a navigable body of water.

2 – 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 planking.

Way-landing – An intermediate stop along the route of a steamboat.
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 or weather gauge – Favorable position over another sailing vessel 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.
Well – Place in the ship's hold for pumps.
Well-found – Properly set up or provisioned.
White horses or whitecaps – Foam or spray on wave tops caused by stronger winds (usually above Force 4).
Wheel or ship's wheel – The usual steering device on larger vessels: a wheel with a horizontal axis, connected by cables to the rudder.
Wheelhouse – Location on a ship where the wheel is located; also called pilothouse or bridge.
Whelkie – A small sailing pram.
Wide berth – To leave room between two ships moored (berthed) to allow space for maneuver.
Whipstaff – A vertical lever connected to a tiller, used for steering on larger ships before the development of the ship's wheel.
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).
Working up – Training, usually including gunnery practice.
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.

References

^ Abel Brown the Sailor shanty
^ Bathe, Basil W., The Visual Encyclopedia of Nautical Terms Under Sail, Crown Publishers Inc. New York, 1978
^ "CBDR". Free Dictionary. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
^ Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. 'corinthian'.
^ "corinthian". Dictionary.com. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help); Text "http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/corinthian" ignored (help)
^ "Doldrums". Glossary of Meteorology. American Meteorological Society. Retrieved 2009-06-04.
^ Melville, Herman (1851). "53". Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. Harper and Brothers.
^ A Naval Encyclopaedia, "A DICTIONARY OF NAUTICAL WORDS AND PHRASES BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES AND RECORDS OF NAVAL OFFICERS", "PHILADELPHIA LR HAMERSLY & CO 1881", "Copyright 1880 by LB HAMERSLY & Co"
^ ^a ^b Smyth, William Henry (1867). The Sailor's Word-Book. Glasgow: Blackie & Co. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |subtitle= ignored (help)
^ Admiralty Manual of Seamnship. Vol. I. London: HMSO. 1964.
^ "Shift Colors". Retrieved 2011-06-24.
^ The Mariner's Mirror. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
^ "shift, v. ^13.b.". OED Online. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
^ Friedman, Norman (1985). U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. p. 173. ISBN 0870217151.
^ "waist definition". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2008-12-11.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

References

Further reading