Glossary
of terms you may see on these pages

 ABACK

- The situation of the sails when their surfaces are pressed aft against the mast by the force of the wind.

 ABAFT

- (see AFT)

 ABEAM

- Directly alongside a vessel

 ABOARD

- The inside of a ship

 ABOUT

- The situation of a vessel as soon as she has tacked, or changed her course

 ABREAST

- Two or more vessels, lying with their sides parallel, and their heads equally advanced

 ADMEASUREMENT

- Relative proportions of a vessel representing her legal measurements and used for documentation

 ADRIFT

- Broken from her moorings and drifting about without control

 AFLOAT

- buoyed up by the water

 AFORE

- All that part of a vessel that lies forward, or near the stem

 AFT (or after)

- Toward the rear of a vessel

 AFTER END

- The stern

 AFTERMAST

- The mast set closest to the stern in a sailing ship carrying multiple masts;
  also called the mizzenmast in a three-masted sailing vessel

 AFOUL

- Tangled with, or in a collision with

 AGROUND

- When a vessel bottom, or any part of it, is lodged in the bottom or on the shore and cannot get off

 A-HULL

- When all the sails are furled, and her helm is lashed to the lee side; by which she lies nearly with her side to the wind and sea, her head being somewhat inclined of the wind.

 ALEE

- The position of the helm when it is put down to the lee side.

 ALL IN THE WIND

- The state of the sails when they are parallel to the direction of the wind, so as to shake or shiver

 AMIDSHIPS (or midships)

- In the middle portion of the ship, along the line of the keel

 ANCHORAGE

- Place where a boat may anchor

 ANCHOR LIGHT

- Single white light hoisted when a vessel is moored.

 ANCHOR WATCH

- Watch kept when a vessel is moored to a buoy or anchored.

 ATHWARTSHIP

- Across the ship at right angles to the keel

 AWASH

- So low in the water that the water is constantly washing across the surface

 AVAST

- To stop

 AWEIGH

- When the anchor is off the bottom

 BACK

- (1) Ship's spine or keel

 BACK THE ANCHOR

- Carry out a small anchor ahead of the large one, in order to support it in bad ground, and prevent it from loosening

 BACK THE SAILS

- Arrange them in a situation which will cause the ship to move astern

 BACKED

- When the wind changes anti-clockwise

 BAGPIPE THE MIZZEN

- Lay it aback, by bringing the sheet to the mizzen shrouds

 BALLAST TANK

- Device used to control buoyancy and stability

 BARE POLES

- Having no sail set

 BARGE

- vessel having no power of its own and needs to be towed

 BARKENTINE

- Three masted ship with the foremast square-rigged and the mainmast and mizzenmast fore-and-aft rigged

 BARQUE (BARK)

- A three to five masted ship with foremast and mainmast square-rigged and mizzenmast fore-and-aft rigged

 BATTEN

- Strip of wood used to fasten the edge of a tarpaulin to a hatch coaming

 BEAM

- Width of a vessel at the widest point

 BEAM ENDS

- Sides of a vessel

 BEATING

- Going toward the direction of the wind by alternate tacks

 BERTH

- Cabin or apartment. Anchorage or place alongside a wharf for a vessel.

 BILGE

- Rounded lower portion of the hull; the recess in the bottom of a ship which all water drains into

 BINNACLE

- A case or stand containing the ship's compass and a lamp

 BITT

- Vertical post strongly bolted to the deck and used in making lines fast

 BOAT

- A ship is called a BOAT on the Great Lakes

 BOAT DECK

- The deck on which lifeboats are kept

 BOATSWAIN / BOS'N

- Officer in charge of anchors, rigging, etc.

 BOBSTAY

- A strong rope, chain or rod that exerts downward tension on a bowsprit to counteract the pull of the foresay

 BOILERHOUSE

- Passageway above the boilers, immediately under the smokestack

 BOOM

- Long spar used to extend the horizontal foot of a sail

 BOW

- Front of a boat

 BOWSPRIT

- A large mast or piece of timber which stands out from the bow

 BREADTH

- The width or beam of a vessel at the deck's widest point

 BREAKER

- A wave that piles up high enough for the top to cascade down the leading face.

 BREAKWALL / BREAKWATER

- Artificial wall of concrete or stone built to protect a harbor from heavy waves

 BREECHES BUOY

- Lifesaving device. Lines are fired out to shipwreck with a Lyle Gun and survivors are lifted to safety in a suspended harness, much like a pair of men's breeches.

 BRIDGE WING

- Narrow walkway that extends outward from both sides of the pilothouse. Used by officers when docking or maneuvering in locks or narrow waterways

 BRIGANTINE/ or BRIG

- Two masted ship with a square-rigged fore mast and fore-and-aft rigged aft mast

 BROACH TO

- To turn the vessel broadside to heavy seas, or to lose control of steering in following seas so that the vessel is turned broadside to the waves..

 BULKHEAD

- Wall like partition that divides a boat's hull

 BULWARKS

- Wood work around a vessel above deck

 BUNKER

- Compartment where a boat's fuel is stored

 BUNTLINES

- Ropes used for raising sails

 BUOY

- Caution marker

 BUOYANCY

- The ability to float

 BUTT

- Where the end of a plank unites with the end of another

 BY THE BOARD

- When the masts of a vessel fall over the side

 CANALLER

- Vessel built specially to navigate the locks in the old Welland Canal

 CANT

- To incline

 CAP

- A strong, thick block of wood having two large holes through it, the one square, the other round; used to confine the two masts together

 CAPSTAN

- Device on the deck used for heaving heavy objects such as chains or anchors

 CAT-HEAD

- Timbers on on a ship's bows, with sheaves in them, by which the anchor is hoisted, after it has been hove up by the cable.

 CAT THE ANCHOR

- Hook the cat-block to the ring of the anchor, and haul it up close to the cat-head.

 CATWALK

- Narrow walkway on vessels or piers.

 CAULKING

- Filling the seams of a ship with oakum.

 CENTERBOARD

- Thin board able to be lowered through the keel, to counteract the tendency of a sailing ship to move sidways.

 CHADBURN

- Telegraph device used to signal from the bridge to the engine room

 CHAIN LOCKER

- Place below the windlass where cables are stowed.

 CHAIN PIPE

- A pipe through which an anchor chain is passed from the deck to a stowage compartment

 CHOCK

- Heavy iron fitting through which a rope or hawser is passed

 CLOSE HAULED

- Steering as close to the course as the wind will allow keeping the weather clew of the upper sail lifting.

 COAMING

- Verticle edge of a hatch or skylight

 COMBER

- A long curling wave.

 CONSORT

- Cargo vessel with no power of its own, towed by a steam barge or a steamer; usually a schooner-barge.

 COSTON FLARE / COSTON SIGNAL

- Flare or rocket used at night as a distress signal

 CROSS-TREES

- Wooden or metal bars joined crosswise on the mast to support sails and rigging

 DAVIT

- Curved iron support boom used to swing out and lower lifeboats

 DEAD LIGHTS

- A type of window shutter in the stern of the ship, used only in very bad weather

 DEAD RECKONING

- Calculating the course of a boat from only the speed, heading, and time.

 DECK

- Flat upper surface of a ship

 DECK HOUSE

- Shelter built on deck

 DEEP SOUNDING LEAD

- A heavy lead attached to a line of 100 or more fathoms

 DEPTH

- A measurement inside the hull from the underside of the deck to the top of the keel

 DERELICT

- Ship adrift at sea without a crew

 DISPLACEMENT

- The weight of water a boat displaces

 DOG WATCHES

- From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

 DONKEY BOILER

- Produces steam for uses other than propulsion, such as steering or heating.

 DOWN BOUND

- On the Great Lakes, travelling from the northern lakes toward the southern lakes

 DRAFT

- The distance from the water line to the bottom of the hull; depth of water required for a vessel to float

 DUNNAGE

- Loose wood, etc., laid in the bottom of the hold to keep cargo from being damaged

 EARINGS

- Small ropes used to fasten the upper corners of sails to the yards

 ENSIGN

- Flag worn at the stern

 EVEN KEEL

- Having the keel parallel with the horizon

 FANTAIL

- The stern overhang of a vessel

 FATHOM

- 1 fathom = 6 feet

 FETCH UP

- To hold in place, catch hold or run aground

 FIREHOLD

- Part of the engine room where boiler fires are fed

 FLICKER

- Carferry term for crew's quarters

 FLYING BRIDGE

- An area above the pilothouse used as an operating station by officers during good weather

 FOLLOWING SEA

- Waves coming from behind.

 FORE and AFT

- Throughout the entire ship's length

 FORECASTLE (FO'C'SLE)

- Raised part of a boat's bow containing crew quarters

 FOREMAST

- Mast nearest the bow of a ship

 FOREPEAK

- Large compartment just aft of the bow in the lower part of the ship

 FORESAIL

- Principal sail on the foremast of a schooner

 FORESTAY

- A stay from the foremast to the foredeck or bow of a ship

 FOREWARD

- Towards the bow of the ship

 FOREYARD

- The lower yard on the foremast.

 FOUNDER

- Sink in a disastrous way

 FREEBOARD

- Amount of a vessel's hull that is out of the water

 FRESHEN

- Increase in a gale

 FUNNEL

Smokestack of a vessel

 FURL

- To wrap or roll a sail close up to the yard or stay and secure it in place

 GAFF

- The upper spar of a fore-and-aft sail

 GALE

- A strong wind, rated depending on velocity
  moderate (32 - 38 mph), fresh (39 - 46 mph),
  strong (47 - 54 mph), whole (55 - 63 mph)

 GALLEY

- Kitchen of a vessel

 GAS BUOY

- Metal buoy filled with compressed illuminating gas with a lantern on top that burns day and night

 GROSS TONNAGE

- Total internal capacity of a ship reckoned at 100 cu. ft. per ton

 GUNWALE

- Upper rail of a boat or vessel

 GYRO-COMPASS

- Compass operated by means of a gyroscope which indicates true north instead of magnetic north

 HALLIARD / HALYARD

- Ropes by which the sails are hoisted

 HARD OVER

- Turning the helm as far as possible

 HATCH

- The cover for a hatchway

 HATCHWAY

- Opening in the deck, usually for loading cargo.

 HAWSER

- Anchor or towing line; cable, chain or heavy rope.

 HEAD SAILS

- All sails set forward of the foremast and usually secured to the bowsprit.

 HEAVE-TO

- Stopping a vessel by setting the sails against one another so that she makes no progress.

 HEAVY WEATHER

- Strong winds with large waves

 HEEL

- Lean to one side

 HELM

- Instrument by which the vessel is steered. Includes both the wheel and tiller as one general term

 HELMSMAN

- (see Wheelsman)

 HOGGED

- When the ends of a vessel are depressed from the level of the midships portion.

 HOLD, HOLDS

- Space inside a vessel where cargo or supplies are carried

 HULL

- Frame or body of a vessel.

 HURRICANE DECK

- The highest deck.

 INBOARD

- Inside or toward the center of the ship

 JACOBS LADDER

- A light rope ladder with wooden steps

 JETTISON

- To throw cargo or heavy gear overboard in order to lighten a vessel.

 JIB

- Foremost sail

 JIB BOOM

- A spar used to extend the length of a bowsprit on sailing ships.

 JIB SAIL

- Small triangular sail forward of a ship's foremast

 KEDGE

- Small anchor with an iron stock

 KEEL

- supporting beam that runs the length of a boat's bottom

 KEELSON

- Fore and aft timber placed over the keel to strengthen it

 KNEES

- Angled or curved pieces of iron or wood used to connect the beams of a vessel to her timbers.

 KNOT

- Naut. a unit of speed of one nautical mile (6,076.12 feet) an hour, approximately 1.15 mph

 LABOUR

- To roll and pitch heavily.

 LANYARDS

- Ropes passed through dead eyes for setting up rigging

 LARBOARD

- Left side, looking towards the head

 LEAD

- Weight attached to a line for use in sounding

 LEE

- Direction that the wind is blowing to

 LEEWARD

- The direction in which the wind is blowing

 LENGTH OVER ALL (LOA)

- Length of a ship from the stem to the aftermost point of the stern

 Lie-To

- (See heave-to)

 LIFE PRESERVER

- A buoyant canvas vest used to keep a person afloat

 LIFESAVER

- A member of the Lifesaving Service

 LIST

- tilt to one side

 LIGHTER

- To remove cargo.

 LUFF

To put the helm over to bring the vessel closer to the wind. The weather edge of a fore and aft sail.

 LURCH

- Sudden rolling of a vessel to one side

 MARTINGALE

- A heavy stay directly below the bowsprit, often the strongest on a ship. Frequently made of chain.

 MASTER

- Commander or captain of a ship

 MATE

- Deck officer ranking below the captain

 MESSROOM

- Dining room of a ship

 MIZZENMAST

- The third mast back from the bow

 MOLDED DEPTH

- Distance from the top of the keel to the top of the upper deck amidships

 NAUTICAL MILE

- One minute of latitude or about 1.15 statute miles

 OAKUM

- Old rope, untwisted and pulled open, to use for caulking seams of ships.

 PAINTER

- The line attached to the bow of a yawl boat or dinghy

 PILOTHOUSE

  - small "D" shaped room, having large windows along the curved portion, that sits atop the Texas deck and contains the engine order telegraph, chart table, compass, and steering wheel

 PLIMSOLL MARK

- Line indicating the maximum depth to which a vessel may be loaded.

 POINT

- One of 32 equal divisions of the compass card, each point containing 11 degrees, 15 minutes of arc

 PORT SIDE

- Left side

 PORT TACK

- Sailing close to the wind with it blowing on the port side of the vessel.

 QUARTERDECK

- The part of a vessel's upper deck near the stern

 RATLINES

- Small ropes fastened to the shouds by which the crew go aloft

 REEF

- Part of a sail, from one eyelet row to another
- To shorten sail by reducing the exposed area
- Chain of rocks lying near the surface of the water

 RIGGING

- All ropes, shrouds, stays, halyards &c. attached to the masts or yards.

 SALTIE

- Ocean going vessel that visits the Great Lakes

 SCHOONER

- Sailing vessel having two or more masts, rigged fore and aft.

 SCHOONER-BARGE

- Sailing vessel that is usually towed

 SCOW

- Square-built vessel with flat sides and usually a flat bottom.

 SCOW-SCHOONER

- Schooner with shallow draft and boxy appearance.

 SCREW

- Propeller

 SCUD

- To move quickly in a straight line because or as if driven by the wind.

 SCUPPER

- Holes through which water runs from the deck

 SCUTTLE

- Hole cut in the deck for use as a doorway
- Hole cut in the hull to make a vessel sink

 SEAMS

- Space between planks in a vessel's hull or deck

 SHEER

- Longitudinal curve of the deck or gunwale.

 SHEETS

- Ropes used in working a sail

 SHIP WATER

- To take in water through a leak or break

 SHOE

- A false keel
- Projection of the keel abaft the stern frame where the spindle of the rudder rests.

 SHROUDS

- Range of large ropes extended from the mast-heads to both sides of a ship, to support the masts, and enable them to carry sail.

 SLOOP

- Small sailing craft, usually less than 40 ft in length, with only one mast.

 SOUND

- To try the depth of water by use of a sounding line, marked at depth ranges.

 SPAR

- Mast

 SPARDECK

- Maindeck through which cargo is loaded

 SPRING A MAST, YARD, etc.

- To crack by strain in a gale, rendering it unsafe for use

 SQUALL

- Sudden, violent blast of wind

 STARBOARD

- Right side

 STEERING POLE

- A light spar extending from the bow of a vessel, which can be raised or lowered, and which is used to aid the wheelsman in navigation

 STEM

- Piece of timber into which both sides of a ship are united at the fore end

 STERN

- Rear of a boat

 STRAND

- To become stuck on a beach or obstruction.

 TACK

- To work a vessel against the wind by special use of the sails and running on angles first to starboard, then to port

 TAFFRAIL

- The aftermost railing around the stern of a ship, often ornately carved.

 TEXAS DECK

- Deck on which the pilothouse is mounted

 TONNAGE

- 1. Displacement Tonnage: total weight of a vessel

- 2. Gross Tonnage: a function of the volume of all a boat's internal spaces

 TOPSAIL

- Second sail above the deck

 TOPGALLANT SAIL

- Third sail above the deck

 TROUGH

- The low point between two waves.

 TRYSAIL

- Fore-and-aft sail set with a boom and gaff mounted on a small mast below the lower mast

 TURN TURTLE

- Capsize

 WARP

- Move a vessel with the aid of a rope made fast to a fixed object

 WEATHER DECK

- Deck having no overhead protection

 WEATHER RAIL

- The boat rail on the up wind side of the boat. The higher rail

 WHEELSMAN / WHEELSMEN

- As the name implies, the person or persons whose usual job it is to steer the vessel

 WINDLASS

- A winch, esp. one worked by a crank

 WINDLASS ROOM

- triangular space enclosed within the bow of a vessel where the anchor windlasses are located

 YAWL

- Small rowboat or lifeboat