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| The definitions of the following terms
relate to their maritime usage. Some of the words also have different
non-nautical meanings. |
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Abaft:
Further aft. Towards or nearer the stern.
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Abeam:
At right angles to the fore-and-aft line of the boat.
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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.
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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. |
Belay:
To make fast a line around a fitting, usually a cleat or belaying
pin.
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Bermudan rig:
A triangular mainsail, without an 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.
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Bight:
1. A loop in rope or line.
2. An indentation in a coastline.
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| Bobstay:
A stay which pulls the bowsprit downwards, counteracting the effect
of the forestay. Usually made of wire or chain to eliminate stretch.
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Box the Compass:
To state all 32 points of the compass, starting at north, proceeding
clockwise. Sometimes applied to a wind that is constantly shifting.
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Bumpkin/Boomkin:
A spar, similar to a bowsprit, but which projects from the stern.
May be used to attach the backstay or mizzen sheets.
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Broach/Broach to:
When the boat luffs up uncontrollably slewing around and heeling dangerously.
In high seas the boat may be dismasted or capsized.
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Cardinal:
Referring to the four main points of the compass: north, south, east
and west.
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Cheeks:
1. Wooden blocks at the side of a spar.
2. The sides of a block or gun-carriage.
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Chine:
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.
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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.
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Coaming:
A structure built around a hatch, cockpit or skylight to prevent water
entering.
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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.
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Crance/Crans/Cranze iron:
A fitting, mounted at the end of a bowsprit to which stays are attached.
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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.
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Dead eye:
A wooden block with holes which is spliced to a shroud. It is used
to adjust the tension in the standing rigging, by lacing through the
holes with a lanyard to the deck. Performs the same job as a turnbuckle.
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Deadwood:
A wooden part of the centreline structure of a boat, usually between
the sternpost and amidships.
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Fair:
1. A smooth curve, usually referring to a line of the hull which has
no deviations.
2. To make something flush.
3. A rope is fair when it has a clear run.
4. A wind or current is fair when it offers an advantage to a boat.
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Fetch:
1. The distance across water which a wind has travelled.
2. To reach a mark without tacking.
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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.
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Flare:
1. A curvature of the topsides outward towards the gunwale.
2. A pyrotechnic signalling device, usually used to indicate distress.
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Foot:
1. The lower edge of any sail.
2. The bottom of a mast.
3. A measurement of 12 inches.
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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.
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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.
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Futtocks:
Pieces of timber that make up a large transverse frame.
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Gaff:
The spar extending along the top of a four-sided fore-and-aft mounted
sail.
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Gaff rigged:
A boat rigged with a four-sided fore-and-aft sail mounted on an
upper spar or gaff which extends aft from the mast. |
Gammon iron:
The bow fitting which clamps the bowsprit to the stem.
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Garboard planks:
The planks immediately either side of the keel.
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Ghost:
To sail slowly when there is apparently no wind.
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Gooseneck:
Fitting that attaches the boom to the mast, allowing it to move freely.
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Grave:
To clean a ship’s bottom.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Horn timber:
A fore-and-aft structural member of the hull sloping up and backwards
from the keel to support the counter.
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In stays:
When a boat is positioned head to wind.
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King plank:
The centreline plank of a laid deck. Its sides are often recessed,
or nibbed, to take the ends of their parallel curved deck planks.
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Knee:
Connects two parts roughly at right angles, eg. deck beams to frames.
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Lazarette:
Small stowage locker at the aft end of a boat.
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Loose footed:
A mainsail that is not connected to a boom along its foot.
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Marconi rig:
Another term for bermudan rig. Refers to the similarity of the tall
mast to a radio aerial.
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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.
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Oakum:
Material used for caulking hulls. Often hemp picked from old untwisted
ropes.
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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.
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Parrel:
The collar which holds a yard or gaff to the mast while allowing it
to be raised or lowered and swivel around the mast. Can be made of
wire or rope and fitted with beads to reduce friction.
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Poop:
A raised after deck, usually over the top of accommodation.
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Purchase:
A mechanical method of increasing force, such as a tackle or lever.
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Rabbett/Rebate:
A groove cut in wood to form part of a joint.
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Ratlines:
Steps for going aloft formed by short lengths of line connecting the
shrouds.
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Rubbing strake:
An extra plank fitted to the outside of the hull, usually at deck
level, to protect the topsides.
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Scandalise:
To alter the shape of a sail in order to reduce its efficiency and
reduce the speed of the boat. Used in the past as a sign of mourning.
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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.
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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.
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Taffrail:
A rail at the stern of the boat that covers the head of the counter
timbers.
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Thole:
Vertical wooden peg or pin inserted through the gunwale to form a
fulcrum for oars when rowing. Used in place of a rowlock.
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Tingle:
A thin temporary patch.
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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.
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Transom:
A type of flat stern on a hull which has no overhang. Dinghies tend
to have almost vertical transoms, whereas yachts’ transoms may
be raked forward or aft.
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Tumblehome:
A description of hull shape when viewed in a transverse section, where
the widest part of the hull is someway below deck level. The beam
at deck level is never less than the waterline beam.
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Vang:
A rope leading from gaff to either side of the deck, used to prevent
the gaff from sagging.
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