APPENDIX
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
An abridged dictionary of nautical words and expressions
I am anxious that it should not appear that I believe the following list to be either complete or adequate. The phraseology of sailors is often so saturated with nautical expressions that a person uninitiated into the fraternity of the sea might easily find their conversations almost beyond his comprehension. The words that follow, however, and their definitions, will make clear any portion of the text of this book which may have more of a nautical flavour than I intended, and may, too, clarify other things in the minds of those unacquainted with the language of the sea.—H. D.
I am anxious that it should not appear that I believe the following list to be either complete or adequate. The phraseology of sailors is often so saturated with nautical expressions that a person uninitiated into the fraternity of the sea might easily find their conversations almost beyond his comprehension. The words that follow, however, and their definitions, will make clear any portion of the text of this book which may have more of a nautical flavour than I intended, and may, too, clarify other things in the minds of those unacquainted with the language of the sea.—H. D.
a—An Anglo-Saxon prefix for “on” or “in.” It is in constant use at sea, as inaback,aboard,astern, etc.
aback—Spoken of square sails blown back against a mast by a sudden change of wind, or, in some instances, put in that position purposely for some special purpose.
abaft—Behind or toward the stern of a vessel. Thus,abaftthe bridge will mean toward the stern from the bridge.
abeam—On the side of a vessel, amidships. Thus, an objectabeam, oron the beam, is an object at right angles to the vessel amidships.
aboard, oron board—On, or in, a vessel.
about—A turning round. To goabout—To turn a vessel round, in sailing, so that the wind comes over the other side. Seetack.
adrift—Anything which floats unfastened, as a boat or a spar, which may have broken away, or a ship which has parted from her anchor. Seamen also refer to articles carelessly lying around a ship asadrift.
aft—Behind; toward the after or stern part of a vessel. Thus, the poop deck isaft.
alee—To put the helmaleemeans to bring it toward the side of the ship away from the wind. This heads the boat into the wind, or, if the helm is keptalee, brings her about.
aloft—Up in the tops—overhead. In the upper rigging, or on the yards, etc.
alongside—By the side of.
amidships—Generally speaking, the middle portion of a vessel.
anchor—A metal hook specially designed to take hold of the bottom in comparatively shallow water. A cable connecting the anchor and the ship makes it possible for a ship to maintain her position against wind or tide or current. Anchors are of many shapes and vary in size from a few pounds to a number of tons.
anchorage—A section of a harbour or a roadstead where ships may anchor.
aneroid—A barometer which is operated by the pressure of the atmosphere on a metal disc covering a partial vacuum. The varying pressure operates the hand on a dial, and this is graduated to the same scale as is a mercurial barometer.
artemon—A sail used on Roman ships. It was square and was mounted at the bow on a kind of mast that leaned over the bow. Later its place was taken by the spritsail.
astern—Behind. In the after part of the vessel; behind the vessel; in her wake.
astrolabe—An instrument of the late Middle Ages with which mariners attempted to learn their latitude. The instrument was very imperfect in its workings.
astronomical ring—An instrument that was meant to improve on the astrolabe, but which was just as inaccurate.
athwart,athwartships—Across. Hence the rowers’ seats in an open boat are called thwarts because they lieathwart, or across the boat. To dropathwartanything—To come across it; to find it.
auxiliary—A sailing ship equipped with an engine for use in emergency or in crowded waters is said to be an auxiliary. Sometimes sails are carried on power-driven vessels for use in case it is desirable not to use the engine or in case of breakdown. In this case also the ship is an auxiliary.
avast—The order to stop or pause in any exercise; as, “Avastheaving.”
aweather—Toward the weather side;i. e., the side upon which the wind blows.
aweigh—Spoken of an anchor when it has been lifted from the bottom.
aye(adv., perhaps fromajo, Lat. (defective verb), to say yes)—Yes; always used in lieu thereof at sea, with a repetition, “Aye, aye, sir,” meaning, “I understand; and will execute the order.”
back—With sailing ships: Tobacka square sail is to haul it over to windward so that the wind blows it against the mast. With steam vessels:Backher is an order to reverse engines, so that the ship may be suddenly stopped or made to go astern.
back-stays—Ropes stretched from a mast to the sides of a vessel, some way aft of the mast, to give extra support to the masts against falling forward.
balance lug—SeeLUG.
bale,baler—Tobaleorbale outis to remove water from a boat by means of abaler, which may be any small container capable of holding water.
ballast—Weight deposited in a ship’s hold when she has no cargo, or too little to bring her sufficiently low in the water. It is used to counterbalance the effect of the wind upon the masts and give the ship a proper stability, that she may be enabled to carry sail without danger of upsetting, and is sometimes used in steam vessels to increase their stability or to correct their “trim”; that is, in order that neither bow nor stern will float too high.
balloon canvas, orpress canvas—The extra spread of canvas (i. e., sail) used by yachts in racing, generally, in a great sail often called a “ballooner.”
bank(of oars)—A tier of oars all on one level. In ancient oar-driven ships there were often several banks. All the oarlocks that were at the same distance above the water level mounted oars said to be in the same bank.
barbette—The heavy armoured foundation on which the turret of a modern battleship is mounted.
barge—A general name given to most flat-bottomed craft. In ancient and mediæval times the name was given also to large boats of state or pleasure, and in later days to one of the smallboats of a man-of-war. The barges of to-day are of various descriptions, being either sea-going, river, or canal.
barkentine—A three-masted sailing vessel, square rigged on the fore- and mainmasts, and fore and aft rigged on the mizzen. For illustration see page201.
barometer—An instrument for measuring the weight or pressure of the atmosphere. A careful study of its changing record makes it possible to foretell many of the changes in the weather.
batten—A long strip of wood. Battens are used for many purposes, such as covering seams inside the hull. Tobattendown—To cover up tightly; usually spoken of hatches when they are closed tightly.
battle cruiser—A large and very powerful fighting ship, of high speed, and with an armament equal or superior to that of a battleship, but very lightly armoured.
beam—The width of a vessel at her widest part.
bearing—The direction, or angular distance from a meridian, in which an object lies.
beat—Tobeatto windward is to make progress in a sailing vessel in the direction from which the wind is blowing.
belay—To make fast; as, tobelaya rope.
belaying pin—A movable pin or bolt of wood or metal to which lines are belayed.
below—Togo belowis equivalent, on shipboard, to going downstairs.
berth—A bed or bunk on board ship; a place for a ship to tie up or anchor is sometimes called a berth.
between decksor’tween decks—Any place below the main deck on a ship of more than one deck.
bilge—That part of the hull of a ship inside and adjacent to the keel.
bilge keel—Fins of wood or steel approximately paralleling the keel but built into and projecting from the ship at about where the bottom and the sides might be said to join. They are intended to minimize the rolling of the ship.
bilge water—Water that collects in the bottom of the ship. As this is always at the lowest part of the hull, oil and other impuritiesare always a part of the bilge water, with the result that its odour is generally offensive and it is very dirty.
binnacle—The fixed case and stand in which the steering compass of a vessel is mounted.
bireme—An ancient ship, driven by two banks of oars.
bitts—Posts of metal or timber projecting from the deck, to which lines may be made fast.
Blackwall hitch—A knot. For illustration see page193.
block—A pulley used on board ship.
boat—A small vessel. It is improper to refer to large ships as boats.
bob stay—A stay or rope made fast to the stempost of a ship at the cutwater and leading to the end of the bowsprit.
bolt-ropes—The ropes along the borders or edges of a sail for the purpose of strengthening those parts.
bonnet—A narrow strip of canvas laced to the foot of sails on small vessels to increase their area in light winds. More common in mediæval times than now.
boom—The spar at the foot of a fore and aft sail. There are other booms for other uses, such as aboat boom—a spar projecting from the side of a ship and to which small boats floating in the water are made fast when the ship is at anchor.
bow—The front end of a vessel. Theport bowis the left side of the front end, and thestarboard bowis the right side.
bowline—A knot. For illustration see page193.
bowsprit—The spar projecting from the bow of a ship and to which the fore stays are led from the foremast. It is a highly important part of a sailing ship’s rigging, but when used on power-driven ships, as it often is on steam yachts, it is more decorative than necessary.
boxing the compass—Repeating the points of the compass in order, starting from any point.
brace—Ropes on a square-rigged ship leading to the ends of the yards and used for the purpose of setting the yard at the proper angle to the mast are calledbraces.
breaker—A small water barrel.
breakers—Waves that curl over and break because of shallow water.
breakwater—An artificial bank or wall of any material built to break the violence of the sea and create a sheltered spot.
bridles—Several lines leading from a larger line to distribute the strain on an object to which they are attached.
brig—A vessel with two masts (fore and main) both of them square rigged. For illustration see page201.
brigantine—Same as a brig except that it has a fore and aft mainsail. For illustrations see page201.
broadside—The firing of all the cannon on one side of a warship at the same moment.
bulkhead—A partition of almost any material. Nowadays steel bulkheads are most common. Their purpose is to divide the ship, generally laterally, into separate compartments that, in the highest designs, are watertight.
bulwarks—A parapet around the deck of a vessel, serving to guard passengers, crew, and cargo from the possibility of being swept overboard.
bumboat—A small harbour boat allowed to visit ships in port and supply the sailors with various articles.
buoy—A floating marker intended as a guide or a warning. Buoys have been more or less standardized, but in many different parts of the world similar shapes and colours still stand for different things.
cabin—A habitable apartment on shipboard.
cable—The rope or chain by which a ship’s anchor is held.
calking—Stuffing the seams of wooden ships with oakum.
can buoy—A buoy which shows above water the form of a cylinder.
canoe—A light boat propelled by paddles. Sometimes sails are also used.
capstan—A kind of windlass sometimes found on ships, and used principally for raising the anchor.
caravel—A ship commonly in use in the “age of discovery”; that is, during the 15th Century. Columbus’sSanta Mariawas one of these. For illustration seefrontispiece.
careen—The operation of tilting a ship over to one side or the other by means of tackle led from her masts to points at some distance from her side.
cargo liner—A freight ship that sails on schedule dates over a given route, as passenger liners do.
carrick bend—A knot. For illustration see page193.
carvel—A method of small boat-building in which the board coverings present a smooth surface.
catamaran—A boat made up of two parallel and equal hulls held together by a framework.
catboat—A small sailing boat with one mast and a single sail which is generally similar in shape to the mainsail of a sloop. For illustration see page203.
centreboard—A movable sheet of metal or wood sometimes used by small sailboats. It extends through the keel and presents a large surface to the water and tends to eliminate lateral motion while the boat is under sail. A kind of folding keel.
chart—A map of the sea and coast projections for use by navigators. Features of the bottom are also shown for shallow water.
chronometer—An accurate timepiece generally registering the time at Greenwich, England. Navigators require this instrument in working out their longitude.
clinker—A method of small boat-building in which the covering planks overlap as weatherboarding does on the side of a house.
clipper—A fast sailing ship suddenly developed in the first half of the 19th Century. Generally, but not necessarily, the clippers were full-rigged ships. They were popular for about fifty years. For illustration see page63.
cockpit—SeeWELL.
collier—A vessel employed in the coal trade.
companionway—The entrance to a ladder or flight of stairs leading from one deck to the one below.
compass—A magnetized instrument which points approximately in the direction of the Magnetic Pole and from which directions can be learned.
corvette—A small warship of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
crossjack(pronounced “cro-jak”)—The square sail sometimes hung from the lowest yard on the mizzenmast of a full-rigged ship. It is not commonly used.
crosstrees—The arms extending laterally near the head of a mastat right angles to the length of the vessel and to the extremities of which the topmast shrouds are stretched for the purpose of giving support to the topmast.
cruiser—A large, fast, and lightly armoured ship of war. The expression is also used in yachting, meaning a boat meant for cruising.
cutter—A sailing boat with one mast carrying staysail, jib, fore and aft mainsail, and sometimes a topsail. Other sails are also sometimes added. In various navies the expression is used to denote a large heavy rowboat propelled by as many as ten oars.
cutwater—That portion of the stem of a vessel that cleaves the water as she moves ahead.
davit—A light crane mounted on a ship’s side and used for hoisting and lowering boats. Ordinarily two davits are used to each boat. The projecting beam over which the anchor is sometimes hoisted is also sometimes called a davit.
deck—The covering of the interior of a ship, either carried completely over her or only over a portion. Decks correspond to the floors and roof of a flat-topped building.
derelict—A ship adrift at sea without her crew.
destroyer—Formerly called “torpedo-boat destroyer.” These ships are enlargements of torpedo boats and were originally designed to destroy those small, fast warships. They have proved very useful for many naval duties, and are now an important part of every large navy’s forces.
dhow—A small sailing vessel common in Egyptian and Arabian waters. It generally carries one or two lateen sails.
dinghy—A small open boat used as a tender for a yacht.
dock—An artificially constructed basin for the reception of vessels. It may be a wet dock, where ships lie while loading and unloading, or a dry dock, in which they are repaired after the water is pumped out.
dock yard—An enclosed area in which the work connected with the building, fitting out, or repair of ships is carried on.
drabbler—An additional strip of canvas, sometimes laced to thebottom of the “bonnet” on a square sail when the wind is light. Rarely seen nowadays, but common in the Middle Ages.
draft—The depth beneath the surface of the water of the lowest point of a ship’s keel.
dreadnaught—A modern battleship carrying heavy armour and a main battery of guns all of a very large and uniform calibre.
driver—The fore-and-aft sail on the mizzenmast of a square-rigged ship. It is sometimes called the spanker.
dry dock—An artificial basin which can be flooded in order to permit the entry of ships, and then pumped dry in order that their hulls may be examined, painted, and repaired.
dugout—A canoe or boat made from a log hollowed out and cut down until it has become a vessel capable of carrying one or more passengers.
ensign—The flag carried by a ship as the insignia of her nationality. Also, the lowest commissioned officer of the United States Navy.
fathom—A nautical measure, equal to six feet.
fid—A bolt of wood or metal which holds the heel of a topmast.
fife rail—A plank or rail in which a group of belaying pins is kept.
figure of eight—A knot. For illustration see page193.
flagship—That ship of a fleet or squadron which flies the flag of the admiral in command.
fore and aft—An expression signifying those sails which, when at rest, lie in a line running from bow to stern of a vessel. The sails of a schooner are fore and aft.
forecastle—Formerly a raised “castle” built at the bows of ancient and mediæval ships from which the decks of enemy ships could be attacked. Nowadays the quarters of the crew on board ship—generally in the bows of ships.
foremast—The mast nearest the bow of a vessel having more than one mast, except on yawls, ketches, and other sailboats where the mast nearest the bow is larger than the mast farther astern.
foresail—On a square-rigged ship, the lowest square sail on the foremast. On a schooner, the sail stretched between the boom and the gaff on the foremast.
forward—The forward part or the forepart; that is, the vicinity of the bow of a vessel. To goforwardis to go toward the bow.
freeboard—That portion of a vessel’s side which is free of the water; that is, which is not submerged.
freighter—A ship engaged in carrying freight.
frigate—A warship of the last days of sail. It was full rigged and had two decks on which guns were mounted. TheConstitutionis afrigate. For illustration see page145.
full-rigged ship—A ship carrying three masts, each mounting square sails. For illustration see page201.
funnel—The smokestack or chimney connected with the boilers of a ship.
furl—To roll a sail and confine it to its yard or boom.
gaff—The spar at the top of some fore and aft sails, such as the mainsail or foresail of a schooner.
galleon—A heavy vessel of the time of Spain’s nautical supremacy.
galley—(1) In ancient and mediæval times a ship of war propelled by oars and sails. (2) The kitchen of a ship.
gangplank—A movable runway used to bridge over the gap from a ship’s deck to a pier.
gangway—A narrow platform or bridge passing over from one deck of a vessel to another, as from the poop to the midship deck of a freighter.
gear—Any part of the working apparatus of a vessel, as the gear of the helm, which consists of the tiller, the chains, the blocks, and all other necessary parts.
gig—A small boat formerly often carried on shipboard and meant for use when in port.
gimbals—The brass rings in which a compass is mounted, and which permit it to remain horizontal despite the motions of the ship.
gondola—A Venetian boat, used in the canals more or less as taxicabs are used in streets. It is propelled by one or two oarsmen, each with a single oar.
granny—A knot. For illustration, see page193.
graving dock—Same as dry dock.
ground—To run a ship into water so shallow that she rests on the bottom.
ground tackle—The gear connected with and including the anchors of a ship.
gunboat—A small warship used for minor naval duties.
gunwale—The top of any solid rail along the outside of a vessel is generally called agunwale.
guy—A steadying rope, as theguyof a spinnaker, which serves to keep that sail forward.
gybe—The swinging over of a fore and aft sail when the wind, accidentally or intentionally, has been brought from one side of it to the other around its free edge. This is sometimes a foolish and dangerous manœuvre.
halyard—A rope (sometimes a chain) by which a sail, flag, or yard is hoisted.
handsomely—A term which sounds contradictory. It means the opposite to hastily, and is used often with reference to ropes or halyards; as, “Lower awayhandsomely,” which means lower away gradually.
hatchway—An opening in the deck of a vessel through which persons or cargo may descend or ascend.
hawsepipes—Short tubes through which the anchor cable passes from the forward deck to the outside of the bow.
hawser—A cable or heavy rope used for towing and for making fast to moorings.
head sails—All the sails set between the foremast and the bow and bowsprit of a sailing ship. These are the fore staysail and the inner, outer, and flying jibs. Occasionally there may be others, such as a spritsail.
helm—Used interchangeably with the word “tiller.” Theoretically, every rudder is equipped with a helm or tiller, although actually tillers are seldom used except on small boats. To port yourhelm(tiller) means to push the handle of the tiller to the port side. This steers the vessel to starboard. Therefore, when the order to port thehelmis given on board any ship, it is intendedthat the steering apparatus be so operated that were there a tiller on the rudder it would be moved to port.
hermaphrodite brig—A two-masted sailing ship with square sails on the foremast and fore-and-aft sails only on the main. This type is often incorrectly called a brigantine. For illustration see page201.
hold—The inner space in a vessel in which the cargo is stowed.
holystone—A soft, porous stone used for scouring the decks. Its name comes from its shape, which fancy has suggested is that of a Bible, and to the fact that when it is in use the sailors are invariably on their knees.
hull—The hull is the body of a vessel, exclusive of rigging or equipment.
Jacob’s ladder—A collapsible ladder made of wooden steps strung between two ropes. It is used over the sides of a ship when the ship is at sea, as, for instance, when a pilot comes aboard or departs.
jaws—The horns at the end of a boom or gaff, which keep it in its position against the mast.
jib—One of the triangular headsails of a sailing vessel. There are several, as follows: balloon jib, flying jib, inner jib, jib of jibs (only on large ships), jib topsail, middle jib, spitfire, standing jib, storm jib.
jib-boom—A spar running out beyond the bowsprit for the purpose of carrying other jibs.Flying jib-boom—A boom extending beyond thejib-boomfor the purpose of carrying the flying jib.
jigger—The fourth mast from the bow in a ship carrying four or more masts. The second from the bow in a yawl or a ketch.
jolly boat—A boat corresponding to a dinghy.
junk—A ship common in China and Japan. It is ungainly in shape, but is often remarkably seaworthy. It is driven by sails which are often made of matting.
kayak—A small canoe used by the Eskimos. It is made by covering a light framework with skins, and is decked. Generallythere is but one hatch just large enough for a single occupant to sit in. Occasionally there are two of these openings. It is propelled by paddles.
kedge—A small anchor carried by large vessels for use in shallow water or for use in keeping the main anchor clear.
keel—The backbone of a ship. It is a strong member extending the entire length of the centre of the bottom, and from it the ribs are built at right angles.Fin-keel—A thin and deep projection below the keel of some sailing ships, principally yachts, designed so as to prevent the ship from being blown sideways by the wind, and generally weighted at the bottom by an addition of lead or iron to insure stability to the vessel.
keelson—An addition to the keel inside the boat. It rests upon the keel and strengthens it.
ketch—A sailing vessel with two masts and with fore-and-aft sails. The mast nearer the bow is the larger of the two and is called the main. The one toward the stern is, in America, generally called the jigger, and in England the mizzen. It is placed just forward of the wheel or tiller. It is in this particular that it differs from a yawl.
knot—A nautical mile per hour is a measure of speed. It is often incorrectly used as a synonym for a nautical mile.
knot—The fastening of a rope. For illustrations see page193.
landlubber—An uncomplimentary term used by sailors in reference to any one not familiar with ships and the sea.
larboard—The old term for port, or the left-hand side of a vessel. No longer in use because of its close resemblance to starboard, which is the term meaning the right-hand side.
lateen—A triangular sail of large size hung from a very long yard. It is common in Egyptian waters and is to be seen occasionally about the Mediterranean and in the East. The yard is often of immense length, sometimes being twice as long as the boat itself.
launch—A small vessel propelled by some kind of motor, and generally used for pleasure. Tolaunch—To put a new vessel into the water. This is ordinarily a function of more or less formality.
lead—A leaden weight attached to the end of a line used to measure the depth of the water.
lee—The lee side of a vessel is the side opposite that against which the wind blows. A lee shore is a shore on the lee side of a ship, and is therefore to be feared, for the force of the wind tends to blow the ship ashore. “Under theleeof the shore,” however, is an expression meaning in the shelter of a shore line from which the wind is blowing.
leech(meaninglee edge)—The aftermost, backmost, or lee margin of a sail.
leg-of-mutton—A triangular sail sometimes used on small sailboats.
leeward—On the lee side. An object toleewardis on the lee side. Pronounced “loo-ard” or “lew-ard.”
lifeboat—A boat carried for the purpose of saving lives in case the ship which carried it is wrecked. Strict laws force all ships to carry these small boats, and the ships must carry life preservers in addition. Lifeboats are also maintained ashore in order to assist the crews of wrecked ships.
lighter—A barge intended for use in port or on rivers and meant to carry freight. The name comes from the fact that these barges “lighten” or unload ships. Ships also are often loaded from them.
lighthouse—A structure erected ashore or in shallow water and equipped with a powerful light, visible for miles at night. This acts as a warning, and shows the position of the danger to navigation which it is erected to mark.
lightship—A floating lighthouse, securely moored where it may mark a danger, such as a reef or a shoal, or at the entrance to a harbour in order to show the safe way in.
line—A small rope.The line—A nautical expression for the equator.
line-of-battle ship—The most powerful naval vessels at the end of the days of sailing navies.
liner—A term which has come to mean a large passenger ship operated by a steamship line. The expression seems to include only salt-water ships. For instance, a river steamer, eventhough operated on a regular schedule by a steamship line, would not be called a liner.
log—An instrument that measures the distance a ship travels through the water. (2) The journal in which all the events of importance and interest on board ship are carefully written.
lubber—An awkward fellow.
lubber’s line—A line marked on the inside of a mariner’s compass case, showing the exact fore and aft direction of the ship. The moving compass card revolves so that the points or degrees with which it is marked pass close to this line, and thus the man who is steering the ship can always tell exactly the direction in which the ship is headed.
luff(of a sail)—The weather edge; that is, the edge toward the wind. Toluff, in sailing, is to bring a vessel’s bow more toward the wind.
lug—A type of sail of which there are three principal kinds: dipping lug, balance lug, and standing lug. A lug sail is four-sided and is hung from a yard which is mounted on a mast in a fore and aft position. See illustration of lugger, page201.
lugger—A boat using a lug sail.
main—In all rigs of vessels the word “main” applies alike to the principal mast and the principal sail it carries. Generally in ships equipped with two or more masts the second from the bow is the mainmast, although in some rigs, such as ketches and yawls, the mast nearest the bow is the main.
marine—A man in the naval service serving something like a soldier on board a warship. Nowadays the duties of marines often take them ashore where their services are identical with those of soldiers.
mariner—Anciently a first-class or able-bodied seaman.
martingale—The rope extending downward from the jib-boom to the “dolphin striker.” Its duties are those of a stay, or brace.
mast—A long piece or system of pieces of timber or metal placed nearly perpendicularly to the keel of a vessel to support rigging, wireless antennæ, halyards, etc.
master—The captain of a merchant vessel.
mate—literally the master’s assistant. There may be as many as four or five mates on a ship, rated first, second, third, etc. They are officers next in rank to the master.
mess—At sea a company of men or officers who eat or live together.
’midships—The same asAMIDSHIPS.
mile—A nautical mile equals one sixtieth of a degree of latitude, and varies from 6,046 feet at the equator to 6,092 in latitude 60 degrees.
mizzen—Generally the third mast from the bow of a ship carrying three or more masts is called the mizzenmast. The sails set from this mast have the word “mizzen” prefixed to their names, asmizzentopsail,mizzentopgallant sail, etc. Also parts of the mast prefix the word, asmizzentopmast.
moonraker(ormoonsail)—In square-rigged ships the sail set above the skysail. (Very rare.)
moor—To moor is to make a ship fast to a mooring which is a kind of permanent anchor to which a buoy is attached.
Mother Carey’s chicken—A small seabird, properly called the stormy petrel (Procellaria pelagica).
nautical mile—SeeMILE.
naval architecture—The science of designing vessels.
navigation—The science which enables seamen to determine their positions at sea and to lay down courses to be followed.
nun buoy—A buoy which shows above water in the shape of a cone.
oakum—A substance to which old ropes are reduced when picked to pieces. It is used in calking the seams of boats and in stopping leaks.
oar—An instrument used in propelling boats by hand. It may be of any length over four or five feet, although, as it is meant to be operated by man power, it must be limited in size so as not to constitute too great a weight. It is made up of a handle, a shaft, and a flat section meant to come in contact with the water. At about one third of the distance from the handle to the end of the blade it rests in a special fitting called an oarlockor a rowlock. By submerging the blade in the water and pulling the handle in a direction at right angles to the length of the oar it tends to propel the boat. It differs from a paddle in that a paddle does not rest in a lock. A sweep is a very large oar, generally operated by several men.
oilskins—Waterproof coats and trousers worn over other clothing at sea.
on soundings—When a ship is in water shallow enough to permit the depth to be easily ascertained by means of the lead she is said to beon soundings. At sea the expressionto soundmeans to learn the depth of the water by means of the lead.
outboard—Board means the side of a vessel; thereforeoutboardmeans outside her or beyond the gunwale.
outrigger—A type of small boat common in the East Indies is one made up of a narrow hull kept from overturning by a small timber floating in the water parallel to the hull and made fast to the hull by means of crossbars. This type is known as anoutrigger canoe. The outrigger is the small float that keeps the canoe from capsizing. For illustration see page17.
overboard—Over the side of a ship.
packet—A small passenger or mail boat.
paddle—A kind of oar. In use, however, a paddle uses no leverage except what is offered by the hands of the operator.
paddle-wheel—A large wheel sometimes used by steamboats and on which flat boards are so arranged that when the wheel turns the boards come in contact with the water, thus propelling the boat.
painter—A rope attached to the bow of an open boat, by which the boat may be tied.
peak—The upper end of a gaff. Also the uppermost corner of a sail carried by a gaff.
peak halyards—The halyards or ropes by which the peak is elevated.
pier—A long narrow structure of wood, steel, or masonry, built from the shore out into the water, and generally used for the transfer of passengers and goods to and from ships.
pilot—A man qualified and licensed to direct ships in or out of a harbour or channel. He boards the outgoing ship as she sails and is taken off, once the ship is outside the restricted waters that he is licensed to take her through, by a pilot boat. Incoming ships take pilots from the pilot boat as they approach the restricted waters where pilots are needed.
Plimsoll mark—A mark placed on the sides of ships by Lloyds or some other marine insurance firm, to show how deeply they may be laden. As a cargo comes aboard, a ship sinks in the water, but the insurance is void if the Plimsoll mark is sunk below the water line.
point—The card of a mariner’s compass is generally divided into thirty-two parts. These are the points of the compass. Nowadays compasses are more and more being divided into degrees, but still the points are generally shown as well.Reef points—short ropes hanging in rows across sails to make it possible to tie a part of the sail into a restricted space so as to present less surface to the wind.
poop—Properly, an extra deck on the after part of a vessel.
port—The left-hand side of a vessel when one is facing the bow.
port tack—A sailing vessel is on the port tack when under way with the wind blowing against her port side.
porthole—An opening in the side of a vessel. The term generally refers to the round windows common on most ships.
prau—The Philippine name for a type of canoe. Praus may or may not have outriggers.
propeller—A heavy apparatus somewhat similar to an electric fan in appearance, which, when mounted on the end of a shaft outside the stern of a vessel, below the water line, and set to turning by the engines, moves the ship through the water.
prow—The cutwater of a ship.
punt—A small flat-bottomed boat, generally square ended.
quarter—That section of a ship’s side slightly forward of the stern. The port quarter is on the left side and the starboard quarter is on the right to the observer facing forward.
quartermaster—A petty officer on board ship, whose duties have to do almost exclusively with steering the ship and with other tasks about the bridge.
quay—An artificial landing place, generally of greater area than a pier.
quinquireme—An ancient ship propelled by five banks of oars.
raft—A group of any timbers bound together to form a float.
ratlines—Small lines crossing the shrouds of a ship and forming the steps of a ladder by means of which sailors may mount the masts. Pronounced “rat-lins.”
reef—A low ridge of rock usually just below the surface of the water. (2) Toreefa sail is to reduce the area spread to the wind by tying part of it into a restricted space.
reef point—SeePOINT.
revenue cutter—A ship operated by a government to prevent smuggling and otherwise to enforce the law.
ribs—The members which, with the keel, form the skeleton of a vessel.
riding lights—The lights a ship is required by law to carry at night while anchored.
rig—The manner in which the masts and sails of a vessel are fitted and arranged in connection with the hull.
rigging—The system of ropes on a vessel by which her masts and sails are held up and operated.
roadstead—A place of anchorage at a distance from the shore.
row—To propel a boat by means of oars is to row.
royal—In the built-up mast of a square-rigged ship the fourth section above the deck is the royalmast. Its complete name prefixes the name of the mast above which it rises, asfore royalmast.The sail on the royalmast is named accordingly, asfore royal. The royal yard is the yard from which the royal sail is spread.
rudder—A flat, hinged apparatus hung at the stern of a ship, by the movement of which the ship is steered.
running lights—The lights that a ship is required by law to carry at night while under way.
sail—A sheet of canvas or other material which, when spread to the wind, makes possible the movement of a vessel. For various sails in use see illustration, page213.
schooner—A fore-and-aft rigged vessel with two or more masts, the foremost of which is the foremast. See page201.
scout cruiser—A very fast and lightly armoured modern warship smaller than a battle cruiser but larger than a destroyer, used for scouting.
scow—A large flat-bottomed boat without power and of many uses.
screw propeller—SeePROPELLER.
scuppers—Openings in the bulwarks of a ship to carry off any water that may get on the deck.
seam—The space between two planks in the covering of a vessel. It is in theseamthat the calking is placed.
seamanship—The art of handling ships.
sextant—The instrument in almost universal use at sea for measuring the altitude of the sun and other celestial bodies. From this the latitude and longitude may be worked out.
sheepshank—A knot. For illustration see page193.
sheer—The straight or curved line that the deck line of a vessel makes when viewed from the side.
sheet—The rope attached to a sail so that it may be let out or hauled in as occasion may require.
ship—A term applied indiscriminately to any large vessel, but among seamen it means a sailing vessel with three masts on all of which square sails are set. For illustration see page201.
shoal—A shallow place in the water.
shoot the sun—A bit of nautical slang, meaning to determine the altitude of the sun with a sextant.
shrouds—Strong ropes forming the lateral supports of a mast. Nowadays they are usually wire rope.
skiff—A small open boat. In different localities it is of different design. Occasionally fairly good-sized sailing vessels are called skiffs.
skipper—The master of a merchant vessel, called, by courtesy, captain ashore and always so at sea.
skysail—The square sail sometimes set above the royal. Itcarries also the name of the mast on which it is set, asmain skysail.
sloop—Sailing vessel with one mast, like a cutter but having a jib stay, which a cutter has not. A jib stay is a support leading from the mast to the end of the bowsprit on which a jib is set.
smack—The name given indiscriminately to any sort of fishing vessel using sails.
snow—A vessel formerly common. It differs slightly from a barque. It has two masts similar to the main and foremasts of a ship, and close behind the mainmast is a trysail mast. This vessel is about extinct.
sounding—Determining the depth of water and the kind of bottom with the lead and line.
southwester—(pronounced sou-wester)—A waterproof hat with the widest part of the brim at the back.
spanker—The fore-and-aft sail set on the mizzenmast of a square-rigged ship. Sometimes called the driver.
spar—A spar is any one of the timber members of a vessel’s gear.
spinnaker—A racing sail of immense spread reaching from the topmast head to the end of a spinnaker boom which is a spar set out to take it. Sometimes it is possible for the same sail to be made to perform the services of a balloon jib, by carrying the spinnaker boom out until the end to which the sail is made fast is beside the end of the bowsprit.
splice—(Verb) To join rope by interweaving the strands. (Noun) The joint made in rope by interweaving the strands.
spritsail—A sail common before the introduction of the jib. It is a small square sail set on a yard hung below and at right angles to the bowsprit. Sometimes, formerly, a short vertical mast was erected at the end of the bowsprit, and from this was set the sprit topsail.
squadron—Part of a fleet of naval ships under a flag officer.
squall—A sudden and very strenuous gust of wind or a sudden increase in its force. Small storms that come up quickly are often called squalls.
square-rigged—That method of disposing of sails in which theyhang across the ship and in which they are approximately rectangular in shape.
starboard—The right-hand side of a vessel to a person facing the bow.
stays—Supports made of hemp or wire rope supporting spars, or, more especially, masts.
staysails—Sails set on the stays between the masts of a ship or as headsails.
stem—The foremost timber of a vessel’s hull.
stern—The rear end of a vessel.
stern castle—In ancient times an erection built at the stern of a ship to assist in its defense.
stevedore—A man whose task it is to stow the cargoes of ships and to unload cargoes.
stoke hold—That compartment in a steamship from which the fires under the boilers are stoked or tended.
stoker—A man who stokes or feeds the fires beneath the boilers of a ship.
stow—To stow a cargo is to pack it into a ship so that it will not shift as the vessel pitches and rolls.
studding sails—On square-rigged ships narrow supplementary sails are sometimes set on small booms at the sides of the principal square sails. These are studding sails.
submarine—A ship which is so designed as to be able to dive beneath the surface.
supercargo—A member of a ship’s crew whose duties have only to do with superintending transactions relating to the vessel’s cargo.
superdreadnaught—A battleship of considerably greater strength than the original British battleshipDreadnaught, which gave its name to a class of ships.
swamp—To be swamped is to have one’s boat filled with water, but not necessarily to sink.
sweeps—Very large and clumsy oars, sometimes used on sailing ships to move them in calms, or in narrow places where it is impracticable to use their sails. They are also sometimes used on barges and rafts.
swell—An undulating motion of the water, always felt at sea after a gale.
tack—To tack in sailing is to change the course of a vessel from one direction or tack to another by bringing her head to the wind and letting the wind fill her sails on the other side, the object being to progress against the wind.
taffrail—The sternmost rail of a vessel, that is, the rail around the stern.
tarpaulin—A waterproofed canvas. Formerly it was waterproofed by the application of tar.
telltale—An inverted compass, generally mounted on the ceiling of the captain’s cabin. Thus, without going on deck, or even without lifting his head from his pillow, the captain can check up the course the helmsman is steering.
tender—A small vessel employed to attend a larger one.
tholesorthole pins—Pegs fitted into holes in a boat’s gunwale and between which oars are placed when rowing.
throat—That part of a gaff that is next to the mast, and the adjoining corner of the sail.
throat halyard—The rope that elevates the throat.
thwart—Athwart means across, and in a boat the seats are called the thwarts, because they are placed athwart or across the boat.
tiller—The handle or beam at the top of the shaft to which the rudder is attached, and by which the rudder is turned. It is in use only on comparatively small vessels.
tonnage—The measure of a ship’s internal dimensions as the basis for a standard for dues, etc.
top—In square-rigged ships the platform built on the masts just below the topsails, and to which the sailors climb by means of the ratlines. The name of the mast on which the top is located is prefixed, as,main top,mizzen top, etc.
topmast—In a mast built up of two or more parts the topmast is the second from the deck.
topgallant mast—In a mast built up in sections the topgallant mast is the third section above the deck.
topsail—The second sail from the deck on any mast of a square-riggedship. Sometimes ships have lower and upper topsails, but in this case each of these is narrower than the ordinary topsail. The name of the mast on which the topsail is set is prefixed, as,fore topsail,main topsail, etc. On fore-and-aft rigged vessels the topsail is a triangular sail set between the gaff and the topmast.
topgallant sail—The third sail from the deck on any mast of a square-rigged ship, except when the ship is equipped with lower and upper topsails, in which case the topgallant sail is the fourth.