topsail schooner—A schooner which, on the foremast, spreads a square topsail.
torpedo boat—A small, fast ship of war built to use torpedoes as its major weapons. This type was common during and after the Spanish-American War, but became extinct, or practically so, after the introduction of the torpedo-boat destroyer.
torpedo-boat destroyer—SeeDESTROYER.
tramp—The name usually given to merchant freighters that have no regular routes. They carry almost any cargoes that offer, and may carry them to almost any port.
trawler—A vessel usually driven by power and used in fishing. It tows a heavy net called a trawl.
trick—At sea, the time allotted to a man to be at the wheel or on any other duty.
trireme—In ancient times, a ship propelled by three banks of oars.
trysails—Small sails used in bad weather when no others can be carried, or, occasionally, for rough work.
trysail mast—In old ships a mast for hoisting a trysail. (Seldom seen.)
tug—A small, powerful vessel usually propelled by steam and used to assist larger ships about protected waterways. Tugs are also used to tow barges or almost anything that can float. In the narrow waters of harbours and particularly in going alongside piers and quays, large ships need the assistance that these small vessels give them. There are also larger tugs for use in towing barges or other vessels at sea. These are known as sea-going tugs.
turret—An armoured turntable in which the larger guns of warships are mounted.
turret steamer—A steamer which, below the water line, is similar to other ships, but which above the water line has its sides turned abruptly in, so that its main deck is greatly narrower than its water-line beam. For illustration see page131.
twin screw—A ship equipped with two propellers is said to be atwin screwship.
umiak—An open boat used by the Eskimos and some Northern Indians. It is made up of a frame covered with skins. Its size varies, but an average size would probably be in the neighbourhood of twenty feet in length.
vessel—From the Frenchvaissel. A general term for all craft larger than a rowboat.
vinta—A Philippine name for one type of outrigger canoe.
waist—Actually that part of a vessel between the beam and the quarter. In old ships with sterns highly raised it was that portion forward of this raised section—that is, the section of the deck that was lower than the rest.
wake—The track a vessel leaves behind her on the surface of the water.
watch—To stand a watch on board ship is to be on duty for a given time, usually, but not always, for four hours.
water sail—A small sail sometimes set beneath the foot of a lower studding sail. Rare.
ways—An incline built for a working foundation on which to erect the hulls of ships. When the ship is ready to be floated, it is slid, generally stern first, from the ways into the water.
weather—As a nautical expression this term is applied to any object to windward of any given spot; hence, theweatherside of a vessel is the side upon which the wind blows. A vessel is said to haveweathereda gale when she has lived safely through it.
weigh—To lift the anchor from the bottom is to weigh anchor.
well—A depression sometimes built in the decks of yachts or sailboats which is not covered over by a deck. It is often called a cockpit, and is for the convenience and protection of passengers and crew. (2) An opening leading to the lowest part of the bilge, in which the depth of bilge water may be measured.
whaleback—A disappearing type of steamer once common on the American Great Lakes.
whaleboat—A boat that is sharp at both ends and is propelled by oars. This type was used by whalers, and is now common on ships of war, because of its seaworthiness, ease of handling, and sturdiness.
whaler—A ship used in the whaling industry.
wharf—A loading place for vessels.
wheel—When used in its nautical sense, this expression refers to the wheel by which a ship is steered.
wherry—In different localities wherries are of different sizes and designs. They are small boats, generally driven by oars.
windjammer—A slang expression for a person who prefers sails to engines.
windward—That side of a vessel or any other object upon which the wind is blowing is the windward side. An object which is to windward is in the direction from which the wind is blowing.
wind sail—A tube of canvas, with wings of canvas at the top so arranged as to direct fresh air below decks. It is a kind of temporary ventilator.
wing and wing—In a fore-and-aft vessel it is possible, when running directly before the wind, to haul the sails on one mast out to starboard and those of another mast out to port. This is said to be sailingwing and wing.
wreck—A wreck is the destruction of a ship. The ship herself or the remnants of her after the catastrophe.
wreckage—Goods or parts of a ship cast up by the sea after a shipwreck.
xebec(pronounced “zebec”)—A small three-masted vessel, lateen rigged, and often with an overhanging bow. Common in the Mediterranean.
yacht—A pleasure boat. The term is indefinite in application, and generally means only the more elaborate pleasure craft owned by the wealthy.
yard—A spar suspended from a mast for the purpose of spreading a sail.
yaw—To yaw in a sailing vessel is to deviate from the true course. It is often the result of having an inexperienced man at the wheel.
yawl—A sailing vessel equipped with two masts, the main and the jigger. (In England the jigger is often called the mizzen.) The mainmast is the larger of the two and supports one or more jibs, a fore-and-aft mainsail, and sometimes a topsail. The jiggermast carries a small fore-and-aft sail, and the mast is set astern of the tiller or wheel. For illustration see page201.
zenith—The point directly overhead.