CANCELLED TICKET. One rendered useless by some subsequent arrangement or clerk's error. In either case the word "cancelled" is to be written across in large characters, and due record made. The corner cut off cancels good character, yet they are a certificate for time.
CANCER. The Crab; the fourth sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters about the 21st of June, and commences the summer solstice.
CANDLE-BARK. A cylindrical tin box for candles.
CANE. The rattan (Calamus rudentum), is extensively used in the East for rigging, rope, and cables. The latter have remained for years at the bottom of the sea uninjured by teredo, or any destructive crustacea. The cables, too, resist any but the sharpest axes, when used to connect logs as booms, to stop the navigation of rivers.
CANEVAS. The old word for hempen canvas; but many races, even the Chinese, make sails entirely of cane. The Americans frequently use cotton, and term that cloth duck. In the islands of the South Pacific it is made from the bark of various trees, grasses, &c.
CAN-HOOKS. They are used to sling a cask by the chimes, or ends of its staves, and are formed by reeving the two ends of a piece of rope or chain through the eyes of two flat hooks, and there making them fast. The tackle is then hooked to the middle of the bight.
CANISTER SHOT.SeeCase-shot.
CANNIKIN. A small drinking-vessel.
CANNON. The well-known piece of artillery, mounted in battery on board or on shore, and made either of brass or iron. The principal parts are:—1st. The breech, together with the cascable and its button, called by seamen the pommelion. The breech is of solid metal, from the bottom of the concave cylinder or chamber to the cascable. 2d. The trunnions, which project on each side, and serve to support the cannon, hold it almost in equilibrio. 3d. The bore or caliber, is the interior of the cylinder, wherein the powder and shot are lodged when the cannon is loaded. The entrance of the bore is called the mouth or muzzle. It may be generally described as gradually tapering, with the various modifications of first and second reinforce and swell, to the muzzle or forward end. (SeeGun.)
CANNONADE. The opening and continuance of the fire of artillery on any object attacked. Battering with cannon-shot.
CANNON-PERER. An ancient piece of ordnance used in ships of war for throwing stone shot.
CANNON-PETRONEL. A piece of ordnance with a 6-inch bore which carried a 24-lb. ball.
CANNON, RIFLED. Introduced by Captain Blakely, Sir W. Armstrong, and others.
CANNON ROYAL. A 60-pounder of eight and a half inches bore. (SeeCarthoun.)
CANNON-SERPENTINE. An old name for a gun of 7-inches bore.
CANOE. A peculiar boat used by several uncivilized nations, formed of the trunk of a tree hollowed out, and sometimes of several pieces of bark joined together, and again of hide. They are of various sizes, according to the uses for which they are designed, or the countries to which they belong. Some carry sail, but they are commonly rowed with paddles, somewhat resembling a corn-shovel; and instead of rowing with it horizontally, as with an oar, they manage it perpendicularly. In Greenland and Hudson Bay, the Esquimaux limits of America, skin-boats are chiefly in use, under the name of kaiack, oomiak, baidar,&c.
CANOPUS. The lucida of Argo Navis, and a Greenwich star. Also, a city of classical importance, visited by the heroes of the Trojan war, the reputed burial-place of the pilot of Menelaus, &c. But, as some ancient places have been so fortunate as to renew their classical importance in modern times, so this, under the modern name of Abukeir, has received a new "stamp of fate," by its overlooking, like Salamis, the scene of a naval battle, which also led to a decision of the fate of nations. In this bay Nelson, at one blow, destroyed the fleet of the enemy, and cut off the veteran army of France from the shores of Egypt. The Canopian mouth of the Nile was the most westerly of all the branches of that celebrated river.
CANOPY. A light awning over the stern-sheets of a boat.
CANT,To. To turn anything about, or so that it does not stand square. To diverge from a central right line. Cant the boat or ship;i.e.for careening her.
CANT. A cut made in a whale between the neck and the fins, to which the cant-purchase is made fast, for turning the animal round in the operation of flensing.
CANTARA. A watering-place.
CANT-BLOCKS. The large purchase-blocks used by whalers to cant the whales round under the process of flensing.
CANT-BODY. An imaginary figure of that part of a ship's body which forms the shape forward and aft, and whose planes make obtuse angles with the midship line of the ship.
CANTEEN. A small tin vessel for men on service to carry liquids. Also, a small chest containing utensils for an officer's messing. Also, a kind of sutling-house in garrisons.
CANTERA. A Spanish fishing-boat.
CANT-FALLS.SeeSpike-tackle.
CANT-HOOK. A lever with a hook at one end for heavy articles.
CANTICK-QUOINS. Short three-edged pieces of wood to steady casks from labouring against each other.
CANTING BALLAST. Is when by a sudden gust or stress of weather a ship is thrown so far over that the ballast settles to leeward, and prevents the ship from righting.
CANTING-LIVRE.SeeConsole-bracket.
CANT-LINE. Synonymous withgirt-line, as to cant the top over the lowermast-head.
CANTONMENTS. Troops detached and quartered in different towns and villages near each other.
CANT-PURCHASE. This is formed by a block suspended from the mainmast-head, and another block made fast to the cant cut in the whale. (SeeCant-blocks.)
CANT-RIBBONS. Those ribbons that do not lie in a horizontal or level direction.
CANT-ROPE.SeeFour-cant.
CANT-SPAR. A hand-mast pole, fit for making small masts or yards, booms, &c.
CANT-TIMBERS. They derive their name from being canted or raised obliquely from the keel. The upper ends of those on the bow are inclined to the stem, as those in the after-part incline to the stern-post above. In a word, cant-timbers are those which do not stand square with the middle line of the ship. They may be deemed radial bow or stern-timbers.
CANVAS [fromcannabis, hemp]. A cloth made of hemp, and used for the sails of ships. It is purchased in bolts, and numbered from 1 to 8, rarely to 9 and 10. Number 1 being the coarsest and strongest, is used for the lower sails, as fore-sail and main-sail in large ships. When a vessel is in motion by means of her sails she is said to be under canvas.
CANVAS-BACK DUCK. An American wild duck (Fuligula valisneria), which takes this name from the colour of the back feathers; much esteemed as a delicacy.
CANVAS-CLIMBER. A word used by Marston for a sailor who goes aloft; hence Marina tells Leonine—
"And, clasping to a mast, endur'd a seaThat almost burst the deck, and from the ladder-tackleWash'd off a canvas-climber."
CAP. A strong thick block of wood having two large holes through it, the one square, the other round, used to confine two masts together, when one is erected at the head of the other, in order to lengthen it. The principal caps of a ship are those of the lower masts, which are fitted with a strong eye-bolt on each side, wherein to hook the block by which the top-mast is drawn up through the cap. In the same manner as the top mast slides up through the cap of the lower mast, the topgallant-mast slides up through the cap of the top-masts. When made of iron the cap used to be called a crance.—To capa mast-head is placing tarpaulin guards against weather. The term is applied to any covering such as lead put over iron bolts to prevent corrosion by sea-water, canvas covers over the ends of rigging, &c. &c. Also, pieces of oak laid on the upper blocks on which a vessel is built, to receive the keel. They are split out for the addition of the false keel, and therefore should be of the most free-grained timber. Also, the coating which guards the top of a quill tube. Also, the percussion priming for fire-arms.—Cap-a-pied, armed from head to foot.
CAP,To. To puzzle or beat in argument. To salute by touching the head-covering, as Shakspeare makes Iago's friends act to Othello. It is now more an academic than a sea-term.
CAPABARRE. An old term for misappropriating government stores. (SeeMarryat'sNovels.)
CAPACISE. A corrupt form ofcapsize.
CAPACITY. Burden, tonnage, fitness for the service, rating.
CAPE. A projecting point of land jutting out from the coast-line; the extremity of a promontory, of which last it is the secondary rank. It differs from a headland, since a cape may be low. The Cape of Good Hope is always familiarly known as "The Cape."Capewas also used for a rhumb-line.
CAPE,To. To keep a course. How does she cape? how does she lie her course?
CAPE FLY-AWAY. A cloud-bank on the horizon, mistaken for land, which disappears as the ship advances. (SeeFog.)
CAPE-HEN.SeeMolly-mawk.
CAPELLA. The lucida of Auriga, and a nautical star.
CAPE-MERCHANT [capo]. An old name for super-cargo in early voyages, as also the head merchant in a factory.
CAPE-PIGEON,or Cape-petrel. A sea-bird which follows a ship in her passage round the cape; theProcellaria capensis. (SeePintados.)
CAPER. A light-armed vessel of the 17th century, used by the Dutch for privateering.
CAPER CORNER-WAY. Diagonally.
CAPFUL OF WIND. A light flaw, which suddenly careens a vessel and passes off.
CAPITALof a Work. In fortification, an imaginary line bisecting its most prominent salient angle.
CAPITANA. Formerly the principal galley in a Mediterranean fleet: the admiral's ship.
CAPITULATION. The conditions on which a subdued force surrenders, agreed upon between the contending parties.
CAPLIN,or Capelin. A fish of the familyClupeidæ, very similar to a smelt; frequently imported from Newfoundland dried. It is the general bait for cod-fish there.
CAP'N. The way in which some address the commanders of merchant vessels.
CAPON. A jeering name for the red-herring.
CAPONNIERE. In fortification, a passage across the bottom of the ditch, covered, at the least, by a parapet on each side, and very generally also with a bomb-proof roof, when it may be furnished with many guns, which are of great importance in the defence of a fortress,as the besieger can hardly silence them till he has constructed batteries on the brink of the ditch.
CAPOTE. A good storm-coat with a hood, much worn in the Levant, and made of a special manufacture.
CAPPANUS. The worm which adheres to, and gnaws the bottom of a ship, to prevent which all ships should be sheathed with copper.
CAPPED. A ship making against a race or very strong currents.
CAPRICORNUS. The tenth sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters about the 21st of December, and opens the winter solstice.
CAP-SCUTTLE. A framing composed of coamings and head-ledges raised above the deck, with a top which shuts closely over into a rabbet.
CAP-SHORE. A supporting spar between the cap and the trestle-tree.
CAPSIZE,To. To upset or overturn anything.
CAP-SQUARE. The clamp of iron which shuts over the trunnions of a gun to secure them to the carriage, having a curve to receive one-third part of the trunnion, the other two being sunk in the carriage; it is closed by forelocks.
CAPSTAN,Cabestan, Capstern, Capston, &c. A mechanical arrangement for lifting great weights. There is a variety of capsterns, but they agree in having a horizontal circular head, which has square holes around its edge, and in these long bars are shipped, and are said to be "swifted" when their outer ends are traced together; beneath is a perpendicular barrel, round which is wrapped the rope or chain used to lift the anchor or other great weight, even to the heaving a ship off a shoal. Now, in most ships where a capstern is used to lift the anchor, the chain cable is itself brought to the capstern. The purchase or lifting power is gained by the great sweep of the bars. A perpendicular iron spindle passes through the whole capstern, and is stepped into a socket on the deck below the one on which it stands. In some cases capsterns are double in height, so that bars may be worked on two decks, giving more room for the men.
CAPSTAN,To come up the. In one sense is to lift the pauls and walk back, or turn the capstan the contrary way, thereby slackening, or letting out some of the rope on which they have been heaving. The sudden order would be obeyed by surging, or letting go any rope on which they were heaving. Synonymous to "Come up the purchase."
CAPSTAN,To heave at the. To urge it round, by pushing against the bars, as already described.
CAPSTAN,To man the. To place the sailors at it in readiness to heave.
CAPSTAN,To paul the. To drop all the pauls into their sockets, to prevent the capstan from recoiling during any pause of heaving.
CAPSTAN,To rig the. To fix the bars in their respective holes, thrust in the pins to confine them, and reeve the swifter through the ends.
CAPSTAN,Surge the. Is the order to slacken the rope which is wound round the barrel while heaving, to prevent it from riding or fouling. This term specially applies to surging the messenger when it rides, or when the two lashing eyes foul on the whelps or the barrel.
CAPSTAN-BAR PINS. Pins inserted through their ends to prevent their unshipping.
CAPSTAN-BARRING. An obsolete sea-punishment, in which the offender was sentenced to carry a capstan-bar during a watch.
CAPSTAN-BARS. Long pieces of wood of the best ash or hickory, one end of which is thrust into the square holes in the drumhead, like the spokes of a wheel. They are used to heave the capstan round, by the men setting their hands and chests against them, and walking round. They are also held in their places in the drumhead holes, by little iron bolts called capstan or safety pins, to prevent their flying out when the surging overcomes the force of the men. Many men have been killed by this action, and more by the omission to "pin and swift."
CAPSTAN-ROOM.SeeRoom.
CAPSTAN-STEP. (SeeStep of the Capstan.) The men march round to the tune of a fiddle or fife, and the phrase of excitement is, "Step out, lads, make your feet tell."
CAPSTAN-SWIFTER. A rope passed horizontally through notches in the outer ends of the bars, and drawn very tight: the intent is to steady the men as they walk round when the ship rolls, and to give room for a greater number to assist, by manning the swifters both within and without.
CAPTAIN. This title is said to be derived from the eastern military magistratekatapan, meaning "over everything;" but the termcapitanowas in use among the Italians nearly 200 years before Basilius II. appointed his katapan of Apulia and Calabria,A.D.984. Hence, the corruption of the Apulian province intocapitanata. Among the Anglo-Saxons the captain wasschipp-hláford, or ship's lord. The captain, strictly speaking, is the officer commanding a line-of-battle ship, or a frigate carrying twenty or more cannon. A captain in the royal navy is answerable for any bad conduct in the military government, navigation, and equipment of his ship; also for any neglect of duty in his inferior officers, whose several charges he is appointed to regulate. It is also a title, though incorrectly, given to the masters of all vessels whatever, they having no commissions. It is also applied in the navy itself to the chief sailor of particular gangs of men; in rank,captain of the forecastle, admiral's coxswain, captain's coxswain, captain of the hold, captain of main-top, captain of fore-top, &c.
CAPTAIN. A name given to the crooner, crowner, or gray gurnard (Trigla gurnardus).
CAPTAINof a Merchant Ship. Is a certificated officer in the mercantile marine, intrusted with the entire charge of a ship, both as regards life and property. He is in no way invested with special powers to meet his peculiar circumstances, but has chiefly to depend upon moral influence for maintaining order amongst his passengers and crew during the many weeks or even months that he is cut off from appeal to the laws of his country, only resorting to force on extreme occasions. Great tact and judgment is required to fulfil this duty properly.
CAPTAINof a Ship of War. Is the commanding officer; as well the post-captain (a title now disused) as those whose proper title is commander.
CAPTAINof the Fleet. Is a temporary admiralty appointment; he is entitled to be considered as a flag-officer, and to a share in the prize-money accordingly. He carries out all orders issued by the commander-in-chief, but his special duty is to keep up the discipline of the fleet, in which he is supreme. He is the adjutant-general of the force, hoisting the flag and wearing the uniform of rear-admiral.
CAPTAINof the Head. Not a recognized rating, but an ordinary man appointed to attend to the swabs, and to keep the ship's head clean.
CAPTAINof the Hold. The last of the captains in rank, as a first-class petty officer.
CAPTAINof the Port. The captain of the port is probably better explained by referring to that situation at Gibraltar. He belongs to the Board of Health; he controls the entries and departures, the berthing at the anchorage, and general marine duties, but possesses no naval authority. Hence, the port-captain is quite another officer. (SeePort-captain.)
CAPTAIN-GENERAL. The highest army rank.
CAPTAIN'S CLERK. One whose duty is strictly to keep all books and official papers necessary for passing the captain's accounts at the admiralty.
CAPTAIN'S CLOAK. The jocose name given to the last sweeping clause, the thirty-sixth article of war:—"All other crimes not capital, and for which no punishment is hereby directed to be inflicted, shall be punished according to the laws and customs in such cases used at sea."
CAPTAIN'S GIG.SeeGig.
CAPTAIN'S STORE-ROOM. A place of reserve on the platform deck, for the captain's wines and sea-stores.
CAPTIVE. A prisoner of war.
CAPTORS. The conquerors of and sharers in the proceeds of a prize. Captors are not at liberty to release prisoners belonging to the ships of the enemy. The last survivor is in law the only captor.
CAPTURE. A prize taken by a ship of war at sea; is the taking forcible possession of vessels or goods belonging to one nation by those of a hostile nation. Vessels are looked on as prizes if they fight under any other standard than that of the state from which they have their commission; if they have no charty-party, manifest, or bill of lading, or if loaded with effects belonging to the king's enemies, or even contraband goods. Whether the capture be lawful or unlawful, the insurer is rendered liable to the loss.
CAR. A north-country word, denoting any swampy land surrounded by inclosures, and occasionally under water.
CARABINEER. One who uses the carbine.
CARACK,Carrak, or Carrick. A large ship of burden, the same with those called galleons. Hippus, the Tyrian, is said to have first devised caracks, and onerary vessels of prodigious bulk for traffic or offence.
CARACORA. A proa of Borneo, Ternate, and the Eastern Isles; also called caracol by early voyagers.
CARAMOUSSAL. A Turkish merchant ship with a pink-stern.
CARAVEL,or Caravela. A Portuguese despatch boat, lateen-rigged, formerly in use; it had square sails only on the fore-mast, though dignified as a caravela.
CARAVELAO. A light pink-sterned vessel of the Azores.
CARBASSE.SeeKarbatz.
CARBIN. A name in our northern isles for the basking shark.
CARBINE,or Carabine. A fire-arm of less length and weight than a musket, originally carrying a smaller ball, though latterly, for the convenience of the supply of ammunition, throwing the same bullet as the musket, though with a smaller charge. It has been proper to mounted troops since aboutA.D.1556, and has been preferred to the musket as a weapon for the tops of ships as well as boats.
CARCASS. An iron shell for incendiary purposes, filled with a very fiercely flaming composition of saltpetre, sulphur, resin, turpentine, antimony, and tallow. It has three vents for the flame, and sometimes is equipped with pistol barrels, so fitted in its interior as to discharge their bullets at various times.
CARCASS OF A SHIP. The ribs, with keel, stem, and stern-post, after the planks are stripped off.
CARCATUS [fromcaricato, It.] A law-term for a freighted ship.
CARD. The dial or face of the magnetic compass-card.
"Reason the card, but passion is the gale."—Pope.
Probably derived fromcardinal.
CARDINAL POINTS. The general name by which the north, east, south, and west rhumbs of the horizon are distinguished.
CARDINAL POINTS OF THE ECLIPTIC. The equinoctial and solstitial points; namely, the commencement of Aries and Libra, and of Cancer and Capricornus.
CARDINAL SIGNS. The zodiacal signs which the sun enters at the equinoxes and solstices.
CARDINAL WINDS. Those from the due north, east, south, and west points of the compass.
CAREEN,To. A ship is said to careen when she inclines to one side, or lies over when sailing on a wind; off her keel or carina.
CAREENING. The operation of heaving the ship down on one side, by arranging the ballast, or the application of a strong purchase to her masts, which require to be expressly supported for the occasion to prevent their springing; by these means one side of the bottom, elevated above the surface of the water, may be cleansed or repaired. (SeeBreaming.) But this operation is now nearly superseded by sheathing ships with copper, whereby they keep a clean bottom for several years.
CAREENING BEACH. A part of the strand prepared for the purpose of a ship's being grounded on a list or careen, to repair defects.
CARFINDO. One of the carpenter's crew.
CARGO. The merchandise a ship is freighted with.
CARGO-BOOK. The master of every coasting-vessel is required to keep a cargo-book, stating the name of the ship, of the master, of the port to which she belongs, and that to which she is bound; with a roll of all goods, shippers, and consignees. In all other merchant ships the cargo-book is a clean copy of all cargo entered in the gangway-book, and shows the mark, number, quality, and (if measurement goods) the dimensions of such packages of a ship's cargo.
CARICATORE. Places where the traders of Sicily take in their goods, fromcaricare, to load.
CARINA. An old term, from the Latin, for the keel, or a ship's bottom. The north-country term keel means an entire vessel: "So many keels touched the strand." (SeeKeel.)
CARL,or Male Hemp.SeeFimbleorFemale Hemp.
CARLE-CRAB. The male of the black-clawed crab,Cancer pagurus; also of the partan or common crab.
CARLINE-KNEES. Timbers going athwart the ship, from the sides to the hatchway, serving to sustain the deck on both sides.
CARLINES,or Carlings. Pieces of timber about five inches square, lying fore and aft, along from one beam to another. On and athwart these the ledges rest, whereon the planks of the deck and other portions of carpentry are made fast. The carlines have their end let into the beams, called "culver-tail-wise," or scored in pigeon-fashion. There are other carlines of a subordinate character.
CARLINO,or Caroline. A small silver coin of Naples, value 4d.English. Ten carlini make a ducat in commerce.
CARN-TANGLE. A long and large fucus, thrown on our northern beaches after a gale of wind in the offing.
CAROUS. A sort of gallery in ancient ships, which turned on a pivot. It was hoisted to a given height by tackles, and thus brought to project over, or into, the vessel of an adversary, furnishing a bridge for boarding.
CARP. A well-known fresh-water fish of the Cyprinidæ family, considered to have been introduced into England in the time of Henry VIII.; but in Dame Berner's book on angling, published in 1486, it is described as the "daynteous fysshe" in England.
CARPENTER,Ship. A ship-builder. An officer appointed to examine and keep in order the hull of a ship, and all her appurtenances, likewise the stores committed to him by indenture from the store-keeper of the dockyard. The absence of other tradesmen whilst a ship is at sea, and the numerous emergencies in which ships are placed requiring invention, render a good ship's carpenter one of the most valuable artizans on board.
CARPENTER'S CREW. Consists of a portion of the crew, provided for ship-carpentry and ship-building. In ships of war there are two carpenter's mates and one caulker, one blacksmith, and a carpenter's crew, according to the size of the ship.
CARPENTER'S STORE-ROOM. An apartment built below, on the platform-deck, for keeping the carpenter's stores and spare tools in.
CARPENTER'S YEOMAN.SeeYeoman.
CARPET-KNIGHT. A man who obtains knighthood on a pretence for services in which he never participated.
CARPET-MEN. Those officers who, without services or merit, obtain rapid promotion through political or other interest, and are yet declared "highly meritorious and distinguished."
CARR.SeeCar.
CARRAC,Carraca, Carrack, or Carricke. A name given by the Spaniards and Portuguese to the vessels they sent to Brazil and the East Indies; large, round built, and fitted for fight as well as burden. Their capacity lay in their depth, which was extraordinary. English vessels of size and value were sometimes also so called.
CARRARA. The great northern diver,Colymbus glacialis.
CARREE. A Manx or Gaelic term for the scud or small clouds that drive with the wind.
CARRIAGEof a Gun. The frame on which it is mounted for firing, constructed either exclusively for this purpose, or also for travelling in the field. Carriages for its transport only, are not included under this term. The first kind only is in general use afloat, where it usually consists of two thick planks (called brackets or cheeks) laid on edge to support the trunnions, and resting, besides other transverse connections, on two axle-trees, which are borne on low solid wooden wheels called trucks, or sometimes, to diminish the recoil, on flat blocks called chocks. The hind axle-tree takes, with the intervention of various elevating arrangements, the preponderance of the breech. The second kind is adapted for field and siege work: the shallow brackets are raised in front on high wheels, but unite behind into a solid beam called the trail, which tapers downwards, and rests on the ground when in action, but for travel is connected to a two-wheeled carriage called alimber(which see). Gun-carriages are chiefly made of elm for ship-board, as less given to splinter from shot, and of oak on shore; wrought-iron, however, is being applied for the carriages of the large guns recently introduced, and even cast-iron is economically used in some fortresses little liable to sudden counter-battery.
CARRICK. An old Gaelic term for a castle or fortress, as well as for a rock in the sea.
CARRICK-BEND. A kind of knot, formed on a bight by putting the end of a rope over its standing part, and then passing it.
CARRICK-BITTS. The bitts which support the ends or spindles of the windlass, whence they are also called windlass-bitts.
CARRIED. Taken, applied to the capture of forts and ships.
CARRONADE. A short gun, capable of carrying a large ball, and useful in close engagements at sea. It takes its name from the large iron-foundry on the banks of the Carron, near Falkirk, in Scotland, where this sort of ordnance was first made, or the principle applied to an improved construction. Shorter and lighter than the common cannon, and having a chamber for the powder like a mortar, they are generally of large calibre, and carried on the upper works, as the poop and forecastle.
CARRONADE SLIDE. Composed of two wide balks of elm on which the carronade carriage slides. As the slide is bolted to the ship's side, and is a radius from that bolt or pivot, carronades were once the only guns which could be truly concentrated on a given object.
CARRY,To. To subdue a vessel by boarding her. To move anything along the decks. (SeeLash and Carry, as relating to hammocks.)Also, to obtain possession of a fort or place by force. Also, the direction or movement of the clouds. Also, a gun is said to carry its shot so many yards. Also, a ship carries her canvas, and her cargo.
CARRY AWAY,To. To break; as, "That ship has carried away her fore-topmast,"i.e.has broken it off. It is customary to say, we carried away this or that, when knocked, shot, or blown away. It is also used when a rope has been parted by violence.
CARRYING ON DUTY. The operations of the officer in charge of the deck or watch.
CARRYING ON THE WAR. Making suitable arrangements for carrying on the lark or amusement.
CARRY ON,To. To spread all sail; also, beyond discretion, or at all hazards. In galley-slang, to joke a person even to anger; also riotous frolicking.
CARRY THE KEG.SeeKeg.
CARTE BLANCHE. In the service sense of the term, implies an authority to act at discretion.
CARTEL. A ship commissioned in time of war to exchange the prisoners of any two hostile powers, or to carry a proposal from one to the other; for this reason she has only one gun, for the purpose of firing signals, as the officer who commands her is particularly ordered to carry no cargo, ammunition, or implements of war. Cartel also signifies an agreement between two hostile powers for a mutual exchange of prisoners. In late wars, ships of war fully armed, but under cartel, carried commissions for settling peace, as flags of truce. Cartel-ships, by trading in any way, are liable to confiscation.
CARTHOUN. The ancient cannon royal, carrying a 66-lb. ball, with a point blank range of 185 paces, and an extreme one of about 2000. It was 12 feet long and of 81⁄2inches diameter of bore.
CARTOUCH-BOX. The accoutrement which contains the musket-cartridges: now generally called a pouch.
CARTOW.SeeCart-piece.
CART-PIECE. An early battering cannon mounted on a peculiar cart.
CARTRIDGE. The case in which the exact charge of powder for fire-arms is made up—of paper for small-arms, of flannel for great guns, or of sheet metal for breech-loading muskets. For small-arms generally the cartridge contains the bullet as well as the powder, and in the case of most breech-loaders, the percussion priming also; in the case of some very light pieces the shot is included, and then named a round of "fixed ammunition;" and for breech-loading guns some sort of lubricator is generally inclosed in the forward end of the cartridge.
CARTRIDGE-BOX. A cylindrical wooden box with a lid sliding upon a handle of small rope, just containing one cartridge, and used for itssafe conveyance from the magazine to the gun—borne to and fro by powder-monkeys (boys) of old. The term is loosely applied to the ammunition pouch.
CARUEL.SeeCarvel.
CARVED WORK. The ornaments of a ship which are wrought by the carver.
CARVEL. A light lateen-rigged vessel of small burden, formerly used by the Spaniards and Portuguese. Also, a coarse sea-blubber, on which turtles are said to feed.
CARVEL-BUILT. A vessel or boat, the planks of which are all flush and smooth, the edges laid close to each other, and caulked to make them water-tight: in contradistinction to clinker-built, where they overlap each other.
CARY.SeeMother Cary's Chicken.Procellaria pelagica.
CASCABLE. That generally convex part of a gun which terminates the breech end of it. The term includes the usual button which is connected to it by the neck of the cascable.
CASCADE. A fall of water from a considerable height, rather by successive stages than in a single mass, as with a cataract.
CASCO. A rubbish-lighter of the Philippine Islands.
CASE. The outside planking of the ship.
CASE-BOOK. A register or journal in which the surgeon records the cases of all the sick and wounded, who are placed under medical treatment.
CASEMATE. In fortification, a chamber having a vaulted roof capable of resisting vertical fire, and affording embrasures or loop-holes to contribute to the defence of the place: without these it would be merely a bomb-proof.
CASERNES. Often considered as synonymous withbarracks; but more correctly small lodgments erected between the ramparts and houses of a fortified town, to ease the inhabitants by quartering soldiers there, who are also in better condition for duty than if living in various parts.
CASE-SHOT,Common. Called also canister-shot. Adapted for close quarters if the enemy be uncovered. It consists of a number of small iron balls, varying in weight and number, packed in a cylindrical tin case fitting the bore of the gun from which it is to be fired. Burrel, langrage, and other irregular substitutes, may be included under the term. Spherical case-shot are officially calledshrapnel shell(which see).
CASHIERED. Sentenced by a court-martial to be dismissed the service. By such sentence an officer is rendered ever after incapable of serving the sovereign in any position, naval or military.
CASING. The lining, veneering, or planking over a ship's timbers, especially for the cabin-beams; the sheathing of her. Also a bulk-head round a mast to prevent the interference of cargo, or shifting materials.
CASING-COVER. In the marine steam-engine is a steam-tight opening for the slide-valve rod to pass through.
CASK. A barrel for fluid or solid provisions. (SeeStowage.)
CASKETS (properlyGaskets). Small ropes made of sinnet, and fastened to grummets or little rings upon the yards. Their use is to make the sail fast to the yard when it is to be furled.
CASSAVA,or Cassada. A species of the genusJatropha janipha, well known to seamen as the cassava bread of the West Indies. Tapioca is produced from theJatropha manihot. Caution is necessary in the use of these roots, as the juice is poisonous. The root used as chewsticks, to cleanse the teeth and gums, by the negroes, produces a copious flow of frothy saliva.
CAST. A coast term meaning four, as applied to haddocks, herrings, &c. Also, the appearance of the sky when day begins to break. A cast of pots, &c.—A'cast, when a ship's yards are braced a'cast preparatory to weighing. Also condemned, cast by survey, &c.
CAST,To. To fall off, so as to bring the direction of the wind on one side of the ship, which before was right ahead. This term is particularly applied to a ship riding head to wind, when her anchor first loosens from the ground. To pay a vessel's head off, or turn it, is getting under weigh on the tack she is to sail upon, and it is casting to starboard, or port, according to the intention.—To cast anchor.To drop or let go the anchor for riding by—synonymous with to anchor.—To cast a traverse.To calculate and lay off the courses and distances run over upon a chart.—To cast off.To let go at once. To loosen from.
CAST. A short boat passage.
CAST-AWAY. Shipwrecked.
CAST-AWAYS. People belonging to vessels stranded by stress of weather. Men who have hidden themselves, or are purposely left behind, when their vessel quits port.
CASTING ACCOUNTS. Sea-sickness.
CAST-KNEES. Those hanging knees which compass or arch over the angle of a man-of-war's ports, rider, &c.
CASTLE. A place strong by art or nature, or by both. A sort of little citadel. (SeeForecastle,Aft-castle, &c.)
CASTLE-WRIGHTS. Particular artificers employed in the erection of the early ship's castles.
CAST-OFFS. Landsmen's clothes.
CAST OF THE LEAD. The act of heaving the lead into the sea to ascertain what depth of water there is. (See alsoHeave the LeadandSounding.) The result is a cast—"Get a cast of the lead."
CASTOR. α Gemini, a well-known nautical star in the zodiac, which has proved to be a double star.
CASTOR AND POLLUX. Fiery balls which appear at the mast-heads, yard-arms, or sticking to the rigging of vessels in a gale at sea. (SeeCompasantandCorposant.)
CASTRAMETATION. The art of planning camps, and selecting an appropriate position, in which the main requirement is that the troops of all arms should be so planted in camp as immediately to cover their proper positions in the line of battle.
CAST THE WRONG WAY.SeeWrong Way.
CASUALTIES. In a military sense, comprehends all men who die, are wounded, desert, or are discharged as unfit for service.
CAT. A ship formed on the Norwegian model, and usually employed in the coal and timber trade. These vessels are generally built remarkably strong, and may carry six hundred tons; or in the language of their own mariners, from 20 to 30 keels of coals. A cat is distinguished by a narrow stern, projecting quarters, a deep waist, and no ornamental figure on the prow.
CATALAN. A small Spanish fishing-boat.
CATAMARAN. A sort of raft used in the East Indies, Brazils, and elsewhere: those of the island of Ceylon, like those of Madras and other parts of that coast, are formed of three logs; the timber preferred for their construction is theDúpwood, orCherne-Maram, the pine varnish-tree. Their length is from 20 to 25 feet, and breadth 21⁄2to 31⁄2feet, secured together by means of three spreaders and cross lashings, through small holes; the centre log is much the largest, with a curved surface at the fore-end, which tends and finishes upwards to a point. The side logs are very similar in form, and fitted to the centre log. These floats are navigated with great skill by one or two men, in a kneeling position; they think nothing of passing through the surf which lashes the beach at Madras and at other parts of these coasts, when even the boats of the country could not live upon the waves; they are also propelled out to the shipping at anchor when boats of the best construction and form would be swamped. In the monsoons, when a sail can be got on them, a small out-rigger is placed at the end of two poles, as a balance, with a bamboo mast and yard, and a mat or cotton-cloth sail, all three parts of which are connected; and when the tack and sheet of the sail are let go, it all falls fore and aft alongside, and being light, is easily managed. In carrying a press of sail, they are trimmed by the balance-lever, by going out on thepoles so as to keep the log on the surface of the water, and not impede its velocity, which, in a strong wind, is very great.
CATANADROMI. Migratory fishes, which have their stated times of going from fresh-water to salt and returning, as the salmon, &c.
CATAPULT. A military engine used by the ancients for throwing stones, spears, &c.
CATARACT. The sudden fall of a large body of water from a higher to a lower level, and rather in a single sheet than by successive leaps, as in a cascade.
CATASCOPIA. Small vessels anciently used for reconnoitring and carrying despatches.
CAT-BEAM. This, called also the beak-head beam, is the broadest beam in the ship, and is generally made of two beams tabled and bolted together.
CAT-BLOCK. A two or three fold block, with an iron strop and large hook to it, which is employed to cat or draw the anchor up to the cat-head, which is also fitted with three great sheaves to correspond.
CATCH. A term used among fishermen to denote a quantity of fish taken at one time.
CATCH A CRAB. In rowing, when an oar gets so far beneath the surface of the water, that the rower cannot recover it in time to prevent his being knocked backwards.
CATCH A TURN THERE. Belay quickly.
CATCH-FAKE. An unseemly doubling in a badly coiled rope.
CATERER. A purveyor and provider of provisions: now used for the person who takes charge of and regulates the economy of a mess. (SeeAcater.)
CAT-FALL. The rope rove for the cat-purchase, by which the anchor is raised to the cat-head or catted.
CAT-FISH. A name for the sea-wolf (Anarrhicas lupus).
CAT-GUT. A term applied to the sea-laces orFucus filum. (SeeSea-catgut.)
CAT-HARPINGS,or Catharpin Legs. Ropes under the tops at the lower end of the futtock-shrouds, serving to brace in the shrouds tighter, and affording room to brace the yards more obliquely when the ship is close-hauled. They keep the shrouds taut for the better ease and safety of the mast.
CAT-HEAD. The cat-head passes through the bow-bulwark obliquely forward on a radial line from the fore-mast, rests on the timbers even with the water-way, passes through the deck, and is secured to the side-timbers. It is selected from curved timber. Its upper head is on a level with the upper rail; it is furnished with three great sheaves, and externally strengthened by a cat-head knee. It not only is usedto lift the anchor from the surface of the water, but as it "looks forward," the cat-block is frequently lashed to the cable to aid by its powerful purchase when the capstan fails to make an impression. The cat-fall rove through the sheaves, and the cat-block furnish the cat-purchase. The cat-head thus serves to suspend the anchor clear of the bow, when it is necessary to let it go: the knee by which it is supported is generally ornamented with carving. Termed alsocat-head bracket.
CAT-HOLES. Places or spaces made in the quarter, for carrying out fasts or springs for steadying or heaving astern.
CAT-HOOK. A strong hook which is a continuation of the iron strop of the cat-block, used to hook the ring of the anchor when it is to be drawn up or catted.
CAT-LAP. A common phrase for tea or weak drink.
CAT O' NINE TAILS. An instrument of punishment used on board ships in the navy; it is commonly of nine pieces of line or cord, about half a yard long, fixed upon a piece of thick rope for a handle, and having three knots on each, at small intervals, nearest one end; with this the seamen who transgress are flogged upon the bare back.
CATRAIA. The catraia of Lisbon and Oporto, or pilot surf-boats, are about 56 feet long, by 15 feet beam, impelled by sixteen oars.
CAT-RIG. A rig which in smooth water surpasses every other, but, being utterly unsuited for sea or heavy weather, is only applicable to pleasure-boats who can choose their weather. It allows one sail only—an enormous fore-and-aft main-sail, spread by a gaff at the head and a boom at the foot, hoisted on a stout mast, which is stepped close to the stem.
CAT-ROPE. A line for hauling the cat-hook about: also cat-back-rope, which hauls the block to the ring of the anchor in order to hook it.
CAT'S-PAW. A light air perceived at a distance in a calm, by the impressions made on the surface of the sea, which it sweeps very gently, and then passes away, being equally partial and transitory. Old superstitious seamen are seen to scratch the backstays with their nails, and whistle to invoke even these cat's-paws, the general forerunner of the steadier breeze. Cat's-paw is also a name given to a particular twisting hitch, made in the bight of a rope, so as to induce two small bights, in order to hook a tackle on them both. Also, good-looking seamen employed to entice volunteers.
CAT'S-SKIN. A light partial current of air, as with the cat's-paw.
CAT'S-TAIL. The inner part of the cat-head, that fays down upon the cat-beam.
CAT-STOPPER,or Cathead-stopper. A piece of rope or chain rove through the ring of an anchor, to secure it for sea, or singled before letting it go.
CAT-TACKLE. A strong tackle, used to draw the anchor perpendicularly up to the cat-head, which latter is sometimes called cat.
CATTAN.SeeKatan.
CAT THE ANCHOR. When the cat is hooked and "cable enough" veered and stoppered, the anchor hangs below the cat-head, swings beneath it; it is then hauled close up to the cat-head by the purchase called the cat-fall. The cat-stopper is then passed, and the cat-block unhooked.
CATTING. The act of heaving the anchor by the cat-tackle. Also, sea-sickness.
CATTY. A Chinese commercial weight of 18 ozs. English. Tea is packed in one or two or more catty boxes, hence most likely our word tea-caddy.
CAUDAL FIN. The vertical median fin terminating the tail of fishes.
CAUDICARIÆ. A kind of lighter used by the Romans on the Tiber.
CAUL. The membrane encompassing the head of some infants when born, and from early antiquity esteemed an omen of good fortune, and a preservative against drowning; it was sought by the Roman lawyers with as much avidity as by modern voyagers. Also, a northern name for a dam-dike. Also, an oriental license. (SeeKaule.)
CAULK,To. (SeeCaulking.) To lie down on deck and sleep, with clothes on.
CAULKER. He who caulks and pays the seams. This word is mistaken by many forcawker(which see).
CAULKER'S SEAT. A box slung to a ship's side whereon a caulker can sit and use his irons; it contains his tools and oakum.
CAULKINGof a Ship. Forcing a quantity of oakum, or old ropes untwisted and drawn asunder, into the seams of the planks, or into the intervals where the planks are joined together in the ship's decks or sides, or rends in the planks, in order to prevent the entrance of water. After the oakum is driven in very hard, hot melted pitch or rosin is poured into the groove, to keep the water from rotting it. Among the ancients the first who made use of pitch in caulking were the inhabitants of Phæacia, afterwards called Corfu. Wax and rosin appear to have been commonly used before that period; and the Poles still substitute an unctuous clay for the same purpose for the vessels on their navigable rivers.
CAULKING-BUTT. The opening between ends or joints of the planks when worked for caulking.
CAULKING-IRONS. The peculiar chisels used for the purpose of caulking: they are the caulking-iron, the making-iron, the reeming-iron, and the rasing-iron.
CAULKING-MALLET. The wooden beetle or instrument with which the caulking-irons are driven.
CAURY. Worm-eaten.
CAVALIER. In fortification, a work raised considerably higher than its neighbours, but generally of similar plan. Its object is to afford a plunging fire, especially into the near approaches of a besieger, and to shelter adjacent faces from enfilade. Its most frequent position in fortresses is at the salient of the ravelin, or within the bastion; and in siege-works in the advanced trenches, for the purpose of enabling the musketry of the attack to drive the defenders out of the covered way.
CAVALLO, by someCarvalhas. An oceanic fish, well-known as the bonito or horse-mackerel.
CAVALOT. A gun carrying a ball of one pound.
CAVALRY. That body of soldiers which serves and fights on horseback.
CAVER.SeeKaver.
CAVIARE. A preparation of the roe of sturgeons and other fish salted. It forms a lucrative branch of commerce in Italy and Russia.
CAVIL. A large cleat for belaying the fore and main tacks, sheets, and braces to. (SeeKevels.)
CAVITY. In naval architecture signifies the displacement formed in the water by the immersed bottom and sides of the vessel.
CAWE,or Cawfe. An east-country eel-box, or a floating perforated cage in which lobsters are kept.
CAWKER. An old term signifying a glass of strong spirits taken in the morning.
CAY,or Cayos. Little insulated sandy spots and rocks. The Spaniards in the West Indies called the BahamasLos Cayos, which we wroteLucayos. (SeeKey.)
CAZE-MATTE.SeeCasemate.
CAZERNS.SeeCasernes.
C.B. The uncials of Companion of the most honourable Order of the Bath. This grade was recently distributed so profusely that an undecorated veteran testily remarked that if government went on thus there would soon be more C.B.'s than A.B.'s in the navy.
CEASE FIRING. The order to leave off.
CEILING. The lining or planks on the inside of a ship's frame: these are placed on the flat of the floor, and carried up to the hold-beams. The term is a synonym offoot-waling(which see).
CELLS.SeeSills.
CELOCES,or Celetes. Light row-boats, formerly used in piracy, and also for conveying advice.
CEMENT,Roman. For docks, piers, &c.SeePozzolana.
CENTIME.SeeFranc.
CENTINEL.SeeSentinel.
CENTRAL ECLIPSE.SeeEclipse.
CENTRE (usuallyCenter). The division of a fleet between the van and the rear of the line of battle, and between the weather and lee divisions in the order of sailing.
CENTREof Cavity, of Displacement, of Immersion, and of Buoyancy, are synonymous terms in naval architecture for the mean centre of that part of a vessel which is immersed in the water.
CENTRE OF GRAVITY,or Balancing Point.SeeGravity.
CENTRE OF MOTION.SeeMotion (Centre of).
CENTURION. A military officer who commanded one hundred men, in the Roman armies.
CEOLA. A very old term for a large ship.
CERADENE. A large fresh-water mussel.
CERCURI. Ancient ships of burden fitted with both sails and oars.
CERTIFICATE. A voucher or written testimony to the truth of any statement. An attestation of servitude, signed by the captain, is given with all discharges of men in the navy.
CERTIFY,To. To bear official testimony.
CESSATION OF ARMS. A discontinuation or suspension of hostilities.
CETINE. An ancient large float, says Hesychius, "in bulk like a whale;" derived fromcetus, which applied both to whale and ship.
C.G.Coast-guard(which see).
CHAD. A fish like a small bream, abundant on the south-west coasts of England.
CHAFE,To. To rub or fret the surface of a cable, mast, or yard, by the motion of the ship or otherwise, against anything that is too hard for it.—Chafing-gear, is the stuff put upon the rigging and spars to prevent their being chafed.
CHAFFER. A name for a whale or grampus of the northern seas.
CHAFING-CHEEKS. A name given by old sailors to the sheaves instead of blocks on the yards in light-rigged vessels.
CHAFING-GEAR. Mats, sinnet, spun-yarn, strands, battens, scotchmen, and the like.
CHAIN. When mountains, hills, lakes, and islands are linked together, or follow each other in succession, so that their whole length greatly exceeds their breadth, they form what is termed a chain. A measuring chain is divided into links, &c., made of stout wire, because line is apt to shrink on wet ground and give way. The chain measure is 66 feet.
CHAINAGE OF SHIP. An old right of the admiral.
CHAIN-BOLT. A large bolt to secure the chains of the dead-eyes through the toe-link, for the purpose of securing the masts by the shrouds. Also, the bolts which fasten the channel-plates to the ship's side.
CHAIN-CABLE COMPRESSOR. A curved arm of iron whichrevolves on a bolt through an eye at one end, at the other is a larger eye in which a tackle is hooked; it is used to bind the cable against the pipe through which it is passing, and check it from running out too quickly.
CHAIN-CABLE CONTROLLER. A contrivance for the prevention of one part of the chain riding on another while heaving in.
CHAIN-CABLES. Are not new; Cæsar found them on the shores of the British Channel. In 1818 I saw upwards of eighty sail of vessels with them at Desenzano, on the Lago di Garda. They have all but superseded hemp cables in recent times; they are divided into parts 15 fathoms in length, which are connected by shackles, any one of which may be slipped in emergency; at each 71⁄2fathoms a swivel used to be inserted, but in many cases they are now dispensed with.
CHAIN-CABLE SHACKLES. Used for coupling the parts of a chain-cable at various lengths, so that they may be disconnected when circumstance demands it.
CHAIN-HOOK. An iron rod with a handling-eye at one end, and a hook at the other, for hauling the chain-cables about.
CHAIN-PIPE. An aperture through which a chain-cable passes from the chain-well to the deck above.
CHAIN-PLATES. Plates of iron with their lower ends bolted to the ship's sides under the channels, and to these plates the dead-eyes are fastened; other plates lap over and secure them below. Formerly, and still in great ships, the dead-eyes were linked to chain-pieces, and from their being occasionally made in one plate they have obtained this appellation.
CHAIN-PUMP. This is composed of two long metal tubes let down through the decks somewhat apart from each other, but joined at their lower ends, which are pierced with holes for the admission of water. Above the upper part of the tubes is a sprocket-wheel worked by crank handles; over this wheel, and passing through both tubes, is an endless chain, furnished at certain distances with bucket valves or pistons, turning round a friction-roller. The whole, when set in motion by means of the crank handles, passing down one tube and up the other, raises the water very rapidly.
CHAINS, properlyChain-wales, orChannels. Broad and thick planks projecting horizontally from the ship's outside, to which they are fayed and bolted, abreast of and somewhat behind the masts. They are formed to project the chain-plate, and give the lower rigging greater out-rig or spread, free from the top-sides of the ship, thus affording greater security and support to the masts, as well as to prevent the shrouds from damaging the gunwale, or being hurt by rubbing against it. Of course they are respectively designated fore, main, and mizen.They are now discontinued in many ships, the eyes being secured to the timber-heads, and frequently within the gunwale to the stringers or lower shelf-pieces above the water-way.—In the chains, applies to the leadsman who stands on the channels between two shrouds to heave the hand-lead.
CHAIN-SHOT. Two balls connected either by a bar or chain, for cutting and destroying the spars and rigging of an enemy's ship.
CHAIN-SLINGS. Chains attached to the sling-hoop and mast-head, by which a lower yard is hung. Used for boat or any other slings demanded.
CHAIN-STOPPER. There are various kinds of stoppers for chain-cables, mostly acting by clamping or compression.
CHAIN,Top. A chain to sling the lower yards in time of battle, to prevent them from falling down when the ropes by which they are hung are shot away.
CHAIN-WELL,or Locker. A receptacle below deck for containing the chain-cable, which is passed thither through the deck-pipe.
CHALAND. A large flat-bottomed boat of the Loire.
CHALDERS. Synonymous withgudgeonsof the rudder.
CHALDRICK. An Orkney name for the sea-pie (Hæmatopus ostralegus).
CHALDRON. A measure of coals, consisting of 36 bushels; a cubic yard = 19 cwts. 19 lbs.
CHALINK. A kind of Massoolah boat.
CHALK,To. To cut.—To walk one's chalks, to run off; also, an ordeal for drunkenness, to see whether the suspected person can move along the line. "Walking a deck-seam" is to the same purpose, as the man is to proceed without overstepping it on either side.
CHALKS. Marks. "Better by chalks:" wagers were sometimes determined by he who could reach furthest or highest, and there make a chalk-mark.—Long chalks, great odds.
CHALLENGE. The demand of a sentinel to any one who approaches his post. Also, the defiance to fight.
CHAMADE. To challenge attention. A signal made by beat of drum when a conference is desired by the enemy on having matter to propose. It is also termed beating a parley.
CHAMBER,or Chamber-piece. A charge piece in old ordnance, like apaterero, to put into the breech of a gun prepared for it. (SeeMurderer.) Used by the Chinese, as ingingals(which see).