"For he who strives the tempest to disarm,Will never first embrail the lee yard-arm."
Brail thus applies to leech-lines, clue-lines, &c.
THROAT-HALLIARDS. Ropes or tackles applied to hoist the inner part of the gaff, and its portion of the sail, and hook on to the throat-bolts, as above.
THROAT-SEIZING. In blocks, confines the hook and thimble in the strop home to the scores. Also, in turning in rigging, the throat-seizing is passed with riding turns, through which the end is hove taut, and being turned up sharply, is well seized to the standing part of the rigging, making it a severe cross nip, which cannot render or slip.
THROT. That part of the mizen-yard close to the mast.
THROTTLE-VALVE. A valve in the steam-pipe of an engine for preventing the escape of steam, or regulating the velocity of its passage from the boiler to the cylinder.
THROUGH ALL. Carrying canvas in heavy squalls without starting a stitch. It demands not only courage, but seamanlike judgment. Also applied to the cable, or any purchase where, by reason of its slipperiness, the purchase does not nip; she is then said to be "heaving through all." "Fresh nippers, thick and dry, for weighing," are then called for, and sand applied to overcome the slipping.
THROUGH FASTENINGS. Applied to bolts and tree-nails driven through both the timber and plank of the sides.
THROUGH-PIECES.SeeGraving-pieces.
THROUGH THE FLEET. A seaman's being sentenced by court-martial to be towed by a boat from every ship through the fleet, and receive alongside each a proportion of the lashes to be inflicted. But this was only awarded where the offence deserved a less punishment than death, and is now discontinued, solitary confinement or penal servitude being substituted.
THROW. A cast of the hand-lead.
THROWINGa Steam-engine out of Gear. Disconnecting the eccentric rod from the gab-lever.
THRUM. Any coarse woollen or hempen yarn. It is used for mops, &c., in the cabins; also for mats, which are worked on canvas with a large bolt-rope needle.—To thrum.A vessel, when leaky, is thrummed by working some heavy spare sail, as the sprit-sail, into a thrummed mat, greasing and tarring it well, passing it under the bottom, and heaving all parts tight. The pressure forces the tarred oakum into the openings, and thus, in part, arrests the ingress of water.
THRUMMED MAT. A small mat faced with rope-yarn or spun yarn, which is used in a vessel's rigging to prevent chafing.
THRUST. The effort of a screw-propeller.
THUD. The sound of a bullet on hitting the intended object.
THULE [Gaelicthuath]. An extreme object to the north.
THUMB-CLEAT. In shape resembling a thumb. They arrest the topsail-reef-earings from slipping, and are also lashed to the rigging with a hollow, cut out to act as a hook, to suspend the bight of a rope, as the truss-pendants on the lower masts.
THUNDERING. A sailor's emphatic word for anything choice, large, fine, or powerful.
THUNDER SQUALL. This is similar to the black squall, only that it is always preceded and attended by lightning and thunder, and accompanied by extremely heavy rain.
THUNNY.SeeTunny.
THUS,Very well Thus, or Dyce. The order to the helmsman to keep the ship in her present direction, when sailing close-hauled. This truly sailor's motto was adopted by the Earl St. Vincent.
THWART CLAMPSORKNEES. Those which secure the after, main, and fore thwarts to the rising and gunwales, and which support the masts.
THWART-MARKS,to a Harbour. Two objects on the land, which, brought into line with each other, mark the safe course between shoals, as those on Southsea Common act for the Needles, Swashways, &c.
THWARTS (properlyAthwarts). The seats or benches athwart a boat whereon the rowers sit to manage their oars.
THWART-SHIPS. Across the ship, or from one side to the other. (SeeAthwart.)
TIBRIC. An old name for the coal-fish.
TIBURON [Sp.] The shark.
TICKET. An official warrant of discharge, so that a heavy penalty attaches to the loss of any of the blank ones in the captain's charge. It is always used in counterparts, which are ordered to be perfect duplicates of each other.
TICKET-BOOK. A register for accounting for all tickets and certificates received and used.
TICKLING OF FISH. The same asgennelin. (SeeGroping.)
TIDAL WAVE. The wave caused by the combined action of the sun and moon: its greatest influence is felt some time after the moon has passed the meridian of any place.
TIDE. A regular periodical current of waters, setting alternately in a flux and reflux; it is owing to the attraction of the sun and moon, but chiefly to the latter. The highest as well as most rapid, perhaps, are in the Gulf of Fundy and the river Wye; and on the contrary the lowest, as well as feeblest, are in the Mediterranean generally.—To tide, is to work up or down a river or harbour, with a fair tide in a head wind or a calm; coming to anchor when the tide turns.
TIDEORTIDAL HARBOUR. A port which can only be entered at a certain time of flood.
TIDE AND HALF-TIDE. Those roadsteads affected by several rivers or channels leading into them; as, for instance, Spithead.
TIDE-BALL. A ball hoisted to denote when the depth of water permits vessels to enter a bar-harbour, or to take the bar outside, from the known depth within.
TIDE-GATE. A place where the tide runs strong.
TIDE-GAUGE. An instrument contrived for measuring the height of the tides.
TIDE,Ebb of. The falling tide.
TIDE-POOL. A sort of basin worn in seaside rocks.
TIDE-RIP. Those short ripplings which result from eddies, or the passage of the tide over uneven bottom; also observed in the ocean where two currents meet, but not appearing to affect a ship's course.
TIDE-RODE. The situation of a vessel at anchor when she swings by the force of the tide. In opposition towind-rode.
TIDE'S WORK. The amount of progress a ship has made during a favourable tide. Also, a period of necessary labour on a ship during the ebbing and slack water of a tide. That is when the sea has left the vessel aground between two tides, so as to enable workmen to repair defects down to a certain depth, laid bare by the receding tide.
TIDE-WAY. The mid-stream; or a passage or channel through which the tide sets, and runs strongly.
TIE-FOR-TYE. Mutual obligation and no favour; as in the case of thetie-mate, the comrade who, in the days of long hair, performed the tie for tie on the tails. (SeeTye.)
TIER. A regular row of anything. Also, a range in the hold; hence the terms, ground tier, second and upper tier, &c., of casks or goods stowed there.—Cable-tier.The space in a ship where hempen cables were coiled.
TIERCE. Is specially applied to provision casks, and is the third of a pipe; but the beef-tierce contains 280 lbs., or 28 galls., whilst that of pork only contains 260 lbs., or 26 galls. Now the beef-tierce often contains 336 lbs., and the pork 300 lbs.
TIERERS. Men formerly stationed in the tiers for coiling away the cables, where strength, activity, and ability shone conspicuously.
TIER-SHOT. That kind of grapeshot which is secured in tiers by parallel iron discs.
TIES. An old name for mooring bridles. Also, stops to a sail. (SeeTye.)
TIGHT. Close, free from leaks. Hence a ship is said to be tight when no water leaks in; and a cask is called tight when none of the liquid leaks out. Applied to ropes or chains this word becomestaut.
TILLER. A straight-grained timber beam, or iron bar, fitted into or round the head of the rudder, by means of which the latter is moved. (SeeHelm.)
TILLER-HEAD. The extremity of the tiller, to which the tiller-ropes are attached.
TILLER-ROPES. The ropes which form a communication between the end of the tiller and the barrel of the wheel; they are frequently made of untarred rope, though hide is much better; and iron chains are also used. By these the tiller is worked and the vessel steered.
TILLER-SWEEP.SeeSweep of the Tiller.
TILT. A small canopy extended over the stern-sheets of a boat, supported by iron or wood work, to keep off rain, as an awning is used to keep off the sun.—To tilt.To lift up a little on one side or end of anything.
TILT-BOAT. One expressly fitted like a tilt-waggon, to preserve powder or other fragile stores from the weather.
TIMBER [Anglo-Saxon]. All large pieces of wood used in ship-building, asfloor-timbers,cross-pieces,futtocks,frames, and the like (all which see).
TIMBER AND ROOM, is the distance between two adjoining timbers, which always contain the breadth of two timbers, and two or three inches besides. The same asroom and space, orberth and space.
TIMBER-CONVERTER. A dockyard official who has the charge of converting timber for its different purposes in ship-building.
TIMBER-HEADS. The heads of the timbers that rise above the decks, and are used for belaying hawsers, large ropes, &c. (SeeKevel-heads.) These being such important parts of a ship, men of acknowledged talent in the royal navy are styled "thetimber-headsof the profession."
TIMBER-HITCH, is made by taking the end of a rope round a spar, and after leading it under and over the standing part, passing two or three turns round its own part, making in fact a running but self-jamming eye.
TIMBERS. The incurvated ribs of a ship which branch outwards from the keel in a vertical direction, so as to give strength, figure, and solidity to the whole fabric. One timber is composed of several pieces. (SeeFrame.)—Cant or square timbers, are those which are placed obliquely on the keel towards the extremities of a ship, forming the dead solid wood of the gripe, and of the after heel.—Filling timbers.Those which are put up between the frames. One mould serves for two timbers, the fore-side of the one being supposed to unite with the after-side of the one before it, and so make only one line.—Knuckle-timbersare the foremost cant-timbers on a ship's bow: the hindmost on the quarter are termedfashion-pieces.
TIMBER-TASTER. One appointed to examine and pronounce upon the fitness of timber.
TIME,Mean, or Mean Solar Time. That shown by a clock or watch when compensated for the unequal progress of the sun in the ecliptic, and which thence forms an equable measure of time.—To take timeis for an assistant to note the time by a chronometer at each instant that the observer calls "stop," on effecting his astronomical observation for altitude of a heavenly body, or for contact with the sun and moon, or moon and star.
TIME-KEEPER,Time-piece, or Chronometer. An instrument adapted for measuring mean time. The result of many years of study and experiment by our best horologists. (SeeLongitude.)
TIMENOGUY. Formerly a rope carried taut between different parts of a vessel, to prevent the sheet or tack of a course from getting foul in working ship; specially from the fore-rigging to the anchor-stock, to prevent the fouling of the fore-sheet.
TIMONEER [derived from the French]. The helmsman. Also, one on the look-out, who directs the helmsman.
TIMONOGY. This term properly belongs to steering, and is derived fromtimon, the tiller, and the twiddling-lines, which worked in olden times on a gauge in front of the poop, in ships of the line, by which the position of the helm was easily read even from the forecastle.
TINDAL. A Lascar boatswain's-mate.
TINKER. A small mortar formerly used on the end of a staff, now superseded by the Coehorn. Also, a small mackerel.
TINKERMEN. Fishermen who destroyed the fry of fish on the Thames by nets, and other unlawful contrivances, till suppressed by the mayor and corporation of London.
TIN-POTTER. A galley skulker, shamming Abraham.
TIPPET. A snood for a fishing-line.
TIPPING ALL NINES,or Tipped the Nines. Foundering from press of sail.
TIPPING THE GRAMPUS. Ducking a skulker for being asleep on his watch. (SeeBlowing the Grampus.)
TIRE. Synonymous withtier.
TITIVATE,To; or Titivate off to the Nines. To freshen the paint-work; to put into the highest kelter.
TOAD-FISH. TheLophius piscatorius, or fishing-frog.
TOBACCO. Has been supplied for the use of the ships' companies in the royal navy from the 1st January, 1799.
TOBACCO-CHARTS. The worthless charts formerly sold by ship-chandlers.
TOD-BOAT. A broad flat Dutch fishing-boat.
TODDY. The sura or juice extracted from various kinds of palm, and often called palm-wine. A mixture of spirits, water, and sugar is also called toddy. (SeeArrack.)
TOE A LINE! The order to stand in a row.
TOGGLE. A strong pin of wood, sometimes used instead of a hook in fixing a tackle, or it is put through the bight or eye of a rope, bolt, or block-strop, to keep it in its place. In ships of war it is usual to fix toggles upon the running parts of the topsail-sheets, the jears, &c., when preparing for action, so that if the rope is shot away below, the toggle may stop the yard from coming down. The toggle is used in masting operations, in securing the standing part of fore and main sheets, but especially in whaling operations, cutting in, flensing, &c., a hole is cut in the blubber, the eye of the purchase strop passed through and toggled. In cold weather especially it is preferred to the hook, which at low temperatures is apt to snap suddenly, and is, moreover, heavier to handle. The term is also used for putting the bights of the sheets in the beckets. (SeeBecket.)
TOGGLE-BOLT. This bolt is used to confine the ensign-staff, and the like, into its place by means of a strap; it has a flat head, and a mortice through it, that receives a toggle or pin.
TOGS. A very old term for clothes.—Togged to the nines, in full dress.—Sunday togs, the best clothes.
TOISE. The French fathom, nearly approaching to ours: the proportion of the English yard to the French demi-toise being as 36 to 38·35. The toise is equal to 6·3946 English feet.
TOKE. A drink made from honey in Madagascar; very dangerous to Europeans.
TOKO FOR YAM. An expression peculiar to negroes for crying out before being hurt.
TOLEDO. An esteemed Spanish sword, so called from the place of manufacture.
TOLL. A demand, &c., at the Sound; hence the epithet ofSound dues.
TOM. A pet bow-chaser, a 9 or 12-pounder. (SeeLong Tom.)
TOMAHAWK. A weapon somewhat resembling a hand poleaxe, much used in boarding an enemy, as it is not only effective in combat, but useful in holding on, and in cutting away fasts and rigging when required. The name is derived from the hatchet of the North American Indians.
TOM ASTONERS. Dashing fellows; from astound or "astony," to terrify.
TOM COX'S TRAVERSE. Up one hatchway and down another: others say three turns round the long boat, and a pull at the scuttle. It means the work of an artful dodger, all jaw, and no good in him.
TOMMY COD. A very small variety of theGadus morrhua, which mostly appears in the winter months; whence it is also called frost-fish at Halifax and in Newfoundland.
TOM NORIE. A name of the puffin,Fratercula arctica.
TOM PEPPER. A term for a liar; he having, according to nautic tradition, been kicked out of the nether regions for indulging in falsehood.
TOMPION. A circular plug of wood, used to stop the muzzle of a gun, andthereby keep out the wet at sea. The tompions are carefully encircled with tallow or putty for the same purpose. Also, the stopper fitted to go between the powder and shell in a mortar. This name is often pronounced as well as writtentompkin.
TOM-TOM. A small drum, made from the stem of a hollowed tree, generally of the palm-tribe, as the centre is pithy and the skin flinty. It is covered by the skin of a lizard or shark, and beaten with the fingers. It is used throughout the tropics, and produces a hollow monotonous sound. In the East Indies it is used to proclaim public notices, and to draw attention to conjurors, snake-charmers, &c.
TON,or Tun[from the Anglo-Saxontunne]. In commerce, 20 cwt., or 2240 lbs., but in the cubical contents of a ship it is the weight of water equal to 2000 lbs., by the general standard for liquids. A tun of wine or oil contains 4 hogsheads. A ton or load of timber is a measure of 40 cubic feet in the rough, and of 50 when sawn: 42 cubic feet of articles equal one ton in shipment.
TONEE. A canoe of some burden, made of the hollowed trunk of a tree in early use on the Malabar coast. (SeeTerrada.)
TON FOR TON AND MAN FOR MAN. A phrase implying that ships sailing as consorts, ought fairly to divide whatever prize they take.
TONGUE [Anglo-Saxontunga]. The long tapered end of one piece of timber made to fay into a scarph at the end of another piece, to gain length. Also, a low salient point of land. Also, a dangerous mass of ice projecting under water from an iceberg or floe, nearly horizontally; it was on one of these shelves that theGuardianfrigate struck.
TONGUE OF A BEVEL. The movable part of the instrument by which the angles or bevellings are taken.
TONNAGE. A custom or impost formerly granted to the crown for merchandise imported or exported. Also, the admeasurement of a ship, and thence to ascertain her cubical contents converted into tons. (SeeBurden.)
TOP. A sort of platform placed over the head of the lower mast, from which it projects like a scaffold. The principal intention of the top is to extend the topmast-shrouds, so as to form a greater angle with the mast, and thereby give it additional support. It is sustained by certain timbers bolted fore-and-aft on the bibbs or shoulders of the mast, and called the trestle-trees; athwart these are the cross-trees. In ships of war it is used as a kind of redoubt, and is fortified accordingly. It is also very convenient for containing the materials for setting the small sails, fixing and repairing the rigging, &c. The tops are named after their respective masts. This top was formerly fenced on the after-side by a rail about three feet high, between the stanchions of which a netting was usually constructed, and stowed in action with hammocks. This was covered with red baize, or canvas painted red, and called the top-armour. Top-armours were in use with the Spaniards in 1810.
TOP-ARMINGS. Hammocks stowed inside the rigging for the protection of riflemen.
TOP A YARD OR BOOM,To. To raise up one end of it by hoisting on the lift, as the spanker-boom is lifted before setting the sail.
TOP-BLOCK. A large single block with an iron strop and hook, by which it is hooked into an eye-bolt under the lower cap, and is used for the top-pendant to reeve through in swaying up or lowering down the top-masts.
TOP BURTON-TACKLE.SeeBurton.
TOP-CASTLES. Castellated ledgings surrounding the mast-heads of our early ships, in which the pages to the officers were stationed to annoy the enemy with darts, &c.
TOP-CHAIN. A chain to sling the yards in time of battle, in case of the ropes by which they are hung being shot away.
TOPE. A small-sized Chinese junk. Also, theGaleus vulgaris, a kind of shark. Also, a small grove of trees in India.
TOP-GALLANT. In the Cotton MSS. this word appears as "top-garland."
TOPGALLANT-FORECASTLE. A short deck forward above the upper deck, mostly used as a galley, but in some merchantmen a berthing place for their crews, though generally very wet and uncomfortable for want of a few necessary fittings. Also, it facilitates working the head-sails.—In several of the iron-clad frigates, chase-guns are fitted there.
TOPGALLANT-MAST. The third mast above the deck; the uppermost before the days of royals and flying kites.
TOP-GALLANT QUARTER-BOARDS,or Top-gallant Bulwarks.SeeQuarter-boards.
TOPGALLANT-SAILS. The third sails above the decks: they are set above the topsail-yards, in the same manner as the top-sails above the lower yards.
TOP-HAMPER. Any unnecessary weight either on a ship's decks or about her tops and rigging. Also, applied to flying-kites and their gear. Also, to an officer overclothing himself.
TOP-LANTERN,or Top-light. A large signal-lantern placed in the after-part of a top, in ships where an admiral's flag or commodore's pendant flies.
TOP-LINING. A lining on the after-part of sails, to prevent their chafing against the top-rim. Also, a platform of thin board nailed upon the upper part of the cross-trees on a vessel's top.
TOP-MAST. The second division of a mast above the deck. (SeeMast.)
TOP-MAUL. A large hammer used to start the top-mast fid, and to beat down the top, when setting up topmast-rigging.
TOP-MEN. Selected smart seamen stationed in the several tops, to attend the taking in or setting of the upper sails.
TOP-NETTINGS.SeeTop.
TOPPING. Pretentious; as, topping the officer; also, fine, gallant, &c.
TOPPING-LIFTS. Those lifts which support a spar, davit, &c.
TOP-RAIL. A rail supported on stanchions across the after-part of each of a ship's tops.
TOP-RIDERS.SeeUpper Futtock-riders.
TOP RIMORBRIM. The circular sweep of the fore part of a vessel's top, and covering in the ends of the cross-trees and trestle-trees, to prevent their chafing the top-sail.
TOP-ROPE. The mast-rope employed to sway up a top-mast or topgallant-mast, in order to fix it in its place, or lower it. The top-rope is rove through a block which is hooked on one side of the cap, and passing through the sheave-hole of the mast, is brought upwards on the opposite side, and fastened to an eye-bolt in the foremost part of the cap. To the lower end of the top-mast top-rope a tackle is fixed. (SeeTop-tackle.) "Swaying on all top-ropes;" figuratively, "going the whole hog" in joviality or any trickery.
TOP-SAIL HAUL!or Main-topsail Haul!When the main-sail is not set, this is the order given to haul the after-yards round when the ship is nearly head to wind in tacking.
TOP-SAILS. The second sails above the decks, extending across the top-masts, by the topsail-yards above, and by the lower yards beneath, being fastened to the former by earings and robands, and to the latter by the topsail-sheets, which, passing through two great blocks or cheeks fixed on its extremities, and thence to two other blocks fixed on the inner part of the yard close by the mast, lead downwards to the deck.—Paying debts with flying top-sails, orwith a flying fore-topsail, is leaving them unpaid. Vessels not having topsail-yards rigged aloft, set top-sails flying, as cutters, yachts, schooners, &c.
TOPSAIL-SCHOONER. Is full schooner-rigged, but carries a square-topsail on the fore-mast; the fore-sail not bent, but set as a square-sail. She may also carry a main-topsail, and is then termed a two-topsail schooner.
TOPSAIL-SHEET BITTS. Standing bitt-heads through which the topsail-sheets lead, and to which they are belayed.
TOP-SAWYER. The leading man in any undertaking. One who excels; inasmuch as the man of most intellect guides the saw, and No. 2 gets the sawdust in his face.
TOP-SIDE. All that part of a ship's side which is above the main-wales: that is, those strakes between the sheer-strake and upper black-strake.
TOP-SWIVEL. Once a favourite arm for ships' tops, but from the confined space and elevation rather an encumbrance than a useful addition.
TOP-TACKLE. A large tackle, or properly pendant, hooked to the lower end of the top-mast top-rope, and to the deck, in order to increase the mechanical power in lifting the top-mast in order to fid it. It is composed of two strong iron-bound double or triple blocks, the hooks of which work on a swivel.
TOP-TACKLE PENDANT. The pendant used with the above. The top-mast is swayed up by a top-rope or hawser. The pendant, which is of better material, and hawser-laid, has an eye and thimble spliced in one end, and is pointed at the other. This pendant is barely long enough tolower the top-mast temporarily in bad weather, and when the top-mast is high enough for fidding, the purchase is block and block, and cannot lift it higher. (SeeTop-rope.)
TOP THE GLIM,To. To snuff the candle.
TOP THE OFFICER,To. To arrogate superiority.
TOP-TIMBER BREADTH. The distance between the upper part of the same timber and the middle line.
TOP-TIMBER HOLLOW. A name sometimes given to the back sweep which forms the upper part of the top-timber.
TOP-TIMBERS. The first general tier which reach the top are called long top-timbers, and those below short top-timbers.
TOP YOUR BOOM.SeeBoom.
TOR. A high rock or peak: also a tower, thus retaining the same meaning it had, astorr, with the Anglo-Saxons.
TORMENTER. The large two-pronged iron fork used by the ship's cook, to fish out the cooked meat from the copper.
TORMENTUM. A pistol; a gun; a piece of ordnance.
TORNADO. A peculiar squall, accompanied with rain and lightning, similar in suddenness to the white squall of the West Indies, and experienced off the equatorial region of the west coast of Africa between December and June. It appears first as a small black spot in the east, and barely affords time to put the ship before the wind and clue up all. The wind veers round the compass, and lasts a very short time.
TORPEDO. A cartilaginous fish allied to the rays, furnished with electrical organs, by means of which it is able to give powerful shocks. Also, a contrivance for blowing up ships of war by means of a submerged apparatus.
TORRENT. A land flood rushing from mountainous tracts, often with destructive effect. It is produced by an accumulation of water from rains or the melting of snows.
TORSE. A coarse kind of hemp, better known as cordilla in commerce.
TORSION OF CABLES. All ropes formed by twisting have a contrary turn, and a disposition to kink from torsion.
TORSK.SeeTusk.
TORTS. Private wrongs either to persons or property afloat. They are cognizable by the admiralty court, according to locality.
TORTUE DE MER. A turtle. Also a French gabarre, troop, or store ship, with very high 'tween decks.
TOSHING. A cant word for stealing copper sheathing from vessels' bottoms, or from dockyard stores.
TOSS IN YOUR OARS! The order to desist rowing, and throw the oars in out of the rowlocks.
TOSS THE OARS UP! Throw them up out of the rowlocks, and raise them perpendicularly an-end; the act is intended as a compliment to a superior officer rowing by. Also, the order to a boat's crew to get the oars ready for rowing, and to salute the officer on his entering the boat.
TOSS UP THE BUNT,To. In furling a sail, to make its final package at the centre of the yard when in its skin.
TOT,or Tott. A drinking-cup somewhat smaller than the regulation half-pint, by which a surplus is left in the distribution of the regular allowance of grog, and awarded to the cook of each mess, for the day, for his trouble.
TOTAL LOSS. A term in marine insurance, implying that the underwriters are to pay the amount insured without salvage.
TOTE. An abbreviation of total.—To tote.To watch, to spy, or to carry, whence the very singular fish on the southern coasts of America, which carries small pebbles on its little sharp horns for making anestis called thestone-toter.
TOTTY-LAND. Certain heights on the side of a hill [probably derived from the Anglo-Saxontotian, to elevate].
TOUCH. In ship-building, the broadest part of a plank worked top-and-butt. Also, the angles of the stern-timbers at the counters. Also,keeping touchis fulfilling the terms of an agreement—speaking of the faith between seamen and their employers.
TOUCH-AND-GO. Said of anything within an ace of ruin; as in rounding a ship very narrowly to escape rocks, &c., or when, under sail, she rubs against the ground with her keel, without much diminution of her velocity.
TOUCH-AND-TAKE. An old proverb which Nelson applied to a ship about to encounter her opponent. A Nelsonian maxim.
TOUCH-BOX. The receptacle for lighted tinder when match-locks were used.
TOUCH-HOLE. The small aperture at the end of a musket or pistol, by which the fire of the priming was communicated to the charge. In guns, called the vent.
TOUCHING. The state of a ship's sails when they first begin to lift or shiver with their edges in the direction of the wind. It is occasioned either by a change in the wind or in the ship's course. (SeeFull and By.)—Luff and touch her!is the order to the helmsman to bring the vessel up, and see how near she will come to the wind, or to give facility for taking in a reef when about to lower the top-sails, or for deadening the ship's way.
TOUCHING AT. Stopping or anchoring at some intermediate port in the course of a voyage.
TOUCH OF THE TAR-BRUSH. A nautical phrase expressive of those officers who are seamen as well asquarter-deckers. Also said of a white person in whose ancestry there has been some admixture of one of the dark races.
TOUCH UP IN THE BUNT,To. To mend the sail on the yard; figuratively, to goad or remind forcibly.
TOUCH-WOOD.SeePunk.
TOURNIQUET. Screw-bandages used for stopping the flow of blood.They are distributed about the quarters before action, and a number of men are taught to apply them. A handkerchief and toggle, or stick of any kind, is sometimes substituted.
TOUT,To. An old term for looking out, or keeping a prying watch; whence the revenue cruisers and the customs officers were called touters. The name is also given to crimps.
TOW,To. To draw or drag a ship or boat by means of a rope attached to another vessel or boat, which advances by steam-power, rowing, or sailing. The Roman method, as appears by the triumphal arch at Orange, was by a rope fastened to a pulley at the top of the mast. They also fastened a rope to the head of a boat, and led it over men's shoulders, as practised on our canals at the present day.
TOWAGE. The towing of a vessel through the water. Also, the money given for being towed. Vessels thus relieved give claim for salvage service.
TOW-BLOWEN. A term on our eastern coasts for a blown herring.
TOWEL. A word very absurdly introduced into marine law. "If a mariner," says Molloy, "shall commit a fault, and the master shall lift up the towel three times before any mariner, and he shall not submit, the master at the next place of land may discharge him." Some think that this refers to an oaken stick, but it is no doubt corrupted from theoster la touaille, or turning a delinquent out of his mess, of the laws of Oleron.
TOWING-BRIDLE. A stout chain with a hook at each end for attaching a tow-rope to; also, a largetowing-hookin the bight of the chain.
TOWING-HOOK.SeeTowing-bridle.
TOWING OVERBOARD. Drawing anything after a ship or boat when she is sailing or rowing. As a manœuvre to deceive an enemy, and induce him to chase, it was common to tow a sail astern by a hawser, at the same time keeping the three masts in line, so as to deceive the chaser as to distance.
TOWING-PATH. The hauling-way along a canal or artificial harbour.
TOWING-POST. A substantial timber fixed through the deck of a steam-tug for making the tow-rope fast to. Also, a similar post in canal barges to keep the tow-line up clear of the path.
TOW-LINE [Anglo-Saxontoh-line]. A small hawser or warp used to move a ship from one part of a harbour or road to another by means of boats, steamers, kedges, &c.
TOWN-MAJOR. An officer in a garrison specially supervising the detail of the guards, and of other local current duties.
T-PLATES. Iron plates in the form of the letterTplaced under the channels to add strength.
TRABACCOLO. An Adriatic trading craft.
TRABALEO. Ancient coasting vessels.
TRABARIÆ. Ancient canoes, made of hollowed trees, capable of carrying two or three men.
TRACE. In fortification, the horizontal disposition of the works; also, a plan of the same.
TRACK-BOAT [from the Dutchtreck-schuyt]. A vessel used on a canal or narrow stream.
TRACKING. Hauling any vessel or floating body along a canal or river by a rope dragged along the bank by men or horses.
TRACK OF A SHIP. The line of a ship's course through the water. (SeeWake.)
TRADE. Implies the constant destination of any particular merchant vessels, as the Lisbon trade, West India trade, &c.
TRADER. A vessel employed regularly in any particular branch of commerce, whether sea-borne or coasting, British or foreign.
TRADE-ROOM. A part of the steerage of a Yankee notion-trader where light goods and samples of the cargo are kept for general business.
TRADE-WINDS. Currents of air moving from about the 30th degree of latitude towards the equator. The diurnal motion of the earth makes them incline from the eastward, so that in the northern hemisphere they are from the N.E., and in the southern hemisphere from the S.E. Their geographical position in latitude varies with the declination of the sun. In some parts of the world, as the Bay of Bengal and China Sea, the action of the sun on the neighbouring land has the power of reversing the trades; the winds are there calledmonsoons.
TRADING-VESSEL.SeeTrader.
TRAIL A PIKE,To. To hold the spear end in the right hand, and the butt trailed behind the bearer.
TRAIL-BOARDS. A carved board on each side of the stem, reaching from it to the figure, or to the brackets. The carved work between the cheek-knees of the head at the heel of the figure.
TRAINORTRAIL OF ARTILLERY. A certain number of pieces of ordnance, completely mounted and fitted with appurtenances and retinue of attendants, ready to follow in rear of an army, &c. (SeeBattering Guns.) Also, the hinder part of a gun-carriage.—Trainalso signifies a line of gunpowder or other combustible material forming a communication with any body intended to be set on fire or exploded.
TRAINING-LEVEL. A gravitating instrument for the same purpose as the training-pendulum.
TRAINING-PENDULUM. An improved pendulum to facilitate the accurate elevation and depression of guns on board ship, by means of coloured spirits or quicksilver confined in a tube.
TRAINING-SHIPfor the Merchant Service. A vessel properly equipped with instructors and means to rear able-bodied lads for the merchant service.
TRAINING-SHIPfor Naval Cadets. H.M.S.Britannia, commanded by a captain and complement of officers for the primary training of naval cadets. They are nominated by the first lord, examined as to ability and constitution, and entered on trial. If they pass a pretty rigid examination, they are nominated to ships; but if they fail, they are not admitted into the navy. Great interest is required for a nomination.
TRAIN-TACKLE. A tackle which is during action hooked to an eye-bolt in the train of a gun-carriage, and to a ring-bolt in the deck; its use is to prevent the gun from running out of the port whilst loading, and for running it in when fired.
TRAJECTORY. An astronomical term for the orbital curve described by a planet or comet, now seldom used in that science, but generally employed for the path described by a shot or shell.
TRAMMEL. A large drag-net for the cod fishery.
TRAMONTANA. The north wind in general in the Mediterranean, but also denoting a peculiar cold and blighting wind, very hurtful in the Archipelago.
TRAN. A Norwegian word for fish-oil, adopted in our northern fisheries.
TRANKEH,or Trankies. A large boat of the Gulf of Persia.
TRANSFER. There can be no legal transfer of property captured at sea, without a legal condemnation in the admiralty court, and therefore the sale or occupancy of vessels and goods by pirates does not alter or extinguish the loser's right of property. Transfer is the legal state of a registered ship, or shares in her, to persons qualified to be owners of British ships. Also, the turning over men or companies from one ship to another.
TRANSHIPMENT OF TREASURE. Ships on a distant station receiving treasure for conveyance to some other man-of-war about to proceed to England, from another port on the same station. Both captains partake of the freight, relatively as to distance and deposit.
TRANSIRE. A custom-house document specifying the goods shipped by a coasting vessel, docketted with a sufferance for their discharge on arriving at the place of destination.
TRANSIT. The precise culmination of a heavenly body over the meridian of a place.
TRANSITof Mercury or Venus. These planets being situated between the sun and the earth, occasionally appear to us to pass over his disc, from east to west.
TRANSIT INSTRUMENT. A telescope fitted with vertical wires, and revolving on an axis in the plane of the meridian, with which the time may be obtained by observing the passage of the stars and planets compared with their computed time.
TRANSITU. Goods of an enemy's colony surrendering between the time of sailing and capture do not change their hostile characterin transitu; though the owners may have become British subjects by capitulation, upon the principle that the national character cannot be alteredin transitu. (SeeStoppage in Transitu.)
TRANSMISSION. The property in a merchantman, or a share therein, transmitted in consequence of the authenticated death, bankruptcy, or insolvency of any registered owner.
TRANSOM. The vane of a cross-staff, made to slide along it by means of a square socket; it may be set to any of the graduations.
TRANSOMof a Gun-carriage. A cross piece of timber uniting the cheeks; generally between the trunnion-holes and the fore axle-tree.
TRANSOM-KNEES. Curved timbers, or pieces of iron, which bind and connect the ship's quarter to the transoms, being bolted to the latter, and to the after timbers. Knees which have one arm applied to either end of a transom, and the other running diagonally along, and bolted to the ship's side.
TRANSOMS. 'Thwart-ship pieces forming the buttocks of a ship, extended across the stern-post, to which they are bolted, and give her after-part the figure most suitable to the service for which she is intended.—Deck-transom.That on which all the lower deck planks are rabbeted. The first, second, third transoms, &c., are respectively below the preceding.—Helm-post transom.That which is at the head of the stern-post, and forms the upper part of the gun-room ports.—Wing-transom.The next below, and forming the lower part.
TRANSPORT. A private ship hired by government for carrying troops, stores, and munitions of war. The proportion of tonnage for troops embarked in transports is two tons per man.
TRANSPORTING. Moving a ship by means of hawsers only, from one part of a harbour to another.
TRANSPORTING-BLOCKS. Two snatch-blocks, fitted one on each side above the taffrail, to admit a hawser, when transporting a ship.
TRANSPORT OFFICE. Formerly a department under government directed by commissioners, who chartered vessels and appointed officers for conveying troops to or from this country: they were also to provide accommodation and provision for all prisoners of war, as well as to regulate their exchange by cartel, &c. Now under a naval director of transport.
TRANS-SHIP,To. To remove a cargo from one ship to another.
TRANSVERSE AXIS. The first or principal diameter of an ellipse; that which crosses it lengthwise. (SeeMajor Axis.)
TRANSVERSE SECTION. A 'thwart-ship view of any part of a ship when cut by a plane at right angles to the keel.
TRANTER. One who carries fish for sale.
TRAP-CREEL. A basket for catching lobsters.
TRAPEZIUM. A quadrilateral figure that has only two of its four sides parallel.
TRAPEZOID,or Tablet. Has all its four sides and angles unequal, and no sides parallel.
TRAVADO,or Travat[fromtornado]. A heavy squall, with sudden gusts of wind, lightning, and rain, on the coast of North America; like the African tornado, it commences with a black cloud in calm weather and a clear sky.
TRAVEL,To. For a thimble, block, &c., to run along on beams or ropes.
TRAVELLER. One or more iron thimbles with a rope spliced round them, sometimes forming a kind of tail, but more generally a species of grummet.—Traveller of boat's masts,jib-boom, &c. An iron ring fittedso as to slip up and down a spar, to run in and out on a boom or gaff, for the purpose of extending or drawing in the outer corner or tack of the sail.
TRAVELLER-IRON. To a cutter's fore-sail, boom-mainsail, or spanker-boom; generally termed traveller horse. (SeeHorse.)
TRAVELLING-BACKSTAYS, are generally the breast-backstays, which set up with a runner purchase in the channels on the weather side; that to leeward is let go in stays. The traveller is a strong parrel-strop which passes round the mast, and through two thimbles of which the breast backstays reeve. As the yard is hoisted this slips up, but when a reef is taken in it is rode down by the feet of two men close to the tye-block, and thus supports the mast from the top-rim to the parrel.
TRAVELLING-GUYS. The jib traveller guys are seized on to the traveller, and are shortened in and set up when the jib is eased in.
TRAVELLING-MARTINGALE. A similar contrivance adapted to a martingale to support the jib-boom in that particular part where the jib-tack is fixed. (SeeMartingale.)
TRAVERSE. Denotes the several courses a ship makes under the changes of wind or manœuvres. It is self-evident that if she steered a course there would be no traverse. But her course being north, and the wind from the north, it is evident she could have but two courses open to her, E.N.E., or W.N.W. The reduction of the distances run on each course, corrected for variation and lee-way, constitutes the traverse table, from which the reckoning is deduced each day up to noon. From this zig-zag set of lines we have the termTom Cox's traverse(which see). Also, in fortification, a mound, often of parapet form, raised to cover from enfilade or reverse fire. Also, to traverse a gun or mortar. To alter its direction from right to left, orvice versâ, with handspikes, tackles, &c.
TRAVERSE A YARD,To. To get it fore and aft.
TRAVERSE-BOARD. A thin circular piece of board, marked with all the points of the compass, and having eight holes bored in each, and eight small pegs hanging from the centre of the board. It is used to determine the different courses run by a ship during a watch, by sticking one peg into the point on which the ship has run each half hour. It is useful in light and variable winds.
TRAVERSE-HORSE.SeeJack-stays.
TRAVERSE QUESTIONS. Cross examinations at a court-martial.
TRAVERSE SAILING. Resolving a traverse is merely a general term for the determination of a single course equivalent to a series of successive courses steered, whatever be the manner of finding the lengths of the lines forming the triangles.
TRAVERSE-TABLE. A table which gives the difference of latitude and departure corresponding to a certain course and distance, andvice versâ. It is generally calculated to every quarter of a point or degree, and up to a distance of 300 miles.
TRAVERSE-WIND. A wind which sets right in to any harbour, and prevents the departure of vessels.
TRAVERSIER. A small fishing vessel on the coast of Rochelle.
TRAVERSUM. A archaic term for a ferry.
TRAWL. A strong net or bag dragged along the bottom of fishing-banks, by means of a rope, a beam, and a pair of iron trawl-heads.
TRAYERES. An archaic term for a sort of long-boat.
TREADING A SEAM,or Dancing Pedro-pee.SeePedro-a-pied.
TREAD OF A SHIPORKEEL. The length of her keel.
TREAD WATER,To. The practice in swimming by which the body is sustained upright, and the head kept above the surface.
TREBLE-BLOCK. One fitted with three sheaves or rollers.
TREBLING. Planking thrice around a whaler's bows in order the more effectually to withstand the pressure of the ice.
TREBUCHET. An engine of old to cast stones and batter walls.
TRECK-SCHUYT. A canal boat in Holland for carrying goods and passengers.
TREEING. In the Arctic regions, refraction sometimes causes the ice to resemble a huge wall, which is considered an indication of open water in that quarter.
TREE-NAILS. Long cylindrical oak or other hard wood pins, driven through the planks and timbers of a vessel to connect her various parts.
TREE-NAIL WEDGE. A cross is cut in the tree-nail end, and wedges driven in, caulked; or sometimes a wedge is driven into its inner end, and the tree-nail is thus secured.
TREES OF A SHIP. The chess-trees, the cross-trees, the rough-trees, the trestle-trees, and the waste-trees.
TRELAWNEY. A poor mess composed of barley-meal, water, and salt.
TRENCHES. The earthworks by which a besieger approaches a fortified place; generally half sunk in the ground, the other half formed by the excavated earth thrown, as a parapet, to the front.
TRENCHMAN.SeeTrugman.
TRENCH THE BALLAST,To. To divide the ballast in a ship's hold to get at a leak, or to trim and stow it.
TREND,To. To bend or incline, speaking of a coast; as, "The land trends to the south-west." Also, the course of a current or stream.
TRENDof an Anchor. The lower end of the shank, where it thickens towards the arms, usually at one-third from the crown. In round terms, it is the same distance on the shank from the throat that the arm measures from the throat to the bill.
TRENNEL.SeeTree-nails.
TREPANG. An eastern name for theHolothuria, orbêche-de-mer, frequently called the sea-slug; used as an article of food by the Chinese.
TRESTLE-TREES. Two strong bars of timber fixed horizontally fore-and-aft on each side of the lower mast-head, to support the top-mast, the lower cross-trees, and top; smaller trestle-trees are fitted on a topmast-head to support the topgallant-mast and top-mast cross-trees.
TRIANGLE,or Trigon. A geometrical figure consisting of three sides and as many angles. Also, a machine formed by spars for lifting weights, water-casks, &c. Also, a stage hung round a mast, to scrape, paint, or grease it.
TRIANGULUM. One of the ancient northern constellations.
TRIATIC STAY. A rope secured at each end of the heads of the fore and main masts, with thimbles spliced in its bight to hook the stay-tackles to. This term applies also to the jumper-stay, extending in schooners from the mainmast-head to the foremast-head, clearing the end of the fore gaff.
TRIBUTARY. Any stream, large or small, which directly or indirectly joins another stream.
TRICE,To. To haul or lift up by means of a lashing or line.
TRICE UP—LIE OUT! The order to lift the studding-sail boom-ends while the top-men move out on the yards, preparatory to reefing or furling.
TRICING BATTENS. Those used for the hammocks, or tricing up the bags between the beams on the lower-deck.
TRICING-LINE. A small cord, generally passing through a block or thimble, and used to hoist up any object to render it less inconvenient; such are the tricing-lines of the yard-tackle, &c.
TRICK. The time allotted to a man on duty at the helm. The same asspell.
TRICKER. An old spelling for the trigger of a gun.
TRIE. An old word for trim.—Out of trie, crank.
TRIGGER. In ship-building, is the letting fall the paul of the cradle by which the dog-shore falls flush, and offers no further obstruction to the ship gliding down the ways into her absurdly termed "native element." Also, a small catch under the lock of fire-arms, by drawing which back, when the piece is cocked, it is discharged.
TRIGGER-FINGER.SeeFore-finger.
TRIGGER-LINE. A line by which the gun is fired.
TRIG-MEAT. A western term for any kind of shell-fish picked up at low water.
TRIGON.SeeTriangle.
TRIGONOMETRY. The science which deals with measuring triangles, or determining their unknown sides and angles, plane or spherical.
TRIM. The set of a ship on the water, whether by the head or the stern, or on an even keel. It is by the disposition of the ballast, cargo, masts, and other weight which she carries, that a vessel is best adapted for navigation. Also, the working or finishing of any piece of timber or plank to its proper shape or form.—In trim, is neat and regular.—To trim, is to arrange the sails so that they may receive the full advantage of the wind.
TRIMof the Hold. The arrangement of the cargo, &c., by which a vessel carries sail well, and becomes under control as well as sea-worthy.
TRIMMED. Sails properly set, and yards well braced after tacking.
TRIMMED SHARP. The arrangement of a ship's sails in a slant wind, so that she may keep as close as possible to the breeze.
TRIMMING A JACKET. Rope's-ending the wearer.
TRIMONIER. A corruption oftimoneer, but formerly a rating on ships' books.
TRIM THE BOAT! The order to sit in the boat in such a manner as that she shall float upright. Also, to edge aft, so that her steerage becomes easier, and she does not ship heavy seas.
TRINK. An old contrivance for catching fish. (Statute 2 Hen. VI. c. 15.)
TRIP. An outward-bound passage or short voyage, particularly in the coasting trade. It also denotes a single board in plying to windward. Also, the movement by which an anchor is loosened from its bed and raised clear of the bottom, either by its cable or buoy-rope.—The anchor's a-trip,i.e.no longer holds.
TRIPLE STAR. Three stars situated in close proximity, but apparently only optically connected. (SeeTernary System.)
TRIPPING. Giving a yard the necessary cant by a tripping-line. Also, the lifting an upper mast to withdraw its fid, in order that it may be lowered by means of the mast-rope.
TRIPPING-LINE. A small rope serving to unrig the lower top-gallant yard-arm of its lift and brace, when in the act of sending it down on deck. Also, the line used for tripping an upper mast.
TROACHER,or Troaker. A dealer in smuggled goods.
TROCHOID,or Cycloid. A geometrical curve, resulting from a circle being made to run along a right line, whence the French designate itroulette. But if a circle be made to roll along the circumference of another circle, it becomes anepicycloid(which see).
TROITE. An archaism for the cuttle-fish.
TROLLING. Drawing the bait along the water to imitate the swimming of a real fish; this is generally done by a long line attached to the stern of a sailing-boat. The word of old signified sauntering or idling about.
TROMBONE. A species of blunderbuss for boat service, taking its name from its unseemly trumpet mouth.
TRONA. An article of export from Tripoli and Egypt; thenatronof commerce, andover munnooof the East Indies. Sesqui-carb. of soda mixed with salt and sulphate of soda.
TROOP. A company of cavalry, commanded by a captain, generally from forty to sixty strong. Also, an assembling beat of the drum.—Trooping the guard, orthe colours, are special military ceremonies connected with guard-mounting.—Troop the guard.A ceremony daily practised in large ships by the marines at morning muster.
TROOP-BOATS. Are built with great flatness of floor, with extreme breadth, carried well forward and aft, and possessing the utmost buoyancy, as well as capacity for stowage. They were carried as paddle-box boats (inverted), and thus protected the paddles as well as being ready for use.
TROOP-SHIPS. A class of vessel of excellent account, during war, in thehands of government; far preferable to hired transports for the purpose of conveying soldiers, especially cavalry and their horses. They were usually, in the last French war, 50's and 64's; and with the lower-deck guns taken out, were roomy and airy.
TROPHY. Anything captured from an enemy and shown or treasured as a token of victory.
TROPICAL MOTION.SeeMotion.
TROPICAL REVOLUTION. If the periodic time of a circuit round the sun be taken in reference to the equinoxes or tropics, it is called a tropical revolution.
TROPIC-BIRD.Phaethon æthereus, a well-known sea-bird, distinguished by two very long feathers in its tail; also termedboatswain-bird, from the tail feathers resembling a marline-spike.
TROPICS. Two imaginary lines upon the globe, or lesser circles of the sphere, parallel to the equator, and at 231⁄2° distance on each side of it; they touch the ecliptic at its greatest distances from the equator, and from the boundaries of the sun's declination, north and south.
TROUGH [from the Anglo-Saxontroh]. A small boat broad at both ends. Also, the hollow or interval between two waves, which resembles a broad and deep trench perpetually fluctuating. As the set of the sea is produced by the wind, the waves and the trough are at right angles with it; hence a ship rolls heaviest when she is in the trough of the sea.
TROUL. The action of silt being rolled along by a tide.
TROUNCE,To. To beat or punish. An old word; in Mathew's translation of the Bible, 1537, we find, "The Lord trounced Sisera."
TROUNCER. An old word for a waister.
TROUS DE LOUP. Holes dug in the form of an inverted cone, with a sharp picket or stake in each, to break the march of an enemy's column when advancing to the attack.
TROW. A clinker-built, flat-floored barge used on the Severn, &c. Also, a sort of double boat with an interval between, and closed at the ends; it is used on the Tyne for salmon-fishing, the fisherman standing across the opening, leister in hand, ready to strike the quarry which passes.
TRUCE. The exhibition of a flag of truce has been religiously respected amongst civilized nations. It is a request by signal to desist from farther warfare, until the object of the truce requested has been acceded to or rejected.
TRUCHMAN.SeeTrugman.
TRUCK. A Cornish word for the trough between two surfs. Also, exchange, as fish for grog, &c.
TRUCKLE. A Welsh coracle.
TRUCKS. Pieces of wood of various forms, though mostly round; they are for different purposes, as wheels on which the gun-carriages run.—Trucks of the flag-staves or at the mast-head.Circular caps on the upper mast-heads; they are generally furnished with two or more small sheaves, through which the signal halliards are rove.—Trucks of the parrels.Spherical pieces of wood, termed bull's-eyes, having a hole through them, in which is inserted the rope of the parrel. (SeeParrals.)—Trucks for fair leaders, are similar to bull's-eyes, but are scored to fit the shrouds to which they are seized. The ropes are thus kept from getting jammed between the yards and the rigging; they are also useful, especially at night, as guides to particular ropes.
TRUE ANOMALY.SeeAnomaly.
TRUE-BLUE. A metaphorical term for an honest and hearty sailor: "true to his uniform, and uniformly true."
TRUE-HORIZON.SeeHorizon.
TRUE TIDE. Opposed tocross-tide(which see).
TRUE WATER. The exact depth of soundings.
TRUFF. A west-country name for a trout.
TRUG. A rough basket for carrying chips of timber.