WATCHING A SMOOTH. Looking for a temporary subsidence of the waves of a head-sea, previous to easing down the helm, in tacking ship.
WATCH-SETTING. In the army, retreat, or the time for mounting the night-guards.
WATCH-TACKLE. A small luff purchase with a short fall, the double block having a tail to it, and the single one a hook. Used for various purposes about the decks, by which the watch can perform a duty without demanding additional men.
WATER,To. To fill the casks or tanks; to complete water.
WATERAGE. The charge for using shore-boats.
WATER-BAILIFF. An officer in sea-port towns for the searching of vessels.
WATER-BALLAST. Water when used to stiffen a ship, whether carried in casks, tanks, bags, or otherwise. The iron screw-colliers of the present day have immense tanks constructed in their floors, on the upper part of which the coals rest; when they are discharged, the tanks are allowed to fill with water, which acts as ballast for the return voyage, and is pumped out by the engine as the coals are taken in.
WATER-BARK. A small decked vessel or tank, used by the Dutch for carrying fresh water.
WATER-BATTERY. One nearly on a level with the water—à fleur d'eau; a position of much power when vessels cannot get close to it.
WATER-BEWITCHED. Bad tea,geo-graffy, 5-water grog, and the like greatly diluted drinks.
WATER-BORNE. When a ship just floats clear of the ground. Also, goods carried by sea, or on a river.
WATER-CROW. The lesser cormorant, or shag.
WATER-DOG.SeeWater-gall.
WATER-FLEAS. The groups of crustaceous organisms classed asEntomostraca.
WATER-GAGE. A sea wall or bank. Also, an instrument to measure the depth of inundations.
WATER-GALL. A name of thewind-gall(which see). Shakspeare, in theRape of Lucrece, uses the term thus:—
"And round about her tear-distained eyeBlue circles stream'd, like rainbows in the sky.These water-galls in her dim elementForetell new storms to those already spent."
WATER-GAVEL. A rent paid for fishing in some river, or other benefit derived therefrom.
WATER-GUARD. Custom-house officers employed to prevent fraud on the revenue in vessels arriving at, or departing from, a port.
WATER HIS HOLE. A saying used when the cable is up and down, to encourage the men to heave heartily, and raise the shank of the anchor so that the water may get down by the shank, and relieve the anchor of the superincumbent mud.
WATER-HORSE. Cod-fish stacked up in a pile to drain, under the process of cure.
WATER-LAID ROPE. The same ascablet; it coils against the sun, or to the left hand.
WATER-LINE. In former ships of war, a fine white painted line or bend, representing the deep line of flotation, on the coppered edge.—Load water-line.That which the surface of the water describes on a ship when she is loaded or ready for sea.
WATER-LINE MODEL. The same askey-model(which see).
WATER-LOGGED. The state of a ship full of water, having such a buoyant cargo that she does not sink. In this dangerous and unmanageable situation there is no resource for the crew except to free her by the pumps, or to abandon her by taking to the boats; for the centre of gravity being no longer fixed, the ship entirely loses her stability, and is almost totally deprived of the use of her sails, which may only operate to accelerate her destruction by over-setting her, or pressing her head under water. Timber-laden vessels, water-logged, frequently float for a very long period.
WATER-PADS. Fellows who rob ships and vessels in harbours and rivers.
WATER-PLOUGH. A machine formerly used for taking mud and silt out of docks and rivers.
WATER-SAIL. Asave-all, or small sail, set occasionally under the lower studding-sail or driver-boom, in a fair wind and smooth sea.
WATER-SCAPE. A culvert, aqueduct, or passage for water.
WATER-SHED. A term introduced into geography to denote the dividing ridges in a hilly country. In geology, it implies that the water is shed thence naturally, by the inclination, to the valley base. As regards nautical men in search of water, it is therefore expedient to look for the depressed side of the strata.
WATER-SHOT,or Quarter-shot. When a ship is moored, neither across the tide, nor right up and down, but quartering between both.
WATER-SHUT. An old name for a flood-gate.
WATER-SKY. In Arctic seas, a dark and dull leaden appearance of the atmosphere, the reflected blue of the sea indicating clear water in that direction, and forming a strong contrast to the paleblinkover land or ice.
WATER-SNAKES. A group of snakes (Hydrophis), whose habitat is the sea. Some of them are finely coloured, and generally very like land-snakes, except that their tails are broader, so as to scull or propel them through the water.
WATER-SPACE. The intervening part between the flues of a steamer's boiler.
WATER-SPOUT. A large mass of water collected in a vertical column, and moving rapidly along the surface of the sea. As contact with one has been supposed dangerous, it has been suggested to fire cannon at them, to break the continuity by aërial concussion. In this phenomenon, heat and electricity seem to take an active part, but their cause is not fully explained, and any facts respecting them by observers favourably placedwill help towards further researches into their nature. (SeeWhirlwind.)
WATER-STANG. A spar or pole fixed across a stream.
WATER-STEAD. An old name for the bed of a river.
WATER-STOUP. A northern name for the common periwinkle.
WATER-TAKING. A pond, the water of which is potable.
WATER-TANKS.SeeTank.
WATER-TIGHT. Well caulked, and so compact as to prevent the admission of water. The reverse ofleaky.
WATER-WAYS. Certain deck-planks which are wrought next to the timbers; they serve to connect the sides of a ship to her decks, and form a channel to carry off any water by means of scuppers.
WATER-WAR. A name for the bore or hygre of the Severn.
WATER-WITCH. A name of the dipper.
WATER-WRAITH. Supposed water-spirits, prognosticating evil, in the Shetland Islands.
WATH. A passage or ford through a river.
WATTLES. A kind of hair or small bristles near the mouth and nostrils of certain fish. Also, hurdles made by weaving twigs together.
WAVE [from the Anglo-Saxonwæg]. A volume of water rising in surges above the general level, and elevated in proportion to the wind.
WAVESON. Such goods as after shipwreck appear floating on the waves. (SeeFlotsam.)
WAVING. Signals made by arm or otherwise to a vessel to come near or keep off.
WAY. Is sometimes the same as the ship'srakeorrun, forward or backward, but is most commonly understood of her sailing.Wayis often used forwake. Thus when she begins her motion she is said to beunder way; and when that motion increases, to havefresh-waythrough the water. Hence, also, she is said to havehead-wayorstern-way, togather wayor tolose way, &c. (SeeWind's-way.)—Gangway, means a clear space to pass. The gangway is the side space between the forecastle and quarter-deck.
'WAY ALOFT!or 'Way up!The command when the crew are required aloft to loose, reef, furl sails, or man yards, &c.
WAY-GATE. The tail-race of a mill.
WAYS. Balks laid down for rolling weights along.—Launching-ways.Two parallel platforms of solid timber, one on each side of the keel of a vessel while building, and on which her cradle slides on launching.
WEAL. A wicker basket used for catching eels.
WEAR.SeeWeir.—To wear.(SeeVeer.)
WEAR AND TEAR. The decay and deterioration of the hull, spars, sails, ropes, and other stores of a ship in the course of a voyage.
WEATHER [from the Anglo-Saxonwæder, the temperature of the air]. The state of the atmosphere with regard to the degree of wind, to heat and cold, or to dryness and moisture, but particularly to the first. It is a word also applied to everything lying to windward of a particular situation,hence a ship is said to have the weather-gage of another when further to windward. Thus also, when a ship under sail presents either of her sides to the wind, it is then called theweather-side, and all the rigging situated thereon is distinguished by the same epithet. It is the opposite oflee. To weather anything is to go to windward of it. The land to windward, is a weather shore.
WEATHER-ANCHOR. That lying to windward, by which a ship rides when moored.
WEATHER-BEAM. A direction at right angles with the keel, on the weather side of the ship.
WEATHER-BITT. Is that which holds the weather-cable when the ship is moored.
WEATHER-BOARD. That side of the ship which is to windward.
WEATHER-BOARDS. Pieces of plank placed in the ports of a ship when laid up in ordinary; they are in an inclined position, so as to turn off the rain without preventing the circulation of air.
WEATHER-BORNE. Pressed by wind and sea.
WEATHER-BOUND. Detained by foul winds; our forefathers used the termwæder fæst.
WEATHER-BREEDERS. Certain appearances in the heavens which indicate a gale, as wind-galls, fog-dogs, &c.
WEATHER-CLOTHS. Coverings of painted canvas or tarpaulin, used to preserve the hammocks when stowed, from injury by weather.
WEATHER-COIL. When a ship has her head brought about, so as to lie that way which her stern did before, as by the veering of the wind; or the motion of the helm, the sails remaining trimmed.
WEATHER-COILING. A ship resuming her course after being taken aback; rounding off by a stern-board, and coming up to it again.
WEATHER-EYE. "Keep your weather-eye open," be on your guard; look out for squalls.
WEATHER-GAGE. A vessel has the weather-gage of another when she is to windward of her. Metaphorically, to get the weather-gage of a person, is to get the better of him.
WEATHER-GALL:—
"A weather-gall at morn,Fine weather all gone."
(SeeWind-gall.)
WEATHER-GLASS. A familiar term for the barometer.
WEATHER-GLEAM. A peculiar clear sky near the horizon, with great refraction.
WEATHER-GO. The end of a rainbow, as seen in the morning in showery weather.
WEATHER-HEAD. The secondary rainbow.
WEATHER-HELM. A ship is said to carry a weather-helm when she is inclined to gripe, or come too near the wind, and therefore requires the helm to be kept constantly a little to windward.
WEATHER-LURCH. A heavy roll to windward.
WEATHERLY. Said of a well-trimmed ship with a clean bottom, when she holds a good wind, and presents such lateral resistance to the water, that she makes but little lee-way while sailing close-hauled.
WEATHER ONE'S DIFFICULTIES,To. A colloquial phrase meaning to contend with and surmount troubles.
WEATHER-ROLLS. Those inclinations, so inviting to coming waves, which a ship makes to windward in a heavy sea; the sudden rolls which she makes to leeward being termed lee-lurches.
WEATHER-ROPES. An early term for those which were tarred.
WEATHER-SHEETS. Those fast to the weather-clues of the sails.—"Haul over the weather-sheets forward," applies to the jib when a vessel has got too close to the wind and refuses to answer her helm.
WEATHER-SHORE. The shore which lies to windward of a ship.
WEATHER-SIDE. That side of a ship on which the wind blows; it is the promenade for superior officers. (See also its synonymWindward.)
WEATHER THE CAPE,To. To become experienced; as it implies sailing round Cape Horn, or the Cape of Good Hope.
WEATHER-TIDE. The reverse oflee-tide. That which, running contrary to the direction of the wind, by setting against a ship's lee-side while under sail, forces her up to windward.
WEATHER-WARNING. The telegraphic cautionary warning given by hoisting the storm-drum on receiving the forecast.
WEATHER-WHEEL. The position of the man who steers a large ship, from his standing on the weather-side of the wheel.
WEAVER. One of the popular names of the fishTrachinus vipera.
WEDGE [from the Anglo-Saxonwege]. A simple but effective mechanical force; a triangular solid on which a ship rests previous to launching. Many of the wedges used in the building and repairing of vessels are calledsett-wedges.
WEDGE-FIDS. For top and top-gallant masts; in two parts, lifting by shores and sett-wedges. (SeeSetting-up.)
WEDGE-SHAPED GULF. One which is wide at its entrance, and gradually narrows towards its termination, as that of California.
WEDGING UP. Gaining security by driving wedges.
WEED,To. To clear the rigging of stops, rope-yarns, and pieces of oakum.
WEEKLY ACCOUNT. A correct return of the whole complement made every week when in harbour to the senior officer. Also, a sobriquet for the white patch on a midshipman's collar.
WEEL. A kind of trap-basket, or snare, to catch fish, made of twigs and baited; contrived similarly to a mouse-trap, so that fish have a ready admittance, but cannot get out again.
WEEPING. The oozing of water in small quantities through the seams of a ship.
WEEVIL [from the Anglo-Saxonwefl].Curculio, a coleopterous insect which perforates and destroys biscuit, wood,&c.
WEFT.SeeWaft.
WEIGH,To[from the Anglo-Saxonwoeg]. To move or carry. Applied to heaving up the anchor of a ship about to sail, but also to the raising any great weight, as a sunken ship, &c.
WEIGHAGE. The charge made for weighing goods at a dock.
WEIGH-SHAFT. In the marine-engine, the same aswiper-shaft.
WEIGHT-NAILS. Somewhat similar to deck-nails, but not so fine, and with square heads; for fastening cleats and the like.
WEIGHT OF METAL. The weight of iron which the whole of the guns are capable of projecting at one round from both sides when single-shotted. (SeeBroadside Weight.)
WEIR. An old word for sea-weed. Also, a fishing inclosure; and again, a dam, or strong erection across a river, to divert its course.
WELD,To. To join pieces of iron or other metal by placing in contact the parts heated almost to fusion, and hammering them into one mass.
WELKIN [from, the Anglo-Saxon,weal can]. The visible firmament.
"One cheer more to make the welkin ring."
WELL [from the Anglo-Saxonwyll]. A bulk-headed inclosure in the middle of a ship's hold, defending the pumps from the bottom up to the lower deck from damage, by preventing the entrance of ballast or other obstructions, which would choke the boxes or valves in a short time, and render the pumps useless. By means of this inclosure the artificers may likewise more readily descend into the hold, to examine or repair the pumps, as occasion requires.
WELL,or Trunk of a Fishing-vessel. A strong compartment in the middle of the hold, open to the deck, but lined with lead on every side, and having the bottom perforated with small holes through the floor, so that the water may pass in freely, and thus preserve the fish alive which are put into it. Lobster-boats are thus fitted.
WELL-CABINS. Those in brigs and small vessels, which have no after-windows or thorough draught.
WELL-END.SeePump-foot.
WELL FARE YE, MY LADS! An exclamation of approbation to the men at a hard heave or haul.
WELL FOUND. Fully equipped.
WELL-GROWN. A term implying that the grain of the wood follows the shape required, as in knee-timber and the like.
WELL OFF,To. A mode of shutting off a leak by surrounding it by timbers screwed home through the lining to the timbers, and carrying up this trunk, like a log-hut, above the water-line.
WELL-ROOMof a Boat. The place in the bottom where the water lies, between the ceiling and the platform of the stern-sheets, from whence it is baled into the sea.
WELL THERE, BELAY! Synonymous withthat will do.
WELSHMAN'S BREECHES.SeeDutchman's Breeches.
WEND A COURSE,To. To sail steadily on a given direction.
WENDING. Bringing the ship's head to an opposite course. Turning as a ship does to the tide.
WENTLE. An old term signifying to roll over.
WENTLE-TRAP. TheScalaria pretiosa, a very elegant univalve shell, much valued by collectors.
WEST-COUNTRY PARSON. A fish, the hake (Gadus merluccius), is so called, from a black streak on its back, and from its abundance along our western coast.
WESTER,or Waster. A kind of trident used for striking salmon in the north.
WESTING. This term in navigation means the distance made by course or traverses to the westward; or the sun after crossing the meridian.
WESTWARD [Anglo-Saxonweste-wearde].—Westward-hoe.To the west! It was one of the cries of the Thames watermen.
WEST WIND. This and its collateral, the S.W., prevail nearly three-fourths of the year in the British seas, and though boisterous at times, are very genial on the whole.
WET. The owners and master of a ship are liable for all damage by wet. (SeeStowage.)
WET-BULB THERMOMETER. One of which the bulb is kept moist by the capillary attraction of cotton fibres from an attached reservoir.
WET-DOCK. A term used forfloat(which see), and alsodock.
WETHERS. The flukes or hands of a harpoon.
WETTING A COMMISSION. Giving an entertainment to shipmates on receiving promotion.
WHALE. A general term for various marine animals of the orderCetacea, including the most colossal of all animated beings. From their general form and mode of life they are frequently confounded with fish, from which, however, they differ essentially in their organization, as they are warm-blooded, ascend to the surface to breathe air, produce their young alive, and suckle them, as do the land mammalia. The cetacea are divided into two sections:—1. Those having horny plates, called baleen, or "whalebone," growing from the palate instead of teeth, and including theright whalesandrorquals, orfinnersandhump-backs(see these terms). 2. Those having true teeth and no whalebone. To this group belong the sperm-whale, and the various forms of bottle-noses, black-fish, grampuses, narwhals, dolphins, porpoises, &c. To the larger species of many of these the term "whale" is often applied.
WHALE-BIRD. A beautiful little bird seen hovering in flocks over the Southern Ocean, in search of the small crustaceans which constitute their food.
WHALE-BOAT. A boat varying from 26 to 56 feet in length, and from 4 to 10 feet beam, sharp at both ends, and admirably adapted to the intended purpose, combining swiftness of motion, buoyancy, and stability.
WHALE-CALF. The young whale.
WHALE-FISHERIES. The places at which the capture of whales, or "whale-fishery," is carried on. The principal are the coasts of Greenland and Davis Straits, for the northern right whale; Bermuda, for hump-backs; the Cape of Good Hope and the Australian seas, for the southern right whale; the North Pacific, for the Japanese right whale; and various places in the intertropical and southern seas, for the sperm-whale. But the constant persecution to which these animals are subjected causes a frequent change in their habitats. They have been nearly exterminated, or rendered so scarce as not to be worth following, in many districts where they formerly most abounded, and in order to make the trade remunerative, new grounds have to be continually sought. Maury's "whale charts" give much valuable information on this subject.
WHALER. A name for a vessel employed in the whale-fisheries.
WHALE'S FOOD. The name given in the North Sea to theClio borealis, a well-known mollusk, on which whales feed.
WHANGERS,or Cod-whangers. Fish-curers of Newfoundland. An old term for a large sword.
WHAPPER. The largest of the turtle kind, attaining 7 or 8 cwts., off Ascension. [The name is supposed to be derived fromguapa, Sp., grand or fine.] (SeeLoggerhead.)
WHARF,or Quay. An erection of wood or stone raised on the shore of a road or harbour for the convenience of loading or discharging vessels by cranes or other means. A wharf is of course built stronger or slighter in proportion to the effort of the tide or sea which it is intended to resist, and the size of vessels using it.—Wharf, in hydrography, is a scar, a rocky or gravelly concretion, or frequently a sand-bank, as Mad Wharf in Lancashire, where the tides throw up dangerous ripples and overfalls.
WHARFAGE DUES. The dues for landing or shipping goods at a wharf; customs charges in particular. Thus for goods not liable to duty, and forcibly taken for examination, wharfage charges are demanded even from a ship of war!
WHARFINGER. He who owns or keeps a wharf and takes account of all the articles landed thereon or removed from it, for which he receives a certain fee.
WHARF-STEAD. A ford in a river.
WHAT CHEER, HO? Equivalent among seamen to,How fare ye?
WHAT SHIP IS THAT? A question often put when ajaw-breakingword has been intrusively uttered bysavants.
WHAT WATER HAVE YOU? The question to the man sounding, as to the depth of water which the lead-line gives.
WHAUP. The larger curlew,Numenius arquatus.
WHEAT. An excellent article for sea-diet; boiled with a proportion of molasses, it makes a most nutritious breakfast. As it stows well, and would even yield nearly the same weight in bread, it should be made an article of allowance.
WHEEL. A general name for the helm, by which the tiller and rudderare worked in steering the ship; it has a barrel, round which the tiller-ropes or chains wind, and a wheel with spokes to assist in moving it.
WHEEL AND AXLE. A well-known mechanical power, to which belong all turning or wheel machines, as cranes, capstans, windlasses, cranks, &c.
WHEEL-HOUSE. A small round-house erected in some ships over the steering-wheel for the shelter of the helmsman.
WHEEL-LOCK. A small machine attached to the old musket for producing sparks of fire.
WHEEL-ROPES. Ropes rove through a block on each side of the deck, and led round the barrel of the steering-wheel. Chains are also used for this purpose.
WHEELS.SeeTrucks.
WHEFT. More commonly writtenwaft(which see). Althoughwheftis given in the official signal-book, bibliophilists ignore the term.
WHELK. A well-known shell-fish,Buccinum undatum.
WHELPS. The brackets or projecting parts which rise out of the barrel or main body of the capstan, like buttresses, to enlarge the sweep, so that a greater portion of the cable, or whatever rope encircles the barrel, may be wound about it at one turn without adding much to the weight of the capstan. The whelps reach downwards from the lower part of the drumhead to the deck. The pieces of wood bolted on the main-piece of a windlass, or on a winch, for firm holding, and to prevent chafing, are also called whelps.
WHERE AWAY? In what bearing? a question to the man at the mast-head to designate in what direction a strange sail lies.
WHERRY. A name descended from the Romanhoria, theoareof our early writers. It is now given to a sharp, light, and shallow boat used in rivers and harbours for passengers. The wherries allowed to ply about London are either scullers worked by one man with two sculls, or by two men, each pulling an oar. Also, a decked vessel used in fishing in different parts of Great Britain and Ireland: numbers of them were notorious smugglers.
WHETHER OR NO, TOM COLLINS. A phrase equivalent to, "Whether you will or not, such is my determination, not to be gainsaid."
WHICH WAY DOES THE WIND LIE? What is the matter?
WHIFF. TheRhombus cardina, a passable fish of the pleuronect genus. Also, a slight fitful breeze or transient puff of wind.
WHIFFING. Catching mackerel with a hook and line from a boat going pretty fast through the water.
WHIFFLERS. The old term for fifers, preceding the body of archers who cleared the way, but more recently applied to very trifling fellows. Smollett named Captain Whiffle in contempt.
WHIMBREL. The smaller species of curlew,Numenius phæopus.
WHIMSEY. A small crane for hoisting goods to the upper stories of warehouses.
WHINYARD. A sort of hanger, serving both as a weapon and a knife. An archaism for a cutlass. See the Gentleman in theCobler of Canterburie, 1590:—
"His cloake grew large and sid,And a faire winniard by his side."
WHIP. A single rope rove through a single block to hoist in light articles. Where greater and steadier power is demanded, a block is added, and the standing part is made fast near the upper block. Thus it becomesa double whip.—To whip.To hoist by a whip. Also, to tie twine, whipping fashion, round the end of a rope to prevent its untwisting.
WHIP,or Whip-staff. A strong staff fastened into the helm for the steersman to move the rudder thereby.
WHIP-JACK. An old term, equivalent to fresh-water sailor, or a sham-shipwrecked tar. (SeeTurnpike-sailors.)
WHIPPERS. Men who deliver the cargoes of colliers in the river Thames into lighters.
WHIPPING-TWINE. Used to whip the ends of ropes.
WHIP-RAY. A ray with a long tail ending in a very fine point. It is armed with a dangerous serrated spine, jagged like a harpoon. Called alsosting-rayandstingaree.
WHIP-SAW. The largest of that class of useful instruments, being that generally used at the saw-pit.
WHIP UPON WHIP. A sort of easy purchase, much used in colliers. It consists of one whip applied to the falls of another.
WHIRL,or Rope-winch. Small hooks fastened into cylindrical pieces of wood which communicate by a leather strap with a spoke-wheel, whereby three of them are set in motion at once. Used for spinning yarn for ropes. Now more commonly made of iron.
WHIRLER,or Troughton's Top. An ingenious instrument invented by Troughton, and intended to serve as an artificial horizon at sea; but it was found that its centrifugal force was incapable of counteracting the ordinary motion of a ship.
WHIRLPOOL. An eddy or vortex where the waters are continually rushing round. In rivers they are very common, from various accidents, and are usually of little consequence. In the sea they are more dangerous, as the classical Charybdis, and the celebrated Maelstrom and Saltenstrom, both on the coast of Norway.
WHIRLWIND. A revolving current of wind of small diameter that rises suddenly, but is soon spent.
WHISKERS. Two booms, half-yards, or iron spars projecting on each side before the cat-heads; they are for spreading the guys of the jib-boom, instead of having a spritsail-yard across. In many vessels the sprit-sail (then termed spread-yard) is lashed across the forecastle so as to rest before the cat-heads on the gunwale, and the guys rove through holes bored in it, and set up in the fore-channels.
WHISTLE. From the Ang.-Sax.wistl. (SeeCall.)
WHISTLE FOR THE WIND,To. A superstitious practice among old seamen, who are equally scrupulous to avoid whistling during a heavy gale.—To wet one's whistle.To take a drink. Thus Chaucer tells us that the miller of Trumpington's lady had
"Hir joly whistle wel ywette."
WHISTLING PSALMS TO THE TAFFRAIL. Expending advice to no purpose.
WHITE BAITORBITE. TheClupea alba, a well-known fish caught in the Thames, but strictly a sea-fish, erroneously held to be mere fry till 1828, when Yarrell raised it to the rank of a perfect fish.
WHITE BOOT-TOP. A painted white line carried fore and aft on the hammock-netting base. It gives a longer appearance to a ship.
WHITE CAPS. Waves with breaking crests, specially between the east end of Jamaica and Kingston; but obtaining generally when the sea-breeze, coming fresh over the waves, and travelling faster, turns their tops: termed alsowhite-horses.
WHITE FEATHER. The figurative symbol of cowardice: a white feather in a cock's tail being considered a proof of cross-breeding.
WHITE-FISH. A fish of the salmon family, found in the lakes of North America; also a name of thehard-head(which see). It is a general name for ling, cod, tusk, haddock, halibut, and the like, and for roach, dace, &c., from the use of their scales to form artificial pearls. Also applied to the beluga or white whale (Beluga leucas), a cetacean found in the Arctic seas and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is from 12 to 15 feet long.
WHITE-HERRING. A pickled herring in the north, but in other parts a fresh herring is so called.
WHITE-HORSE. A name of theRaia fullonica. (See alsoWhite Caps.)
WHITE-LAPPELLE. A sobriquet for a lieutenant, in allusion to his former uniform. (SeeLappelle.)
WHITE-ROPE. Rope which has not been tarred. Manilla, coir, and some other ropes, do not require tarring.
WHITE SQUALL. A tropical wind said to give no warning; it sweeps the surface with spoon-drift.
WHITE-TAPE. A term amongst smugglers for hollands or gin.
WHITE-WATER. That which is seen over extensive sandy patches, where, owing to the limpidity and shallowness of the sea, the light of the sky is reflected.
WHITING. The name given in Cumberland to theSalmo albus, or white salmon. Also theGadus merlangus, both split or dried.
WHITTLE [from the Anglo-Saxonhwytel]. A knife; also used for a sword, but contemptuously.—To whittle.To cut sticks.
WHITWORTH GUN. A piece rifled by having a twisted hexagonal bore, and throwing a more elongated shot with a sharper twist than the Armstrong gun, with results experimentally more beautiful, but not yet so practically useful.
WHO COMES THERE? The night challenge of a sentry on his post.
WHOLE-MOULDING. The old method of forming the principal part of a vessel. Boats are now the only vessels in which this method is practised.
WHOLESOME SHIP. One that will try, hull, and ride well, without heavy labouring in the sea.
WHOODINGS. Those ends of planks which are let into the rabbets of the stem, the stern-posts, &c. (SeeRabbetandHood-ends.)
WHO SAYS AMEN? Who will clap on with a will?
WHO SHALL HAVE THIS? An impartial sea method of distributing the shares of short commons. One person turns his back on the portions, and names some one, when he is asked, "Who shall have this?"
WICH. A port, as Harwich, Greenwich, &c.
WICK [Anglo-Saxonwyc]. A creek, bay, or village, by the side of a river.
WICKET. A small door in the gate of a fortress, for use by foot-passengers when the gate is closed.
WIDDERSHINS. A northern term signifying a motion contrary to the course of the sun. The Orkney fishermen consider themselves in imminent danger at sea, if, by accident, their vessel is turnedagainst the sun.
WIDE-GAB. A name of theLophius piscatorius, toad-fish, or fishing-frog.
WIDOWS' MEN. Imaginary sailors, formerly borne on the books as A.B.'s for wages in every ship in commission; they ceased with the consolidated pay at the close of the war. The institution was dated 24 Geo. II. to meet widows' pensions; the amount of pay and provisions for two men in each hundred was paid over by the paymaster-general of the navy to the widows' fund.
WILD. A ship's motion when she steers badly, or is badly steered. Awild roadsteadimplies one that is exposed to the wind and sea.
WILDFIRE. A pyrotechnical preparation burning with great fierceness, whether under water or not; it is analogous to the ancient Greek fire, and is composed mainly of sulphur, naphtha, and pitch.
WILD-WIND. An old term forwhirlwind.
WILL,With a. With all zeal and energy.
WILL. A term on our northern shores for a sea-gull.
WILLICK. A northern name for theFratercula arctica, or puffin.
WILLIE-POURIT. A northern name for the seal.
WILLIWAW. A sort of whirlwind, occurring in Tierra del Fuego.
WILLOCK. A name for the guillemot,Uria troile.
WIMBLE. The borer of a carpenter's centre-bit.
WINCH [from the Anglo-Saxonwince]. A purchase formed by a shaft whose extremities rest in two channels placed horizontally or perpendicularly, and furnished with cranks, or clicks, and pauls. It is employed as a purchase by which a rope or tackle-fall may be more powerfully applied than when used singly. A small one with a fly-wheel is used for making ropes and spun-yarn. Also, a support to the windlass ends. Also, the name of long iron handles by which the chain-pumps are worked. Also,a small cylindrical machine attached to masts or bitts in vessels, for the purpose of hoisting anything out of the hold, warping, &c.
WINCH-BITTS. The supports near their ends.
WIND [precisely the Anglo-Saxon word]. A stream or current of air which may be felt. The horizon being divided into 32 points (seeCompass), the wind which blows from any of them has an assignable name.
WINDAGE. The vacant space left between a shot and the bore of the piece to which it belongs, generally expressed by the difference of their diameters; it is for facility of loading, but the smaller it is the better will be the performance of the gun.
WIND AND WATER LINE. That part of a ship lying at the surface of the water which is alternately wet and dry by the motion of the waves.
WIND A SHIPORBOAT,To. To change her position by bringing her stern round to the place where the head was. (SeeWending.)
WIND AWAY,To. To steer through narrow channels.
WIND-BANDS. Long clouds supposed to indicate bad weather.
WIND-BOUND. Detained at an anchorage by contrary winds.
WIND-FALL. A violent gust of wind rushing from coast-ranges and mountains to the sea. Also, some piece of good luck, a turtle, fish, vegetables, or a prize.
WIND-GAGE.SeeAnemometer.
WIND-GALL. A luminous halo on the edge of a distant cloud, where there is rain, usually seen in the wind's eye, and looked upon as a sure precursor of stormy weather. Also, an atmospheric effect of prismatic colours, said likewise to indicate bad weather if seen to leeward.
WINDING A CALL. The act of blowing or piping on a boatswain's whistle, to communicate the necessary orders. (SeeCall.)
WINDING-TACKLE. A tackle formed of one fixed triple three-sheaved block, and one double or triple movable block. It is principally used to hoist any weighty materials, as the cannon, into or out of a ship.
WINDING-TACKLE PENDANT. A strong rope made fast to the lower mast-head, and forming the support of the winding-tackle.
WIND IN THE TEETH. Dead against a ship.
WINDLASS [from the Ang.-Sax.windles]. A machine erected in the fore-part of a ship which serves to ride by, as well as heave in the cable. It is composed of the carrick-heads or windlass-heads, which are secured to all the deck-beams beneath, and backed by long sleeper knees on deck. The main-piece is whelped like the capstan, and suspended at its ends by powerful spindles falling into metal bearings in the carrick or windlass heads. Amidships it is supported by chocks, where it is also furnished with a course of windlass-pawls, four taking at separate angles on a main ratchet, and bearing on one quadrant of the circumference. The cables have three turns round this main-piece (one cable on each side): holes are cut for the windlass-bars in each eighth of the squared sides. The windlass may be said also to be supported or reinforced by the pawl-bitts, two powerful bitt-heads at the centre.—Spanish windlass.A machine formedof a handspike and a small lever, usually a tree-nail, or a tree-nail and a marline-spike, to set up the top-gallant rigging, heave in seizings, or for any other short steady purchase.
WINDLASS-BITTS.SeeCarrick-bitts.
WINDLASS-CHOCKS. Those pieces of oak or elm fastened inside the bows of small craft, to support the ends of the windlass.
WINDLASS-ENDS. Two pieces which continue the windlass outside the bitt-heads.
WINDLASS-LINING. Pieces of hard wood fitted round the main-piece of a windlass to prevent chafing, and also to enable the cable to hold on more firmly.
WINDLESTRAY. A sort of bent or seaside grass.
WINDLIPPER. The first effects of a breeze of wind on smooth water, before waves are raised.
WIND-RODE. A ship is wind-rode when the wind overcomes an opposite tidal force, and she rides head to wind.
WINDS.Localorpeculiar.—Trade-windsoccur within and beyond the tropical parallels. They are pretty regular in the North Atlantic, as far as 5° N., where calms may be expected, or the south-east trade may reach across, depending on the season; but when near land they yield to theland and sea breezes. Thus at 10° N. the land-breeze will be at E. from 11P.M.until 6A.M., then calm intervenes up to 10A.M., when the sea-breeze sets in, probably W., and blows home fresh. Yet at 20 miles off shore the trade-wind may blow pretty strong from N.E. or E.N.E.—Theharmattanis a sudden dry wind blowing off the coast of Africa, so charged with almost impalpable dust that the sun is obscured. It sucks up all moisture, cracks furniture and earthenware, and prostrates animal nature. The rigging of vessels becomes a dirty brown, and the dust adhering to the blacking cannot be removed.—Thetornadolasts for a short time, but is of great force during its continuance.—Thenorthersin the Gulf of Mexico, or off the Heads of Virginia, are not only very heavy gales, but are attended with severe cold. On a December day, off Galveston, the temperature in a calm was at sunset 86°. The norther came on about midnight, and at 8A.M.the temperature had fallen to 12°, and icicles were hanging from the eaves of the houses. TheTiempo di Vendavales, or southers of Western America, is an opposite, blowing heavily home to the coast. Thetaifungof China, or typhoon of the Indian seas, is indeed precisely similar to the hurricane of the West Indies.
WIND-SAIL. A funnel of canvas employed to ventilate a ship by conveying a stream of fresh air down to the lower decks. It is suspended by a whip through the hatchways, and kept open by means of hoops; the upper part is also open on one side, and guyed to the wind. Ships of war in hot climates have generally three or four of these wind-sails.
WIND-TAUT. A vessel at anchor, heeling over to the force of the wind.
WIND-TIGHT. A cask or vessel to contain water is said to be wind-tight and water-tight.
WINDWARD. The weather-side; that on which the wind blows; the opposite ofleeward(which see). Old sailors exhort their neophytes to throw nothing over the weather-side except ashes or hot water: a hint not mistakable.
WINDWARD SAILING,or Turning to Windward. That mode of navigating a ship in which she endeavours to gain a position situated in the direction whence the wind is blowing. In this case progress is made by frequent tacking, and trimming sail as near as possible to the wind.
WINDWARD SET. The reverse ofleeward set.
WINDWARD TIDE.SeeWeather-tide.
WINE OF HEIGHT. A former perquisite of seamen on getting safely through a particular navigation.
WING. The projecting part of a steamer's deck before and abaft each of the paddle-boxes, bounded by thewing-wale.
WING-AND-WING. A ship coming before the wind with studding-sails on both sides; also said of fore-and-aft vessels, when they are going with the wind right aft, the fore-sail boomed out on one side, and the main-sail on the other.
WINGERS. Small casks stowed close to the side in a ship's hold, where the large casks would cause too great a rising in that part of the tier.
WINGS. Those parts of the hold and orlop-deck which are nearest to the sides. This term is particularly used in the stowage of the several materials contained in the hold, and between the cable-tiers and the ship's sides. In ships of war they are usually kept clear, that the carpenter and his crew may have access round the ship to stop shot-holes in time of action. Also, the skirts or extremities of a fleet, when ranged in a line abreast, or when forming two sides of a triangle. It is usual to extend the wings of a fleet in the daytime, in order to discover any enemy that may fall in their track; they are, however, generally summoned by signal to form close order before night. In military parlance, the right and left divisions of a force, whether these leave a centre division between them or not.—Wing-transom.The uppermost transom in the stern-frame, to which the heels of the counter-timbers are let on and bolted.
WING UP BALLAST,To. To carry the dead weight from the bottom as high as consistent with the stability of a ship, in order to ease her quick motion in rolling.
WING-WALE. A thick plank extending from the extremity of a steamer's paddle-beam to her side; it is also designated thesponson-rim.
WINNOLD-WEATHER. An eastern-county term for stormy March weather.
WINTER-FISH. This term generally alludes to cured cod and ling.
WINTER-QUARTERS. The towns or posts occupied during the winter by troops who quit the campaign for the season. Also, the harbour to which a blockading fleet retires in wintry gales. In Arctic parlance, the spot where ships are to remain housed during the winter months—from the 1st October to the 1st July or August.
WINTER-SOLSTICE.SeeCapricornus.
WIPER. A cogged contrivance in machinery by which a rotatory motion is converted into a reciprocating motion.
WIPER-SHAFT. An application to the valve equipoise of a marine-engine: their journals or bearings lie in bushes, which are fixed upon the frame of the engine.
WIRE-MICROMETER. An instrument necessary for delicate astronomical measurements. It contains vertical and horizontal wires, or spider-lines, acting in front of a comb or scale for distances, and on a graduated circle on the screw-head for positions.
WIRE-ROPE. Rigging made of iron wire galvanized, and laid up like common cordage.
WISBUY LAWS. A maritime code which, though framed at a town in the now obscure island of Gothland, in the Baltic, was submissively adopted by Europe.
WISHES [from the Britishusk, water]. Low lands liable to be overflowed.
WISHY-WASHY. Any beverage too weak. Over-watered spirits.