ROPES,High.On the high ropes. To be ceremonious, upstart, invested with brief authority.
ROPE'S END. The termination of a fall, and should be pointed or whipped. Formerly much used for illegal punishment.
ROPE-YARN. The smallest and simplest part of any rope, being one of the large threads of hemp or other stuff, several of which being twisted together form a strand.
ROPING-NEEDLES. Those used for roping, being strong accordingly.
RORQUAL,or Furrowed Whale. A name of Scandinavian origin applied to the fin-back whales, distinguished from the right whales by the small size of their heads, shortness of their whalebone, the presence of a dorsal fin, and of a series of conspicuous longitudinal folds or furrows in the skin of the throat and chest.
ROSE,or Strainer. A plate of copper or lead perforated with small holes, placed on the heel of a pump to prevent choking substances from being sucked in. Roses are also nailed, for the like purpose, upon the holes which are made on a steamer's bottom for the admission of water to the boilers and condensers.
ROSE-LASHING. This lashing is middled, and passed opposite ways; when finished, the ends appear as if coiled round the crossings.
ROSINA. A Tuscan gold coin, value 17s.1d.sterling.
ROSS. A term from the Celtic, signifying a promontory.
ROSTER,or Rollster. A list for routine on any particular duty. (SeeRollster.)
ROSTRAL-CROWN. The naval crown anciently awarded to the individual who first boarded an enemy's ship.
ROSTRUM. A prow; also a stand for a public speaker.
ROTATION. The motion of a body about its axis.
ROTHER. This lineal descendant of the Anglo-Saxonróteris still in use forrudder(which see).
ROTTEN ROW. A line of old ships-in-ordinary inroutineorder.
ROUBLE.SeeRuble.
ROUGH BOOKS. Those in which the warrant officers make their immediate entries of expenditure.
ROUGH-KNOTS,or Rough Nauts. Unsophisticated seamen.
ROUGH MUSIC. Rolling shot about on the lower deck, and other discordant noises, when seamen are discontented, but without being mutinous.
ROUGH-SPARS. Cut timber before being worked into masts, &c.
ROUGH-TREE. An unfinished spar: also a name given in merchant ships to any mast, or other spar above the ship's side; it is, however, with more propriety applied to any, mast, &c., which, remaining rough and unfinished, is placed in that situation.
ROUGH-TREE TIMBER. Upright pieces of timber placed at intervals along the side of a vessel, to support the rough-tree. They are also called stanchions.
ROUND.To bear round up.To go before the wind.—To round a point, is to steer clear of and go round it.
ROUND-AFT. The outward curve or segment of a circle, that the stern partakes of from the wing transom upwards.
ROUND AND GRAPE. A phrase used when a gun is charged at close quarters with round shot, grape, and canister; termed a belly-full.
ROUND DOZEN. A punishment term for thirteen lashes.
ROUND-HOUSE. A name given in East Indiamen and other large merchant ships, to square cabins built on the after-part of the quarter-deck, and having the poop for its roof; such an apartment is frequently called thecoachin ships of war. Round, because one can walk round it. In some trading vessels the round-house is built on the deck, generally abaft the main-mast.
ROUND-IN,To. To haul in on a fall; the act of pulling upon any slack rope which passes through one or more blocks in a direction nearly horizontal, and is particularly applied to the braces, as "Round-in the weather-braces." It is apparently derived from the circular motion of the rope about the sheave or pulley, through which it passes.
ROUNDING. A service wrapped round a spar or hawser. Also, old ropes wound firmly and closely about the layers of that part of a cable which lies in the hawse, or athwart the stem, &c. It is used to prevent the cable from being chafed. (SeeKecklingandService.)
ROUNDING-UP. Is to haul through the slack of a tackle which hangs in a perpendicular direction, without sustaining or hoisting any weighty body.
ROUNDLY. Quickly.
ROUND-RIBBED. A vessel of burden with very little run, and a flattish bottom, the ribs sometimes almost joining the keel horizontally.
ROUND ROBBIN [from the Frenchruban rond]. A mode of signing names in a circular form, after a complaint or remonstrance, so that no one can tell who signed first.
ROUNDS. General discharges of the guns. Cartridges are usually reckoned by rounds, including all the artillery to be used; as, fifty rounds of ammunition. Also, going round to inspect sentinels. The general visiting of the decks made by officers, to see that all is going on right. Also, the steps of a ladder.
ROUND SEAM. The edges or selvedges sewed together, without lapping.
ROUND SEIZING. This is made by a series of turns, with the end passed through the riders, and made fast snugly.In applying this the rope does not cross, but both parts are brought close together, and the seizing crossed.
ROUND SHOT. The cast-iron balls fitting the bores of their respective guns, as distinguished from grape or other shot.
ROUNDS OF THE GALLEY. The opposite of what is termed Coventry; for it is figurative of a man incurring the expressed scorn of his shipmates.
ROUND SPLICE. One which hardly shows itself, from the neatness of the rope and the skill of the splicer. Properly a long splice.
ROUND STERN. Thesegmental stern, the bottom and wales of which are wrought quite aft, and unite in the stern-post: it is now used in our navy, thus securing an after battery for the ship. It had long obtained in the Danish marine.
ROUND THE FLEET. A diabolical punishment, by which a man, lashed to a frame on a long-boat, was towed alongside of every ship in a fleet, to receive a certain number of lashes by sentence of court-martial.
ROUND-TO,To. To bring to, or haul to the wind by means of the helm. To go round, is to tack or wear.
ROUND-TOP. A name which has obtained for modern tops, from the shape of the ancient ones. (SeeTop.)
ROUND-TURNin the Hawse. A term implying the situation of the two cables of a ship, which, when moored, has swung the wrong way three times successively; if after this she come round till her head is directed the same way as at first, this makes around turn and elbow. A round turn is also the passing a rope completely round a timber-head, or any proper thing, in order to hold on. (SeeHolding-on.) Also, to pass a rope over a belaying pin. Also, the bending of any timber or plank upwards, but especially the beams which support the deck, and curve upwards towards the middle of the deck. This is for the purpose of strength, and for the convenience of the run of water to the scuppers.—To round upa fall or tackle, is to gather in the slack; the reverse of overhaul.
ROUND UP OF THE TRANSOMS. That segment of a circle to which they are sided, or of beams to which they are moulded.
ROUNDURE. An old English word for circle.
ROUSE,To. To man-handle. "Rouse in the cable," haul it in, and make it taut.
ROUSE AND BIT. The order to turn out of the hammocks.
ROUST. A word used in the north of Scotland to signify a tumultuous current or tide, occasioned by the meeting of rapid waters. (SeeRoost.)
ROUT. The confusion and disorder created in any body of men when defeated and dispersed.
ROUTE. The order for the movement of a body of men, specifying its various stages and dates of march.
ROUTINE. Unchanging adherence to official system, which, if carried too far in matters of service, often bars celerity, spirit, and consequently success.
ROVE. A rope when passed through a block or sheave-hole.
ROVENS. A corruption ofrope-bands(which see). Also, the ravellings of canvas or buntin.
ROVER. A pirate or freebooter. (SeePirate.) Also, a kind of piratical galley of the Barbary States.
ROVING COMMISSION. An authority granted by the Admiralty to a select officer in command of a vessel, to cruise wherever he may see fit. [From the Anglo-Saxonròwen.]
ROW,To. To propel a boat or vessel by oars or sweeps, which are managed in a direction nearly horizontal. (SeeOar.)
ROW DRY! The order to those who row, not to splash water into the boat.
ROWED OF ALL! The orders for the rowers to cease, and toss their oars into the boat simultaneously, in naval style.
ROW IN THE SAME BOAT,To. To be of similar principles.
ROWL. The iron or wooden shiver, or wheel, for a whip-tackle.
ROWLE. A light crane, formerly much used in clearing boats and holds.
ROWLOCKS. Those spaces in the gunwale, or upper edge of a boat's side, wherein the oars work in the act of rowing.
ROW-PORTS. Certain scuttles or square holes, formerly cut through the sides of the smaller vessels of war, near the surface of the water, for the purpose of rowing them along in a calm or light wind, by heavy sweeps, each worked by several men. (SeeSweeps.)
ROYAL. The name of a light sail spread immediately next above the top-gallant sail, to whose yard-arms the lower corners of it are attached; it used to be termed top-gallant royal, and is never used but in fine weather. Also, the name of a small mortar.
ROYAL FISH. Whales, porpoises, sturgeons, &c., which, when driven on shore, become droits of admiralty.
ROYAL MARINE ARTILLERY. Originally selected from the royal marines, now specially enlisted. (SeeArtillery, Royal Marine.)
ROYAL MARINES.SeeMarines.
ROYAL MERCHANT. A title of the Mediterranean, traders of the thirteenth century, when the Venetians were masters of the sea.
ROYAL MORTAR. A brass one of 51⁄2inches diameter of bore, and 150 lbs. weight, throwing a 24-pounder shell up to 600 yards; most convenient for advanced trenches and boat work.
ROYAL NAVAL RESERVE.SeeNaval Reserve.
ROYALS. A familiar appellation for the marines since the mutiny of 1797, when they were so distinguished for the loyalty and steadiness they displayed. Also calledroyal jollys. (SeeJolly.)
ROYAL STANDARD.SeeStandard.
ROYAL YACHT. A vessel built and equipped expressly for the use of the sovereign.
ROYAL YACHT CLUB. A very useful and honourable association. (SeeYacht Club.)
ROYAL YARD. The fourth yard from the deck, on which the royal is set.
ROYNES. An archaic term for streams, currents, or other usual passages of rivers and running waters.
RUBBER. A small instrument used to rub or flatten down the seams of a sail, in sail-making.
RUBBLE-WORK. A mass of masonry, formed of irregular stones and pebbles imbedded in mortar. It is used in the interior of docks, piers, and other erections, and is opposed to ashlar-work.
RUBLE. A Russian silver coin of 100 kopeks, in value about 3s.2d.sterling, so called fromrubli, a notch; derived from the time when bars of silver, marked with notches at different distances to represent different values, were used in Russia instead of coin, portions of the bar being cut off as required.
RUDDER. The appendage attached by pintles and braces to the stern-post of a vessel, by which its course through the water is governed. It is formed of several pieces of timber, of which the main one is generally of oak, extending the whole length. Tiphys is said to have been its inventor. The Anglo-Saxon name wassteor-roper.
RUDDER BANDSORBRACES. The iron or composition hinges on which a rudder turns.
RUDDER-CASE. The same asrudder-trunk(which see).
RUDDER-CHAINS. Strong copper chains connected with the aft side of the rudder by a span clamp and shackles. They are about 6 feet in length; a hempen pendant is then spliced into the outer link, and allowing for slack to permit the rudder free motion, they are stopped to eye-bolts along the stern-moulding, terminating on the fore-side of the stools of the quarter galleries. They are, when the rudder or tiller is damaged, worked by tackles hooked to the after-channel bolts. But their principal use in later times is to save the rudder if unshipped by striking on a reef or shoal.
RUDDER-CHALDER. The same asgudgeon(which see) andchalder.
RUDDER-CHOCKS.SeeChock.
RUDDER-COAT. A canvas coat affixed to the rudder, encasing the opening in the counter, to prevent the sea from rushing in through the tiller-hole.
RUDDER-GUDGEON. Those secured to a ship are termed braces; gudgeon is more applicable to boats or small vessels.
RUDDER-HEAD. The upper end of the rudder-stock. Also, the flat surface of the trunk, which in cabins and ward-rooms forms a very convenient table.
RUDDER-HORN. A kind of iron crutch bolted to the back of the rudder, for attaching the rudder chains to in case of necessity.
RUDDER-HOUSE. Synonymous withwheel-house.
RUDDER-IRONS. The pintles, gudgeons, and braces of the rudder are frequently so called, though they were usually of copper.
RUDDER-PENDANTS. (SeeRudder-chains.) Hempen pendants fastened to the rudder-chains, for steering in cases of accident, and towing the rudder to prevent its being lost if it gets unshipped.
RUDDER-PINTLES. The hooks attached to the rudder, which enter the braces, and hang it.
RUDDER-RAKE. The aftermost part of the rudder.
RUDDER-STOCK. The main piece of a rudder.
RUDDER-TACKLES. Attached to the rudder-pendants.
RUDDER-TRUNK. A casing of wood fitted or boxed firmly into a cavity in the vessel's counter, called the helm port, through which the rudder-stock is introduced.
RUFFLE. A low vibrating sound of the drum, continuous like the roll, but not so loud: it is used in complimenting officers of rank.
RUFFLERS. Certain fellows who begged about formerly, under pretext of having served in the wars.
RULE OF THUMB. That rule suggested by a practical rather than a scientific knowledge. In common matters it means to estimate by guess, not by weight or measure.
RULES OF THE SEA. Certain practices and regulations as to steerage, which are recognized by seamen as well as by law, in order to prevent the collision of ships, or to determine who has contravened them; precedents in one sense, custom in another.
RULE-STAFF. A lath about 4 inches in breadth, used for curves in ship-building.
RUMBELOW. A very favourite burden to an old sea-song, of which vestiges still remain.
RUMBO. Rope stolen from a royal dockyard.
RUM-GAGGER. A cheat who tells wonderful stories of his sufferings at sea to obtain money.
RUMMAGE. The search by custom-house officers for smuggled goods.
RUN. The distance sailed by a ship. Also, used among sailors to imply the agreement to work a single passage from one place to another, as from Jamaica to England, and so forth.—To make a run.To sway with alacrity.
RUN,Clean. When the after part of a ship's form exhibits a long clean curvature approaching to a wedge.—Full run.When it is otherwise.
RUNof the Ice. In Arctic parlance, implies that the ice is suddenly impelled by a rushing motion, arising from currents at a distance.
RUN,To Lower by the. To let go altogether, instead of lowering with a turn on a cleat or bitt-head.
RUN ATHWART A SHIP'S COURSE,To. To cross her path.
RUN AWAY WITH HER ANCHOR. Said of a ship when she drags or "shoulders" her anchor; drifting away owing to the anchor not holding, for want, perhaps, of sufficient range of cable.
RUN AWAY WITH IT! The order to men on a tackle fall, when light goods are being hoisted in, or in hoisting top-sails, jib, or studding-sails.
RUNDLE. That part of a capstan round which the messenger is wound, including the drumhead. (SeeWhelps.)
RUN DOWN A COAST,To. To sail along it, keeping parallel to or skirting its dangers.
RUN DOWN A VESSEL,To. To pass over, into, or foul her by running against her end-on, so as to jeopardize her.
RUNE [from the Teutonicrennen, to flow]. A water-course.
RUNGS. The same as the floor or ground timbers, and whose ends are the rung-heads. Also, a spoke, and the step or round of a ladder.
RUNLET. A measure of wine, oil, &c., containing eighteen gallons and a half.
RUN-MONEY. The money paid for apprehending a deserter, and charged against his wages. Also, the sum given to seamen for bringing a ship home from the West Indies, or other places, in time of war. Coasters are sometimes paid by the run instead of by the month.
RUNNER-PURCHASE. The addition of a tackle to a single rope, then termed a pendant, passing through a block applied to the object to be moved; as it might be the laniard of a shroud, the end of the runner pendant being fast to some secure fixed object; as in backstays, &c.
RUNNERS. Ships which risk every impediment as to privateers or blockade, to get a profitable market.
RUNNERSof Foreign Goods. Organized smugglers.
RUNNING AGREEMENT. In the case of foreign-going ships making voyages averaging less than six months in duration, running agreements can legally be made with the crew to extend over two or more voyages.
RUNNING-BLOCKS. Those which are made fast to the running rigging or tackles.
RUNNING BOWLINE-KNOT. Is made by taking the end round the standing part, and making a bowline upon its own part.
RUNNING BOWSPRIT. One which is used in revenue cutters and smacks; it can be reefed by sliding in, and has fid holes for that purpose. (SeeSloop.)
RUNNING-DOWN CLAUSE. A special admission into policies of marine insurance, to include the risk of loss or damage in consequence of the collision of the ship insured with other vessels.
RUNNING-DOWN THE PORT. A method practised in the ruder state of navigation, when the longitude was very doubtful, by sailing into its parallel of latitude, and then working for it on its parallel.
RUNNING FOUL. A vessel, by accident or bad steerage, falling in contact with another under sail. (SeeAthwart Hawse.) The law and custom of the sea requires that the ship on the port tack shall bear up and give way to that on the starboard tack. Foreigners observe this general custom. Steamers however are always bound to give way to vessels under canvas, having the power to alter course without altering sails, or endangering the vessel.
RUNNING GOODS. Landing a cargo of contraband articles.
RUNNING OUT,and Running in, the Lower Deck Guns. The old practice of morning and evening evolutions in a line-of-battle ship, wind and weather permitting.
RUNNING PART OF A TACKLE. Synonymous with the fall, or that part on which the man power is applied to produce the intended effect.
RUNNING THE GANTLET.SeeGant-lope(pronouncedgantlet).
RUN OUT A WARP,To. To carry a hawser out from the ship by a boat, and fasten it to some distant place to remove the ship towards that place, or to keep her steady whilst her anchors are lifted, &c.
RUPEE. The well-known coin of the East Indies. There are gold rupees of nearly 30 shillings in value; but the current rupee is of silver, varying a little from 2 shillings, according to its being named Bombay, Arcot, or Sicca.
RUSPONE. A gold Tuscan coin of the value of £1, 8s.7d.sterling.
RUT OF THE SEA. The point of impact where it dashes against anything.
RUT OF THE SHORE. The sea breaking along the coast.
RUTTER,or Routier. The old word for an outline chart for ships' tracks [fromroute]. It was also applied to a journal or log-book; or to a set of sailing instructions, as a directory.
RYDE. A small stream.
RYNE. An Anglo-Saxon word still in use for a water-course, or streamlet which rises high with floods.
S. A bent iron, called a crooked catch, or pot-hook, in anchors, &c.
SABANDER. The familiar ofshah-bander, an eastern title for captain or governor of a port.
SABATINES. Steel coverings for the feet; sometimes slippers or clogs.
SABRE. A sword with a broad and rather heavy blade, thick at the back, and curved towards the point, intended for cutting more than for thrusting.
SABRETACHE. A flat leathern case or pocket suspended at the left side of a cavalry officer's sword-belt.
SACCADE. The sudden jerk of the sails in light winds and a heavy swell.
SACCOLEVA,or Sacolege. A Levantine small craft of great sheer, carrying a sail with an enormous sprit, so called.
SACK,To[from the Anglo-Saxonsæc]. To pillage a place which has been taken by storm.
SACKS OF COALS. The seaman's name for the blackMagellanic clouds, or patches of deep blue sky in the milky-way near the south pole.
SADDLE HILL. A high land visible from the coast, having a centre less elevated than its ends, somewhat like a riding-saddle.
SADDLES. Chocks of notched wood embracing spars, to support others attached to them; thus we have a saddle-crutch for the main or driver boom on the taffarel; another on the bowsprit to support the heel of the jib-boom.
SAFE-CONDUCT. A security passport granted to an enemy for his safe entry and passage through the realm.
SAFEGUARD. Protection given to secure a people from oppression in time of trouble.
SAFETY-KEEL. A construction of keel for further security, by Oliver Lang.
SAFETY-PIN. To secure the head of the capstan-bar.
SAFETY-VALVE. A conical valve on the top of the steam-chest, communicating with the boiler of a steam-engine, and opening outwardly; it is so adapted and loaded, that when the steam in the boiler exceeds its proper pressure, it raises the valve, and escapes by a pipe called the waste steam-pipe.
SAGG,To. To bend or give way from heavy weight; to press down towards the middle; the opposite ofhogging. InMacbeththe word is figuratively applied—
"The mind I sway by, and the heart I bear,Shall never sagg with doubt, nor shake with fear."
SAGGING TO LEEWARD. To drift off bodily to leeward. The movement by which a ship makes a considerable lee-way.
SAGITTA. One of the ancient northern constellations.
SAGITTARII. The name in our records for some small vessels with oars and sails, used in the twelfth century.
SAGITTARIUS. The ninth sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters about the 21st of November.
SAGUM. An ancient military cloak.
SAIC. A sort of Greek ketch, which has no top-gallant nor mizen sails, but still spreads much canvas.
SAIL. The terms applicable to the parts of a sail comprise:—Seaming the cloths together; cutting the gores; tabling and sewing on the reef, belly, lining, and buntline bands, roping, and marling on the clues and foot-rope. Thesquare sailscomprise courses, top-sails, topgallant-sails, royals, skysails on each mast. Thefore and aft, are jibs, staysails, trysails, boom main-sails and fore-sails, gaff top-sails, to which may be added the studding-sails and the flying kites. Also, a distant ship is called a sail.
SAIL BURTON. A purchase extending from topmast-head to deck, for sending sails aloft ready for bending; it usually consists of two single blocks, having thimbles and a hook; a leading block on the slings through which the fall leads to bear the top-sail clear of the top-rim.
SAIL HO! The exclamation used when a strange ship is first discerned at sea—either from the deck or from the mast-head.
SAIL-HOOK. A small hook used for holding the seams of a sail while in the act of sewing.
SAILING. The movement of a vessel by means of her sails along the surface of the water.Sailing, or thesailings, is a term applied to the different ways in which the path of a ship at sea, and the variations of its geographical position, are represented on paper, all which are explained under the various heads of great circle sailing, Mercator's sailing, middle latitude sailing, oblique sailing, parallel sailing, plane sailing.
SAILING,Order of. The general disposition of a fleet of ships when proceeding on a voyage or an expedition. It is generally found most convenient for fleets of ships of war to be formed in three parallel lines or columns. But squadrons of less than ten sail of the line are placed in two lines.
SAILING CAPTAIN. An officer in some navies, whose duties are similar to those of our masters in the royal navy.
SAILING DIRECTIONS. Works supplied by the admiralty to Her Majesty's ships, which advise the navigator as to the pilotage of coasts and islands throughout the world.
SAILING ICE. A number of loose pieces floating at a sufficient distance from each other, for a ship to be able to pick her way among them. Otherwise termedopen ice; when she forces her way, pushing the ice aside, it is termed boring.
SAILING LARGE. With a quartering wind. (SeeLarge.)
SAILING ORDERS. Written instructions for the performance of any proposed duty.
SAIL-LOFT. A large apartment in dockyards where the sails are cut out and made.
SAIL-LOOSERS. Men specially appointed to loose the sails when getting under weigh, or loosing them to dry.
SAIL-MAKER. A qualified person who (with his mates) is employed on board ship in making, repairing, or altering the sails; whence he usually derives the familiar sobriquet ofsails.
SAIL-NETTING. The fore-topmast staysail, main-topmast staysail, and main staysail are generally stowed in the nettings.
SAILOR. A man trained in managing a ship, either at sea or in harbour. A thorough sailor is the same with mariner and seaman, but as every one of the crew is dubbed a sailor, there is much difference in the absolute meaning of the term. (SeeMarinerandSeaman.)
SAILORS' HOME. A house built by subscription, for the accommodation of seamen on moderate terms, and to rescue them from swindlers, crimps, &c. Sailors' homes are a great boon also to shipwrecked mariners. Homes for married seamen and their families are now contemplated, and it is hoped that the admiralty will set the example, by building them for the royal navy, and letting them at moderate rents.
SAILOR'S PLEASURE. A rather hyperbolic phrase for a sailor's overhauling his ditty-bag at a leisure moment, and restowing his little hoard.
SAILS,To Loose. To unfurl them, and let them hang loose to dry; or the movement preparatory to "making sail."—To make sail, to spread the sails to the wind in order to begin the action of sailing, or to increase a ship's speed.—To shorten sail, to take in part of or all the sails, either by reefing or furling, or both.—To strike sail, to lower the upper sails. A gracious mode of salute on passing a foreigner at sea, especially a superior.
SAINT CUTHBERT'S DUCK. TheAnas mollissima; the eider, or great black and white duck of the Farne Islands.
SAINT ELMO'S LIGHT.SeeCompasant.
SAINT SWITHIN. The old notion is, that if it should rain on this bishop's day, the 15th of July, not one of forty days following will be without a shower.
SAKER. A very old gun, 8 or 9 feet long, and of about 5 lbs. calibre: immortalized inHudibras:—
"The cannon, blunderbuss, and saker,He was th' inventer of, and maker."
The name is thought to have been derived from the French oathsacre.
SALADE. An Anglo-Norman term for a light helmet or head-piece.
SALADIN. The first coat-of-arms; so called because the crusaders assumed it in imitation of the Saracens, whose chief at that time was the redoubtable Saladin.
SALAM,To. To salute a superior; a very common term, borrowed from India. Overdoing it does not please Jack, for he dislikes to see his commander "salamming like a captured Frenchman."
SALAMANDER. The heated iron formerly used for firing guns, especially in salutes, as it ensures regularity.
SALE OF COMMISSIONS. The regulated disposal of full-pay, unattached, retired, and half-pay commissions in the army.
SALE OF EFFECTS.SeeEffects, of dead men sold by auction "at the mast."
SALIENT ANGLE. In fortification, one of which the point projects outwards.
SALINAS,or Salines. Salt-ponds, natural or artificial, near the sea-coast.
SALINOMETER. A brine-gauge for indicating the density of brine in the boilers of marine steam-engines, to show when it is necessary to blow off.
SALLY. A sudden expedition out of a besieged place against the besiegers or some part of their works; also called asortie.—To sally.To move a body by jerks or rushes; a sudden heave or set. Thus, when a vessel grounds by the bow or stern, and the hawsers are severely taut, the sally is practised. This is done by collecting all hands at the point aground, and then by a simultaneous rush reaching the part afloat.
SALLY-PORT. An opening cut in the glacis of a place to afford free egress to the troops in case of a sortie. Also, a large port on each quarterof a fire-ship, out of which the officers and crew make their escape into the boats as soon as the train is fired. Also, a place at Portsmouth exclusively set apart for the use of men-of-war's boats. Also, the entering port of a three-decker.
SALMAGUNDI. A savoury sea dish, made of slices of cured fish and onions.
SALMON. The well-known fish,Salmo salar. It is partly oceanic and partly fluviatile, ascending rivers in the breeding season.
SALMON-LADDER. A short trough placed suitably in any fall where the water is tolerably deep, leaving a narrow trough at intervals for the fish to pass through, with barriers to break the force of the water.
SALOON. A name for the main cabin of a steamer or passenger ship.
SALT,or Old Salt. A weather-beaten sailor. One of the old seamen who not only have known but have felt what war was.
SALT-BOX. A case for keeping a temporary supply of cartridges for the immediate use of the great guns; it is under the charge of the cabin-door sentry.
SALT-EEL. A rope's-end cut from the piece for starting thehomo delinquens.
SALT-JUNK. Navy salt beef. (SeeJunk.)
SALTPETRE. The neutral salt; also callednitre(which see).
SALT-PITS. Reservoirs to contain sea-water for the purpose of making salt.
SALUTE. A discharge of cannon or small arms, display of flags, or cheering of men, in deference, by the ships of one nation to those of another, or by ships of the same nation to a superior or an equal. Also, the proper compliment paid by troops, on similar occasions, whether with the sword, musket, or hand.
SALVAGE. Originally meant the thing or goods saved from wreck, fire, or enemies. It now signifies an allowance made to those by whose means the ship or goods have been saved. These cases, when fairly made out, are received with the most liberal encouragement. Goods of British subjects, retaken from the enemy, are restored to the owners, paying for salvage one eighth of the value to ships-of-war; one-sixth to privateers. When a ship is in danger of being stranded, justices of the peace are to command the constables to assemble as many persons as are necessary to preserve it; and on its being thus preserved, the persons assisting therein shall, in thirty days after, be paid a reasonable reward for the salvage; otherwise the ship or goods shall remain in the custody of the officers of the customs as a security for the same.
SALVAGE LOSS. A term in marine insurance implying that the underwriters are liable to pay the amount insured on the property lost in the ship, but taking credit for what is saved.
SALVAGER. One employed on the sea-coast to look to the rights of salvage, wreck, or waif.
SALVO. A discharge from several pieces simultaneously, as a salute.
SALVOR. The person claiming and receiving salvage for having saved aship and cargo, or any part thereof, from impending peril, or recovered after actual loss.
SAMAKEEN. A Turkish coasting trader.
SAMBUCCO. A pinnace common among the Arabs on the east coast of Africa, as at Mombaze, Melinda, &c. The name is remarkable, as Athenæus describes the musical instrumentsambucaas resembling a ship with a ladder placed over it.
SAMPAAN,or Sampan. A neatly-adjusted kind of hatch-boat, used by the Chinese for passengers, and also as a dwelling for Tartar families, with a comfortable cabin.
SAMPHIRE.Crithmum maritimum, a plant found on sea-shores and salt marshes, which forms an excellent anti-scorbutic pickle.
SAMS-CHOO. A Chinese spirit distilled from rice; it is fiery, fetid, and very injurious to European health.
SAMSON'S POST. A movable pillar which rests on its upper shoulder against a beam, with the lower tenons into the deck, and standing at an angle of 15° forward. To this post, at 4 feet above the deck, a leading or snatch-block is hooked, and any fore-and-aft purchase is led by it across the deck to one similar, so that, from the starboard bow to the starboard aft Samson-post, across to the port-post and forward, the whole crew can apply their force for catting and fishing the anchor, or hoisting in or out boats; top-tackle falls, &c., are usually so treated.
SANDAL. A long narrow Barbary boat, of from 15 to 50 tons; open, and fitted with two masts.
SAND-BAGS. Small square cushions made of canvas and painted, for boats' ballast. Also, bags containing about a cubical foot of earth or sand, used for raising a parapet in haste, and making temporary loop-holes for musketry; also, to repair any part beaten down or damaged by the enemy's fire.
SANDANDCORAL BANK. An accumulation of sand and fragments of coral above the surface of the sea, without any vegetation; when it becomes verdant it is called akey(which see).
SAND-DRIFTS. Hillocks of shifting sands, as on the deserts of Sahara, &c.
SANDERLING. A small wading bird,Calidris arenaria.
SAND-HILLS. Mounds of sand thrown up on the sea-shore by winds and eddies. They are mostly destitute of verdure.
SAND-HOPPER. A small creature (Talitra), resembling a shrimp, which abounds on some beaches.
SAND-LAUNCE.Ammodytes tobianus, a small eel-like fish, which buries itself in the sand.
SAND-PIPER. A name applied to many species of small wading birds found on the sea-shore and banks of lakes and rivers, feeding on insects, crustaceans, and worms.
SAND-SHOT. Those cast in moulds of sand, when economy is of more importance than form or hardness; the small balls used in case, grape, &c., are thus produced.
SAND-STRAKE. A name sometimes given to the garboard-strake.
SAND-WARPT. Left by the tide on a shoal. Also, striking on a shoal at half-flood.
SANGAREE. A well known beverage in both the Indies, composed of port or madeira, water, lime-juice, sugar, and nutmeg, with an occasional corrective of spirits. The name is derived from its being blood-red. Also, arrack-punch.
SANGIAC. A Turkish governor; the name is also applied to the banner which he is authorized to display, and has been mistaken for St. Jacques.
SAP. That peculiar method by which a besieger's zig-zag approaches are continuously advanced in spite of the musketry of the defenders; gabions are successively placed in position, filled, and covered with earth, by men working from behind the last completed portion of the trench, the head of which is protected by a moving defence called asap-roller. Its progress is necessarily slow and arduous. There is also theflying sap, used at greater distances, and by night, when a line of gabions is planted and filled by a line of men working simultaneously; and thedouble sap, used when zig-zags are no longer efficient, consisting of two contiguous single saps, back to back, carried direct towards the place, with frequent returns, which form traverses against enfilade; thehalf-double saphas its reverse side less complete than the last.
SARABAND. A forecastle dance, borrowed from the Moors of Africa.
SARACEN. A term applied in the middle ages indiscriminately to all Pagans and Mahometans.
SARDINE.Engraulis meletta, a fish closely allied to the anchovy; found in the Mediterranean and Atlantic.
SARGASSO.Fucus natans, or gulf-weed, the sea-weed always to be found floating in large quantities in that part of the Atlantic south of the Azores, which is not subject to currents, and which is called the Sargasso Sea.
SARKELLUS. An unlawful net or engine for destroying fish. (Inquisit. Justic. anno 1254.)
SAROS.SeeCycle of Eclipses.
SARRAZINE. A rough portcullis.
SARRE. An early name for a long gun, but of smaller dimensions than a bombard.
SASH. A useful mark of distinction worn by infantry and marine officers; it is made of crimson silk, and intended as a waist-band, but latterly thrown over the left shoulder and across the body. Also, now worn by the naval equerries to the queen. Serjeants of infantry wear it of the same colour in cotton.
SASSE. A kind of weir with flood-gate, or a navigable sluice.
SATELLITES. Secondary planets or moons, which revolve about some of the primary planets. The moon is a satellite to the earth.
SATURN. One of the ancient superior planets remarkable for the luminous rings with which his globe is surrounded, and for his being accompanied by no fewer than eight moons.
SAUCER,or Spindle of the Capstan. A socket of iron let into a wooden stock or standard, called the step, resting upon, and bolted to, the beams. Its use is to receive the spindle or foot on which the capstan rests and turns round.
SAUCER-HEADED BOLTS. Those with very flat heads.
SAUCISSON,or Saucisse. A word formerly used for thepowder-hose, a linen tube containing the train of powder to a mine or fire-ship, the slow match being attached to the extremity to afford time for the parties to reach positions of safety.
SAUCISSONS. Faggots, differing from fascines only in that they are longer, and made of stouter branches of trees or underwood.
SAUVE-TETE.SeeSplinter-netting.
SAVANNAH [Sp.Sabana]. A name given to the wonderfully fertile natural meadows of tropical America; the vast plains clear of wood, and covered in general with waving herbage, in the interior of North America, are calledprairies(which see).
SAVE-ALL,or Water-sail. A small sail sometimes set under the foot of a lower studding-sail.
SAW-BILL. A name for the goosander,Mergus merganser.
SAW-BONES. A sobriquet for the surgeon and his assistants.
SAW-FISH. A species of shark (Pristis antiquorum) with the bones of the face produced into a long flat rostrum, with a row of pointed teeth placed along each edge.
SAY-NAY. A Lancashire name for a lamprey.
SAYTH. A coal-fish in its third year.
SCAFFLING. A northern term for an eel.
SCALA. Ports and landing-places in the Levant, so named from the old custom of placing a ladder to a boat to land from. Gang-boards are now used for that purpose.
SCALDINGS! Notice to get out of the way; it is used when a man with a load wishes to pass, and would lead those in his way to think that he was carrying hot water.
SCALE. An old word for commercial emporium, derived fromscala. Also, the graduated divisions by which the proportions of a chart or plan are regulated. Also, the common measures of the sheer-draught, &c. (SeeGunter's Line.)
SCALENE TRIANGLE. That which has all three sides unequal.
SCALING. The act of cleaning the inside of a ship's cannon by the explosion of a reduced quantity of powder. Also, attacking a place by getting over its defences.
SCALING-LADDERS. Those made in lengths which may be carried easily, and quickly fitted together to any length required.
SCAMPAVIA. A fast rowing war boat of Naples and Sicily; in 1814-15 they ranged to 150 feet, pulled by forty sweeps or oars, each man having his bunk under his sweep. They were rigged with one huge lateen at one-third from the stem; no forward bulwark or stem above deck; a longbrass 6-pounder gun worked before the mast, only two feet above water; the jib, set on a gaff-like boom, veered abeam when firing the gun. Abaft a lateen mizen with top-sail, &c.
SCANT. A term applied to the wind when it heads a ship off, so that she will barely lay her course when the yards are very sharp up.
SCANTLING. The dimensions of a timber when reduced to its standard size.
SCAR. In hydrography applies to a cliff; whence are derived the names Scarborough, Scarnose, &c. Also, to rocks bare only at low water, as on the coasts of Lancashire. Also, beds of gravel or stone in estuaries.
SCARBRO' WARNING. Letting anything go by the run, without due notice. Heywood in his account of Stafford's surprise of Scarborough castle, in 1557, says:—