A

• Above board: On or above the deck, in plain view, not hiding anything.
• Above-water hull: The hull section of a vessel above the waterline, the visible part of a ship. Also, topsides
  Topsides
  On an offshore oil platform, Topsides refers to the surface hardware installed. This includes the oil production plant, the accommodation block and the drilling rig...
  
  .
• Act of Pardon, Act of Grace: A letter from a state or power authorising action by a privateer
  Privateer
  A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
  
  . Also see Letter of marque
  Letter of marque
  In the days of fighting sail, a Letter of Marque and Reprisal was a government licence authorizing a person to attack and capture enemy vessels, and bring them before admiralty courts for condemnation and sale...
  
  .
• Abaft: Toward the stern, relative to some object ("abaft the fore hatch").
• Abaft the beam: Further aft than the beam: a relative bearing of greater than 90 degrees from the bow: "two points abaft the port beam".
• Abandon ship!: An imperative to leave the vessel immediately, usually in the face of some imminent danger. It is an order issued by the Master or a delegated person in command. It is usually the last resort after all other mitigating actions have failed.
• Abeam: On the beam, a relative bearing at right angles to the centerline of the ship's keel
  Keel
  In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
  
  .
• "Abel Brown
  Barnacle Bill (song)
  "Barnacle Bill the Sailor" is an American drinking song adapted from "Bollocky Bill the Sailor", a traditional folk song originally titled "Abraham Brown"....
  
  ": A sea shanty
  Sea shanty
  A shanty is a type of work song that was once commonly sung to accompany labor on board large merchant sailing vessels. Shanties became ubiquitous in the 19th century era of the wind-driven packet and clipper ships...
  
   (song) about a young sailor trying to sleep with a maiden.
• Aboard: On or in a vessel (see also "close aboard").
• Absentee pennant: Special pennant flown to indicate absence of commanding officer, admiral, his chief of staff, or officer whose flag is flying (division, squadron, or flotilla
  Flotilla
  A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...
  
   commander).
• Absolute bearing
  Absolute bearing
  In nautical navigation the absolute bearing is the clockwise angle between north and an object observed from the vessel. If the north used as reference is the true geographical north then the bearing is a true bearing whereas if the reference used is magnetic north then the bearing is a magnetic...
  
  : The bearing of an object in relation to north. Either true bearing, using the geographical or true north
  True north
  True north is the direction along the earth's surface towards the geographic North Pole.True geodetic north usually differs from magnetic north , and from grid north...
  
  , or magnetic bearing, using magnetic north
  Magnetic declination
  Magnetic declination is the angle between magnetic north and true north. The declination is positive when the magnetic north is east of true north. The term magnetic variation is a synonym, and is more often used in navigation...
  
  . See also "bearing" and "relative bearing".
• Accommodation ladder
  Accommodation ladder
  An accommodation ladder is a portable flight of steps down a ship's side.Accommodation ladders can be mounted parallel or perpendicular to the ship's board. If the ladder is parallel to the ship, it has to have an upper platform. Upper platforms are mostly turnable...
  
  : A portable flight of steps down a ship's side.
• Admiral
  Admiral
  Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
  
  : Senior naval officer of Flag rank. In ascending order of seniority, Rear Admiral, Vice Admiral, Admiral and Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy). Derivation Arabic, from Amir al-Bahr ("Ruler of the sea").
• Admiralty
  Admiralty (disambiguation)
  -Naval organizations:Russia*Russian Admiralty, the authority responsible for the Imperial Russian NavyUnited Kingdom*Admiralty, the authority responsible for HM Royal Navy before 1964*United Kingdom Hydrographic Office produces the Admiralty brand of charts....
  
  : A high naval authority in charge of a state's Navy or a major territorial component. In the Royal Navy (UK) the Board of Admiralty, executing the office of the Lord High Admiral, promulgates Naval law in the form of Queen's (or King's) Regulations and Admiralty Instructions.
• Admiralty law
  Admiralty law
  Admiralty law is a distinct body of law which governs maritime questions and offenses. It is a body of both domestic law governing maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between private entities which operate vessels on the oceans...
  
  : Body of law that deals with maritime cases. In the UK administered by the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division of the High Court of Justice
  High Court of Justice
  The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
  
   or supreme court.
• Adrift: Afloat and unattached in any way to the shore or seabed, but not under way. It implies that a vessel is not under control and therefore goes where the wind and current take her (loose from moorings, or out of place). Also refers to any gear not fastened down or put away properly. It can also be used to mean "absent without leave".
• Advance note: A note for one month's wages issued to sailors on their signing a ship's articles.
• Aft
  Aft
  Aft, in naval terminology, is an adjective or adverb meaning, towards the stern of the ship, when the frame of reference is within the ship. Example: "Able Seaman Smith; lay aft!". Or; "What's happening aft?"...
  
  : The portion of the boat behind the middle area of the boat. Towards the stern (of the vessel).
• Afloat: Of a vessel which is floating freely (not aground or sunk). More generally of vessels in service ("the company has 10 ships afloat").
• Afternoon watch: The 1200–1600 watch.
• Aground: Resting on or touching the ground or bottom (usually involuntarily).
• Ahead: Forward of the bow.
• Ahoy: A cry to draw attention. Term used to hail a boat or a ship, as "Boat ahoy!"
• Ahull:
  • lying broadside to the sea.
  • to ride out a storm with no sails and helm held to leeward.
• Aid to Navigation
  Navigational aid
  A navigational aid is any sort of marker which aids the traveler in navigation; the term is most commonly used to refer to nautical or aviation travel...
  
  : (ATON) Any device external to a vessel or aircraft specifically intended to assist navigators in determining their position or safe course, or to warn them of dangers or obstructions to navigation.
• All hands: Entire ship's company, both officers and enlisted personnel.
• All night in: Having no night watches.
• Aloft: In the rigging of a sailing ship. Above the ship's uppermost solid structure; overhead or high above.
• Alongside: By the side of a ship or pier.Amidships (or midships): In the middle portion of ship, along the line of the keel.
• Anchor
  Anchor
  An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...
  
  :
  • an object designed to prevent or slow the drift of a ship, attached to the ship by a line or chain; typically a metal
    Metal
    A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
    
    , hook-like or plough-like object designed to grip the bottom under the body of water (but also see sea anchor).
  • to deploy an anchor ("She anchored offshore.")
• Anchorage: A suitable place for a ship to anchor. Area of a port or harbor.
• Anchor's aweigh: Said of an anchor when just clear of the bottom.
• Anchor ball: Round black shape hoisted in the forepart of a vessel to show that it is anchored.
• Anchor buoy: A small buoy secured by a light line to anchor to indicate position of anchor on bottom.
• Anchor chain or anchor cable: Chain connecting the ship to the anchor.
• Anchor detail: Group of men who handle ground tackle when the ship is anchoring or getting underway.
• Anchor home: The term for when the anchor is secured for sea. Typically rests just outside the hawse pipe on the outer side of the hull, at the bow of a vessel.
• Anchor light: White light displayed by a ship at anchor. Two such lights are displayed by a ship over 150 feet (45.7 m) in length.
• Anchor rode: The anchor line, rope or cable connecting the anchor chain to the vessel. Also Rode.
• Anchor sentinel: A separate weight on a separate line which is loosely attached to the anchor rode so that it can slide down it easily. It is made fast at a distance slightly longer than the draft
  Draft (hull)
  The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
  
   of the boat. It is used to prevent the anchor rode from becoming fouled on the keel
  Keel
  In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
  
   or other underwater structures when the boat is resting at anchor and moving randomly during slack tide. Also called a kellet.
• Anchor watch: The crewmen assigned to take care of the ship while anchored or moored, charged with such duties as making sure that the anchor is holding and the vessel is not drifting. Most marine GPS
  Global Positioning System
  The Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...
  
   units have an Anchor Watch alarm capability.
• Andrew: Traditional lower-deck slang term for the Royal Navy.
• Anti-rolling tanks: A pair of fluid-filled, usually water, tanks mounted on opposite sides of a ship below the waterline
  Waterline
  The term "waterline" generally refers to the line where the hull of a ship meets the water surface. It is also the name of a special marking, also known as the national Load Line or Plimsoll Line, to be positioned amidships, that indicates the draft of the ship and the legal limit to which a ship...
  
  . Fluid would be pumped between them in an attempt to dampen the amount of roll.
• Apparent wind
  Apparent wind
  Apparent wind is the wind experienced by a moving object.-Definition of apparent wind:The Apparent wind is the wind experienced by an observer in motion and is the relative velocity of the wind in relation to the observer....
  
  : The combination of the true wind and the headwind caused by the boat's forward motion. For example, it causes a light side wind to appear to come from well ahead of the beam.
• Arc of Visibility: The portion of the horizon over which a lighted aid to navigation is visible from seaward.
• Archboard: The plank along the stern where the name of the ship is commonly painted.
• Armament: A ship's weapons.
• Articles of War
  Articles of War
  The Articles of War are a set of regulations drawn up to govern the conduct of a country's military and naval forces. The phrase was first used in 1637 in Robert Monro's His expedition with the worthy Scots regiment called Mac-keyes regiment etc. and can be used to refer to military law in general...
  
  : Regulations governing the military
  Military
  A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
  
   and naval
  Navy
  A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
  
   forces of UK
  United Kingdom
  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
  
   and USA
  United States
  The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
  
  ; read to every ship's company
  Ship's Company
  The Ship's Company refers to all officers, non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel aboard a naval vessel. The size of the ship's company is the number of people on board, excluding civilians and guests.-Command structure:...
  
   on commissioning
  Ship commissioning
  Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
  
   and at specified intervals during the commission.
• ASDIC: A type of sonar
  Sonar
  Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
  
   used by the Allies for detecting submarines during the Second World War.
• Ashore: On the beach, shore or land.
• Astern: towards the stern (rear) of a vessel, behind a vessel.
• Asylum Harbour: A harbour used to provide shelter from a storm.
• ASW: Anti-submarine warfare.
• Athwart, athwartships: At right angles to the fore and aft or centerline of a ship
• Avast: Stop, cease or desist from whatever is being done. From the Dutch hou' vast (“hold fast”), from houd (“hold”) + vast (“fast”).
• Awash: So low in the water that the water is constantly washing across the surface.
• Aweigh: Position of an anchor just clear of the bottom.
• Axial fire: Fire oriented towards the ends of the ship; the opposite of broadside fire.
• Aye, aye (ˌ): Reply to an order or command to indicate that it, firstly, is heard; and, secondly, is understood and will be carried out. ("Aye, aye, sir" to officers). Also the proper reply from a hailed boat, to indicate that an officer is on board.
• Azimuth compass
  Compass
  A compass is a navigational instrument that shows directions in a frame of reference that is stationary relative to the surface of the earth. The frame of reference defines the four cardinal directions – north, south, east, and west. Intermediate directions are also defined...
  
  : An instrument employed for ascertaining position of the sun with respect to magnetic north. The azimuth of an object is its bearing from the observer measured as an angle clockwise from true north.
• Azimuth circle: Instrument used to take bearings of celestial objects.

B

• Back and fill: To use the advantage of the tide being with you when the wind is not.
• Backstay
  Backstay
  On a sailing vessel, a backstay is the piece of standing rigging that runs from the mast to the transom of the boat, counteracting the forestay and jib...
  
  s: Long lines or cables, reaching from the stern of the vessel to the mast heads, used to support the mast.
• Baggywrinkle
  Baggywrinkle
  Baggywrinkle is a soft covering for cables to reduce sail chafe. There are many points in the rig of a large sailing ship where the sails come into contact with the standing rigging; unprotected sails would soon develop holes at the points of contact...
  
  : A soft covering for cables (or any other obstructions) that prevents sail chafing from occurring.
• Bailer
  Bailer
  A bailer in hydrogeology is a hollow tube used to retrieve groundwater samples from monitoring wells. Groundwater monitoring wells are drilled in areas where there are underground storage tanks or where there is environmental remediation occurring. The wells are typically built out of PVC casing...
  
  : A device for removing water that has entered the boat.
• Balls to four watch: The 0000–0400 watch. (US Navy)
• Bank
  Bank (topography)
  A bank, sometimes referred to as a fishing bank, is an area on the continental shelf which is shallow compared to its surrounding area, such as a shoal or the top of an underwater hill. Somewhat like continental slopes, ocean banks slopes can upwell as tidal and other flows intercept them,...
  
  : A large area of elevated sea floor.
• Banyan
  Banyan
  A banyan is a fig that starts its life as an epiphyte when its seeds germinate in the cracks and crevices on a host tree...
  
  : Traditional Royal Navy term for a day or shorter period of rest and relaxation.
• Bar
  Shoal
  Shoal, shoals or shoaling may mean:* Shoal, a sandbank or reef creating shallow water, especially where it forms a hazard to shipping* Shoal draught , of a boat with shallow draught which can pass over some shoals: see Draft...
  
  : Large mass of sand or earth, formed by the surge of the sea. They are mostly found at the entrances of great rivers or havens, and often render navigation extremely dangerous, but confer tranquility once inside. See also: Touch and go, grounding. Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "Crossing the bar", an allegory for death.
• Bar pilot
  Maritime pilot
  A pilot is a mariner who guides ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbours or river mouths. With the exception of the Panama Canal, the pilot is only an advisor, as the captain remains in legal, overriding command of the vessel....
  
  : A bar pilot guides ships over the dangerous sandbars at the mouth of rivers and bays.
• Barrelman
  Barrelman
  Barrelman is in reference to a person who would be stationed in the barrel of the foremast or crow's nest of an ocean going vessel as a navigational aid. In early ships the crow's nest was simply a barrel or a basket lashed to the tallest mast...
  
  : A sailor that was stationed in the crow's nest.
• Batten
  Batten
  A batten is a thin strip of solid material, typically made from wood, plastic or metal. Battens are used in building construction and various other fields as both structural and purely cosmetic elements...
  
  :

1. A stiff strip used to support the roach of a sail, enabling increased sail area

2. Any thin strip of material (wood, plastic etc) which can be used any number of ways

• Batten down the hatches: To prepare for inclement weather, by securing the closed hatch covers with wooden battens so as to prevent water from entering from any angle.
• Beaching: Deliberately running a vessel aground, to load and unload (as with landing craft
  Landing craft
  Landing craft are boats and seagoing vessels used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...
  
  ), or sometimes to prevent a damaged vessel sinking.
• Beacon
  Beacon
  A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location.Beacons can also be combined with semaphoric or other indicators to provide important information, such as the status of an airport, by the colour and rotational pattern of its airport beacon, or of...
  
  : A lighted or unlighted fixed aid to navigation attached directly to the earth’s surface. (Lights and daybeacons both constitute beacons.)
• Beam
  Beam (nautical)
  The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
  
  : The width of a vessel at the widest point, or a point alongside the ship at the mid-point of its length.
• Beam ends: The sides of a ship. "On her beam ends" may mean the vessel is literally on her side and possibly about to capsize; more often, the phrase means the vessel is listing 45 degrees or more.
• Bear: Large squared off stone used with sand for scraping clean wooden decks.
• Bear down or bear away: Turn away from the wind, often with reference to a transit.
• Bearing
  Bearing (navigation)
  In marine navigation, a bearing is the direction one object is from another object, usually, the direction of an object from one's own vessel. In aircraft navigation, a bearing is the actual compass direction of the forward course of the aircraft...
  
  : The horizontal direction of a line of sight between two objects on the surface of the earth. See also "absolute bearing" and "relative bearing".
• Beating or Beat to
  Points of sail
  Points of sail describes a sailing boat's course in relation to the wind direction.There is a distinction between the port tack and the starboard tack. If the wind is coming from anywhere on the port side, the boat is on port tack. Likewise if the wind is coming from the starboard side, the boat...
  
  : Sailing as close as possible towards the wind (perhaps only about 60°) in a zig-zag course to attain an upwind direction to which it is impossible to sail directly.(also tacking)
• Beat to quarters: Prepare for battle (beat = beat the drum to signal the need for battle preparation)
• Beaufort scale
  Beaufort scale
  The Beaufort Scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort Wind Force Scale.-History:...
  
  : The scale describing wind force devised by Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort
  Francis Beaufort
  Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort, FRS, FRGS was an Irish hydrographer and officer in Britain's Royal Navy...
  
   in 1808, in which winds are graded by the effect of their force (originally, the amount of sail that a fully rigged frigate could carry). Scale now reads up to Force 17.
• Before the mast: Literally, the area of a ship before the foremast (the forecastle). Most often used to describe men whose living quarters are located here, officers being quartered in the stern-most areas of the ship (near the quarterdeck). Officer-trainees lived between the two ends of the ship and become known as "midshipmen". Crew members who started out as seamen, then became midshipmen, and later, officers, were said to have gone from "one end of the ship to the other" (also see hawsepiper).
• Belay:

1. To make fast a line around a fitting, usually a cleat or belaying pin.

2. To secure a climbing person in a similar manner.

3. An order to halt a current activity or countermand an order prior to execution.

• Belaying pin
  Belaying pin
  A belaying pin is a device used on traditional sailing vessels to secure lines of rigging. Their function on modern vessels has been replaced by cleats, but they are still used, particularly on square rigged ships....
  
  s: Short movable bars of iron or hard wood to which running rigging may be secured, or belayed.
• Bend: A knot used to join two ropes or lines. Also see hitch.
• Bermudan rig
  Bermuda rig
  The term Bermuda rig refers to a configuration of mast and rigging for a type of sailboat and is also known as a Marconi rig; this is the typical configuration for most modern sailboats...
  
  : A triangular mainsail, without any upper spar, which is hoisted up the mast by a single halyard attached to the head of the sail. This configuration, introduced to Europe about 1920, allows the use of a tall mast, enabling sails to be set higher where wind speed is greater.
• Berth (moorings)
  Berth (moorings)
  A berth is a location in a port or harbour used specifically for mooring vessels while not at sea.-Locations in a port:Berth is the term used in ports and harbors to define a specific location where a vessel may be berthed, usually for the purposes of loading and unloading.Most berths will be...
  
  : A location in a port or harbour used specifically for mooring vessels while not at sea.
• Berth (navigation): Safety margin of distance to be kept by a vessel from another vessel or from an obstruction, hence the phrase, "to give a wide berth."
• Berth (sleeping)
  Berth (sleeping)
  The word berth was originally used to describe beds and sleeping accommodation on boats and ships and has now been extended to refer to similar facilities on trains, aircraft and buses.-Beds in boats or ships:...
  
  : A bed or sleeping accommodation on a boat or ship.
• Best bower (anchor
  Anchor
  An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...
  
  ): The larger of two anchors carried in the bow; so named as it was the last, best hope.
• Between the devil and the deep blue sea: See devil seam.
• Between wind and water: The part of a ship's hull that is sometimes submerged and sometimes brought above water by the rolling of the vessel.
• Bight (ˈ) –

1. Bight

Bight (knot)

In knot tying, a bight is a curved section, slack part, or loop between the two ends of a rope, string, or yarn. The term is also used in a more specific way when describing Turk's head knots, indicating how many repetitions of braiding are made in the circuit of a given knot.-Slipped knot:In order...

, a loop in rope or line—a hitch or knot tied on the bight is one tied in the middle of a rope, without access to the ends.

2. An indentation in a coastline.

• Bilge
  Bilge
  The bilge is the lowest compartment on a ship where the two sides meet at the keel. The word was coined in 1513.-Bilge water:The word is sometimes also used to describe the water that collects in this compartment. Water that does not drain off the side of the deck drains down through the ship into...
  
  : The compartment at the bottom of the hull of a ship or boat where water collects and must be pumped out of the vessel.
• Bilge keel
  Bilge keel
  A bilge keel is used to reduce the hull's tendency to roll. Bilge keels are employed in pairs . A ship may have more than one bilge keel per side, but this is rare. Bilge keels increase hydrodynamic resistance to rolling, making the ship roll less...
  
  s: A pair of keels on either side of the hull, usually slanted outwards. In yacht
  Yacht
  A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
  
  s, they allow the use of a drying mooring, the boat standing upright on the keels (and often a skeg) when the tide is out.
• Bilged on her anchor: A ship that has run upon her own anchor, so the anchor cable runs under the hull.
• Bimini top
  Bimini top
  A Bimini top is an open-front canvas top for the cockpit of a boat, usually supported by a metal frame. Most Bimini's can be collapsed when not in use, and raised again if shade or shelter from rain is desired. Bimini tops differ from dodgers in that dodgers include protection in front and on the...
  
  : Open-front canvas top for the cockpit of a boat, usually supported by a metal frame.
• Bimmy
  Flagellation
  Flagellation or flogging is the act of methodically beating or whipping the human body. Specialised implements for it include rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails and the sjambok...
  
  : A punitive instrument
• Binnacle
  Binnacle
  A binnacle is a waist-high case or stand on the deck of a ship, generally mounted in front of the helmsman, in which navigational instruments are placed for easy and quick reference as well as to protect the delicate instruments. Its traditional purpose was to hold the ship's magnetic compass,...
  
  : The stand on which the ship's compass is mounted.
• Binnacle list: A ship's sick list. The list of men unable to report for duty was given to the officer or mate of the watch by the ship's surgeon. The list was kept at the binnacle.
• Bitt or bitts: A post or pair mounted on the ship's bow, for fastening ropes or cables.
• Bitter end: The last part or loose end of a rope or cable. The anchor cable is tied to the bitts; when the cable is fully paid out, the bitter end has been reached.
• Block
  Block (sailing)
  In sailing, a block is a single or multiple pulley. One or a number of sheaves are enclosed in an assembly between cheeks or chocks. In use a block is fixed to the end of a line, to a spar or to a surface...
  
  : A pulley or set of pulleys.
• Blue Peter
  International maritime signal flags
  The system of international maritime signal flags is one system of flag signals representing individual letters of the alphabet in signals to or from ships...
  
  : A blue and white flag (the flag for the letter "P") hoisted at the foretrucks of ships about to sail. Formerly a white ship on a blue ground, but later a white square on a blue ground.
• Boat
  Boat
  A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
  
  : A small craft or vessel designed to float on, and provide transport over, or under, water.
• Boat-hook: A pole with a hook on the end, used to reach into the water to catch buoys or other floating objects.
• Boatswain
  Boatswain
  A boatswain , bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. The boatswain supervises the other unlicensed members of the ship's deck department, and typically is not a watchstander, except on vessels with small crews...
  
   or bosun (both ˈ): A non-commissioned officer responsible for the sails, ropes, rigging and boats on a ship who issues "piped" commands to seamen.
• Bobstay: A stay which holds the bowsprit downwards, counteracting the effect of the forestay. Usually made of wire or chain to eliminate stretch.
• Bollard
  Bollard
  A bollard is a short vertical post. Originally it meant a post used on a ship or a quay, principally for mooring. The word now also describes a variety of structures to control or direct road traffic, such as posts arranged in a line to obstruct the passage of motor vehicles...
  
  : From "bol" or "bole", the round trunk of a tree. A substantial vertical pillar to which lines may be made fast. Generally on the quayside rather than the ship.
• Body plan: In shipbuilding
  Shipbuilding
  Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
  
  , an end elevation showing the contour of the sides of a ship at certain points of her length.
• Bombay runner: Large cockroach.
• Bonded jacky: A type of tobacco or sweet cake.
• Bonnet: A strip of canvas secured to the foot of the course (square sail) to increase sail area in light airs.
• Booby
  Booby
  A booby is a seabird in the genus Sula, part of the Sulidae family. Boobies are closely related to the gannets , which were formerly included in Sula.-Description:...
  
  : A type of bird that has little fear and therefore is particularly easy to catch.
• Booby hatch: A sliding hatch or cover.
• Boom
  Boom (sailing)
  In sailing, a boom is a spar , along the foot of a fore and aft rigged sail, that greatly improves control of the angle and shape of the sail. The primary action of the boom is to keep the foot of the sail flatter when the sail angle is away from the centerline of the boat. The boom also serves...
  
  : A spar attached to the foot of a fore-and-aft sail.
• Boom gallows: A raised crossmember that supports a boom when the sail is lowered (obviates the need for a topping lift
  Topping lift
  The topping lift is a line which is part of the rigging on a sailboat; it applies upward force on a spar or boom. The most common topping lift on a modern sailboat is attached to the boom....
  
  ) .
• Booms: Masts or yards, lying on board in reserve.
• Boom vang
  Boom vang
  A boom vang or kicking strap is a line or piston system on a sailboat used to exert downward force on the boom and thus control the shape of the sail. An older term is "martingale"....
  
   or vang: A sail
  Sail
  A sail is any type of surface intended to move a vessel, vehicle or rotor by being placed in a wind—in essence a propulsion wing. Sails are used in sailing.-History of sails:...
  
   control that lets one apply downward tension on a boom, countering the upward tension provided by the sail. The boom vang adds an element of control to sail shape when the sheet is let out enough that it no longer pulls the boom down. Boom vang tension helps control leech twist, a primary component of sail power.
• Boomkin
  Boomkin
  A boomkin, sometimes referred to as a bumkin or as a bumpkin, consists of an exceptionally strong and usually wooden spar that projects downwards and forwards over the main head rail of a traditional western sailing ship, one on either side of the vessel...
  
  : See bumpkin.
• Bosun: See boatswain.
• Bottlescrew
  Turnbuckle
  A turnbuckle, stretching screw or bottlescrew is a device for adjusting the tension or length of ropes, cables, tie rods, and other tensioning systems. It normally consists of two threaded eyelets, one screwed into each end of a small metal frame, one with a left-hand thread and the other with a...
  
  : A device for adjusting tension in stays, shrouds and similar lines.
• Bottomry
  Bottomry
  A bottomry, or bottomage, is when the master of a ship borrows money upon the bottom or keel of it, so as to forfeit the ship itself to the creditor, if the money is not paid at the time appointed with interest at the ship's safe return....
  
  : Pledging a ship as security in a financial transaction.
• Bow
  Bow (ship)
  The bow is a nautical term that refers to the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is most forward when the vessel is underway. Both of the adjectives fore and forward mean towards the bow...
  
  : The front of a ship.
• Bow chaser: See chase gun
• Bowline
  Bowline
  The bowline is an ancient and simple knot used to form a fixed loop at the end of a rope. It has the virtues of being both easy to tie and untie. The bowline is sometimes referred as King of the knots because of its importance...
  
  : A type of knot, producing a strong loop of a fixed size, topologically similar to a sheet bend. Also a rope attached to the side of a sail to pull it towards the bow (for keeping the windward edge of the sail steady).
• Bowse: To pull or hoist.
• Bowsprit
  Bowsprit
  The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a pole extending forward from the vessel's prow. It provides an anchor point for the forestay, allowing the fore-mast to be stepped farther forward on the hull.-Origin:...
  
  : A spar projecting from the bow used as an anchor for the forestay and other rigging.
• Bow thruster
  Bow thruster
  A bow thruster is a transversal propulsion device built into, or mounted to, the bow of a ship or boat to make it more maneuverable. Bow thrusters make docking easier, since they allow the captain to turn the vessel to port or starboard without using the main propulsion mechanism which requires...
  
  : A small propeller or water-jet at the bow, used for manoeuvring larger vessels at slow speed. May be mounted externally, or in a tunnel running through the bow from side to side.
• Boxing the compass
  Boxing the compass
  Boxing the compass is the action of naming all thirty-two points of the compass in clockwise order. Such names are formed by the initials of the cardinal directions and their intermediate ordinal directions, and are very handy to refer to a heading in a general or colloquial fashion, without...
  
  : To state all 32 points of the compass, starting at north, proceeding clockwise. Sometimes applied to a wind that is constantly shifting.
• Boy Seaman
  Boy Seaman
  A boy seaman is a boy who serves as seaman and/or is trained for such service.-Royal Navy:In the British naval forces, where there was a need to recruit enough hands to man the vast fleet of the British Empire, extensive regulations existed concerning the selection and status of boys enlisted to...
  
  : a young sailor, still in training
• Brail
  Brail
  Brails, in a sailing ship, are small lines passing through blocks, and used to haul in or up the leeches, bottoms, or corners of sails, before furling. On a ship rig, these brails are found only on the two courses and the mizzen sail. The command is, hale up the brails, or, brail up the sails...
  
  : To furl or truss a sail by pulling it in towards the mast, or the ropes used to do so.
• Brake: The handle of the pump, by which it is worked.
• Brass monkey
  Brass monkey (colloquial expression)
  The phrase "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey" is a colloquial expression used by some English speakers. The reference to the testes of the brass monkey appears to be a 20th century variant on the expression, prefigured by a range of references to other body parts, especially the...
  
   or brass monkey weather: Used in the expression "it is cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey" (origin uncertain, see WP entry linked above)
• Breakwater: A structure built on the forecastle of a ship intended to divert water away from the forward superstructure or gun mounts.
• Bridge: A structure above the weather deck, extending the full width of the vessel, which houses a command centre, itself called by association, the bridge.
• Brig
  Brig
  A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
  
  :

1. (historically) A vessel with two square-rigged masts.

2. (in the US) An interior area of the ship used to detain prisoners (possibily prisoners-of-war, in war-time) & stowaways, and to punish delinquent crew members. Usually resembles a prison-cell with bars and a locked, hinged door.

• Brightwork
  Brightwork
  On boats, particularly wooden boats, brightwork is exposed metal and varnished woodworking, though amongst the yachting set it more often refers to the woodwork. The metal is usually brass or bronze that is kept polished, or stainless steel, which requires less maintenance...
  
  : Exposed varnished wood or polished metal on a boat.
• Bring to: Cause a ship to be stationary by arranging the sails.
• Broach
  Broach (sailing)
  A sailboat broaches when its heading suddenly changes towards the wind due to wind/sail interactions for which the rudder cannot compensate. This causes the boat to roll dangerously and if not controlled may lead to a capsize...
  
  : When a sailing vessel loses control of its motion and is forced into a sudden sharp turn, often heeling heavily and in smaller vessels sometimes leading to a capsize. The change in direction is called broaching-to. Occurs when too much sail is set for a strong gust of wind, or in circumstances where the sails are unstable.
• Buffer: The chief bosun's mate (in the Royal Navy), responsible for discipline.
• Bulkhead
  Bulkhead (partition)
  A bulkhead is an upright wall within the hull of a ship or within the fuselage of an airplane. Other kinds of partition elements within a ship are decks and deckheads.-Etymology:...
  
  : An upright wall within the hull of a ship. Particularly a watertight, load-bearing wall.

• Bulwark (ˈ in nautical use): The extension of the ship's side above the level of the weather deck.
• Bumboat
  Bumboat
  A bumboat is a small boat used to ferry supplies to ships moored away from the shore. Originally referring to a scavenger's boat, the name comes from the combination of the Dutch word for a canoe - "boomschuit" , and "boat"....
  
  : A private boat selling goods.
• Bumpkin or boomkin
  Boomkin
  A boomkin, sometimes referred to as a bumkin or as a bumpkin, consists of an exceptionally strong and usually wooden spar that projects downwards and forwards over the main head rail of a traditional western sailing ship, one on either side of the vessel...
  
  :

1. A spar, similar to a bowsprit, but which projects from the stern. May be used to attach the backstay or mizzen sheets.

2. An iron bar (projecting out-board from a ship's side) to which the lower and topsail brace blocks are sometimes hooked.

• Bunting tosser
  Bunting tosser
  'Bunting tosser' or 'Bunts' is an informal term used in the Royal Navy to describe the sailors who hoist signal flags. Although dating from the period of signalling by flags , it has survived as a general term for naval signallers...
  
  : A signalman who prepares and flies flag hoists. Also known in the American Navy as a skivvy waver.
• Buntline
  Clewlines and buntlines
  For the revolver, see Colt BuntlineClewlines and buntlines are lines used to handle the sails of a square rigged ship.Although the common perception of a traditionally rigged ship is that the sails are handled from "up in the rigging", the majority of the work is actually carried out from the deck...
  
  : One of the lines tied to the bottom of a square sail and used to haul it up to the yard when furling.
• Buoy
  Buoy
  A buoy is a floating device that can have many different purposes. It can be anchored or allowed to drift. The word, of Old French or Middle Dutch origin, is now most commonly in UK English, although some orthoepists have traditionally prescribed the pronunciation...
  
  : A floating object of defined shape and color, which is anchored at a given position and serves as an aid to navigation.
• Buoyed up: Lifted by a buoy, especially a cable that has been lifted to prevent it from trailing on the bottom.
• Burgee
  Burgee
  A burgee is a distinguishing flag, regardless of its shape, of a recreational boating organization.-Etiquette:Yacht clubs and their members may fly their club's burgee while underway and at anchor, day or night, but not while racing. Sailing vessels may fly the burgee from the main masthead or from...
  
  : A small flag, typically triangular, flown from the masthead of a yacht to indicate yacht-club membership.
• By and large: By means into the wind, while large means with the wind. "By and large" is used to indicate all possible situations "the ship handles well both by and large".
• By the board: Anything that has gone overboard.

C

• Cabin
  Cabin (ship)
  A cabin or berthing is an enclosed space generally on a ship or an aircraft. A cabin which protrudes above the level of a ship's deck may be referred to as a "deckhouse."-Sailing ships:...
  
  : an enclosed room on a deck
  Deck (ship)
  A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary deck is the horizontal structure which forms the 'roof' for the hull, which both strengthens the hull and serves as the primary working surface...
  
   or flat or bahay kantutan.
• Cabin boy
  Cabin boy
  A Cabin boy or ship's boy is a boy who waits on the officers and passengers of a ship, especially running errands for the captain....
  
  : attendant on passengers and crew.
• Cable
  Cable
  A cable is two or more wires running side by side and bonded, twisted or braided together to form a single assembly. In mechanics cables, otherwise known as wire ropes, are used for lifting, hauling and towing or conveying force through tension. In electrical engineering cables are used to carry...
  
  : A large rope.
• Cable length
  Cable length
  A cable length or cable's length is a nautical unit of measure equal to one tenth of a nautical mile or 100 fathoms, or sometimes 120 fathoms. The unit is named after the length of a ship's anchor cable in the age of sail...
  
  : A measure of length or distance. Equivalent to (UK) 1/10 nautical mile, approx. 600 feet; (USA) 120 fathoms, 720 feet (219 m); other countries use different values.
• Caboose
  Caboose (ship's galley)
  Caboose is a term used for a small ship's kitchen, or galley on deck...
  
  : a small ship's kitchen, or galley on deck.
• Can: A type of navigational buoy often a vertical drum, but if not, always square in silhouette colored either green or black. In channel marking its use is opposite that of a "nun buoy".
• Canister: a type of antipersonnel cannon load in which lead balls or other loose metallic items were enclosed in a tin or iron shell. On firing, the shell would disintegrate, releasing the smaller metal objects with a shotgun-like effect.
• Canoe stern: A design for the stern of a yacht which is pointed, like a bow, rather than squared off as a transom.
• Cape Horn fever: The name of the fake illness a malingerer is pretending to suffer from.
• Capsize: When a ship or boat lists too far and rolls over, exposing the keel. On large vessels, this often results in the sinking of the ship.
• Capstan
  Capstan (nautical)
  A capstan is a vertical-axled rotating machine developed for use on sailing ships to apply force to ropes, cables, and hawsers. The principle is similar to that of the windlass, which has a horizontal axle.- History :...
  
  : A large winch with a vertical axis. A full-sized human-powered capstan is a waist-high cylindrical machine, operated by a number of hands who each insert a horizontal capstan bar in holes in the capstan and walk in a circle. Used to wind in anchors or other heavy objects; and sometimes to administer flogging over.
• Captain's daughter: The cat o' nine tails
  Cat o' nine tails
  The cat o' nine tails, commonly shortened to the cat, is a type of multi-tailed whipping device that originated as an implement for severe physical punishment, notably in the Royal Navy and Army of the United Kingdom, and also as a judicial punishment in Britain and some other...
  
  , which in principle is only used on board on the captain's (or a court martial's) personal orders.
• Cardinal: Referring to the four main points of the compass: north, south, east and west. See also "bearing".
• Careening
  Careening
  Careening a sailing vessel is the practice of beaching it at high tide. This is usually done in order to expose one side or another of the ship's hull for maintenance and repairs below the water line when the tide goes out....
  
  : Tilting a ship on its side, usually when beached, to clean or repair the hull below the water line.
• Carvel built
  Carvel (boat building)
  In boat building, carvel built or carvel planking is a method of constructing wooden boats and tall ships by fixing planks to a frame so that the planks butt up against each other, edge to edge, gaining support from the frame and forming a smooth hull...
  
  : A method of constructing wooden hulls by fixing planks to a frame so that the planks butt up against each other. Cf. "clinker built".
• Cat —

1. To prepare an anchor, after raising it by lifting it with a tackle to the cat head, prior to securing (fishing) it alongside for sea. (An anchor raised to the cat head is said to be catted.)

2. The cat o' nine tails (see below).

3. A cat-rigged boat or catboat.

• Catamaran
  Catamaran
  A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...
  
  : A vessel with two hulls.
• Catboat
  Catboat
  A catboat , or a cat-rigged sailboat, is a sailing vessel characterized by a single mast carried well forward ....
  
  : A cat-rigged vessel with a single mast mounted close to the bow, and only one sail, usually on a gaff.
• Catharpin
  Catharpin
  Catharpin is a nautical term, which is often pronounced cat-harping. It describes one of the short ropes or iron clamps used to brace in the shrouds toward the masts so as to give a freer sweep to the yards. It is also the name of a small, few-store settlement in Virginia, north of Manassas...
  
  : A short rope or iron clamp used to brace in the shrouds toward the masts so as to give a freer sweep to the yards.
• Cat o' nine tails
  Cat o' nine tails
  The cat o' nine tails, commonly shortened to the cat, is a type of multi-tailed whipping device that originated as an implement for severe physical punishment, notably in the Royal Navy and Army of the United Kingdom, and also as a judicial punishment in Britain and some other...
  
  : A short nine-tailed whip
  Whip
  A whip is a tool traditionally used by humans to exert control over animals or other people, through pain compliance or fear of pain, although in some activities whips can be used without use of pain, such as an additional pressure aid in dressage...
  
   kept by the bosun's mate to flog
  Flagellation
  Flagellation or flogging is the act of methodically beating or whipping the human body. Specialised implements for it include rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails and the sjambok...
  
   sailors (and soldiers in the Army). When not in use, the cat was kept in a baize bag, hence the term "cat out of the bag". "Not enough room to swing a cat" also derives from this.
• Cathead
  Cathead
  A cathead is a large wooden beam located on either bow of a sailing ship, and angled outward at roughly 45 degrees. The beam is used to support the ship's anchor when raising it or lowering it , and for carrying the anchor on its stock-end when suspended outside the ship's side...
  
  : A beam extending out from the hull used to support an anchor when raised in order to secure or 'fish' it.
• Cats paws: Light variable winds on calm waters producing scattered areas of small waves.
• Centreboard
  Centreboard
  A centreboard or centerboard is a retractable keel which pivots out of a slot in the hull of a sailboat, known as a centreboard trunk or centerboard case...
  
  : A board or plate lowered through the hull of a dinghy
  Dinghy
  A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed for use as a ship's boat by a larger vessel. It is a loanword from either Bengali or Urdu. The term can also refer to small racing yachts or recreational open sailing boats. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor,...
  
   on the centreline to resist leeway.
• Chafing
  Chafing
  Chafing when used as a nautical term describes the process of wear on a line or sail caused by constant rubbing against a hard, usually metallic, surface. Various methods are used to prevent chafing. Chafing of lines that rest on a choke on a boat can be prevented by putting a protecting material...
  
  : Wear on line or sail caused by constant rubbing against another surface.
• Chafing gear: Material applied to a line or spar to prevent or reduce chafing. See Baggywrinkle
  Baggywrinkle
  Baggywrinkle is a soft covering for cables to reduce sail chafe. There are many points in the rig of a large sailing ship where the sails come into contact with the standing rigging; unprotected sails would soon develop holes at the points of contact...
  
  .
• Chain-shot
  Chain-shot
  In artillery, a chain-shot is an obsolete type of naval ammunition formed of two sub-calibre balls, or half-balls, chained together. Bar shot is similar, but joined by a solid bar...
  
  : Cannon balls linked with chain used to damage rigging and masts.
• Chain locker: A space in the forward part of the ship, typically beneath the bow in front of the foremost collision bulkhead, that contains the anchor chain when the anchor is secured for sea.
• Chain-wale or channel: A broad, thick plank that projects horizontally from each of a ship's sides abreast a mast, distinguished as the fore, main, or mizzen channel accordingly, serving to extend the base for the shrouds, which supports the mast.
• Charley Noble: The metal stovepipe chimney from a cook shack on the deck of a ship or from a stove in a galley .
• Chase gun
  Chase gun
  The chase guns, usually distinguished as bow chasers and stern chasers were cannons mounted in the bow or stern of a sailing ship...
  
  , chase piece or chaser: A cannon
  Cannon
  A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
  
   pointing forward or aft, often of longer range than other guns. Those on the bow (bow chaser) were used to fire upon a ship ahead, while those on the rear (stern chaser) were used to ward off pursuing vessels. Unlike guns pointing to the side, chasers could be brought to bear in a chase without slowing.
• Cheeks:

1. Wooden blocks at the side of a spar.

2. The sides of a block or gun-carriage.

• Chine
  Chine (boating)
  A chine in boating refers to a sharp angle in the hull, as compared to the rounded bottoms of most traditional boat hulls. The term hard chine indicates an angle with little rounding, where a soft chine would be more rounded, but still involve the meeting of distinct planes. Chine log...
  
  :

1. An angle in the hull.

2. A line formed where the sides of a boat meet the bottom. Soft chine is when the two sides join at a shallow angle, and hard chine is when they join at a steep angle.

• Chock: Hole or ring attached to the hull to guide a line via that point
• Chock-a-block: Rigging blocks that are so tight against one another that they cannot be further tightened.
• Chronometer
  Chronometer
  Chronometer may refer to:* Chronometer watch, a watch tested and certified to meet certain precision standards* Hydrochronometer, a water clock* Marine chronometer, a timekeeper used for celestial navigation...
  
  : A timekeeper accurate enough to be used to determine longitude
  Longitude
  Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....
  
   by means of celestial navigation
  Celestial navigation
  Celestial navigation, also known as astronavigation, is a position fixing technique that has evolved over several thousand years to help sailors cross oceans without having to rely on estimated calculations, or dead reckoning, to know their position...
  
  .
• Civil Red Ensign
  Red Ensign
  The Red Ensign or "Red Duster" is a flag that originated in the early 17th century as a British ensign flown by the Royal Navy and later specifically by British merchantmen. The precise date of its first appearance is not known, but surviving receipts indicate that the Navy was paying to have such...
  
  : The British Naval Ensign or Flag of the British Merchant Navy, a red flag with the Union Flag
  Flag of the United Kingdom
  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland uses as its national flag the royal banner known as the Union Flag or, popularly, Union Jack. The current design of the Union Flag dates from the union of Ireland and Great Britain in 1801...
  
   in the upper left corner. Colloquially called the "red duster".
• Clean bill of health: A certificate issued by a port indicating that the ship carries no infectious diseases. Also called a pratique
  Pratique
  Pratique is the license given to a ship to enter port on assurance from the captain to convince the authorities that he/she is free from contagious disease. The clearance granted is commonly referred to as Free Pratique....
  
  .
• Clean slate: At the helm, the watch keeper would record details of speed, distances, headings, etc. on a slate. At the beginning of a new watch the slate would be wiped clean.
• Cleat
  Cleat (nautical)
  In nautical contexts, a cleat is a device for securing a rope. The traditional design is attached to a flat surface or a spar and features two “horns” extending parallel to the deck or the axis of the spar, resembling an anvil....
  
  : A stationary device used to secure a rope aboard a vessel.
• Clench: A method of fixing together two pieces of wood, usually overlapping planks, by driving a nail through both planks as well as a washer-like rove. The nail is then burred or riveted over to complete the fastening.
• Clew: The lower corners of square sails or the corner of a triangular sail at the end of the boom.
• Clew-lines
  Clewlines and buntlines
  For the revolver, see Colt BuntlineClewlines and buntlines are lines used to handle the sails of a square rigged ship.Although the common perception of a traditionally rigged ship is that the sails are handled from "up in the rigging", the majority of the work is actually carried out from the deck...
  
  : Used to truss up the clews, the lower corners of square sails.
• Clinker built
  Clinker (boat building)
  Clinker building is a method of constructing hulls of boats and ships by fixing wooden planks and, in the early nineteenth century, iron plates to each other so that the planks overlap along their edges. The overlapping joint is called a land. In any but a very small boat, the individual planks...
  
  : A method of constructing hulls that involves overlapping planks, and/or plates, much like Viking longships, resulting in speed and flexibility in small boat hulls. Cf. "carvel built".
• Close aboard: Near a ship.
• Close-hauled
  Points of sail
  Points of sail describes a sailing boat's course in relation to the wind direction.There is a distinction between the port tack and the starboard tack. If the wind is coming from anywhere on the port side, the boat is on port tack. Likewise if the wind is coming from the starboard side, the boat...
  
  : Of a vessel beating as close to the wind direction as possible.
• Club hauling The ship drops one of its anchors at high speed to turn abruptly. This was sometimes used as a means to get a good firing angle on a pursuing vessel. See Kedge
• Coaming
  Coaming
  Coaming is any vertical surface on a ship designed to deflect or prevent entry of water. It usually refers to raised section of deck plating around an opening, such as a hatch...
  
  : The raised edge of a hatch, cockpit or skylight to help keep out water.
• Cockpit
  Cockpit (sailing)
  In the Royal Navy, the term cockpit originally referred to the area where the coxswain was stationed. This led to the word being used to refer to the area towards the stern of a small decked vessel that houses the rudder controls...
  
  : The seating area (not to be confused with Deck). The area towards the stern of a small decked vessel that houses the rudder controls.
• Companionway
  Companionway
  In the architecture of a ship, a companion or companionway is a raised and windowed hatchway in the ship's deck, with a ladder leading below and the hooded entrance-hatch to the main cabins. This meaning of "companion" is derived from French and Italian terms meaning "the chamber of the company,"...
  
  : A raised and windowed hatchway in the ship's deck
  Deck (ship)
  A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary deck is the horizontal structure which forms the 'roof' for the hull, which both strengthens the hull and serves as the primary working surface...
  
  , with a ladder leading below and the hooded entrance-hatch to the main cabins.
• Communication tube: A tube, usually armored, connecting the conning tower
  Conning tower
  A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....
  
   with the below-decks control spaces in warships.
• Compass
  Compass
  A compass is a navigational instrument that shows directions in a frame of reference that is stationary relative to the surface of the earth. The frame of reference defines the four cardinal directions – north, south, east, and west. Intermediate directions are also defined...
  
  : Navigational instrument showing the direction of the vessel in relation to the Earth's geographical pole
  Geographical pole
  A geographical pole is either of the two points—the north pole and the south pole—on the surface of a rotating planet where the axis of rotation meets the surface of the body...
  
  s or magnetic poles
  Poles of astronomical bodies
  The poles of astronomical bodies are determined based on their axis of rotation in relation to the celestial poles of the celestial sphere.-Geographic poles:...
  
  . Commonly consists of a magnet aligned with the Earth's magnetic field, but other technologies have also been developed, such as the gyrocompass
  Gyrocompass
  A gyrocompass­ is a type of non-magnetic compass which bases on a fast-spinning disc and rotation of our planet to automatically find geographical direction...
  
  .
• Constant bearing, decreasing range
  Constant bearing, decreasing range
  Constant bearing, decreasing range means that some object, usually another ship viewed from the deck or bridge of one's own ship, is getting closer but maintaining the same true bearing...
  
   (CBDR): Because of the implication of disaster (ships might collide) it has come to mean a problem or an obstacle which is heading your way. Often used in the sense of a warning, as in "watch out for this problem you might not see coming."
• Consort
  Consort (nautical)
  Consort is a nautical term for unpowered Great Lakes vessels, usually a fully loaded schooner barge or steamer barge, towed by a larger steamer that would often tow more than one barge. The consort system was used in the Great Lakes from the 1860s to around 1920...
  
  : Unpowered Great Lakes
  Great Lakes
  The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
  
   vessels, usually a fully loaded schooner
  Schooner
  A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
  
  , barge
  Barge
  A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
  
  , or steamer
  Steamboat
  A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
  
   barge, towed by a larger steamer that would often tow more than one barge. The consort system was used in the Great Lakes from the 1860s to around 1920.
• Corinthian: An amateur
  Amateur sports
  Amateur sports are sports in which participants engage largely or entirely without remuneration. Sporting amateurism was a zealously guarded ideal in the 19th century, especially among the upper classes, but faced steady erosion throughout the 20th century with the continuing growth of pro sports...
  
   yachter
  Yachting
  Yachting refers to recreational sailing or boating, the specific act of sailing or using other water vessels for sporting purposes.-Competitive sailing:...
  
  .
• Corrector
  Corrector
  A corrector is a person who or object that practices correction, usually by removing or rectifying errors.The word is originally a Roman title corrector, derived from the Latin verb corrigēre, meaning "an action to rectify, to make right a wrong."Apart from the general sense of anyone who corrects...
  
  : A device to correct the ship's compass, for example counteracting errors due to the magnetic effects of a steel hull.
• Counter: The part of the stern above the waterline that extends beyond the rudder stock culminating in a small transom. A long counter increases the waterline length when the boat is heeled, so increasing hull speed.
• Counterflood: To deliberately flood compartments on the opposite side from already flooded ones. Usually done to reduce a list.
• Courses the lowest square sail on each mast— The mainsail, foresail
  Foresail
  A foresail is one of a few different types of sail set on the foremost mast of a sailing vessel:* A fore and aft sail set on the foremast of a schooner or similar vessel....
  
  , and the mizzen on a four masted ship (the after most mast usually sets a gaff driver or spanker instead of a square sail).
• Coxswain
  Coxswain
  The coxswain is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives us a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from cox, a coxboat or other small vessel kept aboard a ship, and swain, which can be rendered as boy, in authority. ...
  
   or cockswain (ˈ): The helmsman or crew member in command of a boat.
• As the crow flies: A direct line between two points (which might cross land) which is the way crows travel rather than ships which must go around land.
• Crance/Crans/Cranze iron: A fitting, mounted at the end of a bowsprit to which stays are attached.
• Cringle: A rope loop, usually at the corners of a sail, for fixing the sail to a spar. They are often reinforced with a metal eye.
• Cro'jack or crossjack: a square yard used to spread the foot of a topsail where no course is set, e.g. on the foremast of a topsail schooner
  Schooner
  A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
  
   or above the driver on the mizzen mast of a ship rigged vessel.
• Crosstrees
  Crosstrees
  Crosstrees are the two horizontal struts at the upper ends of the topmasts of sailboats, used to anchor the shrouds from the topgallant mast. Similarly, they may be mounted at the upper end of the topgallant to anchor the shrouds from the royal mast .See tops for the description of their purpose....
  
  : two horizontal struts at the upper ends of the topmasts of sailboats, used to anchor the shrouds from the topgallant mast.
• Crow's nest
  Crow's nest
  A crow's nest is a structure in the upper part of the mainmast of a ship or structure, that is used as a lookout point.This position ensured the best view of the approaching hazards, other ships or land. It was the best device for this purpose until the invention of radar.In early ships it was...
  
  : Specifically a masthead constructed with sides and sometimes a roof to shelter the lookouts from the weather, generally by whaling vessels, this term has become a generic term for what is properly called masthead. See masthead.
• Crutches: Metal Y shaped pins to hold oars whilst rowing.
• Cuddy: A small cabin in a boat.
• Cunningham
  Cunningham (sailing)
  In sailing, a cunningham or cunningham's eye is a type of downhaul used on a Bermuda rigged sailboat to change the shape of a sail. Sailors also often refer to the cunningham as the "smart pig"....
  
  : A line invented by Briggs Cunningham
  Briggs Cunningham
  Briggs Swift Cunningham II was an American entrepreneur and sportsman, who raced automobiles and yachts. Born into a wealthy family, he became a racing car constructor, driver, and team owner as well as a sports car manufacturer and automobile collector.He skippered the victorious yacht Columbia...
  
  , used to control the shape of a sail.
• Cunt splice
  Rope splicing
  Rope splicing in ropework is the forming of a semi-permanent joint between two ropes or two parts of the same rope by partly untwisting and then interweaving their strands. Splices can be used to form a stopper at the end of a line, to form a loop or an eye in a rope, or for joining two ropes...
  
   or cut splice: A join between two lines, similar to an eye-splice, where each rope end is joined to the other a short distance along, making an opening which closes under tension.
• Cuntline: The "valley" between the strands of a rope or cable. Before serving a section of laid rope e.g. to protect it from chafing, it may be "wormed" by laying yarns in the cuntlines, giving that section an even cylindrical shape.
• Cut and run: When wanting to make a quick escape, a ship might cut lashings to sails or cables for anchors, causing damage to the rigging, or losing an anchor, but shortening the time needed to make ready by bypassing the proper procedures.
• Cut of his jib: The "cut" of a sail refers to its shape. Since this would vary between ships, it could be used both to identify a familiar vessel at a distance, and to judge the possible sailing qualities of an unknown one. Also used figuratively of people.

D

• Daggerboard
  Daggerboard
  A daggerboard is a retractable centreboard used by various sailing craft. While other types of centreboard may pivot to retract, a daggerboard slides in a casing. The shape of the daggerboard converts the forward motion into a windward lift, countering the leeward push of the...
  
  : A type of light centerboard
  Centreboard
  A centreboard or centerboard is a retractable keel which pivots out of a slot in the hull of a sailboat, known as a centreboard trunk or centerboard case...
  
   that is lifted vertically; often in pairs, with the leeward one lowered when beating.
• Davy Jones' Locker
  Davy Jones' Locker
  Davy Jones's Locker is an idiom for the bottom of the sea: the state of death among drowned sailors. It is used as an euphemism for death at sea ....
  
  : An idiom
  Idiom
  Idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made...
  
   for the bottom of the sea.
• Day-blink: Moment at dawn where, from some point on the mast, a lookout can see above low lying mist which envelops the ship.
• Day beacon
  Day beacon
  A day beacon is an unlighted nautical sea mark. Typically, day beacons mark channels whose key points are marked by lighted buoys. Day beacons may also mark smaller navigable routes in their entirety. They are the most common aid to nautical navigation in shallow water as they are relatively...
  
  : An unlighted fixed structure which is equipped with a dayboard for daytime identification.
• Dayboard: The daytime identifier of an aid to navigation presenting one of several standard shapes (square, triangle, rectangle) and colors (red, green, white, orange, yellow, or black).
• Dead ahead: Exactly ahead, directly ahead, directly in front.
• Deadeye
  Deadeye
  A deadeye is an item used in the standing and running rigging of traditional sailing ships. It is a smallish round thick wooden disc with one or more holes through it, perpendicular to the plane of the disc. Single and triple-hole deadeyes are most commonly seen...
  
  : A wooden block with holes (but no pulleys) which is spliced to a shroud. It is used to adjust the tension in the standing rigging
  Standing rigging
  On a sailing boat, standing rigging generally refers to lines, wires, or rods which are more or less fixed in position while the boat is under sail. This term is used in contrast to running rigging, which represents elements of rigging which move and change fairly often while under sail...
  
   of large sailing vessels, by lacing through the holes with a lanyard to the deck. Performs the same job as a turnbuckle.
• Deadrise: The design angle between the keel (q.v.) and horizontal.
• Dead run: See running.
• Deadwood: A wooden part of the centerline structure of a boat, usually between the sternpost and amidships.
• Deck
  Deck (ship)
  A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary deck is the horizontal structure which forms the 'roof' for the hull, which both strengthens the hull and serves as the primary working surface...
  
  s: The top of the boat; the surface is removed to accommodate the seating area. The structures forming the approximately horizontal surfaces in the ship's general structure. Unlike flats, they are a structural part of the ship.
• Deck hand, decky: A person whose job involves aiding the deck supervisor in (un)mooring, anchoring, maintenance, and general evolutions on deck.
• Deck supervisor: The person in charge of all evolutions and maintenance on deck; sometimes split into two groups: forward deck supervisor, aft deck supervisor.
• Deckhead
  Deckhead
  A deckhead is the underside of a deck in a ship. It bears the same relationship to a compartment on the deck below as does the ceiling to the room of a house....
  
  : The under-side of the deck above. Sometimes paneled over to hide the pipe work. This paneling, like that lining the bottom and sides of the holds, is the ceiling.
• Derrick
  Derrick
  A derrick is a lifting device composed of one tower, or guyed mast such as a pole which is hinged freely at the bottom. It is controlled by lines powered by some means such as man-hauling or motors, so that the pole can move in all four directions. A line runs up it and over its top with a hook on...
  
  : A lifting device composed of one mast or pole and a boom or jib which is hinged freely at the bottom.
• Devil seam: The devil was possibly a slang term for the garboard seam, hence "between the devil and the deep blue sea" being an allusion to keel hauling, but a more popular version seems to be the seam between the waterway and the stanchion
  Stanchion
  A stanchion is an upright bar or post, often providing support for some other object.* An architectural term applied to the upright iron bars in windows that pass through the eyes of the saddle bars or horizontal irons to steady the leadlight. A stanchion is an upright bar or post, often...
  
  s which would be difficult to get at, requiring a cranked caulking iron, and a restricted swing of the caulking mallet.
• Devil to pay (or devil to pay, and no pitch hot): "Paying" the devil is sealing the devil seam. It is a difficult and unpleasant job (with no resources) because of the shape of the seam (up against the stanchion
  Stanchion
  A stanchion is an upright bar or post, often providing support for some other object.* An architectural term applied to the upright iron bars in windows that pass through the eyes of the saddle bars or horizontal irons to steady the leadlight. A stanchion is an upright bar or post, often...
  
  s) or if the devil refers to the garboard seam, it must be done with the ship slipped or careened.
• Directional light: A light illuminating a sector or very narrow angle and intended to mark a direction to be followed.
• Displacement
  Displacement (ship)
  A ship's displacement is its weight at any given time, generally expressed in metric tons or long tons. The term is often used to mean the ship's weight when it is loaded to its maximum capacity. A number of synonymous terms exist for this maximum weight, such as loaded displacement, full load...
  
  : The weight of water displaced by the immersed volume of a ship's hull, exactly equivalent to the weight of the whole ship.
• Displacement hull
  Hull (watercraft)
  A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
  
  : A hull designed to travel through the water, rather than planing over it.
• Disrate: To reduce in rank or rating; demote.
• Dodger: A hood forward of a hatch or cockpit to protect the crew from wind and spray. Can be soft or hard.
• Doghouse: A slang term (in the US, mostly) for a raised portion of a ship's deck. A doghouse is usually added to improve headroom below or to shelter a hatch.
• Dogvane: A small weather vane
  Weather vane
  A weather vane is an instrument for showing the direction of the wind. They are typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building....
  
  , sometimes improvised with a scrap of cloth, yarn or other light material mounted within sight of the helmsman. (See Tell-Tale)
• Dog watch
  Dog watch
  Dog watch, in marine or naval terminology, is a watch, a period of work duty or a work shift, between 1600 and 2000 . This period is split into two, with the first dog watch from 1600 to 1800 and the second dog watch from 1800 to 2000...
  
  : A short watch period, generally half the usual time (e.g. a two hour watch rather than a four hour one). Such watches might be included in order to rotate the system over different days for fairness, or to allow both watches to eat their meals at approximately normal times.
• The Doldrums
  Doldrums
  The doldrums is a colloquial expression derived from historical maritime usage for those parts of the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean affected by the Intertropical Convergence Zone, a low-pressure area around the equator where the prevailing winds are calm...
  
   or equatorial calms: The equatorial trough, with special reference to the light and variable nature of the winds.
• Dolphin
  Dolphin (structure)
  A dolphin is a man-made marine structure that extends above the water level and is not connected to shore.Dolphins are usually installed to provide a fixed structure when it would be impractical to extend the shore to provide a dry access facility, for example, when ships are greater than the...
  
  : A structure consisting of a number of piles driven into the seabed or riverbed as a marker.
• Downbound
  Downbound
  Downbound - A direction a vessel is moving in the Great Lakes region. The St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation uses term for eastward movements of cargo. The U.S. Coast Guard uses the term for vessels following the current....
  
  :

1. Adjective describing a vessel traveling downstream.

2. Adjective describing eastward-traveling vessels in the Great Lakes

Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...

 region (terminology as used by the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation).

• Downhaul
  Downhaul
  The downhaul is a line which is part of the rigging on a sailboat; it applies downward force on a spar or sail. The most common downhaul on a modern sailboat is attached to the spinnaker pole, though this may be referred to as the foreguy in some rigging nomenclature...
  
  : A line used to control either a mobile spar
  Spar
  In sailing, a spar is a pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials such as carbon fiber used on a sailing vessel. Spars of all types In sailing, a spar is a pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials such as carbon fiber used on a sailing vessel. Spars of all types In sailing, a spar is a...
  
  , or the shape of a sail. A downhaul can also be used to retrieve a sail back on deck.
• Drabbler: An extra strip of canvas secured below a bonnet (q.v.), further to increase the area of a course
• Draft
  Draft (hull)
  The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
  
   or draught (both ˈ): The depth of a ship's keel below the waterline.
• Dressing down

1. Treating old sails with oil or wax to renew them.

2. A verbal reprimand.

• Driver: The large sail flown from the mizzen gaff.
• Driver-mast: The fifth mast of a six-masted barquentine or gaff schooner. It is preceded by the jigger mast and followed by the spanker mast. The sixth mast of the only seven-masted vessel, the gaff schooner Thomas W. Lawson
  Thomas W. Lawson (ship)
  The Thomas W. Lawson was a seven-masted, steel-hulled schooner originally planned for the Pacific trade, but then used primarily to haul coal and oil along the East Coast of the United States. Built in 1902, the ship holds the distinction of being the largest schooner and the largest pure sailing...
  
  , was normally called the pusher-mast.
• Drogue
  Drogue
  A drogue is a device external to the boat, attached to the stern used to slow a boat down in a storm and to keep the hull perpendicular to the waves. The boat will not speed excessively down the slope of a wave and crash into the next one nor will it broach. By slowing the vessel in heavy...
  
   (ˈ): a device to slow a boat down in a storm so that it does not speed excessively down the slope of a wave and crash into the next one. It is generally constructed of heavy flexible material in the shape of a cone. Also see sea anchor.
• Dunnage (ˈ):

1. Loose packing material used to protect a ship's cargo from damage during transport. (Also see Fardage)

2. Personal baggage.

E

• Earrings: Small lines, by which the uppermost corners of the largest sails are secured to the yardarms.
• Echo sounding
  Echo sounding
  Echo sounding is the technique of using sound pulses directed from the surface or from a submarine vertically down to measure the distance to the bottom by means of sound waves. This information is then typically used for navigation purposes or in order to obtain depths for charting purposes...
  
  : Measuring the depth of the water using a sonar
  Sonar
  Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
  
   device. Also see sounding and swinging the lead.
• Embayed: The condition where a sailing vessel (especially one which sails poorly to windward) is confined between two capes or headlands by a wind blowing directly onshore.
• En echelon: Forward and aft gun turrets on opposite sides of the ship, example.
• Engine order telegraph
  Engine order telegraph
  An engine order telegraph or E.O.T., often also chadburn, is a communications device used on a ship for the pilot on the bridge to order engineers in the engine room to power the vessel at a certain desired speed...
  
  : a communications device used by the pilot to order engineers in the engine room to power the vessel at a certain desired speed. Also Chadburn.
• Extremis: (also known as “in extremis”) the point under International Rules of the Road (Navigation Rules
  International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea
  The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972 are published by the International Maritime Organization , and set out, inter alia, the "rules of the road" or navigation rules to be followed by ships and other vessels at sea in order to prevent collisions between two or more...
  
  ) at which the privileged (or stand-on) vessel on collision course with a burdened (or give-way) vessel determines it must maneuver to avoid a collision. Prior to extremis, the privileged vessel must maintain course and speed and the burdened vessel must maneuver to avoid collision.
• Eye splice
  Eye splice
  The eye splice is the best method of creating a permanent loop in the end of multi stranded rope by means of rope splicing. The ends of the rope are tucked back into the standing end to form the loop. Originally this splice was described with each end being tucked only about three times. When...
  
  : A closed loop or eye at the end a line, rope, cable etc. It is made by unraveling its end and joining it to itself by intertwining it into the lay of the line. Eye splices
  Rope splicing
  Rope splicing in ropework is the forming of a semi-permanent joint between two ropes or two parts of the same rope by partly untwisting and then interweaving their strands. Splices can be used to form a stopper at the end of a line, to form a loop or an eye in a rope, or for joining two ropes...
  
   are very strong and compact and are employed in moorings and docking lines among other uses.

F

• Fair:

1. A smooth curve, usually referring to a line of the hull which has no deviations.

2. To make something flush.

3. A line is fair when it has a clear run.

4. A wind or current is fair when it offers an advantage to a boat.

• Fairlead
  Fairlead
  A fairlead is a device to guide a line, rope or cable around an object, out of the way or to stop it from moving laterally. Typically a fairlead will be a ring or hook. The fairlead may be a separate piece of hardware, or it could be a hole in the structure....
  
  : A ring, hook or other device used to keep a line or chain running in the correct direction or to prevent it rubbing or fouling.
• Fall off: To change the direction of sail so as to point in a direction that is more down wind. To bring the bow leeward. Also bear away, bear off or head down. This is the opposite of pointing up or heading up.
• Fantail: Aft end of the ship, also known as the Poop Deck
  Poop deck
  In naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck that forms the roof of a cabin built in the rear, or "aft", part of the superstructure of a ship.The name originates from the French word for stern, la poupe, from Latin puppis...
  
  .
• Fardage: Wood placed in bottom of ship to keep cargo dry. (Also see Dunnage)
• Fast: Fastened or held firmly (fast aground: stuck on the seabed; made fast: tied securely).
• Fathom
  Fathom
  A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems, used especially for measuring the depth of water.There are 2 yards in an imperial or U.S. fathom...
  
   (ˈ): A unit of length equal to 6 feet (1.8 m), roughly measured as the distance between a man's outstretched hands. Particularly used to measure depth.
• Fender
  Fender (boating)
  In boating, a fender is a bumper used to absorb the kinetic energy of a berthing boat or vessel against a jetty, quay wall or other vessel. Fenders are used to prevent damage to boats, vessels and berthing structures. Fenders are nowadays constructed in several ways, typically of rubber, foam...
  
  : An air or foam filled bumper used in boating to keep boats from banging into docks or each other.
• Fetch:

1. The distance across water which a wind or waves have traveled.

2. To reach a mark without tacking.

• Fid:

1. A tapered wooden tool used for separating the strands of rope for splicing.

2. A bar used to fix an upper mast in place.

• Fife rail
  Fife rail
  A fife rail is a design element of the bulwarks of a European-style sailing ship used to belay the ship's halyards at the base of a mast. When surrounding a mast, a fife rail is sometimes referred to specifically by the name of the mast with which it is associated: the main fife rail surrounds the...
  
  : A freestanding pinrail surrounding the base of a mast and used for securing that mast's sails' halyards with a series of belaying pins.
• Figurehead: symbolic image at the head of a traditional sailing ship or early steamer.
• Fireroom: The compartment in which the ship's boilers or furnaces are stoked and fired.
• Fire ship
  Fire ship
  A fire ship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, deliberately set on fire and steered into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy ships, or to create panic and make the enemy break formation. Ships used as fire ships were usually old and worn out or...
  
  : A ship loaded with flammable materials and explosives and sailed into an enemy port or fleet either already burning or ready to be set alight by its crew (who would then abandon it) in order to collide with and set fire to enemy ships.
• First-rate
  First-rate
  First rate was the designation used by the Royal Navy for its largest ships of the line. While the size and establishment of guns and men changed over the 250 years that the rating system held sway, from the early years of the eighteenth century the first rates comprised those ships mounting 100...
  
  : The classification for the largest sailing warships of the 17th through 19th centuries. They had 3 masts, 850+ crew and 100+ guns.
• Fish:

1. To repair a mast or spar with a fillet of wood.

2. To secure an anchor on the side of the ship for sea (otherwise known as "catting".)

• First Lieutenant
  First Lieutenant
  First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
  
  : In the Royal Navy, the senior lieutenant
  Lieutenant
  A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
  
   on board; responsible to the Commander
  Commander
  Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
  
   for the domestic affairs of the ship's company. Also known as 'Jimmy the One' or 'Number One'. Removes his cap when visiting the mess decks as token of respect for the privacy of the crew in those quarters. Officer i/c cables on the forecastle
  Forecastle
  Forecastle refers to the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters...
  
  . In the U.S. Navy the senior person in charge of all Deck hands.
• First Mate
  Chief Mate
  A Chief Mate or Chief Officer, usually also synonymous with the First Mate or First Officer , is a licensed member and head of the deck department of a merchant ship...
  
  : The Second in command of a ship.
• Fixed propeller
  Propeller
  A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
  
  : A propeller mounted on a rigid shaft protruding from the hull of a vessel, usually driven by an inboard motor; steering must be done using a rudder. See also outboard motor and sterndrive.
• Flag hoist: A number of signal flags strung together to convey a message, e.g. 'England expects...'.
• Flank
  Flank speed
  Flank speed is a nautical term referring to a ship's true maximum speed, beyond the speed that can be reached by traveling at full speed. Usually, flank speed is reserved for situations in which a ship finds itself in imminent danger, such as coming under attack by aircraft...
  
  : The maximum speed of a ship. Faster than "full speed".
• Flare:

1. A curvature of the topsides outward towards the gunwale.

2. A pyrotechnic signalling device, usually used to indicate distress.

• Flatback: A Great Lakes slang term for a vessel without any self unloading equipment.
• Flotsam
  Flotsam and jetsam
  In maritime law, flotsam, jetsam, lagan and derelict describe specific kinds of wreck.The words have specific nautical meanings, with legal consequences in the law of admiralty and marine salvage....
  
  : Debris or cargo that remains afloat after a shipwreck. See also jetsam
  Flotsam and jetsam
  In maritime law, flotsam, jetsam, lagan and derelict describe specific kinds of wreck.The words have specific nautical meanings, with legal consequences in the law of admiralty and marine salvage....
  
  .
• Fluke: The wedge-shaped part of an anchor's arms that digs into the bottom.
• Fly by night: A large sail used only for sailing downwind, requiring little attention.
• Folding propeller
  Folding propeller
  A folding propeller is a type of propeller where the propeller blades fold in when the propeller is not in use, and out when the propeller is in use. This type of propeller is often used on sailing yachts to reduce drag while under sail. It is also used on microfilm model aircraft. Pros and cons of...
  
  : A propeller with folding blades, furling to reduce drag on a sailing vessel when not in use.
• Following sea
  Following sea
  In boating, a following sea refers to a wave direction that matches the heading of the boat. For example, if the waves of the body of water are heading in the same direction as the sailor, then the water is "following" the sailor's boat...
  
  : Wave or tidal movement going in the same direction as a ship
• Foot:

1. The lower edge of any sail.

2. The bottom of a mast.

3. A measurement of 12 inches.

• Footloose: If the foot of a sail is not secured properly, it is footloose, blowing around in the wind.
• Footrope
  Footrope
  Each yard on a square rigged sailing ship is equipped with a footrope for sailors to stand on while setting or stowing the sails.Formerly, the footrope was the rope sewn along the lower edge of a square sail, and the rope below the yards was called the horse or Flemish horse...
  
  : Each yard on a square rigged sailing ship is equipped with a footrope for sailors to stand on while setting or stowing the sails
• Force: See Beaufort scale.
• Fore, forward, foreward (ˈ, and often written "for'ard"): Towards the bow (of the vessel).
• Forecastle
  Forecastle
  Forecastle refers to the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters...
  
  : A partial deck, above the upper deck and at the head of the vessel; traditionally the sailors' living quarters. Pronounced ˈ. The name is derived from the castle fitted to bear archers in time of war.
• Forefoot: The lower part of the stem of a ship.
• Foremast jack: An enlisted sailor, one who is housed before the foremast.
• Forestay
  Forestay
  On a sailing vessel, a forestay, sometimes just called a stay, is a piece of standing rigging which keeps a mast from falling backwards. It is attached either at the very top of the mast, or in fractional rigs between about 1/8 and 1/4 from the top of the mast. The other end of the forestay is...
  
  s: Long lines or cables, reaching from the bow of the vessel to the mast heads, used to support the mast.
• Foul
  Foul (nautical)
  Foul is a nautical term meaning to entangle or entwine, and more generally that something is wrong or difficult. The term dates back to usage with wind-driven sailing ships.-Fouled anchor:...
  
  :

1. The opposite of clear. For instance, a rope is foul when it does nor run straight or smoothly, and an anchor is foul when it is caught on an obstruction.

2. A breach of racing rules.

3. An area of water treacherous to navigation due to many shallow obstructions such as reefs, sandbars, or many rocks, etc.

• Foulies: A slang term for oilskins, the foul-weather clothing worn by sailors. See also oilskins.
• Founder: To fill with water and sink → Founder (Wiktionary)
• Fourth rate: In the British Royal Navy
  Royal Navy
  The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
  
  , a fourth rate was, during the first half of the 18th century, a ship of the line
  Ship of the line
  A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
  
   mounting from 46 up to 60 guns.
• Frame: A transverse structural member which gives the hull strength and shape. Wooden frames may be sawn, bent or laminated into shape. Planking is then fastened to the frames. A bent frame is called a timber.
• Freeboard: The height of a ship's hull (excluding superstructure) above the waterline. The vertical distance from the current waterline to the lowest point on the highest continuous watertight deck. This usually varies from one part to another.
• Full and by: Sailing into the wind (by), but not as close-hauled as might be possible, so as to make sure the sails are kept full. This provides a margin for error to avoid being taken aback (a serious risk for square-rigged vessels) in a tricky sea. Figuratively it implies getting on with the job but in a steady, relaxed way, without undue urgency or strain.
• Furl: To roll or gather a sail against its mast or spar.
• Futtocks: Pieces of timber that make up a large transverse frame.

G

• Gaff:

1. The spar that holds the upper edge of a four-sided fore-and-aft mounted sail.

2. A hook on a long pole to haul fish in.

• Gaff rig
  Gaff rig
  Gaff rig is a sailing rig in which the sail is four-cornered, fore-and-aft rigged, controlled at its peak and, usually, its entire head by a spar called the gaff...
  
  ged: A boat rigged with a four-sided fore-and-aft sail with its upper edge supported by a spar or gaff which extends aft from the mast.
• Gaff vang: A line rigged to the end of a gaff and used to adjust a gaff sail's trim.
• Gam: A meeting of two (or more) whaling ships at sea. The ships each send out a boat to the other, and the two captains meet on one ship, while the two chief mates meet on the other.
• Gammon iron: The bow fitting which clamps the bowsprit to the stem.
• Galley
  Galley (kitchen)
  The galley is the compartment of a ship, train or aircraft where food is cooked and prepared. It can also refer to a land based kitchen on a naval base or a particular formed household kitchen.-Ship's kitchen:...
  
  : the kitchen of the ship
• Gangplank: A movable bridge used in boarding or leaving a ship at a pier; also known as a "brow".
• Gangway: An opening in the bulwark of the ship to allow passengers to board or leave the ship.
• Garbling: The (illegal) practice of mixing cargo with garbage.
• Garboard: The strake closest to the keel (from Dutch gaarboard).
• Garboard planks: The planks immediately either side of the keel.
• Gash: Any refuse or rubbish which is discarded into a refuse container or dustbin which is known as "gash fanny" (South African Navy).
• Gash Fanny: Refuse container or dustbin.
• Gennaker
  Gennaker
  A gennaker is a sail that was developed around 1990. Used when sailing downwind, it is a cross between a genoa and a spinnaker. It is asymmetric like a genoa, but the gennaker is not attached to the forestay like a jib or genoa. The gennaker is rigged like a spinnaker but the tack is fastened to...
  
  : A large, lightweight sail used for sailing a fore-and-aft rig down or across the wind, intermediate between a genoa and a spinnaker.
• Genoa
  Genoa (sail)
  The genoa or jenny was originally referred to as the 'overlapping jib' or the Genoa jib, being named after the city of Genoa as explained below. It is a type of large jib or staysail used on bermuda rigged craft that overlaps the main sail, sometimes eliminating it. It is used on single-masted...
  
   or genny (both ˈ): A large jib, strongly overlapping the mainmast.
• Ghost: To sail slowly when there is apparently no wind.
• Gibe: See gybe.
• Gin-pole: A pole that is attached perpendicular to the mast, to be used as a lever for raising the mast. Also jin-pole.
• Give-way (vessel): Where two vessels are approaching one another so as to involve a risk of collision, this is the vessel which is directed to keep out of the way of the other.
• Glass
  Barometer
  A barometer is a scientific instrument used in meteorology to measure atmospheric pressure. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather...
  
  : A marine barometer. (Older barometers used mercury-filled glass tubes to measure and indicate barometric pressure.)
• Global Positioning System
  Global Positioning System
  The Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...
  
  : (GPS) A satellite based radionavigation system providing continuous worldwide coverage. It provides navigation, position, and timing information to air, marine, and land users.
• Going about or tacking: Changing from one tack to another by going through the wind (see also gybe).
• Gooseneck: Fitting that attaches the boom to the mast, allowing it to move freely.
• Goosewinged: Of a fore-and-aft rigged vessel sailing directly away from the wind, with the sails set on opposite sides of the vessel—for example with the mainsail to port and the jib to starboard, to maximize the amount of canvas exposed to the wind. Also see running.
• Grapeshot
  Grapeshot
  In artillery, a grapeshot is a type of shot that is not a one solid element, but a mass of small metal balls or slugs packed tightly into a canvas bag. It was used both in land and naval warfare. When assembled, the balls resembled a cluster of grapes, hence the name...
  
  : Small balls of lead fired from a cannon
  Cannon
  A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
  
  , analogous to shotgun
  Shotgun
  A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
  
   shot but on a larger scale. Similar to canister shot
  Canister shot
  Canister shot is a kind of anti-personnel ammunition used in cannons. It was similar to the naval grapeshot, but fired smaller and more numerous balls, which did not have to punch through the wooden hull of a ship...
  
   but with larger individual shot. Used to injure personnel and damage rigging more than to cause structural damage.
• Grave: To clean a ship’s bottom.
• Grog
  Grog
  The word grog refers to a variety of alcoholic beverages. The word originally referred to a drink made with water or "small beer" and rum, which British Vice Admiral Edward Vernon introduced into the Royal Navy on 21 August 1740. Vernon wore a coat of grogram cloth and was nicknamed Old Grogram or...
  
  : Watered-down pusser's rum consisting of half a gill with equal part of water, issued to all seamen over twenty. (CPOs and POs were issued with neat rum) From the British Admiral Vernon
  Edward Vernon
  Edward Vernon was an English naval officer. Vernon was born in Westminster, England and went to Westminster School. He joined the Navy in 1700 and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1702 and served on several different ships for the next five years...
  
   who, in 1740, ordered the men's ration of rum to be watered down. He was called "Old Grogram" because he often wore a grogram coat, and the watered rum came to be called 'grog'. Often used (illegally) as currency in exchange for favours in quantities prescribed as 'sippers' and 'gulpers'. Additional issues of grog were made on the command 'splice the mainbrace
  Splice the mainbrace
  "Splice the mainbrace" is an order given aboard naval vessels to issue the crew with a drink. Originally an order for one of the most difficult emergency repair jobs aboard a sailing ship, it became a euphemism for authorized celebratory drinking afterward, and then the name of an order to grant...
  
  ' for celebrations or as a reward for performing especially onerous duties. The RN discontinued the practice of issuing rum in 1970. A sailor might repay a colleague for a favour by giving him part or all of his grog ration, ranging from "sippers" (a small amount) via "gulpers" (a larger quantity) to "grounders" (the entire tot).
• Groggy: Drunk from having consumed a lot of grog.
• Ground: The bed of the sea.
• Grounding: When a ship (while afloat) touches the bed of the sea, or goes "aground" (qv).
• Gunport: The opening in the side of the ship or in a turret through which the gun fires or protrudes.
• Gunner's daughter: see kissing the gunner's daughter.
• Gunwale
  Gunwale
  The gunwale is a nautical term describing the top edge of the side of a boat.Wale is the same word as the skin injury, a wheal, which, too, forms a ridge. Originally the gunwale was the "Gun ridge" on a sailing warship. This represented the strengthening wale or structural band added to the design...
  
   (ˈ): Upper edge of the hull.
• Gybe
  Jibe
  A jibe or gybe is a sailing maneuver where a sailing vessel turns its stern through the wind, such that the wind direction changes from one side of the boat to the other...
  
   or jibe (both ˈ): To change from one tack to the other away from the wind, with the stern of the vessel turning through the wind. (See also going about and wearing ship.)
• Jibe-ho: The command given to gybe.

H

• Half-breadth plan: In shipbuilding
  Shipbuilding
  Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
  
  , an elevation of the lines of a ship, viewed from above and divided lengthwise.
• Halyard
  Halyard
  In sailing, a halyard or halliard is a line that is used to hoist a sail, a flag or a yard. The term halyard comes from the phrase, 'to haul yards'...
  
   or halliard: Originally, ropes used for hoisting a spar with a sail attached; today, a line used to raise the head of any sail.
• Hammock
  Hammock
  A hammock is a sling made of fabric, rope, or netting, suspended between two points, used for swinging, sleeping, or resting. It normally consists of one or more cloth panels, or a woven network of twine or thin rope stretched with ropes between two firm anchor points such as trees or posts....
  
  : Canvas sheets, slung from the deckhead
  Deckhead
  A deckhead is the underside of a deck in a ship. It bears the same relationship to a compartment on the deck below as does the ceiling to the room of a house....
  
   in messdecks, in which seamen slept. "Lash up and stow" a piped command to tie up hammocks and stow them (typically) in racks inboard of the ship's side to protect crew from splinters from shot and provide a ready means of preventing flooding caused by damage.
• Hand: To furl a sail.
• Handy billy: A loose block and tackle with a hook or tail on each end, which can be used wherever it is needed. Usually made up of one single and one double block.
• Hand bomber: A ship using coal-fired boilers shoveled in by hand.
• Hand over fist: To climb steadily upwards, from the motion of a sailor climbing shrouds on a sailing ship (originally "hand over hand").
• Handsomely: With a slow even motion, as when hauling on a line "handsomely".
• Hank: A fastener attached to the luff of the headsail
  Headsail
  A headsail of a sailing vessel is any sail set forward of the foremost mast. The most common headsails are staysails, a term that includes jibs and the larger genoa...
  
   that attaches the headsail
  Headsail
  A headsail of a sailing vessel is any sail set forward of the foremost mast. The most common headsails are staysails, a term that includes jibs and the larger genoa...
  
   to the forestay
  Forestay
  On a sailing vessel, a forestay, sometimes just called a stay, is a piece of standing rigging which keeps a mast from falling backwards. It is attached either at the very top of the mast, or in fractional rigs between about 1/8 and 1/4 from the top of the mast. The other end of the forestay is...
  
  . Typical designs include a bronze or plastic hook with a spring-operated gate, or a strip of cloth webbing with a snap fastener.
• Harbor
  Harbor
  A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
  
  : A harbor or harbour, or haven, is a place where ships may shelter from the weather or are stored. Harbours can be man-made or natural.
• Harbor of refuge: A place where ships in transit can find shelter from a storm. These are often man-made jetty enclosed areas along a featureless coastline where no nearby natural deep water harbors exist.
• Hard: A section of otherwise muddy shoreline suitable for mooring or hauling out.
• Hard-a-lee: See lee-oh.
• Harden up: Turn towards the wind; sail closer to the wind.
• Harness cask: A large usually round tub lashed to a vessel's deck and containing dried and salted provisions for daily use.
• Harness tub: See "Harness cask".
• Hardtack
  Hardtack
  Hardtack is a simple type of cracker or biscuit, made from flour, water, and sometimes salt. Inexpensive and long-lasting, it was and is used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods, commonly during long sea voyages and military campaigns. The name derives from the British sailor slang...
  
  : A hard and long-lasting dry biscuit, used as food on long journeys. Also called ship's biscuit.
• Hatchway, hatch: A covered opening in a ship's deck through which cargo can be loaded or access made to a lower deck; the cover to the opening is called a hatch.
• Hauling wind: Pointing the ship towards the direction of the wind; generally not the fastest point of travel on a sailing vessel.
• Hawse pipe, hawse-hole or hawse (ˈ): The shaft or hole in the side of a vessel's bow through which the anchor chain passes.
• Hawsepiper
  Hawsepiper
  Hawsepiper is an informal maritime industry term used to refer to a merchant ship’s officer who began his or her career as an unlicensed merchant seaman and did not attend a traditional maritime college/academy to earn the officer license...
  
  : An informal term for a merchant ship’s officer who began their career as an unlicensed merchant seaman, and so did not attend a traditional maritime academy to earn their officer's licence (also see before the mast).
• Hawser
  Hawser
  Hawser is a nautical term for a thick cable or rope used in mooring or towing a ship. A hawser passes through a hawsehole, also known as a cat hole, located on the hawse....
  
  : Large rope used for mooring or towing a vessel.
• Head
  Head (watercraft)
  The head is a ship's toilet. The name derives from sailing ships in which the toilet area for the regular sailors was placed at the head or bow of the ship.-Design:In sailing ships the toilet was placed in the bow for two reasons...
  
  :

1. The toilet

Toilet

A toilet is a sanitation fixture used primarily for the disposal of human excrement, often found in a small room referred to as a toilet/bathroom/lavatory...

 or latrine

Latrine

A latrine is a communal facility containing one or more commonly many toilets which may be simple pit toilets or in the case of the United States Armed Forces any toilet including modern flush toilets...

 of a vessel, which in sailing ships projected from the bows.

2. The top edge of a sail.

• Header: A change in the wind direction which forces the helmsman of a close hauled sailboat to steer away from its current course to a less favorable one. This is the opposite of a lift.
• Head of navigation: A term used to describe the farthest point above the mouth of a river that can be navigated by ships.Head sea: A sea where waves are directly opposing the motion of the ship.
• Headsail
  Headsail
  A headsail of a sailing vessel is any sail set forward of the foremost mast. The most common headsails are staysails, a term that includes jibs and the larger genoa...
  
  : Any sail flown in front of the most forward mast
  Mast (sailing)
  The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
  
  .
• Heave: A vessel's transient, vertical, up-and-down motion.
• Heaving to
  Heaving to
  In sailing, heaving to is a way of slowing a sail boat's forward progress, as well as fixing the helm and sail positions so that the boat does not actively have to be steered. It is commonly used for a "break"; this may be to wait for the tide before proceeding, to wait out a strong or contrary...
  
  : Stopping a sailing vessel by lashing the helm in opposition to the sails. The vessel will gradually drift to leeward, the speed of the drift depending on the vessel's design.
• Heave down: Turn a ship on its side (for cleaning).
• Heeling: Heeling is the lean caused by the wind's force on the sails of a sailing vessel.
• Helm: The steering wheel. The wheel and/or wheelhouse area. Also see wheelhouse.
• Helmsman
  Helmsman
  A helmsman is a person who steers a ship, sailboat, submarine, or other type of maritime vessel. On small vessels, particularly privately-owned noncommercial vessels, the functions of skipper and helmsman may be combined in one person. On larger vessels, there is a separate officer of the watch,...
  
  : A person who steers a ship
• Highfield lever: A particular type of tensioning lever, usually for running backstays. Their use allows the leeward backstay to be completely slackened so that the boom can be let fully out.
• Hitch: A knot used to tie a rope or line to a fixed object. Also see bend.
• Hog:

1. A fore-and-aft structural member of the hull fitted over the keel to provide a fixing for the garboard planks.

2. A rough flat scrubbing brush for cleaning a ship’s bottom under water.

• Hogging: When the peak of a wave is amidships, causing the hull to bend so the ends of the keel
  Keel
  In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
  
   are lower than the middle. The opposite of sagging.
• Hold
  Hold (ship)
  thumb|right|120px|View of the hold of a container shipA ship's hold is a space for carrying cargo. Cargo in holds may be either packaged in crates, bales, etc., or unpackaged . Access to holds is by a large hatch at the top...
  
  : In earlier use, below the orlop deck, the lower part of the interior of a ship's hull, especially when considered as storage space, as for cargo. In later merchant vessels it extended up through the decks to the underside of the weather deck.
• Holiday: A gap in the coverage of newly applied paint, slush, tar or other preservative.
• Holystone
  Holystone
  Holystone is a soft and brittle sandstone that was formerly used for scouring and whitening the wooden decks of ships. It was used in the British and American Navy for scrubbing the decks of sailing ships....
  
  : A chunk of sandstone
  Sandstone
  Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
  
   used to scrub the decks. The name comes from both the kneeling position sailors adopt to scrub the deck (reminiscent of genuflection for prayer), and the stone itself (which resembled a Bible in shape and size).
• Horn: A sound signal which uses electricity or compressed air to vibrate a disc diaphragm.
• Horn timber: A fore-and-aft structural member of the hull sloping up and backwards from the keel to support the counter.
• Horse:

1. Attachment of sheets to deck of vessel (main-sheet horse).

2. (v.) To move or adjust sail by brute hand force rather than using running rigging.

• Hounds: Attachments of stays to masts.
• Hull
  Hull (watercraft)
  A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
  
  : The shell and framework of the basic flotation-oriented part of a ship.
• Hull-down
  Hull-down
  The term hull-down describes the situation where the upper part of a vessel or vehicle is visible, but the main, lower body is not; the opposite term hull-up describes the situation where all of the body is visible....
  
  : Of a vessel when only its upper parts are visible over the horizon.
• Hull speed
  Hull speed
  Hull speed, sometimes referred to as displacement speed, is the speed of a boat at which the bow and stern waves interfere constructively, creating relatively large waves, and thus a relatively large value of wave drag...
  
  : The maximum efficient speed of a displacement-hulled vessel.
• Hydrofoil
  Hydrofoil
  A hydrofoil is a foil which operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to airfoils.Hydrofoils can be artificial, such as the rudder or keel on a boat, the diving planes on a submarine, a surfboard fin, or occur naturally, as with fish fins, the flippers of aquatic mammals, the...
  
  : A boat with wing-like foils mounted on struts below the hull, lifting the hull entirely out of the water at speed and allowing water resistance to be greatly reduced.

I

• Icing
  Icing (nautical)
  Icing on ships is a serious hazard where cold temperatures combined with high wind speed result in spray blown off the sea freezing immediately on contact with the ship...
  
  : A serious hazard where cold temperatures (below about -10°C) combined with high wind speed (typically force 8 or above on the Beaufort scale
  Beaufort scale
  The Beaufort Scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort Wind Force Scale.-History:...
  
  ) result in spray blown off the sea freezing immediately on contact with the ship
• Idlers: Members of a ship's company not required to serve watches. These were in general specialist tradesmen such as the carpenter and the sailmaker.
• Inboard motor
  Inboard motor
  An inboard motor is a marine propulsion system for boats. As opposed to an outboard motor where an engine is mounted outside of the hull of the craft, an inboard motor is an engine enclosed within the hull of the boat, usually connected to a propulsion screw by adriveshaft.-History:The first...
  
  : An engine mounted within the hull of a vessel, usually driving a fixed propeller by a shaft protruding through the stern. Generally used on larger vessels. Also see sterndrive and outboard motor.
• Inboard-Outboard drive system: See sterndrive.
• Inglefield clip
  Inglefield clip
  The Inglefield clip is a clip for joining a flag or ensign quickly, easily and securely to flag halyards so that the flag can be hoisted. They are also used for jib sheets on small boats and on paragliders.Each clip resembles a link of chain, with a split through one side...
  
  : A type of clip for attaching a flag to a flag halyard.
• In irons: When the bow of a sailboat is headed into the wind and the boat has stalled and is unable to maneuver
• In the offing: In the water visible from on board a ship, now used to mean something imminent.
• In-water survey: a method of surveying the underwater parts of a ship
  Ship
  Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
  
   while it is still afloat instead of having to drydock it for examination of these areas as was conventionally done.
• In way of: In the vicinity of; in the area of.
• Iron wind: What sailors call inboard engines.
• Island: The superstructure
  Superstructure
  A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships...
  
   of an aircraft carrier
  Aircraft carrier
  An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
  
  . A carrier that lacks one is said to be flush deck
  Flush deck
  In naval architecture, a flush deck refers to when the upper deck of a vessel extends unbroken from stem to stern. There is no raised forecastle or lowered quarterdeck. Ships of this type may be referred to as "flush deckers", although this is often taken as referring to a series of United States...
  
  ed.

J

• Jack:

1: A sailor. Also jack tar or just tar.

2: A flag. Typically the flag was talked about as if it were a member of the crew. Strictly speaking, a flag is only a "jack" if it is worn at the jackstaff at the bow of a ship.

• Jack Dusty: A naval stores clerk.
• Jackline
  Jackline
  A jackline is a rope or wire strung from a ship's bow to stern to which a safety harness can be clipped, allowing a crewmember to move about the deck safely when there is risk of falling or being swept overboard...
  
  s or jack stays: Lines, often steel wire with a plastic jacket, from the bow to the stern on both port and starboard. The Jack Lines are used to clip on the safety harness to secure the crew to the vessel while giving them the freedom to walk on the deck.
• Jack Tar
  Jack Tar
  Jack Tar was a common English term used to refer to seamen of the Merchant or Royal Navy, particularly during the period of the British Empire. Both members of the public, and seafarers themselves, made use of the name in identifying those who went to sea...
  
  : A sailor dressed in 'square rig' with square collar. Formerly with a tarred pigtail.
• Jenny: See genoa
• Jetty: A man-made wall in open water rising several feet above high tide made of rubble and rocks used to create a breakwater, shelter, erosion control, a channel, or other such purpose.
• Jetsam
  Flotsam and jetsam
  In maritime law, flotsam, jetsam, lagan and derelict describe specific kinds of wreck.The words have specific nautical meanings, with legal consequences in the law of admiralty and marine salvage....
  
  : Debris ejected from a ship that sinks or washes ashore. See also flotsam
  Flotsam and jetsam
  In maritime law, flotsam, jetsam, lagan and derelict describe specific kinds of wreck.The words have specific nautical meanings, with legal consequences in the law of admiralty and marine salvage....
  
  .
• Jib
  Jib
  A jib is a triangular staysail set ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bow, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast...
  
  : A triangular staysail
  Staysail
  A staysail is a fore-and-aft rigged sail whose luff can be affixed to a stay running forward from a mast to the deck, the bowsprit or to another mast....
  
   at the front of a ship.
• Jibboom: A spar used to extend the bowsprit.
• Jibe: See gybe.
• Jibe-ho: See gybe-oh.
• Jigger-mast: The fourth mast, although ships with four or more masts were uncommon, or the aft most mast where it is smallest on vessels of less than four masts.
• Jollies: Traditional Royal Navy nickname for the Royal Marines.
• Joggle: a slender triangular recess cut into the faying surface of a frame or steamed timber to fit over the land of clinker
  Clinker (boat building)
  Clinker building is a method of constructing hulls of boats and ships by fixing wooden planks and, in the early nineteenth century, iron plates to each other so that the planks overlap along their edges. The overlapping joint is called a land. In any but a very small boat, the individual planks...
  
   planking, or cut into the faying edge of a plank or rebate to avoid feather ends on a strake
  Strake
  A strake is part of the shell of the hull of a boat or ship which, in conjunction with the other strakes, keeps the sea out and the vessel afloat...
  
   of planking. The feather end is cut off to produce a nib. The joggle and nib in this case is made wide enough to allow a caulking
  Caulking
  Caulking is one of several different processes to seal joints or seams in various structures and certain types of piping. The oldest form of caulking is used to make the seams in wooden boats or ships watertight, by driving fibrous materials into the wedge-shaped seams between planks...
  
   iron to enter the seam.
• Junk:

1: Old cordage past its useful service life as lines aboard ship. The strands of old junk were teased apart in the process called picking oakum

Oakum

Oakum is a preparation of tarred fiber used in shipbuilding, for caulking or packing the joints of timbers in wooden vessels and the deck planking of iron and steel ships, as well as cast iron plumbing applications...

.

2: A sailing ship of classic Chinese design with characteristic full batten sails that span the masts usually on unstayed rigs.

• Jury rig
  Jury rig
  Jury rigging refers to makeshift repairs or temporary contrivances, made with only the tools and materials that happen to be on hand. Originally a nautical term, on sailing ships a jury rig is a replacement mast and yards improvised in case of damage or loss of the original mast.-Etymology:The...
  
  : Both the act of rigging a temporary mast and sails and the name of the resulting rig. A jury rig would be built at sea when the original rig was damaged, then it would be used to sail to a harbor or other safe place for permanent repairs.

K

• Kedge: A technique for moving or turning a ship by using a relatively light anchor known as a kedge. The kedge anchor may be droped while in motion to create a pivot and thus perform a sharp turn. The kedge anchor may also be carried away from the ship in a smaller boat, dropped, and then weighed, pulling the ship forward.
• Keel
  Keel
  In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
  
  : The central structural basis of the hull
• Keelhauling
  Keelhauling
  Keelhauling is a form of punishment meted out to sailors at sea...
  
  : Maritime punishment: to punish by dragging under the keel of a ship.
• Kellet: See Anchor sentinel
• Kelson
  Kelson
  The kelson or keelson is the member which, particularly in a wooden vessel, lies parallel with its keel but above the transverse members such as timbers, frames or in a larger vessel, floors...
  
  : The timber immediately above the keel of a wooden ship.
• Ketch
  Ketch
  A ketch is a sailing craft with two masts: a main mast, and a shorter mizzen mast abaft of the main mast, but forward of the rudder post. Both masts are rigged mainly fore-and-aft. From one to three jibs may be carried forward of the main mast when going to windward...
  
  : A two-masted fore-and-aft rigged sailboat with the aft mast (the mizzen) mounted (stepped) afore (in front of) the rudder.
• Killick: A small anchor
  Anchor
  An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...
  
  . A fouled killick is the substantive badge of non-commissioned officers in the RN. Seamen promoted to the first step in the promotion ladder are called 'Killick'. The badge signifies that here is an Able Seaman skilled to cope with the awkward job of dealing with a fouled anchor.
• Kissing the gunner's daughter: bend over the barrel of a gun for punitive beating with a cane or cat
• King plank: The centerline plank of a laid deck. Its sides are often recessed, or nibbed, to take the ends of their parallel curved deck planks.
• Kitchen rudder
  Kitchen rudder
  The Kitchen Rudder is the familiar name for "Kitchen's Patent Reversing Rudders", a combination rudder and directional propulsion delivery system for relatively slow speed displacement boats which was invented in the early 20th century by John G.A.Kitchen of Lancashire, England...
  
  : Hinged cowling around a fixed propeller, allowing the drive to be directed to the side or forwards to manoeuvre the vessel.
• Knee:

1. Connects two parts roughly at right angles, e.g. deck beams to frames.

2. A vertical rubber fender used on pushboats or piers, sometimes shaped like a human leg bent slightly at the knee

• Knighthead:

1. A mitred backing timber which extends the after line of the rabbet in the stem to give extra support to the ends of the planks and the bowsprit.

2. A bollard or bitt.

3. Either of two timbers rising from the keel of a sailing ship and supporting the inner end of the bowsprit.

• Knockdown The condition of a sailboat being pushed abruptly to horizontal, with the mast parallel to the water surface.
• Knot: A unit of speed: 1 nmi (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) per hour. Originally speed was measured by paying out a line from the stern of a moving boat. The line had a knot every 47 in 3 in (14.4 m), and the number of knots passed out in 30 seconds gave the speed through the water in nautical miles per hour.
• Know the ropes: A sailor who 'knows the ropes' is familiar with the miles of cordage and ropes involved in running a ship.

L

• Ladder: On board a ship, all "stairs" are called ladders, except for literal staircases aboard passenger ships. Most "stairs" on a ship are narrow and nearly vertical, hence the name. Believed to be from the Anglo-Saxon word hiaeder, meaning ladder.
• Laid up: To be placed in reserve
  Reserve fleet
  A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....
  
   or mothballed. The latter usage is used in modern times and can refer to a specific set of procedures used by the US Navy to preserve ships in good condition.
• Laker: Great Lakes slang for a vessel who spends all its time on the 5 Great Lakes.
• Land lubber: A person unfamiliar with being on the sea.
• Lanyard
  Lanyard
  A lanyard is a rope or cord exclusively worn around the neck or wrist to carry something. Usually it is used where there is a risk of losing the object or to ensure it is visible at all times. Aboard a ship, it may refer to a piece of rigging used to secure objects...
  
  : A rope that ties something off.
• Larboard: Obsolete term for the left side of a ship. Derived from "lay-board" providing access between a ship and a quay, when ships normally docked with the left side to the wharf. Replaced by port side or port, to avoid confusion with starboard.
• Large: See by and large.
• Lateral system: A system of aids to navigation in which characteristics of buoys and beacons indicate the sides of the channel or route relative to a conventional direction of buoyage (usually upstream).
• Lay : To come and go, used in giving orders to the crew, such as "lay forward" or "lay aloft". To direct the course of vessel. Also, to twist the strands of a rope together.
• Lay day: An unexpected delay time during a voyage often spent at anchor or in a harbor. It is usually caused by bad weather, equipment failure or needed maintenance.
• Laying down: Beginning construction in a shipyard
  Shipyard
  Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
  
  .
• Lazarette: A small stowage locker at the aft end of a boat.
• Lazy jack
  Lazy jack
  Lazy jacks are a type of rigging which can be applied to a fore-and-aft rigged sail to assist in sail handling during reefing and furling...
  
  s, lazyjacks: A network of cordage rigged to a point on the mast and to a series of points on either side of the boom that cradles and guides the sail onto the boom when the sail is lowered.
• League
  League (unit)
  A league is a unit of length . It was long common in Europe and Latin America, but it is no longer an official unit in any nation. The league originally referred to the distance a person or a horse could walk in an hour...
  
  : A unit of length, normally equal to three nautical mile
  Nautical mile
  The nautical mile is a unit of length that is about one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian, but is approximately one minute of arc of longitude only at the equator...
  
  s.
• Leech: The aft or trailing edge of a fore-and-aft sail; the leeward edge of a spinnaker; a vertical edge of a square sail. The leech is susceptible to twist, which is controlled by the boom vang, mainsheet and, if rigged with one, the gaff vang.
• Lee side: The side of a ship sheltered from the wind (cf. weather side).
• Lee shore
  Lee shore
  The terms lee shore and windweather or ward shore are nautical terms used to describe a stretch of shoreline. A lee shore is one that is to the lee side of a vessel - meaning the wind is blowing towards it. A weather shore has the wind blowing from inland over it out to sea...
  
  : A shore downwind of a ship. A ship which cannot sail well to windward risks being blown onto a lee shore and grounded.
• Leeboard
  Leeboard
  A leeboard is a lifting foil used by a sailboat, much like a centerboard, but located on the leeward side of the boat. The leeward side is used so that the leeboard isn't lifted from the water when the boat heels, or leans under the force of the wind....
  
  : A fin mounted on the side of a boat (usually in pairs) that can be lowered on the lee side of the ship to reduce leeway (similarly to a centerboard, which see).
• Leeway
  Leeway
  Leeway is the motion of an object that is floating in the water to leeward due to the component of the wind vector perpendicular to the object’s. The National Search and Rescue Supplement to the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual defines leeway as "the movement of a...
  
  : The amount that a ship is blown leeward by the wind. See also weatherly.
• Lee-oh or hard-a-lee: The command given to come about (tack through the wind) on a sailing boat.
• Leeward
  Windward and leeward
  Windward is the direction upwind from the point of reference. Leeward is the direction downwind from the point of reference. The side of a ship that is towards the leeward is its lee side. If the vessel is heeling under the pressure of the wind, this will be the "lower side"...
  
   (ˈ in nautical use): In the direction that the wind is blowing towards.
• Length overall, LOA: The length of a vessel.
• Let go and haul: An order indicating that the ship is now on the desired course relative to the wind and that the sails should be trimmed ('hauled') to suit.
• Letter of marque and reprisal
  Letter of marque
  In the days of fighting sail, a Letter of Marque and Reprisal was a government licence authorizing a person to attack and capture enemy vessels, and bring them before admiralty courts for condemnation and sale...
  
   or just Letter of marque: A warrant granted to a privateer
  Privateer
  A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
  
   condoning specific acts of piracy against a target as a redress for grievances.
• Lifebelt
  Personal flotation device
  A personal flotation device is a device designed to assist a wearer, either conscious or unconscious, to keep afloat.Devices designed and approved by authorities for use by...
  
  , lifejacket, life preserver or Mae West: A device such as a buoyant ring or inflatable jacket which keeps a person afloat in the water.
• Lifeboat:

1. Shipboard lifeboat

Lifeboat (shipboard)

A lifeboat is a small, rigid or inflatable watercraft carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard ship. In the military, a lifeboat may be referred to as a whaleboat, dinghy, or gig. The ship's tenders of cruise ships often double as lifeboats. Recreational sailors sometimes...

, kept on board a vessel and used to take crew and passengers to safety in the event of the ship being abandoned.

2. Rescue lifeboat

Lifeboat (rescue)

A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...

, usually launched from shore, used to rescue people from the water or from vessels in difficulty.

• Liferaft
  Lifeboat (shipboard)
  A lifeboat is a small, rigid or inflatable watercraft carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard ship. In the military, a lifeboat may be referred to as a whaleboat, dinghy, or gig. The ship's tenders of cruise ships often double as lifeboats. Recreational sailors sometimes...
  
  : An inflatable, covered raft, used in the event of a vessel being abandoned.
• Lift: An enabling wind shift that allows a close hauled sailboat to point up from its current course to a more favorable one. This is the opposite of a header.
• Line: The correct nautical term for the majority of the cordage or "ropes" used on a vessel. A line will always have a more specific name, such as mizzen
  Mast (sailing)
  The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
  
   topsail
  Topsail
  A topsail is a sail set above another sail; on square-rigged vessels further sails may be set above topsails.- Square rig :On a square rigged vessel, a topsail is a square sail rigged above the course sail and below the topgallant sail where carried...
  
   halyard
  Halyard
  In sailing, a halyard or halliard is a line that is used to hoist a sail, a flag or a yard. The term halyard comes from the phrase, 'to haul yards'...
  
  , which describes its use.
• Line astern: In naval warfare, a line of battle
  Line of battle
  In naval warfare, the line of battle is a tactic in which the ships of the fleet form a line end to end. A primitive form had been used by the Portuguese under Vasco Da Gama in 1502 near Malabar against a Muslim fleet.,Maarten Tromp used it in the Action of 18 September 1639 while its first use in...
  
   formed behind a flagship
• Liner: Ship of the line: a major warship capable of taking its place in the main (battle) line of fighting ships. Hence modern term for prestigious passenger vessels: ocean liner
  Ocean liner
  An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
  
  .
• List: A vessel's angle of lean or tilt to one side, in the direction called roll. Typically refers to a lean caused by flooding or improperly loaded or shifted cargo (as opposed to 'heeling', which see).
• Loaded to the gunwales: Literally, having cargo loaded as high as the ship's rail; also means extremely drunk.
• Lofting
  Lofting
  Lofting is a Drafting technique whereby curved lines are drawn on wood and the wood then cut for advanced woodworking...
  
  : The technique used to convert a scaled drawing to full size used in boat construction.
• Loggerhead: An iron ball attached to a long handle, used for driving caulking into seams and (occasionally) in a fight. Hence: 'at loggerheads'.
• Long stay: A description for the relative slackness of an anchor chain; this term means taught and extended.
• Loose cannon: An irresponsible and reckless individual whose behavior (either intended or unintended) endangers the group he or she belongs to. A loose cannon, weighing thousands of pounds, would crush anything and anyone in its path, and possibly even break a hole in the hull, thus endangering the seaworthiness of the whole ship.
• Loose footed: A mainsail that is not connected to a boom along its foot.
• Lubber's hole: A port cut into the bottom of the mizzentop (crow's-nest) allowing easy entry and exit. It was considered "un-seamanlike" to use this easier method rather than going over the side from the shrouds, and few sailors would risk the scorn of their shipmates by doing so (at least if there were witnesses)
• Lubber's line : A vertical line inside a compass case indicating the direction of the ship's head.
• Luff: The forward edge of a sail.
• Luff up: To steer a sailing vessel more towards the direction of the wind until the pressure is eased on the [sheet].
• Luffing
  Luffing
  In sailing, luffing refers to when a sailing vessel is steered far enough toward the direction of the wind , or the sheet controlling a sail is eased so far past optimal trim, that airflow over the surfaces of the sail is disrupted and the sail begins to "flap" or "luff"...
  
  

1. When a sailing vessel is steered far enough to windward

Windward and leeward

Windward is the direction upwind from the point of reference. Leeward is the direction downwind from the point of reference. The side of a ship that is towards the leeward is its lee side. If the vessel is heeling under the pressure of the wind, this will be the "lower side"...

 that the sail is no longer completely filled with wind (the luff of a fore-and-aft sail begins to flap first).

2. Loosening a sheet

Sheet (sailing)

In sailing, a sheet is a line used to control the movable corner of a sail.- Fore-and-aft rigs:Fore-and-aft rigs comprise the vast majority of sailing vessels in use today, including effectively all dinghies and yachts. The sheet on a fore-and-aft sail controls the angle of the sail to the wind,...

 so far past optimal trim that the sail is no longer completely filled with wind.

3. The flapping of the sail(s) which results from having no wind in the sail at all.

• Luff and touch her: To bring the vessel so close to wind that the sails shake.
• Lying ahull
  Lying ahull
  In sailing, lying ahull is a controversial method of weathering a storm, by downing all sails, battening the hatches and locking the tiller to leeward. Unlike heaving to, a sea anchor is not used, allowing the boat to drift freely, completely at the mercy of the storm....
  
  : Waiting out a storm by dousing all sails and simply letting the boat drift.
• Lumber hooker
  Lumber hooker
  Lumber hooker is a nautical term for a Great Lakes ship designed to carry her own deck load of lumber and to tow one or two barges. The barges were large old schooners stripped of their masts and running gear to carry large cargoes of lumber....
  
  : A Great Lakes
  Great Lakes
  The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
  
   ship designed to carry her own deck load of lumber and to tow one or two barges. The barges were big old schooners stripped of their masts
  Mast (sailing)
  The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
  
   and running gear to carry large cargoes of lumber.
• Lugger
  Lugger
  A lugger is a class of boats, widely used as traditional fishing boats, particularly off the coasts of France, Scotland and England. It is a small sailing vessel with lugsails set on two or more masts and perhaps lug topsails.-Defining the rig:...
  
  : A vessel rigged with lugsails.
• Lugsail: A four-sided fore-and-aft sail supported by a spar along the top that is fixed to the mast at a point some distance from the center of the spar. See Lugger
  Lugger
  A lugger is a class of boats, widely used as traditional fishing boats, particularly off the coasts of France, Scotland and England. It is a small sailing vessel with lugsails set on two or more masts and perhaps lug topsails.-Defining the rig:...
  
  .

M

• Mae West
  Personal flotation device
  A personal flotation device is a device designed to assist a wearer, either conscious or unconscious, to keep afloat.Devices designed and approved by authorities for use by...
  
  : A Second World War personal flotation device
  Personal flotation device
  A personal flotation device is a device designed to assist a wearer, either conscious or unconscious, to keep afloat.Devices designed and approved by authorities for use by...
  
   used to keep people afloat in the water; named after the 1930s actress Mae West
  Mae West
  Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
  
  , well known for her large bosom.
• Magnetic bearing
  Magnetic bearing
  A magnetic bearing is a bearing which supports a load using magnetic levitation. Magnetic bearings support moving machinery without physical contact; for example, they can levitate a rotating shaft and permit relative motion with very low friction and no mechanical wear...
  
  : An absolute bearing (qv) using magnetic north.
• Magnetic north
  Magnetic declination
  Magnetic declination is the angle between magnetic north and true north. The declination is positive when the magnetic north is east of true north. The term magnetic variation is a synonym, and is more often used in navigation...
  
  : The direction towards the North Magnetic Pole
  North Magnetic Pole
  The Earth's North Magnetic Pole is the point on the surface of the Northern Hemisphere at which the Earth's magnetic field points vertically downwards . Though geographically in the north, it is, by the direction of the magnetic field lines, physically the south pole of the Earth's magnetic field...
  
  . Varies slowly over time.
• Mainbrace: One of the brace
  Braces (sailing)
  The braces on a square-rigged ship are lines used to rotate the yards around the mast, to allow the ship to sail at different angles to the wind....
  
  s attached to the mainmast
  Mast (sailing)
  The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
  
  .
• Making way: When a vessel is moving under its own power.
• Mainmast
  Mast (sailing)
  The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
  
   (or Main): The tallest mast on a ship.
• Mainsheet
  Sheet (sailing)
  In sailing, a sheet is a line used to control the movable corner of a sail.- Fore-and-aft rigs:Fore-and-aft rigs comprise the vast majority of sailing vessels in use today, including effectively all dinghies and yachts. The sheet on a fore-and-aft sail controls the angle of the sail to the wind,...
  
  : Sail control line that allows the most obvious effect on mainsail
  Mainsail
  A mainsail is a sail located behind the main mast of a sailing vessel.On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast....
  
   trim. Primarily used to control the angle of the boom, and thereby the mainsail, this control can also increase or decrease downward tension on the boom
  Boom (sailing)
  In sailing, a boom is a spar , along the foot of a fore and aft rigged sail, that greatly improves control of the angle and shape of the sail. The primary action of the boom is to keep the foot of the sail flatter when the sail angle is away from the centerline of the boat. The boom also serves...
  
   while sailing upwind, significantly affecting sail shape. For more control over downward tension on the boom, use a boom vang
  Boom vang
  A boom vang or kicking strap is a line or piston system on a sailboat used to exert downward force on the boom and thus control the shape of the sail. An older term is "martingale"....
  
  .
• Man-of-war or man o' war: a warship
  Warship
  A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
  
   from the Age of Sail
  Age of Sail
  The Age of Sail was the period in which international trade and naval warfare were dominated by sailing ships, lasting from the 16th to the mid 19th century...
  
  
• Man overboard
  Man overboard
  Man overboard is a situation in which a person has fallen from a boat or ship into the water and is in need of rescue. Whoever sees the person's fall should shout "man overboard" to alert other crew members and attempt to maintain visual contact with the person in the water...
  
  !: A cry let out when a seaman has gone 'overboard' (fallen from the ship into the water).
• Marconi rig
  Bermuda rig
  The term Bermuda rig refers to a configuration of mast and rigging for a type of sailboat and is also known as a Marconi rig; this is the typical configuration for most modern sailboats...
  
  : Another term for Bermudan rig. The mainsail is triangular, rigged fore-and-aft with the lead edge fixed to the mast. Refers to the similarity of the tall mast to a radio aerial.
• Marina
  Marina
  A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
  
  : a docking facility for small ships and yachts.
• Marines Soldiers afloat. Royal Marines
  Royal Marines
  The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
  
   formed as the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot in 1664 with many and varied duties including providing guard to ship's officers should there be mutiny aboard. Sometimes thought by seamen to be rather gullible, hence the phrase "tell it to the marines".
• Marlinspike
  Marlinspike
  Marlinspike is a tool used in ropework for tasks such as unlaying rope for splicing, untying knots, forming a toggle , or forming a makeshift handle....
  
  : A tool used in ropework
  Ropework
  Ropework or Marlinespike Seamanship is the set of processes and skills used to make, repair, and use rope. This includes tying knots, splicing, making lashings, and proper use and storage of rope...
  
   for tasks such as unlaying rope for splicing, untying knots, or forming a makeshift handle.
• Mast
  Mast (sailing)
  The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
  
  : A vertical pole on a ship which supports sails or rigging.
• Mast stepping: The process of raising the mast.
• Masthead: A small platform partway up the mast, just above the height of the mast's main yard. A lookout is stationed here, and men who are working on the main yard will embark from here. See also Crow's Nest.
• Master
  Sailor
  A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
  
  : Either the commander of commercial vessel, or a senior officer of a naval sailing ship in charge of routine seamanship and navigation but not in command during combat.
• Master-at-arms
  Master-at-arms
  A master-at-arms may be a naval rating responsible for discipline and law enforcement, an army officer responsible for physical training, or a member of the crew of a merchant ship responsible for security and law enforcement.-Royal Navy:The master-at-arms is a ship's senior rating, comparable in...
  
  : A non-commissioned officer
  Non-commissioned officer
  A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
  
   responsible for discipline on a naval ship. Standing between the officers and the crew, commonly known in the Royal Navy as 'the Buffer'.
• Matelot: A traditional Royal Navy term for an ordinary sailor.
• Mess
  Mess
  A mess is the place where military personnel socialise, eat, and live. In some societies this military usage has extended to other disciplined services eateries such as civilian fire fighting and police forces. The root of mess is the Old French mes, "portion of food" A mess (also called a...
  
  : An eating place aboard ship. A group of crew who live and feed together,
• Mess deck catering: A system of catering in which a standard ration is issued to a mess supplemented by a money allowance which may be used by the mess to buy additional victuals from the pusser's stores or elsewhere. Each mess was autonomous and self-regulating. Seaman cooks, often members of the mess, prepared the meals and took them, in a tin canteen, to the galley to be cooked by the ship's cooks. As distinct from "cafeteria
  Cafeteria
  A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...
  
   messing" where food is issued to the individual hand, which now the general practice.
• Midshipman
  Midshipman
  A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
  
  : A non-commissioned officer
  Non-commissioned officer
  A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
  
   below the rank of Lieutenant
  Lieutenant
  A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
  
  . Usually regarded as being "in training" to some degree. Also known as 'Snotty'. 'The lowest form of rank in the Royal Navy' where he has authority over and responsibility for more junior ranks, yet, at the same time, relying on their experience and learning his trade from them.
• Midshipman's nuts: Broken pieces of biscuit as dessert.
• Midshipman's roll: A slovenly method of rolling up a hammock transversely, and lashing it endways by one clue.
• Midshipman's hitch: An alternative to the Blackwall hitch
  Blackwall hitch
  The blackwall hitch is a temporary means of attaching a rope to a hook. Made of a simple half hitch over the hook, it will only hold when subjected to constant tension. It is used when the rope and hook are of equal size, but it is likely to slip if subjected to more than ordinary tension. Human...
  
  , preferred if the rope is greasy. Made by first forming a Blackwall hitch and then taking the underneath part and placing over the bill of the hook.
• Mile: see nautical mile.
• Military mast: Hollow tubular masts used in warships in the last third of the Nineteenth Century, often equipped with a fighting top armed with light-caliber guns.
• Mizzenmast
  Mast (sailing)
  The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
  
   (or Mizzen): The third mast, or mast aft of the mainmast, on a ship.
• Mizzen staysail
  Staysail
  A staysail is a fore-and-aft rigged sail whose luff can be affixed to a stay running forward from a mast to the deck, the bowsprit or to another mast....
  
  : Sail on a ketch
  Ketch
  A ketch is a sailing craft with two masts: a main mast, and a shorter mizzen mast abaft of the main mast, but forward of the rudder post. Both masts are rigged mainly fore-and-aft. From one to three jibs may be carried forward of the main mast when going to windward...
  
   or yawl
  Yawl
  A yawl is a two-masted sailing craft similar to a sloop or cutter but with an additional mast located well aft of the main mast, often right on the transom, specifically aft of the rudder post. A yawl (from Dutch Jol) is a two-masted sailing craft similar to a sloop or cutter but with an...
  
  , usually lightweight, set from, and forward of, the mizzen mast while reaching in light to moderate air.
• Monkey's fist
  Monkey's fist
  A monkey's fist or monkey paw is a type of knot, so named because it looks somewhat like a small bunched fist/paw. It is tied at the end of a rope to serve as a weight, making it easier to throw, and also as an ornamental knot. This type of weighted rope can be used as an improvised weapon,...
  
  : a ball woven out of line used to provide heft to heave the line to another location. The monkey fist and other heaving-line knots were sometimes weighted with lead (easily available in the form of foil used to seal e.g. tea chests from dampness) although Clifford W. Ashley
  The Ashley Book of Knots
  The Ashley Book of Knots is an encyclopedia of knots first published in 1944 by Clifford Warren Ashley. The culmination of over 11 years of work, it contains some 7000 illustrations and more than 3854 entries covering over 2000 different knots. The entries include instructions, uses, and for some...
  
   notes that there was a "definite sporting limit" to the weight thus added.
• Moor: to attach a boat to a mooring buoy or post. Also, to a dock a ship.
• Mould: A template of the shape of the hull in transverse section. Several moulds are used to form a temporary framework around which a hull is built.

N

• Nautical mile
  Nautical mile
  The nautical mile is a unit of length that is about one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian, but is approximately one minute of arc of longitude only at the equator...
  
  : a unit of length corresponding approximately to one minute of arc
  Minute of arc
  A minute of arc, arcminute, or minute of angle , is a unit of angular measurement equal to one sixtieth of one degree. In turn, a second of arc or arcsecond is one sixtieth of one minute of arc....
  
   of latitude
  Latitude
  In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
  
   along any meridian arc
  Meridian arc
  In geodesy, a meridian arc measurement is a highly accurate determination of the distance between two points with the same longitude. Two or more such determinations at different locations then specify the shape of the reference ellipsoid which best approximates the shape of the geoid. This...
  
  . By international agreement it is exactly 1,852 metres (approximately 6,076 feet).
• Navigation rules
  International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea
  The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972 are published by the International Maritime Organization , and set out, inter alia, the "rules of the road" or navigation rules to be followed by ships and other vessels at sea in order to prevent collisions between two or more...
  
  : Rules of the road that provide guidance on how to avoid collision and also used to assign blame when a collision does occur.
• Nay: "no"; the opposite of "aye".
• Nipper: Short rope used to bind a cable to the "messenger" (a moving line propelled by the capstan) so that the cable is dragged along too (used where the cable is too large to be wrapped round the capstan itself). During the raising of an anchor the nippers were attached and detached from the (endless) messenger by the ship's boys. Hence the term for small boys: "nippers".
• No room to swing a cat: The entire ship's company was expected to witness floggings, assembled on deck. If it was very crowded, the bosun might not have room to swing the "cat o' nine tails" (the whip).
• Nun: A type of navigational buoy often cone shaped, but if not, always triangular in silhouette colored red. In channel marking its use is opposite that of a "can buoy".

O

• Oakum: Material used for caulking hulls. Often hemp picked from old untwisted ropes.
• Oilskin
  Oilskin
  Oilskin can mean:*A type of fabric: canvas with a skin of oil applied to it as waterproofing, often linseed oil. Old types of oilskin included:-**Heavy cotton cloth waterproofed with linseed oil.**Sailcloth waterproofed with a thin layer of tar....
  
  s or oilies: Foul-weather clothing worn by sailors.
• On station: A ship's destination, typically an area to be patrolled or guarded.
• On the hard: Description of a boat that has been hauled and is now sitting on dry land.
• Oreboat: Great Lakes term for a vessel primarily used in the transport of iron ore.
• Orlop deck
  Orlop deck
  The orlop is the lowest deck in a ship . It is the deck or part of a deck where the cables are stowed, usually below the water line...
  
  : The lowest deck of a ship of the line. The deck covering in the hold.
• Outboard motor
  Outboard motor
  An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom and are the most common motorized method of propelling small watercraft...
  
  : A motor mounted externally on the transom of a small boat. The boat may be steered by twisting the whole motor, instead of or in addition to using a rudder.
• Outdrive: The lower part of a sterndrive (qv).
• Outhaul
  Outhaul
  An outhaul is a line which is part of the running rigging of a sailboat, used to extend a sail and control the shape of the curve of the foot of the sail. It runs from the clew to the end of the boom...
  
  : A line used to control the shape of a sail.
• Outward bound: To leave the safety of port, heading for the open ocean.
• Overbear: To sail downwind directly at another ship, stealing the wind from its sails.
• Over-canvassed: To have too great a sail area up to safely maneuver in the current wind conditions.
• Overfalls: Dangerously steep and breaking seas due to opposing currents and wind in a shallow area, or strong currents over a shallow rocky bottom.
• Overhaul: Hauling the buntline ropes over the sails to prevent them from chaffing.
• Overhead: The "ceiling," or, essentially, the bottom of the deck above you.
• Over-reaching: When tacking, holding a course too long.
• Over the barrel
  Barrel
  A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container, traditionally made of vertical wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. Traditionally, the barrel was a standard size of measure referring to a set capacity or weight of a given commodity. A small barrel is called a keg.For example, a...
  
  : Adult sailors were flogged on the back or shoulders while tied to a grating, but boys were beaten instead on the posterior (often bared), with a cane or cat, while bending, often tied down, over the barrel of a gun, known as (kissing) the gunner's daughter
  Spanking
  Spanking refers to the act of striking the buttocks of another person to cause temporary pain without producing physical injury. It generally involves one person striking the buttocks of another person with an open hand. When an open hand is used, spanking is referred to in some countries as...
  
  .
• Overwhelmed: Capsized or foundered.
• Owner: traditional Royal Navy term for the Captain, a survival from the days when privately owned ships were often hired for naval service.
• Ox-eye: A cloud or other weather phenomenon that may be indicative of an upcoming storm.

P

• Panting: The pulsation in and out of the bow and stern plating as the ship alternately rises and plunges deep into the water
• Parley
  Parley
  Parley is a discussion or conference, especially one between enemies over terms of a truce or other matters. The root of the word parley is parler, which is the French verb "to speak"; specifically the conjugation parlez "you speak", whether as imperative or indicative.Beginning in the High Middle...
  
  : a discussion or conference, especially between enemies, over terms of a truce or other matters.
• Parbuckle: A method of lifting a roughly cylindrical object such as a spar. One end of a rope is made fast above the object, a loop of rope is lowered and passed around the object, which can be raised by hauling on the free end of rope.
• Parrel: A movable loop or collar, used to fasten a yard or gaff to its respective mast. Parrel still allows the spar to be raised or lowered and swivel around the mast. Can be made of wire or rope and fitted with beads to reduce friction.
• Part brass rags: Fall out with a friend. From the days when cleaning materials were shared between sailors.
• Passageway: Hallway of a ship.
• Paying: Filling a seam (with caulking or pitch), lubricating the running rigging; paying with slush (q.v.), protecting from the weather by covering with slush. See also: The Devil to pay. (French from paix, pitch)
• Paymaster: The officer responsible for all money matters in RN ships including the paying and provisioning of the crew, all stores, tools and spare parts. See also: purser.
• Pendant: A length of wire or rope secured at one end to a mast or spar and having a block or other fitting at the lower end. Often used incorrectly when referring to a Pennent.
• Pennant
  Pennant (commissioning)
  The commissioning pennant is a pennant flown from the masthead of a warship. The history of flying a commissioning pennant dates back to the days of chivalry with their trail pendants being flown from the mastheads of ships they commanded...
  
  : A long, thin triangular flag flown from the masthead of a military ship (as opposed to a burgee
  Burgee
  A burgee is a distinguishing flag, regardless of its shape, of a recreational boating organization.-Etiquette:Yacht clubs and their members may fly their club's burgee while underway and at anchor, day or night, but not while racing. Sailing vessels may fly the burgee from the main masthead or from...
  
  , the flags thus flown on yachts).
• Pier-head jump: When a sailor is drafted to a warship at the last minute, just before she sails.
• Pilot
  Maritime pilot
  A pilot is a mariner who guides ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbours or river mouths. With the exception of the Panama Canal, the pilot is only an advisor, as the captain remains in legal, overriding command of the vessel....
  
  : Navigator. A specially knowledgeable person qualified to navigate a vessel through difficult waters, e.g. harbour pilot etc.
• PIM: Points (or plan) of intended movement. The charted course for a naval unit's movements.
• Pinnace:

1. A small vessel used as a tender to larger vessels.

2. A small "race built" galleon, squared rigged with either two or three masts.

• Pintle
  Pintle
  A pintle is a pin or bolt, usually inserted into a gudgeon, which is used as part of a pivot or hinge.A pintle/gudgeon set is used in many spheres, for example: in sailing to hold the rudder onto the boat; in transportation a pincer-type device clamps through a lunette ring on the tongue of a...
  
  : The pin or bolt on which a ships rudder pivots. The pintle rests in the gudgeon.
• Pipe (Bos'n's), or a bos'n's call: A whistle used by Boatswain
  Boatswain
  A boatswain , bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. The boatswain supervises the other unlicensed members of the ship's deck department, and typically is not a watchstander, except on vessels with small crews...
  
  s (bosuns or bos'ns) to issue commands. Consisting of a metal tube which directs the breath over an aperture on the top of a hollow ball to produce high pitched notes. The pitch of the notes can be changed by partly covering the aperture with the finger of the hand in which the pipe is held. The shape of the instrument is similar to that of a smoking pipe.
• Pipe down: A signal on the bosun's pipe to signal the end of the day, requiring lights (and smoking pipes) to be extinguished and silence from the crew.
• Piping the side: A salute
  Salute
  A salute is a gesture or other action used to display respect. Salutes are primarily associated with armed forces, but other organizations and civil people also use salutes.-Military salutes:...
  
   on the bos'n's pipe(s) performed in the company of the deck watch on the starboard side of the quarterdeck
  Deck (ship)
  A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary deck is the horizontal structure which forms the 'roof' for the hull, which both strengthens the hull and serves as the primary working surface...
  
   or at the head of the gangway, to welcome or bid farewell to the ship's Captain
  Captain (nautical)
  A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...
  
  , senior officers and honoured visitors.
• Pitch
  Ship motions
  Ship motions are defined by the six degrees of freedom that a ship, boat or any other craft can experience.- Translation :HeaveSwaySurge-Vertical axis:Vertical axis, or yaw axis — an axis drawn from top to bottom, and perpendicular to the other two axes...
  
  : A vessel's motion, rotating about the beam/transverse axis, causing the fore and aft ends to rise and fall repetitively.
• Pitchpole: To capsize a boat stern over bow, rather than by rolling over.
• Planing
  Planing (sailing)
  Planing is the mode of operation for a waterborne craft in which its weight is predominantly supported by hydrodynamic lift, rather than hydrostatic lift .-History:...
  
  : When a fast-moving vessel skims over the water instead of pushing through it.
• Plotting room see "Transmitting station"
• Point up: To change the direction of a sailboat so that it is more up wind. To bring the bow windward. Also called heading up. This is the opposite of falling off.
• Pontoon
  Pontoon (boat)
  A pontoon is a flotation device with buoyancy sufficient to float itself as well as a heavy load. A pontoon boat is a flattish boat that relies on pontoons to float. Pontoons may be used on boats, rafts, barges, docks, floatplanes or seaplanes. Pontoons may support a platform, creating a raft. A...
  
  : A flat-bottomed vessel used as a ferry
  Ferry
  A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
  
  , barge
  Barge
  A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
  
  , car float
  Car float
  A railroad car float or rail barge is an unpowered barge with rail tracks mounted on its deck. It is used to move railroad cars across water obstacles, or to locations they could not otherwise go, and is pushed by a towboat or towed by a tugboat...
  
   or a float
  Lighter (barge)
  A lighter is a type of flat-bottomed barge used to transfer goods and passengers to and from moored ships. Lighters were traditionally unpowered and were moved and steered using long oars called "sweeps," with their motive power provided by water currents...
  
   moored alongside a jetty
  Jetty
  A jetty is any of a variety of structures used in river, dock, and maritime works that are generally carried out in pairs from river banks, or in continuation of river channels at their outlets into deep water; or out into docks, and outside their entrances; or for forming basins along the...
  
   or a ship
  Ship
  Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
  
   to facilitate boarding.
• Poop deck
  Poop deck
  In naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck that forms the roof of a cabin built in the rear, or "aft", part of the superstructure of a ship.The name originates from the French word for stern, la poupe, from Latin puppis...
  
  : A high deck on the aft superstructure of a ship.
• Pooped:

1. Swamped by a high, following sea.

2. Exhausted.

• Port: The left side of the boat. Towards the left-hand side of the ship facing forward (formerly Larboard). Denoted with a red light at night.
• Porthole or port: an opening in a ship's side, esp. a round one for admitting light and air, fitted with thick glass and, often, a hinged metal cover, a window
• Port tack: When sailing with the wind coming from the port side of the vessel. Must give way to boats on starboard tack.
• Powder magazine: A small room/closet area in the hull of the ship used for storing gunpowder
  Gunpowder
  Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
  
   in barrels, or, "kegs", usually located centrally so as to have easy access to the grated loading area. Sometimes may be an enclosed closet with a door, so it can be locked and only the captain would have the key, similar to how rum is stored.
• Press gang
  Impressment
  Impressment, colloquially, "the Press", was the act of taking men into a navy by force and without notice. It was used by the Royal Navy, beginning in 1664 and during the 18th and early 19th centuries, in wartime, as a means of crewing warships, although legal sanction for the practice goes back to...
  
  : Formed body of personnel from a ship of the Royal Navy
  Royal Navy
  The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
  
   (either a ship seeking personnel for its own crew or from a 'press tender' seeking men for a number of ships) that would identify and force (press) men, usually merchant sailors into service on naval ships usually against their will.
• Preventer (gybe preventer, jibe preventer): A sail control line originating at some point on the boom leading to a fixed point on the boat's deck or rail (usually a cleat or pad eye) used to prevent or moderate the effects of an accidental jibe
  Jibe
  A jibe or gybe is a sailing maneuver where a sailing vessel turns its stern through the wind, such that the wind direction changes from one side of the boat to the other...
  
  .
• Privateer
  Privateer
  A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
  
  : A privately owned ship authorised by a national power (by means of a Letter of marque
  Letter of marque
  In the days of fighting sail, a Letter of Marque and Reprisal was a government licence authorizing a person to attack and capture enemy vessels, and bring them before admiralty courts for condemnation and sale...
  
  ) to conduct hostilities against an enemy. Also called a private man of war.
• Propeller (fixed): A propeller mounted on a rigid shaft protruding from the hull of a vessel, usually driven by an inboard motor;
• Propeller (folding:A propeller with folding blades, furling to reduce drag on a sailing vessel when not in use.
• Propeller walk
  Propeller walk
  Propeller walk is the term for a propeller's tendency to rotate a boat as well as accelerating it forwards or backwards.A right-handed propeller will tend to push the stern of the boat to starboard.When in reverse gear, the effect will be much greater and opposite...
  
   or prop walk: tendency for a propeller to push the stern sideways. In theory a right hand propeller in reverse will walk the stern to port.
• Prow
  Prow
  thumb|right|295pxThe prow is the forward most part of a ship's bow that cuts through the water. The prow is the part of the bow above the waterline. The terms prow and bow are often used interchangeably to describe the most forward part of a ship and its surrounding parts...
  
  : a poetical alternative term for bows.
• Purchase: A mechanical method of increasing force, such as a tackle or lever.
• Puddening: Fibres of old rope packed between spars, or used as a fender.
• Pusser
  Purser
  The purser joined the warrant officer ranks of the Royal Navy in the early fourteenth century and existed as a Naval rank until 1852. The development of the warrant officer system began in 1040 when five English ports began furnishing warships to King Edward the Confessor in exchange for certain...
  
  : Purser, the person who buys, stores and sells all stores on board ships, including victuals, rum and tobacco. Originally a private merchant, latterly a warrant officer.
• Principal Warfare Officer: PWO, one of a number of Warfare branch specialist officers.

Q

• Queen's
  Monarch
  A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
  
   (King's
  Monarch
  A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
  
  ) Regulations: The standing orders governing the British Royal Navy
  Royal Navy
  The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
  
   issued in the name of the current Monarch
  Monarch
  A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
  
  .
• Quarterdeck
  Quarterdeck
  The quarterdeck is that part of a warship designated by the commanding officer for official and ceremonial functions. In port, the quarterdeck is the most important place on the ship, and is the central control point for all its major activities. Underway, its importance diminishes as control of...
  
  : The aftermost deck of a warship. In the age of sail, the quarterdeck was the preserve of the ship's officers.
• Quayside: Refers to the dock or platform used to fasten a vessel to

R

• Rabbet
  Rabbet
  A rabbet is a recess or groove cut into the edge of a piece of machineable material, usually wood. When viewed in cross-section, a rabbet is two-sided and open to the edge or end of the surface into which it is cut....
  
   or rebate (ˈ): A groove cut in wood to form part of a joint.
• Radar
  Radar
  Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
  
  : Acronym for RAdio Detection And Ranging. An electronic system designed to transmit radio signals and receive reflected images of those signals from a "target" in order to determine the bearing and distance to the "target".
• Radar reflector: A special fixture fitted to a vessel or incorporated into the design of certain aids to navigation to enhance their ability to reflect radar energy. In general, these fixtures will materially improve the visibility for use by vessels with radar.
• Range lights: Two lights associated to form a range (a line formed by the extension of a line connecting two charted points) which often, but not necessarily, indicates the channel centerline. The front range light is the lower of the two, and nearer to the mariner using the range. The rear light is higher and further from the mariner.
• Ratlines
  Ratlines
  Ratlines, pronounced "rattlin's", are lengths of thin line tied between the shrouds of a sailing ship to form a ladder. Found on all square rigged ships, whose crews must go aloft to stow the square sails, they also appear on larger fore-and-aft rigged vessels to aid in repairs aloft or conduct a...
  
  : Rope ladders permanently rigged from bulwarks and top
  Top (disambiguation)
  A top is a spinning toy.Top may also refer to:* Top , clothing that is designed to be worn over the torso* Top , a part of a ship's rigging* Master Sergeant, in the United States Marine Corps...
  
  s to the mast to enable access to top masts and yards.
• Reaching
  Points of sail
  Points of sail describes a sailing boat's course in relation to the wind direction.There is a distinction between the port tack and the starboard tack. If the wind is coming from anywhere on the port side, the boat is on port tack. Likewise if the wind is coming from the starboard side, the boat...
  
  : Sailing across the wind: from about 60° to about 160° off the wind. Reaching consists of "close reaching" (about 60° to 80°), "beam reaching" (about 90°) and "broad reaching" (about 120° to 160°). See also beating and running.
• Ready about: A call to indicate imminent tacking (see going about).
• Receiver of Wreck
  Receiver of Wreck
  The Receiver of Wreck is an official who administers law dealing with wreck and salvage in some countries having a British administrative heritage.-Countries having a Receiver of Wreck:...
  
  : A government official whose duty is to give owners of shipwrecks the opportunity to retrieve their property and ensure that law-abiding finders of wreck receive an appropriate reward.
• Red Duster: Traditional nickname for the Red Ensign
  Red Ensign
  The Red Ensign or "Red Duster" is a flag that originated in the early 17th century as a British ensign flown by the Royal Navy and later specifically by British merchantmen. The precise date of its first appearance is not known, but surviving receipts indicate that the Navy was paying to have such...
  
  , the civil ensign
  Civil ensign
  The civil ensign is the national flag flown by civil ships to denote nationality...
  
   (flag) carried by United Kingdom
  United Kingdom
  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
  
   civilian vessels.
• Reduced cat: A light version on the cat o'nine tails for use on boys; also called "boys' pussy".
• Reef

1. Reef

Reefing

Reefing is a sailing manoeuvre intended to reduce the area of a sail on a sailboat or sailing ship, which can improve the ship's stability and reduce the risk of capsizing, broaching, or damaging sails or boat hardware in a strong wind...

: To temporarily reduce the area of a sail exposed to the wind, usually to guard against adverse effects of strong wind or to slow the vessel.

2. Reef

Reef

In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....

: Rock or coral, possibly only revealed at low tide, shallow enough that the vessel will at least touch if not go aground.

• Reef points: Small lengths of cord attached to a sail, used to secure the excess fabric after reefing.
• Reef-bands: Long pieces of rough canvas sewed across the sails to give them additional strength.
• Reefer: A shipboard refrigerator
• Reef-tackles: Ropes employed in the operation of reefing.
• Reeve: (Past tense rove) To thread a line through blocks in order to gain a mechanical advantage, such as in a block and tackle.
• Relative bearing
  Relative bearing
  In nautical navigation the relative bearing of an object is the clockwise angle in degrees from the heading of the vessel to a straight line drawn from the observation station on the vessel to the object....
  
  : A bearing relative to the direction of the ship: the clockwise angle between the ship's direction and an object. See also absolute bearing and bearing.
• Rigging
  Rigging
  Rigging is the apparatus through which the force of the wind is used to propel sailboats and sailing ships forward. This includes masts, yards, sails, and cordage.-Terms and classifications:...
  
  : The system of masts and lines on ships and other sailing vessels.
• Righting couple: The force which tends to restore a ship to equilibrium once a heel has altered the relationship between her centre of buoyancy and her centre of gravity.
• Rigol: The rim or 'eyebrow' above a port-hole or scuttle.
• Rip rap: A man-made pile of rocks and rubble often surrounding an off-shore lighthouse or as a base for an aid to navigation.
• Rode: The anchor line, rope or cable connecting the anchor chain to the vessel. Also Anchor Rode.
• Roll
  Ship motions
  Ship motions are defined by the six degrees of freedom that a ship, boat or any other craft can experience.- Translation :HeaveSwaySurge-Vertical axis:Vertical axis, or yaw axis — an axis drawn from top to bottom, and perpendicular to the other two axes...
  
  : A vessel's motion rotating from side to side, about the fore-aft/longitudinal axis. Listing is a lasting, stable tilt, or heel, along the longitudinal axis. Roll is also an alternate name for the longitudinal axis (roll axis).
• Rolling-tackle: A number of pulleys, engaged to confine the yard to the weather side of the mast; this tackle is much used in a rough sea.
• The ropes: the lines in the rigging.
• Rope's end: A summary punishment device.
• Rowlock
  Rowlock
  A rowlock or oarlock is a brace that attaches an oar to a boat. When a boat is rowed, the rowlock acts as a fulcrum, and, in doing so, the propulsive force that the rower exerts on the water with the oar is transferred to the boat by the thrust force exerted on the rowlock.On ordinary rowing...
  
   (ˈ): A bracket providing the fulcrum for an oar
  Oar
  An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Oarsmen grasp the oar at the other end. The difference between oars and paddles are that paddles are held by the paddler, and are not connected with the vessel. Oars generally are connected to the vessel by...
  
  . Also see thole.
• Rubbing strake: An extra plank fitted to the outside of the hull, usually at deck level, to protect the topsides.
• Rudder
  Rudder
  A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
  
  : A steering device which can be placed aft, externally relative to the keel or compounded into the keel either independently or as part of the bulb/centerboard.
• Rummage sale: A sale of damaged cargo (from French arrimage).
• Running gear
  Running gear
  The term running gear is used to describe the wheels, suspension, steering, powertrain & chassis/bodyshell of a motor-car or automobile, or the tracks and road wheels of a tank or similar tracked vehicle....
  
  : The propellers, shafts, struts and related parts of a motorboat
  Motorboat
  A motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a...
  
  .
• Running rigging
  Running rigging
  Running rigging is the term for the rigging of a sailing vessel that is used for raising, lowering and controlling the sails - as opposed to the standing rigging, which supports the mast and other spars....
  
  : Rigging
  Rigging
  Rigging is the apparatus through which the force of the wind is used to propel sailboats and sailing ships forward. This includes masts, yards, sails, and cordage.-Terms and classifications:...
  
   used to manipulate sails, spars, etc. in order to control the movement of the ship. Cf. standing rigging.
• Running before the wind
  Points of sail
  Points of sail describes a sailing boat's course in relation to the wind direction.There is a distinction between the port tack and the starboard tack. If the wind is coming from anywhere on the port side, the boat is on port tack. Likewise if the wind is coming from the starboard side, the boat...
  
   or running: Sailing more than about 160° away from the wind. If directly away from the wind, it's a dead run.

S

• Sagging: When the trough of a wave is amidships, causing the hull to deflect so the ends of the keel
  Keel
  In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
  
   are higher than the middle. The opposite of hogging.
• Sail-plan
  Sail-plan
  A sail-plan is a set of drawings, usually prepared by a naval architect. It shows the various combinations of sail proposed for a sailing ship.The combinations shown in a sail-plan almost always include three configurations:...
  
  : A set of drawings showing various sail combinations recommended for use in various situations.
• Saltie: Great Lakes term for a vessel that sails the oceans.
• Sampson post: A strong vertical post used to support a ship
  Ship
  Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
  
  's windlass
  Windlass
  The windlass is an apparatus for moving heavy weights. Typically, a windlass consists of a horizontal cylinder , which is rotated by the turn of a crank or belt...
  
   and the heel of a ship's bowsprit
  Bowsprit
  The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a pole extending forward from the vessel's prow. It provides an anchor point for the forestay, allowing the fore-mast to be stepped farther forward on the hull.-Origin:...
  
  .
• Scandalize: To reduce the area and efficiency of a sail by expedient means (slacking the peak and tricing up the tack) without properly reefing, thus slowing boat speed. Also used in the past as a sign of mourning.
• Scantlings: Dimensions of ships structural members, e.g., frame, beam, girder, etc.
• Scow:

1. A method of preparing an anchor for tripping by attaching an anchor cable to the crown and fixing to the ring by a light seizing (also known as becue). The seizing can be broken if the anchor becomes fouled.

2. A type of clinker dinghy, characteristically beamy and slow.

• Scud: A name given by sailors to the lowest clouds, which are mostly observed in squally weather.
• Scudding: A term applied to a vessel when carried furiously along by a tempest.
• Sculling
  Sculling
  Sculling generally refers to a method of using oars to propel watercraft in which the oar or oars touch the water on both the port and starboard sides of the craft, or over the stern...
  
  : On sailboats with transom mounted rudders, forward propulsion is made by a balanced side to side movement of the tiller.
• Scuppers: Originally a series of pipes fitted through the ships side from inside the thicker deck waterway to the topside planking to drain water overboard, larger quantities drained through freeing ports, which were openings in the bulwarks.
• Scuttle: A small opening, or lid thereof, in a ship's deck or hull.
• Scuttlebutt:

1. A barrel with a hole in used to hold water that sailors would drink from. By extension (in modern naval usage), a shipboard drinking fountain or water cooler.

2. Slang for gossip

Gossip

Gossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others, It is one of the oldest and most common means of sharing facts and views, but also has a reputation for the introduction of errors and variations into the information transmitted...

.

• Scuttling
  Scuttling
  Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull.This can be achieved in several ways—valves or hatches can be opened to the sea, or holes may be ripped into the hull with brute force or with explosives...
  
  : Making a hole in the hull of a vessel or opening seacocks, especially in order to sink a vessel deliberately.
• Sea anchor
  Sea anchor
  A sea anchor, is a device external to the boat, attached to the bow used to stabilize a boat in heavy weather. It anchors not to the sea floor but to the water itself, as a kind of brake. Sea anchors are known by a number of names, such as drift anchor, drift sock, para-anchor, and boat brakes...
  
  : A stabilizer deployed in the water for heaving to
  Heaving to
  In sailing, heaving to is a way of slowing a sail boat's forward progress, as well as fixing the helm and sail positions so that the boat does not actively have to be steered. It is commonly used for a "break"; this may be to wait for the tide before proceeding, to wait out a strong or contrary...
  
   in heavy weather. It acts as a brake and keeps the hull in line with the wind and perpendicular to waves. Often in the form of a large bag made of heavy canvas. Also see drogue.
• Seaboot
  Seaboot
  Seaboots are a type of waterproof boot designed for use on deck on board boats and ships in bad weather, to keep the legs dry, and to avoid slipping on the wet rolling deck....
  
  s: High waterproof boots for use at sea. In leisure sailing, known as sailing wellies.
• Sea chest: A watertight box built against the hull of the ship communicating with the sea through a grillage, to which valves and piping are attached to allow water in for ballast, engine cooling, and firefighting purposes.
• Seacock
  Seacock
  A seacock is a valve on the hull of a boat, permitting water to flow into the boat, such as for cooling an engine or for a salt water faucet; or out of the boat, such as for a sink drain or a toilet....
  
  : a valve
  Valve
  A valve is a device that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically pipe fittings, but are usually discussed as a separate category...
  
   in the hull
  Hull (watercraft)
  A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
  
   of a boat.
• Seaman
  Seaman
  Seaman is one of the lowest ranks in a Navy. In the Commonwealth it is the lowest rank in the Navy, followed by Able Seaman and Leading Seaman, and followed by the Petty Officer ranks....
  
  : Generic term for sailor, or (part of) a low naval rank
• Seaworthy: Certified for, and capable of, safely sailing at sea.
• Self-unloader: Great Lakes slang term for a vessel with a conveyor or some other method of unloading the cargo without shoreside equipment.
• Sennet whip
  Rope
  A rope is a length of fibres, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength...
  
  : A summary punitive implement
• Sextant
  Sextant
  A sextant is an instrument used to measure the angle between any two visible objects. Its primary use is to determine the angle between a celestial object and the horizon which is known as the altitude. Making this measurement is known as sighting the object, shooting the object, or taking a sight...
  
  : Navigational instrument used to measure a ship's latitude.
• Shaft alley: Section of a ship that houses the propulsion shaft, running from the engine room to the stuffing box
  Stuffing box
  A stuffing box is an assembly which is used to house a gland seal. It is used to prevent leakage of fluid, such as water or steam, between sliding or turning parts of machine elements.-Boats:...
  
  .
• Shakes: Pieces of barrels or casks broken down to save space. They are worth very little, leading to the phrase "no great shakes".
• Sheer: The upward curve of a vessel's longitudinal lines as viewed from the side.
• Sheer plan: In shipbuilding
  Shipbuilding
  Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
  
  , a diagram showing an elevation of the ship's sheer viewed from the broadside
  Broadside
  A broadside is the side of a ship; the battery of cannon on one side of a warship; or their simultaneous fire in naval warfare.-Age of Sail:...
  
  .
• Sheet
  Sheet (sailing)
  In sailing, a sheet is a line used to control the movable corner of a sail.- Fore-and-aft rigs:Fore-and-aft rigs comprise the vast majority of sailing vessels in use today, including effectively all dinghies and yachts. The sheet on a fore-and-aft sail controls the angle of the sail to the wind,...
  
  : A rope used to control the setting of a sail in relation to the direction of the wind.
• Shift colors: Changing the flag and pennant display when a moored vessel becomes underweigh, and vice versa. A highly coordinated display that ships take pride in; the desired effect is that of one set of flags vanishing while another set flashes out at precisely the same time. Also, slang for changing out of one's Navy uniform into civilian clothes to go ashore. (The U.S. Navy's newsletter for retired personnel is nicknamed Shift Colors from this reason.)
• Shift tides: Sighting the positions of the sun and moon using a sextant
  Sextant
  A sextant is an instrument used to measure the angle between any two visible objects. Its primary use is to determine the angle between a celestial object and the horizon which is known as the altitude. Making this measurement is known as sighting the object, shooting the object, or taking a sight...
  
   and using a nautical almanac
  Nautical almanac
  A nautical almanac is a publication describing the positions of a selection of celestial bodies for the purpose of enabling navigators to use celestial navigation to determine the position of their ship while at sea...
  
   to determine the location and phase of the moon and calculating the relative effect of the tides on the navigation of the ship.
• Ship
  Ship
  Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
  
  : Strictly, a three-masted vessel square-rigged on all three masts, or on three masts of a vessel with more than three. Hence a ship-rigged barque would be a four master, square-rigged on fore, main and mizzen, with spanker and gaff topsail only on the Jigger-mast
  Mast (sailing)
  The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
  
  . Generally now used to describe most medium or large vessels outfitted with smaller boats. As a consequence of this submarines may be larger than small ships, but are called boats because they do not carry boats of their own.
• Ship's bell: Striking the ship's bell is the traditional method of marking time and regulating the crew's watches.
• Ship's biscuit: See hard tack.
• Ship's company: The crew
  Crew
  A crew is a body or a class of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard...
  
   of a ship
  Ship
  Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
  
  .
• Shoal
  Shoal
  Shoal, shoals or shoaling may mean:* Shoal, a sandbank or reef creating shallow water, especially where it forms a hazard to shipping* Shoal draught , of a boat with shallow draught which can pass over some shoals: see Draft...
  
  : Shallow water that is a hazard to navigation.
• Shoal draught: Shallow draught
  Draft (hull)
  The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
  
  , making the vessel capable of sailing in unusually shallow water.
• Short stay: A description for the relative slackness of an anchor chain; this term means somewhat slack, but not vertical nor fully extended.
• Shrouds
  Shroud (sailing)
  On a sailboat, the shrouds are pieces of standing rigging which hold the mast up from side to side. There is frequently more than one shroud on each side of the boat....
  
  : Standing rigging running from a mast to the sides of a ships.
• Sick bay
  Sick bay
  A sick bay is a compartment in a ship used for medical purposes — the ship's hospital.The sick bay will contain the ship's medicine chest which may be divided into separate cabinets such as a refrigerator for medicines which require cold storage and a locked cabinet for controlled substances...
  
  : The compartment reserved for medical purposes.
• Siren
  Siren (noisemaker)
  A siren is a loud noise making device. Most modern ones are civil defense or air raid sirens, tornado sirens, or the sirens on emergency service vehicles such as ambulances, police cars and fire trucks. There are two general types: pneumatic and electronic....
  
  : A sound signal which uses electricity or compressed air to actuate either a disc or a cup shaped rotor.
• Skeg
  Skeg
  A skeg is a sternward extension of the keel of boats and ships which have a rudder mounted on the centre line. The term also applies to the lowest point on an outboard motor or the outdrive of an inboard/outboard...
  
  : A downward or sternward projection from the keel in front of the rudder. Protects the rudder from damage, and in bilge keelers may provide one "leg" of a tripod on which the boat stands when the tide is out.
• Skipper: The captain
  Captain (nautical)
  A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...
  
   of a ship.
• Skysail: A sail set very high, above the royals. Only carried by a few ships.
• Skyscraper: A small, triangular sail, above the skysail. Used in light winds on a few ships.
• Sloop: A small to mid-sized sailboat larger than a dinghy, with one mast main sail and head sail.
• Slop chest: A ship's store of merchandise, such as clothing, tobacco, etc., maintained aboard merchant ships for sale to the crew.
• Slush: Greasy substance obtained by boiling or scraping the fat from empty salted meat storage barrels, or the floating fat residue after boiling the crew's meal. In the Royal Navy
  Royal Navy
  The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
  
   the perquisite of the cook who could sell it or exchange it (usually for alcohol) with other members of the crew. Used for greasing parts of the running rigging of the ship and therefore valuable to the master and bosun.
• Slush fund
  Slush fund
  A slush fund, colloquially, is an auxiliary monetary account or a reserve fund. However, in the context of corrupt dealings, such as those by governments or large corporations, a slush fund can have particular connotations of illegality, illegitimacy, or secrecy in regard to the use of this money...
  
  : The money obtained by the cook selling slush ashore. Used for the benefit of the crew (or the cook).
• Small bower (anchor): The smaller of two anchors carried in the bow.
• Snow: A form of brig
  Brig
  A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
  
   where the gaff spanker
  Spanker (sail)
  A spanker is either of two kinds of sail.On a square rigged ship, the spanker is a gaff rigged fore-and-aft sail set from and aft of the aftmost mast. Almost all square rigs with more than one mast have one or two spankers, which evolved from the driver sail. Some also carry a topsail above the...
  
   or driver is rigged on a "snow mast" a lighter spar supported in chocks close behind the main-mast
  Mast (sailing)
  The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
  
  .
• Son of a gun: The space between the guns was used as a semi-private place for trysts with prostitutes and wives, which sometimes led to birth of children with disputed parentage. Another claim is that the origin the term resulted from firing a ship's guns to hasten a difficult birth.
• Sonar
  Sonar
  Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
  
  : A method of using sound pulses to detect, range and sometime image underwater targets and obstacles, or the bed of the sea. Also see echo sounding and ASDIC.
• Sou'wester:

1. A storm from the south west.

2. A type of waterproof hat with a wide brim over the neck, worn in storms.

• Sounding: Measuring the depth of the water. Traditionally done by swinging the lead, now commonly by echo sounding
  Echo sounding
  Echo sounding is the technique of using sound pulses directed from the surface or from a submarine vertically down to measure the distance to the bottom by means of sound waves. This information is then typically used for navigation purposes or in order to obtain depths for charting purposes...
  
  .
• Spanker
  Spanker (sail)
  A spanker is either of two kinds of sail.On a square rigged ship, the spanker is a gaff rigged fore-and-aft sail set from and aft of the aftmost mast. Almost all square rigs with more than one mast have one or two spankers, which evolved from the driver sail. Some also carry a topsail above the...
  
  : A fore-and-aft or gaff-rigged sail on the aft-most mast of a square-rigged vessel and the main fore-and-aft sail (spanker sail) on the aft-most mast of a (partially) fore-and-aft rigged vessel such as a schooner
  Schooner
  A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
  
  , a barquentine
  Barquentine
  A barquentine is a sailing vessel with three or more masts; with a square rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged main, mizzen and any other masts.-Modern barquentine sailing rig:...
  
  , and a barque
  Barque
  A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
  
  .
• Spanker-mast: The aft-most mast of a fore-and-aft or gaff-rigged vessel such as schooners, barquentines, and barques. A full-rigged ship has a spanker sail but not a spanker-mast (see Jigger-mast
  Mast (sailing)
  The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
  
  ).
• Spar
  Spar
  In sailing, a spar is a pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials such as carbon fiber used on a sailing vessel. Spars of all types In sailing, a spar is a pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials such as carbon fiber used on a sailing vessel. Spars of all types In sailing, a spar is a...
  
  : A wooden, in later years also iron or steel pole used to support various pieces of rigging and sails. The big five-masted full-rigged tall ship
  Tall ship
  A tall ship is a large, traditionally-rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall Ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a race or festival....
  
   Preussen
  Preußen (ship)
  The Preußen was a German steel-hulled five masted ship-rigged windjammer built in 1902 for the F. Laeisz shipping company and named after the German state and kingdom of Prussia...
  
  (German spelling
  German language
  German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
  
  : Preußen) had crossed 30 steel yards, but only one wooden spar—the little gaff of its spanker sail.
• SOG: Speed over ground, speed of the vessel relative to the Earth (and as shown by a GPS). Referenced on many fishing forums.
• Spider band: An iron band around the base of a mast which holds a set of iron belaying pins.
• Spider hoop: See "Spider band", above.
• Spindrift
  Spindrift
  Spindrift usually refers to spray, particularly to the spray blown from cresting waves during a gale. This spray, which "drifts" in the direction of the gale, is one of the characteristics of a wind speed of 8 Beaufort and higher at sea....
  
  : Finely divided water swept from crest of waves by strong winds.
• Spinnaker
  Spinnaker
  A spinnaker is a special type of sail that is designed specifically for sailing off the wind from a reaching course to a downwind, i.e. with the wind 90°–180° off the bow. The spinnaker fills with wind and balloons out in front of the boat when it is deployed, called flying. It is constructed of...
  
  : A large sail flown in front of the vessel while heading downwind.
• Spinnaker pole
  Spinnaker pole
  A spinnaker pole is a spar used in sailboats to help support and control a variety of headsails, particularly the spinnaker. However, it is also used with other sails, such as genoas and jibs, when sailing downwind with no spinnaker hoisted...
  
  : A spar used to help control a spinnaker or other headsail
  Headsail
  A headsail of a sailing vessel is any sail set forward of the foremost mast. The most common headsails are staysails, a term that includes jibs and the larger genoa...
  
  .
• Spring: A line used parallel to that of the length of a craft, to prevent fore-aft motion of a boat, when moored or docked.
• Splice
  Rope splicing
  Rope splicing in ropework is the forming of a semi-permanent joint between two ropes or two parts of the same rope by partly untwisting and then interweaving their strands. Splices can be used to form a stopper at the end of a line, to form a loop or an eye in a rope, or for joining two ropes...
  
  : To join lines (ropes, cables etc.) by unravelling their ends and intertwining them to form a continuous line. To form an eye or a knot by splicing.
• Splice the mainbrace
  Splice the mainbrace
  "Splice the mainbrace" is an order given aboard naval vessels to issue the crew with a drink. Originally an order for one of the most difficult emergency repair jobs aboard a sailing ship, it became a euphemism for authorized celebratory drinking afterward, and then the name of an order to grant...
  
  : A euphemism
  Euphemism
  A euphemism is the substitution of a mild, inoffensive, relatively uncontroversial phrase for another more frank expression that might offend or otherwise suggest something unpleasant to the audience...
  
  , it is an order given aboard naval vessels to issue the crew with a drink, traditionally grog
  Grog
  The word grog refers to a variety of alcoholic beverages. The word originally referred to a drink made with water or "small beer" and rum, which British Vice Admiral Edward Vernon introduced into the Royal Navy on 21 August 1740. Vernon wore a coat of grogram cloth and was nicknamed Old Grogram or...
  
  . The phrase splice the mainbrace is used idiomatically meaning to go ashore on liberty, intending to go out for an evening of drinking.
• Spreader
  Spreader (sailboat)
  A spreader is a spar on a sailboat used to deflect the shrouds to allow them to better support the mast. Often, there are multiples, called spreaders. The spreader or spreaders serve much the same purpose as the crosstrees and tops in a traditional sailing vessel.Spreader design and tuning can be...
  
  : A spar on a sailboat used to deflect the shrouds to allow them to better support the mast.
• Spurling pipe: A pipe that connects to the chain locker, from which the anchor chain emerges onto the deck at the bow of a ship.
• Square meal: A sufficient quantity of food. Meals on board ship were served to the crew on a square wooden plate in harbor or at sea in good weather. Food in the Royal Navy was invariably better or at least in greater quantity than that available to the average landsman. However, while square wooden plates were indeed used on board ship, there is no established link between them and this particular term. The OED gives the earliest reference from the U.S. in the mid 19th century.
• Squared away: Yards held rigidly perpendicular to their masts and parallel to the deck. This was rarely the best trim of the yards for efficiency but made a pretty sight for inspections and in harbor. The term is applied to situations and to people figuratively to mean that all difficulties have been resolved or that the person is performing well and is mentally and physically prepared.
• Squat effect
  Squat effect
  The squat effect is the hydrodynamic phenomenon by which a vessel moving quickly through shallow water creates an area of lowered pressure that causes the ship to be closer to the seabed than would otherwise be expected. This phenomenon is caused when water that should normally flow under the hull...
  
   is the phenomenon by which a vessel moving quickly through shallow water creates an area of lowered pressure under its keel that reduces the ship's buoyancy, particularly at the bow. The reduced buoyancy causes the ship to "squat" lower in the water than would ordinarily be expected, and thus its effective draught is increased.
• Stanchion
  Stanchion
  A stanchion is an upright bar or post, often providing support for some other object.* An architectural term applied to the upright iron bars in windows that pass through the eyes of the saddle bars or horizontal irons to steady the leadlight. A stanchion is an upright bar or post, often...
  
  : vertical post near a deck's edge that supports life-lines. A timber fitted in between the frame heads on a wooden hull or a bracket on a steel vessel, approx one meter high, to support the bulwark plank or plating and the rail.
• Standing rigging
  Standing rigging
  On a sailing boat, standing rigging generally refers to lines, wires, or rods which are more or less fixed in position while the boat is under sail. This term is used in contrast to running rigging, which represents elements of rigging which move and change fairly often while under sail...
  
  : Rigging
  Rigging
  Rigging is the apparatus through which the force of the wind is used to propel sailboats and sailing ships forward. This includes masts, yards, sails, and cordage.-Terms and classifications:...
  
   which is used to support masts and spars, and is not normally manipulated during normal operations. Cf. running rigging.
• Stand-on (vessel): A vessel directed
  International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea
  The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972 are published by the International Maritime Organization , and set out, inter alia, the "rules of the road" or navigation rules to be followed by ships and other vessels at sea in order to prevent collisions between two or more...
  
   to keep her course and speed where two vessels are approaching one another so as to involve a risk of collision.
• Starboard: The right side of the boat. Towards the right-hand side of a vessel facing forward. Denoted with a green light at night. Derived from the old steering oar or steerboard which preceded the invention of the rudder.
• Starboard tack: When sailing with the wind coming from the starboard side of the vessel. Has right of way over boats on port tack.
• Starter: A rope used as a punitive device. See teazer, togey.
• Stay
  Stays (nautical)
  Stays are the heavy ropes, wires, or rods on sailing vessels that run from the masts to the hull, usually fore-and-aft along the centerline of the vessel...
  
  : Rigging running fore (forestay) and aft (backstay) from a mast to the hull.
• Staysail
  Staysail
  A staysail is a fore-and-aft rigged sail whose luff can be affixed to a stay running forward from a mast to the deck, the bowsprit or to another mast....
  
  : A sail whose luff is attached to a forestay.
• Steering flat: In a vessel, the compartment containing the steering gear.
• Steering oar
  Steering oar
  The steering oar or steering board is an oversized oar or board to control the direction of a ship or other watercraft prior to the invention of the rudder....
  
   or steering board: A long, flat board or oar that went from the stern to well underwater, used to steer vessels before the invention of the rudder
  Rudder
  A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
  
  . Traditionally on the starboard side of a ship (the "steering board" side).
• Stem
  Stem (ship)
  The stem is the very most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself and curves up to the wale of the boat. The stem is more often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively...
  
  : The extension of keel at the forward end of a ship.
• Stern
  Stern
  The stern is the rear or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite of the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section...
  
  : The rear part of a ship, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter to the taffrail.
• Stern chaser: See chase gun.
• Stern tube: The tube under the hull to bear the tailshaft for propulsion (usually at stern).
• Sterndrive
  Sterndrive
  A sterndrive or inboard/outboard drive is a form of marine propulsion. The engine is located inboard just forward of the transom and provides power to the drive unit located outside the hull.-Operation:...
  
  : A propeller drive system similar to the lower part of an outboard motor
  Outboard motor
  An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom and are the most common motorized method of propelling small watercraft...
  
   extending below the hull of a larger power boat or yacht, but driven by an engine mounted within the hull. Unlike a fixed propeller (but like an outboard), the boat may be steered by twisting the drive. Also see inboard motor and outboard motor.
• Sternway: The reverse movement of a boat or watercraft through the water.
• Stopper knot
  Stopper (knot)
  The term stopper knot has three distinct meanings in the context of knotting and cordage.-At the end of a line:A stopper knot is tied at the end of a rope to prevent the end from unraveling, slipping through another knot, or passing back through a hole, block, or belay/rappel device...
  
  : A knot tied in the end of a rope, usually to stop it passing through a hole; most commonly a figure-eight knot.
• Stove or Stove in: (past tense of stave, often applied as present tense) to smash inward, to force a hole or break in, as in a cask, door or other (wooden) barrier.
• Stow: to store, or to put away e.g. personal effects, tackle, or cargo.
• Stowage
  Stowage
  In naval architecture, stowage is the amount of room available for stowing materials aboard a ship....
  
  : the amount of room for storing materials on board a ship.
• Stowaway
  Stowaway
  A stowaway is a person who secretly boards a vehicle, such as an aircraft, bus, ship, cargo truck or train, to travel without paying and without being detected....
  
  : A trespasser on a ship; a person aboard a ship without permission and/or without payment, and usually boards undetected, remains hidden aboard, and jumps ship just before making port or reaching a port's dock; sometimes found aboard and imprisoned in the brig until the ship makes port and the prisoner can be transferred to the police or military.
• Strake
  Strake
  A strake is part of the shell of the hull of a boat or ship which, in conjunction with the other strakes, keeps the sea out and the vessel afloat...
  
  : One of the overlapping boards in a clinker
  Clinker (boat building)
  Clinker building is a method of constructing hulls of boats and ships by fixing wooden planks and, in the early nineteenth century, iron plates to each other so that the planks overlap along their edges. The overlapping joint is called a land. In any but a very small boat, the individual planks...
  
   built hull.
• Stretcher: an inclined foot rest, attached to the boat, to which a rower may place and in some instances (usually in competition) attach his feet.
• Studding-sails
  Studding sail
  A studding sail or studsail is a sail used to increase the sail area of a square rigged vessel in light winds. Traditionally pronounced stuns'l.It is an extra sail hoisted alongside a square-rigged sail on an extension of its yardarm...
  
   (ˈ): Long and narrow sails, used only in fine weather, on the outside of the large square sails.
• Superstructure
  Superstructure
  A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships...
  
  : The parts of the ship or a boat, including sailboats, fishing boats, passenger ships, and submarines, that project above her main deck. This does not usually include its masts or any armament turrets.
• Surge: A vessel's transient motion in a fore and aft direction.
• Sway:

1. A vessel's lateral motion from side to side.

2. (v) To hoist: "Sway up my dunnage".

• Swigging: To take up the last bit of slack on a line such as a halyard, anchor line or dockline by taking a single turn round a cleat and alternately heaving on the rope above and below the cleat while keeping the tension on the tail.
• Swinging the compass: Measuring the accuracy in a ship's magnetic compass
  Compass
  A compass is a navigational instrument that shows directions in a frame of reference that is stationary relative to the surface of the earth. The frame of reference defines the four cardinal directions – north, south, east, and west. Intermediate directions are also defined...
  
   so its readings can be adjusted—often by turning the ship and taking bearings on reference points.
• Swinging the lamp: Telling sea stories. Referring to lamps slung from the deckhead
  Deckhead
  A deckhead is the underside of a deck in a ship. It bears the same relationship to a compartment on the deck below as does the ceiling to the room of a house....
  
   which swing while at sea. Often used to indicate that the story teller is exaggerating.
• Swinging the lead:

1. Measuring the depth of water beneath a ship using a lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

-weighted sounding line

Sounding line

A sounding line or lead line is a length of thin rope with a plummet, generally of lead, at its end. Regardless of the actual composition of the plummet, it is still called a "lead."...

. Regarded as a relatively easy job, thus:

2. Feigning illness etc to avoid a hard job.

T

• Tabernacle: A large bracket attached firmly to the deck, to which the foot of the mast is fixed. It has two sides or cheeks and a bolt forming the pivot around which the mast is raised and lowered.
• Tack:

1. A leg of the route of a sailing vessel, particularly in relation to tacking (qv) and to starboard tack and port tack (also qv).

2. Hard tack: qv.

3. The front bottom corner of a sail.

• Tacking
  Tacking (sailing)
  Tacking or coming about is a sailing maneuver by which a sailing vessel turns its bow through the wind so that the direction from which the wind blows changes from one side to the other...
  
  :

1. Zig-zagging so as to sail directly towards the wind (and for some rigs also away from it).

2. Going about (qv).

• Taffrail
  Taffrail
  A Taffrail is the aftermost railing around the stern of a ship, often, but not always, ornately carved. A taffrail log is an object dragged from the stern of the vessel to calculate the vessel's speed through the water...
  
  : A rail at the stern of the boat that covers the head of the counter timbers.
• Tailshaft: A kind of metallic shafting (a rod of metal) to hold the propeller and connected to the power engine. When the tailshaft is moved, the propeller may also be moved for propulsion.
• Taken aback: An inattentive helmsmen might allow the dangerous situation to arise where the wind is blowing into the sails 'backwards', causing a sudden (and possibly dangerous) shift in the position of the sails.
• Taking the wind out of his sails: To sail in a way that steals the wind from another ship. cf. overbear.
• Tally: The operation of hauling aft the sheets, or drawing them in the direction of the ship's stern.
• Tattle Tale: Light cord attached to a mooring line at two points a few inches apart with a slack section in between (resembling an inch-worm) to indicate when the line is stretching from the ship’s rising with the tide. Obviously only used when moored to a fixed dock or pier and only on watches with a flood tide.
• Tell-tale (sometimes tell-tail): A light piece of string, yarn, rope or plastic (often magnetic audio tape) attached to a stay
  Stays (nautical)
  Stays are the heavy ropes, wires, or rods on sailing vessels that run from the masts to the hull, usually fore-and-aft along the centerline of the vessel...
  
   or a shroud
  Shroud (sailing)
  On a sailboat, the shrouds are pieces of standing rigging which hold the mast up from side to side. There is frequently more than one shroud on each side of the boat....
  
   to indicate the local wind direction. They may also be attached to the surface and/or the leech of a sail
  Sail
  A sail is any type of surface intended to move a vessel, vehicle or rotor by being placed in a wind—in essence a propulsion wing. Sails are used in sailing.-History of sails:...
  
   to indicate the state of the air flow over the surface of the sail. They are referenced when optimizing the trim of the sails to achieve the best boat speed in the prevailing wind conditions. (See Dogvane)
• Thole: Vertical wooden peg or pin inserted through the gunwale to form a fulcrum for oars when rowing. Used in place of a rowlock.
• Three sheets to the wind: On a three-masted ship, having the sheets of the three lower courses loose will result in the ship meandering aimlessly downwind. Also, a sailor who has drunk strong spirits beyond his capacity.
• Thwart
  Thwart
  A thwart is a strut placed crosswise in a ship or boat, to brace it crosswise.In rowboats it can also serve as a seat for a rower....
  
   (ˈ): A bench seat across the width of an open boat.
• Timoneer: From the French timonnier, is a name given, on particular occasions, to the steersman of a ship.
• Tingle: A thin temporary patch.
• Tiller
  Tiller
  A tiller or till is a lever attached to a rudder post or rudder stock of a boat that provides leverage for the helmsman to turn the rudder...
  
  : a lever used for steering, attached to the top of the rudder post. Used mainly on smaller vessels, such as dinghies and rowing boats.
• Toe-rail: A low strip running around the edge of the deck like a low bulwark. It may be shortened or have gaps in it to allow water to flow off the deck.
• Toe the line or Toe the mark: At parade, sailors and soldiers were required to stand in line, their toes in line with a seam of the deck.
• Topmast
  Topmast
  The masts of traditional sailing ships were not single spars, but were constructed of separate sections or masts, each with its own rigging. The topmast is one of these.The topmast is semi-permanently attached to the upper front of the lower mast, at the top...
  
  : The second section of the mast above the deck; formerly the upper mast, later surmounted by the topgallant mast; carrying the topsails.
• Topgallant: The mast or sails above the tops.
• Topsail
  Topsail
  A topsail is a sail set above another sail; on square-rigged vessels further sails may be set above topsails.- Square rig :On a square rigged vessel, a topsail is a square sail rigged above the course sail and below the topgallant sail where carried...
  
  : The second sail (counting from the bottom) up a mast. These may be either square sails or fore-and-aft ones, in which case they often "fill in" between the mast and the gaff of the sail below.
• Topsides
  Topsides
  On an offshore oil platform, Topsides refers to the surface hardware installed. This includes the oil production plant, the accommodation block and the drilling rig...
  
  : the part of the hull between the waterline and the deck. Also, Above-water hull
• Touch and go:

1. The bottom of the ship touching the bottom, but not grounding.

2. Stopping at a dock or pier for a very short time without tying up, to let off or take on crew or goods.

• Towing: The operation of drawing a vessel forward by means of long lines.
• Traffic Separation Scheme
  Traffic Separation Scheme
  A Traffic Separation Scheme or TSS is a traffic-management route-system ruled by the International Maritime Organization or IMO.The traffic-lanes indicate the general direction of the ships in that zone; ships navigating within a TSS all sail in the same direction or they cross the lane in an...
  
  : Shipping corridors marked by buoys which separate incoming from outgoing vessels. Improperly called Sea Lanes.
• Trailboard
  Trailboard
  The trailboards are a pair of boards that may be found at the bow of certain sailing vessels, where they run from the figurehead or billethead back to or towards the hawsepipe. They are in the main decorative, though they often bear the name of the ship; they may be more or less elaborately carved...
  
  : A decorative board at the bow of a vessel, sometimes bearing the vessel's name.
• Transmitting station: British term for a room located in the interior of a ship containing computers and other specialised equipment needed to calculate the range and bearing of a target from information gathered by the ship's spotters and range finders. These were designated "plotting rooms" by the United States Navy.
• Transom
  Transom (nautical)
  In naval architecture, a transom is the surface that forms the stern of a vessel. Transoms may be flat or curved and they may be vertical, raked forward, also known as a retroussé or reverse transom, angling forward from the waterline to the deck, or raked aft, often simply called "raked", angling...
  
  : The aft “wall” of the stern; often the part to which an outboard unit or the drive portion of a sterndrive is attached. A more or less flat surface across the stern
  Stern
  The stern is the rear or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite of the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section...
  
   of a vessel. Dinghies tend to have almost vertical transoms, whereas yachts’ transoms may be raked forward or aft.
• Travellers
  Mechanical traveller
  A mechanical traveller is a moving part of a machine, typically a ring that slides between different positions on a supporting rod when the machine goes through its operating cycle. The term may also be used refer to the supporting rod....
  
  : Small fittings that slide on a rod or line. The most common use is for the inboard end of the mainsheet; a more esoteric form of traveller consists of "slight iron rings, encircling the backstays, which are used for hoisting the top-gallant yards, and confining them to the backstays".
• Trice: To haul and tie up by means of a rope.
• Trick: A period of time spent at the wheel ("my trick's over").
• Trim:

1. Relationship of ship's hull to waterline.

2. Adjustments made to sails to maximize their efficiency.

• True bearing: An absolute bearing (qv) using true north.
• True north
  True north
  True north is the direction along the earth's surface towards the geographic North Pole.True geodetic north usually differs from magnetic north , and from grid north...
  
  : The direction of the geographical North Pole
  North Pole
  The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
  
  .
• Tumblehome
  Tumblehome
  In ship designing, the tumblehome is the narrowing of a ship's hull with greater distance above the water-line. Expressed more technically, it is present when the beam at the uppermost deck is less than the maximum beam of the vessel....
  
  : A description of hull shape when viewed in a transverse section, where the widest part of the hull is someway below deck level.
• Turn
  Turn (knot)
  A turn is one round of rope on a pin or cleat, or one round of a coil. Turns can be made around various objects, through rings, or around the standing part of the rope itself or another rope. A turn also denotes a component of a knot....
  
  : A knot passing behind or around an object.
• Turnbuckle
  Turnbuckle
  A turnbuckle, stretching screw or bottlescrew is a device for adjusting the tension or length of ropes, cables, tie rods, and other tensioning systems. It normally consists of two threaded eyelets, one screwed into each end of a small metal frame, one with a left-hand thread and the other with a...
  
  : see bottlescrew.
• Turtleback deck: A deck
  Deck (ship)
  A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary deck is the horizontal structure which forms the 'roof' for the hull, which both strengthens the hull and serves as the primary working surface...
  
   that is not flat, but curved. The purpose is usually to shed water, but, in warships, it may be to make the deck more resistant to shells.
• Turtling: The condition of a sailboat's (in particular a dinghy's) capsizing to a point where the mast is pointed straight down and the hull is on the surface resembling a turtle shell.
• Two six heave
  Two six heave
  "Two, six, heave" is a phrase used to coordinate seamen's pulling. It derives from the orders used in firing shipboard cannons in the British Royal Navy. The team of six men had numbered roles...
  
  : Royal Navy slang term meaning to pull. Originally a sailing navy term referring to the two members of a gun crew (numbers two and six) who ran out the gun by pulling on the ropes that secured it in place.

U

• Unassisted sailing
  Unassisted sailing
  Unassisted sailing is a form of sailing, usually single-handed, where sailors are not given any physical assistance during the entire course of the voyage...
  
  : A voyage, usually singlehanded, with no intermediate port stops or physical assistance from external sources.
• Under the weather: Serving a watch on the weather side of the ship, exposed to wind and spray.
• Under way: A vessel that is moving under control: that is, neither at anchor, made fast to the shore, aground nor adrift.
• Underwater hull or underwater ship: The underwater section of a vessel beneath the waterline, normally not visible except when in drydock.
• Up-and-down: A description for the relative slackness of an anchor chain; this term means that the anchor chain is slack and hangs vertically down from the hawse pipe.
• Up-behind: Slack off quickly and run slack to a belaying point. This order is given when a line or wire has been stopped off or falls have been four-in-hand and the hauling part is to be belayed.
• Upbound
  Upbound
  Upbound - A direction a vessel is moving in the Great Lakes region. The St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation uses the term for westward movements of cargo. The U.S. Coast Guard uses the term for vessels proceeding against the current....
  
  :

1. Adjective describing a vessel traveling upstream.

2. Adjective describing westward-traveling vessels in the Great Lakes

Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...

 region (terminology as used by the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation).

• Upper-yardmen: Specially selected personnel destined for high office.

V

• Vang

1. A rope leading from gaff to either side of the deck, used to prevent the gaff from sagging.

2. See boom vang.

• Vanishing angle: The maximum degree of heel after which a vessel becomes unable to return to an upright position.
• V-hull
  V-hull (boat)
  A V-hull, is the shape of a boat or ship in which the contours of the hull come in a straight line to the keel. V-hull designs are usually used in smaller boats and are useful in providing space for ballast inside the boat....
  
  : The shape of a boat or ship in which the contours of the hull come in a straight line to the keel.

W

• Wake
  Wake
  A wake is the region of recirculating flow immediately behind a moving or stationary solid body, caused by the flow of surrounding fluid around the body.-Fluid dynamics:...
  
  : Turbulence behind a vessel. Not to be confused with wash.
• Waist: the central deck of a ship between the forecastle and the quarterdeck.
• Wales: A number of strong and thick planks running length-wise along the ship, covering the lower part of the ship's side.
• Wash: The waves created by a vessel. Not to be confused with wake.
• Watch: A period of time during which a part of the crew is on duty. Changes of watch are marked by strokes on the ship's bell.
• Watercraft
  Watercraft
  A watercraft is a vessel or craft designed to move across or through water. The name is derived from the term "craft" which was used to describe all types of water going vessels...
  
  : Water transport vessels. Ship
  Ship
  Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
  
  s, boat
  Boat
  A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
  
  s, personal water craft
  Personal water craft
  A personal water craft , also called water scooter, is a recreational watercraft that the rider rides or stands on, rather than inside of, as in a boat....
  
   etc.
• Watersail
  Watersail
  A watersail is a sail hung below the boom. It is used on gaff rig boats for extra downwind performance when racing. Often a watersail will be improvised from an unused foresail. Its psychological effects may be more effective than its aerodynamic ones....
  
  : A sail hung below the boom on gaff rig boats for extra downwind performance when racing.
• Waterway

1: Waterway

Waterway

A waterway is any navigable body of water. Waterways can include rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, and canals. In order for a waterway to be navigable, it must meet several criteria:...

, a navigable body of water.

2: A strake of timber laid against the frames or bulwark stanchions at the margin of a laid wooden deck, usually about twice the thickness of the deck planking.

• Way-landing: An intermediate stop along the route of a steamboat.
• Waypoint
  Waypoint
  A waypoint is a reference point in physical space used for purposes of navigation.-Concept:Waypoints are sets of coordinates that identify a point in physical space. Coordinates used can vary depending on the application. For terrestrial navigation these coordinates can include longitude and...
  
  : A location defined by navigational coordinates, especially as part of a planned route.
• Wearing ship
  Jibe
  A jibe or gybe is a sailing maneuver where a sailing vessel turns its stern through the wind, such that the wind direction changes from one side of the boat to the other...
  
  : Tacking away from the wind in a square-rigged vessel. See also Gybe.
• Weather gage
  Weather gage
  The weather gage is a nautical term used to describe the advantageous position of a fighting sailing vessel, relative to another. The term is from the Age of Sail, and is now antiquated. A ship is said to possess the weather gage if it is in any position, at sea, upwind of the other vessel...
  
   or weather gauge: Favorable position over another sailing vessel with respect to the wind.
• Weather deck: Whichever deck is that exposed to the weather—usually either the main deck or, in larger vessels, the upper deck.
• Weather side: The side of a ship exposed to the wind.
• Weatherly: A ship that is easily sailed and maneuvered; makes little leeway when sailing to windward.
• Weigh anchor: To heave up (an anchor) preparatory to sailing.
• Well: Place in the ship's hold for pumps.
• Well-found: Properly set up or provisioned.
• Whiskerstay: One of the pair of stays that stabilize the bowsprit horizontally affixed to forward end of the bowsprit and just aft the stem.
• White horses or whitecaps: Foam or spray on wave tops caused by stronger winds (usually above Force
  Beaufort scale
  The Beaufort Scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort Wind Force Scale.-History:...
  
   4).
• Wheel or ship's wheel: The usual steering device on larger vessels: a wheel with a horizontal axis, connected by cables to the rudder.
• Wheelhouse: Location on a ship where the wheel is located; also called pilothouse or bridge.
• Whelkie: A small sailing pram.
• Wide berth: To leave room between two ships moored (berthed) to allow space for maneuver.
• Whipstaff: A vertical lever connected to a tiller, used for steering on larger ships before the development of the ship's wheel.
• Windage
  Windage
  Windage is a force created on an object by friction when there is relative movement between air and the object.There are two causes of windage:# the object is moving and being slowed by resistance from the air...
  
  : Wind resistance of the boat.
• Windbound: A condition wherein the ship is detained in one particular station by contrary winds.
• Wind-over-tide: Sea conditions with a tidal current and a wind in opposite directions, leading to short, heavy seas.
• Windward
  Windward and leeward
  Windward is the direction upwind from the point of reference. Leeward is the direction downwind from the point of reference. The side of a ship that is towards the leeward is its lee side. If the vessel is heeling under the pressure of the wind, this will be the "lower side"...
  
  : In the direction that the wind is coming from.
• Windlass
  Windlass
  The windlass is an apparatus for moving heavy weights. Typically, a windlass consists of a horizontal cylinder , which is rotated by the turn of a crank or belt...
  
  : A winch mechanism, usually with a horizontal axis. Used where mechanical advantage greater than that obtainable by block and tackle was needed (such as raising the anchor on small ships).
• Working up: Training, usually including gunnery practice.
• Worm, parcel and serve
  Worm, parcel and serve
  To worm, parcel and serve a line is to apply a multi-layered protection against chafe and deterioration. It is a technique not usually used on modern small boats, but is found extensively on traditionally-rigged sailing ships...
  
  : To protect a section of rope from chafing by: laying yarns (worming) to fill in the cuntlines, wrapping marline or other small stuff (serving) around it, and stitching a covering of canvas (parceling) over all.

Y

• Yard
  Yard (sailing)
  A yard is a spar on a mast from which sails are set. It may be constructed of timber, steel, or from more modern materials, like aluminium or carbon fibre. Although some types of fore and aft rigs have yards , the term is usually used to describe the horizontal spars used with square sails...
  
  : The horizontal spar from which a square sail is suspended.
• Yardarm
  Yard (sailing)
  A yard is a spar on a mast from which sails are set. It may be constructed of timber, steel, or from more modern materials, like aluminium or carbon fibre. Although some types of fore and aft rigs have yards , the term is usually used to describe the horizontal spars used with square sails...
  
  : The very end of a yard. Often mistaken for a "yard", which refers to the entire spar. As in to hang "from the yardarm" and the sun being "over the yardarm" (late enough to have a drink).
• Yarr: Acknowledgement of an order, or agreement. Also aye, aye.
• Yaw
  Ship motions
  Ship motions are defined by the six degrees of freedom that a ship, boat or any other craft can experience.- Translation :HeaveSwaySurge-Vertical axis:Vertical axis, or yaw axis — an axis drawn from top to bottom, and perpendicular to the other two axes...
  
  : A vessel's rotational motion about the vertical axis, causing the fore and aft ends to swing from side to side repetitively.
• Yawl
  Yawl
  A yawl is a two-masted sailing craft similar to a sloop or cutter but with an additional mast located well aft of the main mast, often right on the transom, specifically aft of the rudder post. A yawl (from Dutch Jol) is a two-masted sailing craft similar to a sloop or cutter but with an...
  
  : A fore and aft rigged sailing vessel with two masts, main and mizzen, the mizzen stepped abaft the rudder post.
• Yawl boat: A rowboat on davits at the stern of the boat.