2.(verb) The process of making a curve or structure fair.
fairwater
1.A structure that improves the streamlining of a vessel.
2.On submarines: The superstructure ( sail ) of the boat. The fairwater serves as a streamlined housing for the submarine's periscopes and other sensor masts, as well as the air intake, snorkel masts (if applicable). It also provides a degree of elevation above the sea, and is therefore typically equipped with a small bridge (nautical). If the submarine is equipped with a conning tower, this structure will also be located somewhere inside of the fairwater.
1.A navigable channel (e.g., in a harbor or offshore) that is the usual course taken by vessels in the area.
2.In military and naval terms, a channel from offshore, in a river, or in a harbor that has enough depth to accommodate the draft of large vessels.
fake
A single turn of rope in a coil or on a drum. A group of fakes is known as a tier. See also fake down.[80][24][50]:200,286
fake down
To lay a coil of rope down so that it will run easily; that is, with rope feeding off the top of the coil and the bitter end at the bottom. Often confused with flake. See also range.[24]
To change the direction of sail so as to point in a direction that is more downwind; to bring the bowleeward. This is the opposite of pointing up or heading up.
fantail
The aft end of a ship, also known as the poop deck.
fardage
Wood placed in the bottom of a ship to keep cargo dry. See also dunnage.
fashion boards
Loose boards that slide in grooves to close off a companionway or cabin entrance.[2]
fast
Fastened or held firmly (e.g. "fast aground": stuck on the seabed; or "made fast": tied securely).[2]
A small, fast, agile warship armed with anti-ship missiles, guns, or torpedoes. The fast attack craft replaced the torpedo boat during the second half of the 20th century in the role of a cheap, offensively-oriented inshore warship.
The largest type of US Navy combat logistics ship, designed to serve as a combined oiler, ammunition ship, and supply ship. The first fast combat support ship entered service in the mid-1960s.
1.A unit of length equal to 6 feet (1.8m), roughly measured as the distance between a man's outstretched hands. Particularly used in sounding as a measurement of the depth of a body of water.
2.To measure the depth of water; to engage in sounding.
fathomer
A person engaged in sounding to determine the depth of water.
A traditional wooden sailing boat with a rig consisting of one or two lateen sails, used in protected waters of the Red Sea and eastern Mediterranean and particularly along the Nile in Egypt and Sudan, as well as in Iraq.
fend off
A command given to the crew to stop what they are now doing and to immediately manually prevent the boat from banging into the docks or other boats.
A merchant ship used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water.
ferry glide
To hold a vessel against and at an angle to the current/stream such that the vessel moves sideways over the bottom due to the effect of the current operating on the upstream side of the vessel.
the vertical space above a vessel's engine room extending into its stack, usually covered by an iron grating. Also applied to the framework around the opening itself
A sailing boat with two masts with a standard rig consisting of a main dipping lug sail and a mizzen standing lug sail. Developed in Scotland and used for commercial fishing from the 1850s until the 20th century.
fig
US Navy slang for a guided-missile frigate, especially of the Oliver Hazard Perry class, derived from its class designation ("FFG").
fight his ship
To fight his ship (or to fight her ship) is a naval term that denotes a captain taking their vessel into combat or directing their vessel in combat.
fighting top
An enlarged top designed to allow gunfire downward onto an enemy ship. A fighting top could have small guns installed in it or could serve as a platform for snipers armed with muskets or rifles.
A symbolic image, particularly a carved effigy, at the head of a traditional sailing ship or early steamer.
fin
A term used in European and Commonwealth countries for a tower-like structure on the dorsal (topside) surface of a submarine; called a sail in the United States.
fine
Narrow in appearance from the vantage point of a lookout or other person viewing activity in the vicinity of a ship, e.g. another ship off the starboardbow with her bow or stern facing the viewer's ship could be described as "fine on the starboard bow" of the viewer's ship.
fine lines
Descriptive term for a vessel with a hull shape designed for an efficient flow of water around the hull. Simply described by comparing the hull shape to a rectangular cuboid with the same length, breadth and height as the submerged part of the hull. The more that you have to carve off that cuboid to get the hull's shape, the finer the lines. More accurately this is measured as the block coefficient or the prismatic coefficient.
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.
The classification for the largest sailing warships of the 17th through the 19th centuries. Such vessels often had up to three masts, 850+ crew, and 100+ guns.
1.In the Royal Navy, the senior lieutenant on board; responsible to the commanding officer 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 a token of respect for the privacy of the crew in those quarters. Officer in charge of cables on the forecastle.
2.In the US Navy, the officer on a ship serving as the senior person in charge of all deck hands.
A sailing tactic for handling winds too strong for the sail area hoisted when reefing the sails is not feasible or possible. The headsail is set normally while the mainsail is let out until it is constantly luffing. This creates a loss of force on the main and also reduces the efficiency of the headsail while still retaining sailing control of the vessel.
fisherman's sail
On a staysailschooner, the fisherman is a quadrilateral sail set between the two masts above the main staysail. It is used in light to moderate airs.
The period after a ship is launched during which all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and she is readied for sea trials and delivery to her owners.
fixed propeller
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.
The business practice of registering a merchant ship in a sovereign state different from that of the ship's owners, and flying that state's civil ensign on the ship. The practice allows the ship's owner to reduce operating costs or avoid the regulations of the owner's country.
2.A formal rank in the mid-19th century United States Navy, conveyed temporarily upon senior captains in command of squadrons of ships, soon rendered obsolete by the creation of the ranks of commodore and rear admiral.
1.A vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships. The term derives from the custom of a commander of such a group of ships, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag aboard the ship on which he or she is embarked.
2.Used more loosely, the lead ship in a fleet of naval or commercial vessels, typically the first, largest, fastest, most heavily armed, or, in terms of media coverage, best-known.
flake
To set down in folds, as in stowing a sail or to range a cable on deck so that it is clear to run. Not to be confused with fake down.[80]
A rectangular, flat-bottomed boat with square ends used to transport freight and passengers on inland waterways in the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries.
1.Naval fleet: The highest operational echelon of command of ships commanded by a single person in a navy, and typically the largest type of naval formation commanded by a single person. In modern times, usually (but not necessarily) a permanent formation.
2.During the Age of Sail, a Royal Navy term for any naval command larger than a squadron in size, or commanded by a rear admiral and composed of five ships-of-the-line and any number of smaller vessels.
4.Fishing fleet: A term for an aggregate of commercial fishing vessels, commonly used either to describe all fishing vessels belonging to a single country, operating in a single region, operating out of a particular port, or engaged in particular type of fishing (e.g., the tuna fishing fleet). The term does not imply that the vessels operate as part of a single organization.
5.Informally, any grouping (based on physical proximity or sharing of a common organizational subordination) of naval or civilian vessels.
6.Of a person, to move from one location to another aboard a vessel, or to change positions within a naval organization.
7.To move up a rope–especially when drawing the blocks of a tackle part–to allow a greater advantage in hauling.
8.To cause a rope or chain to slip down the barrel of a capstan or windlass.
9.A former term for the process aboard a vessel of moving deadeyes when the shrouds become too long.
A naval force that extends a controlling influence on maritime operations without ever leaving port by forcing an opposing navy to maintain forces on station to blockade it in port and oppose it if it comes out to fight. A navy which operates its forces as a fleet in being generally seeks to avoid actual combat with an enemy fleet for fear of losing a naval battle and thereby its ability to influence events and activities at sea.[82]
flemish
To coil a line that is not in use so that it lies flat on the deck.
flettner rotor
A spinning cylinder that uses the Magnus effect to harness wind power to propel a ship.
A flat deck on an aircraft carrier used for the launch and recovery of aircraft. In the United States Navy, the term flight deck also refers to a helicopter deck on other types of ships.
floating futtock
A futtock that is not attached to the other futtocks in the frame of which it is part. Instead, it is attached to the hull planking, ceiling and other longitudinal members. This demonstrates that building was done either shell-first or was frame-led, with phases of planking, then fitting of futtocks, followed by another band of planking.[83]:81,125,258,274
flog the glass
The act of vibrating or shaking a half-hour marine sandglass — used until the early 19th century to time the length of a watch — to speed the passage of the sand in order to get off watch duty earlier.[84]
floor
Transverse structural timbers which form that part of the lower frame of a traditional wooden ship's hull that sits immediately above the keel. The frames continue upwards as pieces called futtocks. A keelson is usually fastened over the top of the floors.[85]
floorhead
Any of the upper extremities of the floor of a vessel.
1.In naval usage, a group of warships under a single commander that is smaller than a fleet but otherwise not formally defined. A flotilla often is larger than a squadron, and usually is made up of smaller vessels than those assigned to a squadron, but some flotillas are smaller than squadrons and some include larger vessels. In some navies, the term flotilla is reserved for naval formations that operate on inland bodies of water, while the terms fleet and squadron denote naval formations that operate at sea. A flotilla may be a permanent or temporary formation. In modern times, a flotilla sometimes is an administrative naval unit responsible for maintaining and supporting vessels but not for commanding their operations at sea.
2.Informally, a group of naval or civilian vessels operating together or in close proximity to one another.
flotilla holiday
A group of chartered yachts that set out together on the same route.
A warship suitable for commanding a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships, typically a small cruiser or a large destroyer, in the latter case known as a destroyer leader.
A Dutch transoceanic sailing cargo vessel, square-rigged with two or three masts that were much taller than the masts of a galleon, developed in the 16th century and widely used in the 17th and 18th centuries.
1.A light, agile vessel of Dutch origin used in Europe in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Flyboats were designed as merchant cargo vessels, but many served as auxiliary warships. The flyboat was replaced by the fluyt in the early 17th century.
3.A high-speed horsedrawn canal boat operated in England in the 1830s and 1840s. Also called an "express boat" or a "gig boat."
4.A narrowboat operating day and night without mooring on the canal system in England to provide an express cargo service. These "flyboats" were common by 1834 and operated until ca. 1914.
Waves going in the same direction as a ship, or within 15° of the heading, at a speed slower than the ship. See overtaking sea for waves travelling faster than the ship.[31]
foo-foo band
An impromptu musical band on late 19th-century sailing vessels, made up from members of the ship's crew.[86][87]
A sailing rig consisting mainly of sails that are set along the line of the keel rather than perpendicular to it. Such sails, and the vessel itself, are said to be fore-and-aft-rigged.
fore-and-afters
Removable wooded beams running along the centre of the hold openings, beneath the hatches that they support.[2]
fore horse
A transverse wooden or iron beam afore the main mast to which the foresail sheet is attached.[2]
(pronounced /ˈfoʊksəl/) A partial deck above the upper deck and at the head of the vessel; traditionally the location of the sailors' living quarters. The name is derived from the castle fitted to bear archers in time of war.[2]
foredeck
The portion of the deck that is forward of the forward mast.
1.Having freedom of motion interfered with by collision or entanglement; entangled; the opposite of clear. For instance, a rope is foul when it does not run straight or smoothly, and an anchor is foul when it is caught on an obstruction.
2.A ship's bottom is foul when it is overgrown with marine life such as barnacles.
3.An area of water treacherous to navigation due to many shallow obstructions such as reefs, sandbars, rocks, etc.
4.A breach of racing rules.
5.Foul the range: To block another vessel from firing her guns at a target.
foulies
A slang term for oilskins, the foul-weather clothing worn by sailors.
In the British Royal Navy during the first half of the 18th century, a ship-of-the-line mounting between 46 and 60 guns.
frame
A transverse structural member that gives the hull strength and shape. Wooden frames may be sawn, bent, or laminated into shape; planking is then fastened to the frames. In traditional wooden ship building, an individual frame may be made of the following individual parts: floor, several futtocks, then a top timber as the last component closest to the deck. If the hull is built frame-first, these frame components are fastened to each other. In a shell-first (or planking-first) construction, they are only fastened to the hull planking.[88]
The height of a ship's hull (excluding the 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.
1.In the 17th century, any warship built for speed and maneuverability.
2.In the 18th and early 19th centuries, a sailing warship with a single continuous gun deck, typically used for patrolling, blockading, etc., but not in line of battle.
3.In the second half of the 19th century, a type of warship combining sail and steam propulsion, typically of ironclad timber construction, with all guns on one deck.
4.In the 20th and 21st centuries, a warship, smaller than a destroyer, originally introduced during World War II as an anti-submarine vessel but now general-purpose.
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 in a tricky sea (a serious risk for square-rigged vessels). Figuratively it implies getting on with the job but in a steady, relaxed way, without undue urgency or strain.
Strong westerly winds found in the Southern Hemisphere, generally between the latitudes of 50 and 60 degrees. They are stronger than the similar "Roaring Forties" to their north.
A method of improving the stability of a wooden vessel by increasing the breadth of the hull. The planking is removed and pieces of wood are added to the outside of the frames. Then the planking is replaced. An increase in breadth of about 1 foot (300mm) could typically be achieved on each side. This was a common remedial technique at a time before shipwrights were able to carry out mathematical stability calculations.[54]:ch 6 the Gresham Ship
A narrow, light, and fast ship with a shallow draft, powered both by oars and sail, with a single mast carrying a lateen sail; a favorite of North African corsairs during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Rope, wire, or chain links in the rigging of a traditional square-rigged ship running from the outer edges of a top downwards and inwards to a point on the mast or lower shrouds. They carry the load of the shrouds that rise from the edge of the top, preventing the top from tilting relative to the mast.[81]
futtock
The part of a ship's frame that continues the structure above the floors. These often exist as individual pieces termed first futtock, second futtock and third futtock, numbered moving away from the keel.[88] See also floating futtock
The typical Scottish sailingbarge or lighter of the 17th through 19th centuries, used mainly on inland waterways and especially on the River Clyde. A gabbart was a long, narrow, flat, single-masted vessel with a hatchway that extendied almost the full length of her deck, and some gabbarts had a mast that could be lowered to allow them to pass under bridges. Most later Scottish canal craft had their design origins in that of the gabbart.
gaff
1.(gaff rig) A spar that holds the upper edge of a four-sided fore-and-aft-mounted sail. On a hoisting gaff, the lower end is supported by gaff jaws which partly encircle the mast; it is hoisted using peak and throathalliards. A standing gaff remains aloft, its sails brailed when not in use.[81]
2.(fishing gaff) A hook on a long pole used to haul in fish.
A boat rigged with a four-sided fore-and-aft sail set abaft the mast, its head being spread by a gaff. The gaff may be standing (permanently in position) with the sail being brailed up to the gaff when not in use, or, more commonly, is hoisted using two halliards: the peak and the throat.[81]
1.Also foist and fuste, a narrow, light, and fast ship with a shallow draft, powered both by oars and sail, with a single mast carrying a lateen sail; a favorite of North Africancorsairs during the 16th and 17th centuries.
2.A type of Dutch or German merchant ship of the 17th through 19th centuries, similar to a ketch, with a rounded bow and stern like a fluyt and a nearly flat bottom, used especially for coastal navigation in the North Sea and Baltic Sea. Modernized after 1830 with a sharper bow similar to a schooner.
3.Also galiote, a type of French warship of the 17th through 19th centuries with one or two masts, lateen sails, and a bank of oars. When built with only one mast, little more than a large chaloupe or launch. A galiote a bombes was a galiote armed with a mortar for use in bombarding the coast.
4.Also galiote, a horse-drawn barge used on canals and rivers in France from the mid-17th century through the 19th century.
5.Also galiote or scute, a flat-bottomed boat with a simple sail used to transport wine in the Anjou region of France.
Illustration of a typical 15th-century galleon A large, multi-decked sailing ship with a prominent, squared-off, raised stern, generally carrying three or more masts, typically lateenfore-and-aft-rigged on the rear mast and square-rigged on the mainmast and foremast. Galleons were used primarily as armed cargo carriers and sometimes as warships by European states from the 16th to the 18th centuries.
galley
1.(galley (kitchen)) The compartment of a ship where food is cooked or prepared; a ship's kitchen.
2.(galley) A type of ship propelled by oars, used especially in the Mediterranean for warfare, piracy, and trade from the 8th century BC to the 16th century AD, with some in use until the early 19th century.
3.A type of oared gunboat built by the United States in the late 18th century, akin to a brigantine but termed "galley" for administrative and funding purposes.
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.[89]
A movable bridge used in boarding or leaving a ship at a pier.
gangway
An opening in the bulwark of a ship to allow passengers to board or leave the ship.
gantline
A rope running through a block at or near the masthead, with both ends reaching the deck. It is used solely for hoisting and lowering crew members and/or tools into the rigging for maintenance and repair work.
garbling
The illegal practice of mixing cargo with garbage.
garboard
The strake closest to the keel (from Dutch gaarboard).
garboard planks
The planks immediately on either side of the keel.
garland
A frame of wood or rope for holding shot, usually attached to a coaming or ledge on a ship's deck.
gash
Any refuse or rubbish discarded into a refuse container or dustbin, also known as "gash fanny" (South African Navy).
Any of several types of galley-like ships from the Nusantara archipelago in Southeast Asia. The term refers both to Mediterranean vessels built by local people and to native vessels with Mediterranean influence.
ghost
To sail slowly when there is apparently no wind.
ghost fleet
In the modern United States, an informal term for a reserve fleet.
A type of open boat designed primarily for propulsion under oar, but often fitted with a sailing rig for appropriate conditions. Used most often for the swift transport of one or a few people, as in a pilot gig or as a naval ship's boat. In US Navy usage, a captain's gig is reserved for use by a ship's captain and, in modern times, is a power-boat.
gig boat
An alternative term for a flyboat, a high-speed canal boat operating in England in the 1830s and 1840s.
A fishing vessel that employs gillnetting as its means of catching fish.
gin-pole
A pole that is attached perpendicular to a mast, to be used as a lever for raising the mast.
girt
1.Said of a vessel moored by cables to two anchors in such a way that the force of a current or tide causes her to swing against one of the cables.
2.To capsize because of forces exerted on a cable by another vessel attached to it. Tug girting specifically refers to girting that causes a tugboat to capsize because of forces placed on a cable attached to her by another vessel attached to the same cable.
give-way
In a situation where two vessels are approaching one another so as to involve a risk of collision, the vessel directed to keep out of the way of the other.
glass
1.A marine barometer. Older barometers used mercury-filled glass tubes to measure and indicate barometric pressure.
A satellite-based radionavigation system providing continuous worldwide coverage of geolocation and time information to air, marine, and land users wherever there is an unobstructed line of sight to at least four GPS satellites developed and operated by the United States Department of Defense but publicly available for use by anyone with an enabled GPS receiver.
A small, fast boat designed with a long narrow platform and a planing hull to enable it to reach high speeds. Colloquially equivalent to a "rum-runner" or a "cigarette boat".
(of a fore-and-aft-rigged vessel) Sailing directly away from the wind, with the sails set on opposite sides of the vessel (e.g. with the mainsail to port and the jib to starboard) so as to maximize the amount of canvas exposed to the wind. See also running.
A type of settee-rigged sailing vessel used as the main means of transportation across the Gozo Channel between Gozo and the island of Malta in Malta beginning in the 1880s. Gozo boats were converted into fishing vessels or abandoned during the 1960s and 1970s, when steamships replaced them.
Small balls of lead fired from a cannon, analogous to shotgun shot but on a larger scale; similar to canister shot but with larger individual shot. Intended specifically to injure personnel and damage rigging more than to cause structural damage.
A narrow basin, usually made of earthen berms and concrete, closed by gates or by a caisson, into which a vessel may be floated and the water pumped out, leaving the vessel supported on blocks; the classic form of drydock.
The practice of navigating a vessel along the arc of a great circle. Such routes yield the shortest possible distance between any given pair of points on the surface of the Earth.
green-to-green
A passage of two vessels moving in the opposite direction on their starboard sides, so called because the green navigation light on one of the vessels faces the green light on the other vessel.
A British term used in the 18th and 19th centuries for any whaling ship operating in the Arctic Ocean or northern waters near the Arctic.
green water
1.That portion of the ocean lying generally within a few hundred nautical miles of shore but beyond the edge of the continental shelf, and thus between "brown water" over the continental shelf and "blue water" farther out to sea.
2.A large amount of water on or passing over or across a ship's deck or superstructure after a large wave strikes her, e.g., The ship took green water over her bow during the storm.
green-water navy
A navy capable of sustained operations beyond coastal areas out to a few hundred nautical miles from shore, i.e., in "green water," but not farther into the open ocean, i.e., in "blue water." While a green-water navy can possess ships capable of operating farther out to sea than in "green water," it requires logistical support from foreign countries to sustain such longer-range operations.
gridiron
A large metal cross-frame on which vessels are placed at high water for examination, cleaning, and repairs after the tide falls.
The tendency of a ship to turn into the wind despite the efforts of the helmsman, usually due to either the design of a ship or more commonly the incorrect distribution of weight on and within the hull.
Watered-down pusser's rum consisting of half a gill with an equal part of water, issued to all seamen over twenty (CPOs and POs were issued with neat rum). From the British Admiral Vernon 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. Specific quantities of grog were often traded illegally as a form of currency; 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). Additional issues of grog were made on the command "splice the mainbrace" for celebrations or as a reward for performing especially onerous duties. The Royal Navy discontinued the practice of issuing rum in 1970.
The bed of the sea; the underwater surface or sea floor to which an anchor holds.
grounding
When a ship (while afloat) touches the bed of the sea, or runs aground. A moored vessel that grounds as the tide goes out is said to "take the ground".
groundway
A substantial foundation of wood or stone for the blocks on which a vessel is built, typically lying on either side of the keel of a ship under construction, which also serves to support and guide the blocks when they slide to carry the vessel into the water when she is launched.
growler
A small iceberg or ice floe barely visible above the surface of the water.
Guineaman
Another name for a slave ship, coined after the emergence of the transatlantic slave trade from Africa in the 15th century.
guards
1.(on an oceangoing sidewheel steamship) Horizontal structures, usually of wood, built around the paddle boxes just above their lowest point and extending a short distance forward and aft, designed to protect them from damage and to provide additional support for the paddle shaft.[90]
2.(on an American sidewheel steamboat) Extensions of the main deck beyond the hull to the outer extremity of the paddle boxes, and tapering to the bow and stern (thus giving the deck a characteristic oval shape), to increase the available deck space for passengers, cargo, and/or machinery.[90]
1.Any vessel that makes the rounds of a fleet at anchor to see that due watch is kept at night.
2.A warship stationed at a port or harbour to act as a guard there.
3.In former times in the British Royal Navy, a ship that received men impressed for naval service, often the flagship of the admiral commanding along the coast.
4.In Soviet and Russian terminology, a guard ship (storozhevoj korabl') is a small, general-purpose patrol or escort vessel.
1.Up through the 19th century, a deck aboard a ship that was primarily used for the mounting of cannon to be fired in broadsides.
2.On smaller vessels (of frigate size or smaller) up through the 19th century, the completely covered level under the upper deck, though in such smaller ships it carried none of the ship's guns.
3.On marine seismic survey vessels, the lowest deck on the ship, which carries the seismic source arrays, consisting of air guns arranged in clusters.
4.In naval slang, to fabricate or falsify something; in modern usage, meaning especially to falsify documentation in order to avoid doing work or make present conditions seem acceptable without having made a real effort to improve them.
A type of flat-bottomed sailing barge with a single large lateen sailbrailed to a heavy yard, used on rivers in Maine and New Hampshire from the mid-17th century to the early 20th century. Sometimes referred to as a gondola in period accounts.[91]
gunner's daughter
gunport
An opening in the side of a ship or in a turret through which a gun fires or protrudes.
gunroom
In a sailing vessel, the compartment in the stern in which stern chasers were mounted. This is also where the tiller enters through a tiller port, and so either the lower end of the whipstaff or the steering ropes that run to the wheel are present. In later ships, a mess in a warship used by sub-lieutenants, midshipmen and cadets.[92]
A fore-and-aft sail set abaft (behind) the mast, approximately triangular in shape, with the top half of the luff (front) of the sail attached to a yard which extends the sail above the top of the mast. The yard is raised and lowered with the sail.[93] This traditional sail is popular in small boats and produces aerodynamic performance close to that of the highly developed Bermuda rig.[94]
Generally, the upper edge of the hull; more specifically, in an open (undecked) boat of timber construction, the longitudinal stringer that connects the top of the ribs.[93][92]
gurdy
A mechanical crank used to set and retrieve fishing lines.
guy
1.A rope or stay leading to the side of the vessel.[81]
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.[2]
gypsy winch
A type or component of an anchor winch. The "gypsy" or "gypsy wheel" engages the anchor chain.
Canvas sheets, slung from the deckhead in messdecks, in which seamen slept. "Lash up and stow" was a piped command to tie up hammocks and stow them (typically) in racks inboard of the ship's side so as to protect the crew from splinters from shot and provide a ready means of preventing flooding caused by damage.
hamper
Articles that normally are indispensable aboard ship but at certain times are in the way.
A fastener attached to the luff of the headsail that attaches the headsail to the forestay. Typical designs include a bronze or plastic hook with a spring-operated gate, or a strip of cloth webbing with a snap fastener.[96]
The fees charged by the owners or operators of a harbour to those vessels using the harbour. Under British legislation, the person in charge of a vessel must report to the harbourmaster within 24 hours of arrival in a port where harbour dues are payable.[95][24]
A person in charge of a harbour, with powers including the collection of the harbour dues, instructing the masters of vessels where to moor, and overall safety within the area of the harbour, often including pilotage and navigational aids. In most countries the powers of a harbour master are laid down by legislation, and can be quite extensive.[95][24]
hard
A section of otherwise muddy shoreline suitable for mooring or hauling out.
The shaft or hole in the side of a vessel's bow through which the anchor chain passes. "In through the hawsepipe" describes someone with experience and savvy.[51]
An informal term for an officer of a merchant ship who began their career as an unlicensed merchant seaman, and so did not attend a traditional maritime academy to earn their officer's licence. See also before the mast.
4.The toilet or latrine of a vessel, which in sailing ships usually projected from the bow and therefore was located in the "head" of the vessel.
head boat
A fishing boat that takes recreational fishermen out for a fee paid individually by each person (i.e. per head). A head boat differs from a charter boat, which is a fishing boat that a party of fishermen hires for an agreed-upon period.
A sea in which waves are directly opposing the motion of the ship, or approaching within 15° of ahead.[31]
head-sail
1.Jibs and staysails set between the bowsprit and the fore[96]
2.Sometimes refers to the square sails on the fore-mast of a square rigged vessel.[96]
head-stays
Stays between the bowsprit and the foremost mast. [96]
header
A change in the wind direction that 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.
Any sail set in front of the most forward mast. A sailing vessel may have one or more headsails. A headsail may be hanked to a stay, or may be set flying, with the luff being kept taut by the tension of the halyard. Where several headsails are set, a complex arrangement might be termed (from the front and top) flying jib, outer jib, inner jib, and (fore) staysail; less complex would be jib and staysail[97]
A combination of high winds and rough seas that may be dangerous for a ship or boat, sometimes requiring changes to a passage plan (such as a precautionary diversion to a safe harbour), heaving to, running under bare poles, or other similar survival strategies.
1.The lean caused by the wind's force on the sails of a sailing vessel.
2.The inclination or canting of a vessel to one side or the other from the vertical as she maneuvers, e.g. "The ship heeled to port as she turned to starboard".
3.The lowest or last part of something, such as the heel of the mast or the heel of the vessel.
A type of seagoing fishing vessel used by Dutch and Flemish herring fishermen from the 15th through the early 19th century.
highfield lever
A 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.
A knot used to tie a rope or line to a fixed object. See also bend.[2]
hobby horsing
Harmonic pitching of a vessel forward and backward.
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.
3.A semi-permanent bend in a ship's keel, especially in wooden-hulled ships, caused over time by the ship's center being more buoyant than her bow or stern.
hog frame
A heavy wooden truss fitted lengthwise along each side of a large American steamboat, secured to the hull and rising above deck just outside the superstructure, to provide support for the hull and prevent hogging. Similar in appearance and function to a truss bridge. See also king post.
1.A condition in which the hull of a vessel bends upward such that the ends of the keel are lower than the middle. Hogging can occur when the peak of a wave is amidships or during loading or unloading of a vessel and can damage her or even break her in half. Contrast sagging.
2.A permanent distortion of the hull in the same manner as above, caused over time by the bow and stern of a ship being less buoyant than the midships section. During the Age of Sail, shipwrights employed a number of different designs of braces to stiffen ships' hulls against this warping.
hogging line
A line passed under a ship from side to side to pull a collision mat into place over a leak.[98] Also a line passed under a ship from side to side used as a reference to indicate position of a frame during underwater inspections.[99]
The lower part of the interior of a ship's hull, especially when considered as storage space, as for cargo. In earlier use, the term referred to all interior spaces below the orlop deck; 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 another preservative.
A chunk of sandstone used to scrub a ship's 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).
The port at which a vessel is based. Often confused with the ship's port of registry, which is the port listed in the vessel's registration documents and lettered on her stern but which may differ from her home port. In the cruise ship industry, the term "home port" is often incorrectly used to refer to a ship's port of departure.
homeward bounder
A slang term for a sail repair, especially one done with large herringbone stitches.[2]
honey barge
Slang term for a vessel that transports sewage.
hoop
Wooden or metal hoops used to secure the topsail to the topmast so it can be speedily raised or lowered.[2]
horn
A sound signal that uses electricity or compressed air to vibrate a disc diaphragm.
Shaped ends to the chocks where the main horse is bolted.[2]
horn timber
A fore-and-aft structural member of the hull sloping up and backwards from the keel to support the counter.
horse
1.A metal bar (sometimes a shaped aluminium extrusion), running athwartships, to which a sheet is attached with a traveller that slides along the horse or is adjusted to be fixed in one position on it. Commonly used for a mainsheet, but also seen with some headsails, particularly a staysail fitted with a boom.[95]
3.(verb) To move or adjust a sail by manual force (i.e. directly with the hands) rather than by using running rigging.
4.(verb) A term used since the end of the 17th century for the action of a strong, favorable current on a sailing vessel allowing her to make good progress despite insufficient wind for sailing; the vessel is considered to be horsed by the current, riding it in the way a human rides a horse.
A ship designated and equipped to serve primarily as a floating medical healthcare facility or hospital, usually operated by military forces such as navies for use in or near war zones, or for the support of disaster relief and other humanitarian operations.
1.In a sailing vessel, stopping her by backing some of the sails and lashing the helm to leeward. In a fore-and-aft-riggedsloop, this involves backing the headsail and allowing the mainsail to fill somewhat (the precise arrangement varies from one vessel to another). The vessel will gradually drift to leeward, with the speed of the drift depending on the vessel's design.
2.In a powered vessel, stopping her by stopping her engines.
2.An additional crewman who assists getting a vessel in and out of harbour. See also huffler (regional usage of these words varies substantially, with strongly held views on the differences).[101][100]
how's your head?
A question asked of the helmsman to report the vessel's course at that moment. The actual course may differ from the course to steer that has been ordered.
hoy
1.A cutter-rigged craft, having a pole masted with a boomless gaffmainsail and a steeved-up bowsprit. Hoys were square, swim-headed Thames estuary barges of 40 to 150 tons burthen.[102]
2.A barge making regular passages on a fixed route with mixed third-party cargoes. Also passage barge or goods barge.[2][102]
hufflers
Additional crew taken on to enter harbour or navigate in confined waters, particularly applying to Thames barges. See also hoveller.[100]
hulk
Hulk: A ship, often an old ship or one that has become obsolete or uneconomical to operate, that has had its rigging or internal equipment removed and is incapable of going to sea, but that is still afloat and continues to serve a useful function, such as providing living, office, training, storage, or prison space..
2.(v.) To convert a ship into a hulk.
3.A ship that has been launched but not completed.
Of a vessel when only her upper parts (e.g. funnel, masts, and superstructure) are visible on the horizon but her hull remains below the horizon. Contrast hull-up.
A boat with wing-like foils mounted on struts below the hull, lifting the hull entirely out of the water at speed and therefore greatly reducing water resistance.
A fast motorboat with a hull shaped so that at speed planing forces support the boat's weight, rather than simple buoyancy. A hydroplane moving at speed thus relies on the water for lift instead of buoyancy.
A notation assigned by a ship classification society or a national government authority to denote a ship's level of strengthening and other arrangements enabling her to navigate through sea ice. In some cases, an ice class also establishes the performance requirements for a vessel operating in sea ice.
A serious hazard where cold temperatures — below about −10°C (14°F) — combined with high wind speed (typically force 8 or above on the Beaufort scale) result in spray blown off the sea freezing immediately upon contact with the ship. If the weight of the ice becomes too great, the ship will become top-heavy and capsize.
idlers
Members of a ship's company not required to serve watches. In general, these were specialist tradesmen such as the carpenter and the sailmaker.
in ballast
(of a vessel) Having only ballast, and no cargo, as a load.
in irons
When a sailing vessel has lost all power in its sails along with all of its forward momentum preventing the vessel from steering. In high enough wind, backwards momentum can be reached from the wind pushing the vessel backwards. [2]
An 18th- and 19th-century term originally used to refer to a naval vessel that is out of service for repair or maintenance, later coming to mean naval ships in reserve with no more than a caretaker crew.
Humorous slang for when a crew's sole role on a sailboat, typically on a racing vessel, is to be used as a human ballast, or more commonly referred to as railmeat by sailors, by sitting on the rail or edge of the vessel to balance the weight. [103]
A method of surveying the underwater parts of a ship 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.
inboard
1.Situated within a vessel.
2.Situated within a vessel and positioned close (or closer relative to another object) to her centerline.
3.Situated outside a vessel but nearer to her hull, e.g. "The larger boat was tied up alongside the ship inboard of the smaller boat."
4.Nearer the pier or shore, e.g. "The tanker and cargo ship were tied up at the pier alongside one another with the tanker inboard of the cargo ship."
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. See also sterndrive and outboard motor.
A type of clip for attaching a flag to a flag halyard.
inshore
1.Near (especially in sight of) or toward the shore.
2.(of a wind) Blowing from the sea to the land.
interloper
A term used by the British East India Company in the seventeenth century for a merchant ship operating in violation of the company's monopoly over trade between England (later the United Kingdom) and ports east of the Cape of Good Hope. If caught, an "interloper" and her cargo could be confiscated, and her crew faced harsh penalties.[56]
2.(jack (flag)) A national or other official flag flown on a short jackstaff at the bow of a vessel indicating nationality or subordination to a navy or other particular seagoing service or to a government department or subnational government (such as a state or province), or to indicate membership in a yacht club. Typically, crew members spoke of the jack as if it were a member of the crew. A jack contrasts with an ensign, which is a flag with a generally similar purpose flown from the vessel's stern. Typically, vessels fly a jack while in port and an ensign while at sea (in daylight hours).
On a yacht, a deck lifeline of rope or (preferably) flat tape, running fore and aft, to which the crew can clip their harnesses for safety. Sometimes called a jackstay, though this is a misnomer as a jackline is a line rather than a stay. The line must be very strong to take the weight of all crew clipped to it.
A small vertical pole on the bow of a vessel upon which is flown its flag, or jack. The jackstaff was introduced in the 18th century.
jackstay
1.A rope, bar, or batten running along a ship's yard, to which is attached the head of a square sail.[96]
2.A stay for racing or cruising vessels used to steady the mast against the strain of the gaff.
3.A cable between two ships or from a ship to a fixed point that supports a load during transfer of personnel or materiel along the cable.
4.On a yacht, a deck lifeline of rope or (preferably) flat tape may be called a jackstay, though this is a misnomer as a jackstay is a stay rather than a line.[2]
1.A flexible hanging ladder consisting of vertical ropes or chains supporting horizontal rungs, used to allow access over the side of a ship, either to transfer between the ship and another vessel alongside it or to perform maintenance tasks along the side of the ship. Sometimes mistakenly referred to as a pilot ladder, which differs from a Jacob's ladder in its use of spreaders and in terms of specific regulations governing step size and step spacing.
2.A vertical ladder from the ratlines found on square-rigged ships, used to get around the top while climbing between the lower mast and the topmast.
jetty
A man-made pier in a marina or open water, typically made of wood or rocks and rising several feet above high tide in order to create a breakwater, shelter, pr channel, to control erosion, or to perform another function.
A triangular headsail at the front of a sailing vessel. The tack is attached to the bow or to a bowsprit. May be the only headsail, or one of several–in which case the jib is set forward of the fore staysail. A large jib that overlaps the mainmast is called a genoa or genny.
jib top
A high-clewed overlapping headsail for beam reaching in medium to strong winds[104]
The fourth mast on a ship, or the aftmost mast where it is smallest on vessels of less than four masts.[96]
joggle
A slender, triangular recess cut into the faying surface of a frame or steamed timber to fit over the land of clinker planking, or cut into the faying edge of a plank or rebate to avoid feather ends on a strake 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 iron to enter the seam.
jollies
Traditional Royal Navy nickname for the Royal Marines.
jolly boat
A type of ship's boat used to ferry crew and stores.
Both the act of rigging a temporary mast and/or sails and the name of the resulting rig. A jury rig would be built at sea when the original rig was damaged, and then used to sail to a harbor or other safe place for permanent repairs. Also used as a general term for a temporary repair, hence "jury rudder", "jury tiller", etc.[105]
A technique for moving or turning a ship by using a kedge. The kedge anchor may be dropped while in motion to create a pivot and thus perform a sharp turn. It may also be carried away from the ship in a smaller boat, dropped, and then weighed, pulling the ship forward.
The principal central longitudinal structural member of a hull, positioned at or close to the lowest point of the hull. Where the keel protrudes below the surface of the hull, it provides hydrodynamic resistance to the lateral forces that give rise to leeway. A ballast keel of (typically) lead or cast iron may be fastened underneath the structural keel in sailing vessels to provide stability and usually also additional hydrodynamic lift and lateral resistance effects.[107] See also bilge keel.
keel draft
keel draught
Depth of water occupied by the vessel from the waterline to the underside of the keel.[28] Compare with moulded draught.
A baulk of timber or a steel girder immediately above the keel that forms the backbone of a wooden ship. A chine keelson of more modest proportions is fitted at the junction of the floors and frames.[2]
2.A seaman promoted to the first step of the promotion ladder in the British Royal Navy. A fouled anchor is the substantive badge of non-commissioned officers, signifying that the wearer is an able seaman skilled to cope with the awkward job of dealing with a fouled killick.
kicking strap
1.A rope, tackle, or hydraulic ram running from the mast at or just above deck level to a point partway along the boom of a yacht's mainsail or mizzen. Its function is to pull the boom down, flattening the sail in strong winds, reducing twist, and preventing the boom from kicking up when running.
2.A chain rigged from rudder to quarter that is tight at anchor, stopping the rudder from kicking and reducing pressure on its gudgeons.[2]
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.
king post
1.On an American wooden-hulled steamboat, a type of mast or stanchion located along the vessel's centerline from which heavy chains (and later cables) were suspended to support the weight of the hull and provide stiffening, in much the same manner as the cables on a suspension bridge; usually used in conjunction with a hog frame.[108]
2.On a cargo ship, a strong vertical post from which a derrick or boom is suspended.
A type of seacock designed so that the water pressure from the sea keeps it closed under normal operating conditions, but can be opened from the inside of the ship, allowing seawater to enter internal fuel, water, or ballast tanks. Kingston valves can be opened to scuttle a ship.
3.Either of two timbers rising from the keel of a sailing ship and supporting the inner end of the bowsprit.
knock
knockdown
The condition of a sailboat being pushed abruptly over on its side, i.e. to horizontal or "on its beam ends", with the masts parallel to the water surface.
A unit of speed equivalent to 1 nautical mile (1.8520km; 1.1508mi) per hour. Originally the speed of a moving vessel was measured by paying out a line from the stern; the line was tied into a knot every 47feet 3inches (14.40m), and the number of knots paid out in 30 seconds gave the speed through the water in nautical miles per hour. Sometimes "knots" is mistakenly stated as "knots per hour", but the latter is a measure of acceleration (i.e. "nautical miles per hour per hour") rather than of speed. Both vessel speed and wind speed are commonly reported in knots.
know the ropes
A sailor who knows the ropes can identify all the many ropes used in working a sailing vessel. On a square rigged ship, there would typically be more than 130 named ropes in the running rigging which are made fast at deck level – the majority of these are duplicated on both the port and starboard sides, so doubling that count.[109] In order to know the ropes, a sailor must first learn the ropes. There were conventions with the positioning of all the many ropes belayed at deck level on a square-rigged ship, so a newly signed-on hand would quickly know where to find a particular rope on a strange ship.
To attach a sail to a spar by passing a rope through eyelet holes and around the spar or its jackstay.[2]
ladder
On board a ship, all "stairs" are called ladders, except for literal staircases aboard passenger ships. Most "stairs" on a ship are extremely narrow and nearly vertical, hence the name.
lagan
Cargo that has been thrown overboard, sunk to the seabed, and buoyed so it can be found later.[24]
laid up
To be placed in reserve or mothballed. The latter usage in modern times refers to a specific set of procedures used by the United States Navy to preserve ships in good condition.
A Great Lakes term for the general cargo and passenger trade between settlements on the Great Lakes during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Lakeshoring usually was conducted by schooners of 50 to 60 feet (15 to 18m) in length, sometimes referred to as lakeshoring schooners.[110]
land lubber
A person unfamiliar with being on the sea or with the workings of a seafaring vessel.
landfall
1.Arrival at a coastline by ship.
2.In now-obsolete usage, the first land discovered after a sea voyage.
landmark
An object ashore that is visible from sea and sufficiently distinct such that it is marked on nautical charts for the purpose of fixing position while at sea.
A military rank for a naval recruit, used in the United Kingdom in the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century and in the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
An obsolete term for the left side of a ship.[24] Derived from "lay-board", which provided access between a ship and a quay when ships normally docked with the left side to the wharf. Later replaced by "port side" or "port", to avoid confusion with starboard.
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).
A type of observation mast constructed with a hyperboloid structure using an array of thin columns at angles, crossing each other in a double-helical spiral configuration. Lattice masts were most common aboard major United States Navy warships in the early 20th century, particularly on dreadnoughtbattleships and armored cruisers; they were largely replaced by tripod masts during the 1920s and 1930s.
launch
1.The largest ship's boat carried by a warship – usually an open boat and, in more recent times, fitted with an engine. Historically, fitted both to be rowed or sailed.[24]
5.To put into the water any boat that is stored or temporarily kept out of the water; e.g., "launch the lifeboat" or "launch a dinghy".
lay
1.To come and go, used in giving orders to the crew, e.g., "lay forward" or "lay aloft", respectively indicating that the crew should move to the forward part of the ship or take up positions aloft.
3.(verb) To twist the strands of a rope together. (n) The direction of twist in cordage made from twisted strands
4.To travel in a direction which will reach or pass just upwind of a mark, buoy, or harbor, e.g., "We will lay the mark".
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.
lay to
To bring a vessel into the wind and hold her stationary. A vessel doing this is said to be laying to.
laying down
Laying the keel of a ship in a shipyard, and thereby beginning her construction. The age of a ship is often indicated by giving the date it was laid down.
The amount of time stipulated in a voyage charter for a vessel to be loaded or unloaded. If a vessel is loaded or unloaded in less than the laytime, the shipowner may be required to pay despatch to the charter party. If the loading or unloading takes longer than the laytime, the charter party may be required to pay demurrage to the shipowner.
lazaret
1.A small stowage locker at the aft end of a boat.
2.A ship or building used for the quarantine of sick patients.
3.An area on some merchant ships where provisions are stored.
4.In modern shipbuilding and on powerboats of all sizes, the location of the steering gear equipment for the vessel.
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.
lazy line
A line used for stern-to mooring attached to a floating pontoon or harbor wall which leads back to a seabed mooring.[112]
LBP
leach
lead
1.A plummet or mass of lead attached to a line, used in sounding depth at sea.
The first in a series or class of ships. The lead ship is usually, but not always, the first of her class to be completed and often, but not always, the class as a whole is known by her name. In the latter case, the lead ship is also the name ship of the class.
A unit of length used to measure distances, normally equal to three nautical miles, but varies by nationality.
learn the ropes
To be trained in the identification and proper use of the many various ropes used on a sailing ship. An apprentice sailor, especially on a square-rigged ship, needs to know which rope of the many that are belayed at deck level does which job. A small square sail will have, at a minimum, two sheets, two clewlines, several buntlines, and two braces, and may also have a halyard. A single mast may have up to five square sails. To do his job, a sailor must be able to identify each rope from all the many options – and in the dark. Slacking or hauling the wrong one may not only be inefficient but also potentially dangerous. Once proficient in these tasks, a sailor is said to "know the ropes".
The tendency of a sailboat to turn to leeward in a strong wind when there is no change in the rudder's position. This is the opposite of weather helm and is the result of a dynamically unbalanced condition. See also center of lateral resistance.
lee side
The side of a ship that is sheltered from the wind; i.e. the side that is downwind, or in the direction toward which the wind is blowing. Contrast weather side or windward.
A large fan-shaped wooden board or fin mounted in pairs on the side of a boat. They can be lowered on the lee side of the ship to reduce leeway (similarly to a centerboard on a dinghy).[2]
leeboard irons
The iron bars that run from the mainmast case to the head of each leeboard, which they support.[2]
leeboard pendant
A wire connecting the fan of the leeboard to a winch on the barges quarter. They control the fall of the leeboard.[2]
leech
The aft or trailing edge of a fore-and-aft sail, the leeward edge of a spinnaker, or 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.[2]
lee-oh
A command to come about (tack through the wind) on a sailing boat. The response by the helmsman to indicate the order has been carried out, is "helm's alee"
The amount that a ship is blown leeward by the wind. Also the amount of open free sailing space available to the lee side of a vessel before encountering hazards. See also weatherly.[2]
leg
In navigation, a segment of a voyage between two waypoints.
The length of a vessel along the waterline from the forward surface of the stem or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the sternpost or main stern perpendicular member. The measure generally allows for a reasonable estimate of the vessel's carrying capacity, as it excludes the small, often unusable volume contained in her overhanging ends.
The maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline, usually measured on the hull alone, and including overhanging ends that extend beyond the main bow and main stern perpendicular members. For sailing vessels, this may exclude the bowsprit and other fittings added to the hull, but sometimes bowsprits are included.
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.
An official warrant granted to a privateer condoning specific acts of piracy against a specific target as a redress for grievances.
liberty
A relatively short period when a sailor is allowed ashore for recreation. See also shore leave.
licensed ship
A term used by the British East India Company from the 17th to the 19th centuries for merchant ships not under charter to it which it nevertheless permitted under a license issued by the company to trade between England (later the United Kingdom) and ports east of the Cape of Good Hope, a trade over which the company otherwise held a strict monopoly. The company placed strict controls on what ports a licensed ship could visit and what kinds of trade it could engage in. A licensed ship that violated these rules became an interloper and faced harsh penalties if caught.[56]
lie to
To arrange a ship's sails so that they counteract each other. A ship in this condition or in the process of achieving this condition is said to be lying to.
An inflatable, sometimes covered raft used in the event of a vessel being abandoned or in the evacuation of an aircraft after a water landing.
lift
1.A rope that supports a spar on a sailing vessel. Examples include the topping lift on the boom of a fore and aft rigged sail, or the lifts on the yard of a square rigged sail, which can adjust the yard to the horizontal or cock-bill the yard to get it out of the way when unloading cargo or alongside another vessel.[34]
2.An enabling shift in the direction of the wind that allows a close-hauled sailing ship to point up from its current course to a more favorable one. This is the opposite of a header.
light irons
Iron bars mounted near the main shrouds that support the navigation lights.[2]
light screens
Boards on which the navigation lights are hooked and which shield the direction that the red or green light shows.[2]
A flat-bottomed barge used to transfer goods and passengers to and from moored ships, traditionally unpowered and moved and steered using "sweeps" (long oars), with their motive power provided by water currents.
The process of transferring cargo from one vessel to another in order to reduce the draft of the first vessel, typically done to allow a vessel to enter a port with limited depth or to help free a grounded vessel.
A permanently anchored vessel performing the functions of a lighthouse, typically in a location where construction of the latter is impractical. These have largely been replaced by buoys or, as construction techniques have improved, actual lighthouses.
A channel cut in the underside of a frame, close to the keel, to allow bilge water to drain away to the pump well, rather than being trapped between each set of frames.[36]
limber strake
In traditional timber construction, the lowest permanently fastened strake of ceiling, positioned close to the keelson. It performs a structural role, usually binding together each pair of floor and first futtock.[54]:glossary
line
The correct nautical term for the majority of the cordage or "ropes" used on a vessel. An individual line will always have a more specific name (e.g,. the mizzentopsailhalyard) that specifies its use.
lines
hull lines
lines drawing
1.The depiction of the shape of a hull with three views: sheer plan, body plan and half breadth plan. The lines on these drawings denote the shape of the hull similarly to the contours of a map.[113]
2.Any cargo or passenger ship running scheduled service along a specific route with published ports of call, excluding ferries and other vessels engaged in short-sea trading. When referring to cargo ships, "liner" contrasts with "tramp", which refers to a ship engaged in spot-market trade that does not follow a regular schedule or make regular calls at specific ports. When referring to passenger ships, "ocean liner" refers to ships providing scheduled transportation between regular ports of call, but excludes cruise ships, which voyage for recreational purposes and not primarily as a form of transportation between ports.
A ship with severe list The degree or angle to which a vessel leans or tilts to one side, on the roll axis, at equilibrium, i.e. with no external forces acting upon it. The term typically refers to a lean caused by flooding or improperly loaded or shifted cargo, as opposed to heeling, which is a consequence of external forces. A vessel with such a lean is said to be listing.[24] Compare loll.
lizard
A short length of rope with an eye, used to hold another rope in position.[2]
LOA
loaded to the gunwales
Literally, having cargo loaded as high as the ship's rail. The term is also used as an idiom meaning "extremely drunk".
An area of the northern North Sea which is fairly consistently 40 fathoms (240 feet; 73 metres) deep. On nautical charts with depths indicated in fathoms, it appears as a long area with many "40" notations.
long stay
The relative slackness of an anchor chain; this term means taut and extended.
1.In the Age of Sail, a double-banked open boat carried by a sailing ship, rowed by eight or ten oarsmen, two per thwart, although designed also to be rigged for sailing; more seaworthy than a cutter or dinghy and with a beam greater than that of a gig. Eventually supplanted by the whaleboat.
2.The largest, and thus the most capable, of boats carried on a ship.
3.Great Lakes slang for a vessel that spends all of her time on any of the five Great Lakes, referring to the slender appearance of such vessels.
A type of ship invented and used by the Vikings for trade, commerce, exploration, and warfare, evolving over several centuries and appearing in its complete form between the 9th and 13th centuries.
lookout
A member of the crew specifically assigned to watch surrounding waters for other vessels, land, objects in the water, hazards, threats, etc. Lookouts usually have duty stations high on a vessel's superstructure, in a specially designed top or crow's nest, or in her rigging, in order to enhance their field of view.
loose cannon
An irresponsible and reckless individual whose behavior (either intentionally or unintentionally) endangers the group he or she belongs to. The term refers to a hypothetical literal loose cannon which, 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 fore-and-aftmainsail that is not connected to a boom along its foot.[2]
A sailing vessel of 30 to 150 tons burthen developed around 1550 that has a junkrig with Cantonese or other Chinese-style battensails on a Portuguese or other European-style hull. The design combines the ease of handling of a junk rig with the greater speed, cargo capacity, and ease of repair of the European-style hull.
A port cut into the bottom of a masthead or top (crow's-nest) allowing easy entry and exit. It was considered "un-seamanlike" to use this 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). In practice, it is often actually quicker and easier for a fit sailor to climb outside the masthead than through the lubber's hole.[115]
lubber's line
A line or mark inside or on a compass case or binnacle indicating the direction of the ship's head.[24]
lucky bag
1.A locker or compartment for storage of unclaimed articles.[116]
2.The fullest or roundest part of a ship's bow.[117][50]
3.To point a sailing vessel closer to the wind.[118][2]
luff and touch her
To bring a vessel so close to the wind that the sails shake.[119]
luff barge
An 18th-century term for a sailing barge with a rounded bow and not a swim-head.[120]
luff perpendicular (LP)
The shortest distance between the clew and the luff, which is a perpendicular line from the luff to the clew. Commonly given as a percentage of the "J" measurement.[121]
luff up
To steer a sailing vessel more towards the direction of the wind until the pressure is eased on the sheet.
1.(of a sailing vessel) Being steered far enough to windward that the sail is no longer completely filled with wind; in such a state, the luff of a fore-and-aft sail begins to flap first.
2.Loosening a sheet so far past optimal trim that the sail no longer completely fills with wind.
3.The flapping of a sail from having no wind at all.
A Great Lakes ship designed to simultaneously carry her own deck load of lumber and to tow one or two barges. The barges were big old schooners stripped of their masts and running gear to carry large cargoes of lumber.
A sailing vessel with lug sails set on one, two, or more masts and perhaps lug topsails, widely used as traditional fishing boats, particularly off the coasts of France, England, and Scotland; also used as privateers and smugglers.
A four-sided fore-and-aftsail supported by a spar along the top that is fixed to the mast at a point some distance from the center of the spar. A dipping lug had to be moved to the other side of the mast when tacking (in larger vessels, by partially lowering the sail and hauling down either the peak or the throat to move the yard across). A standing lug can be used on either tack in the same position. It was common for British fishing luggers to have a dipping lug on the foremast and a standing lug on the mizzen.[122]
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↑"Marine Safety Alert 090-14: Air Draft is Critical!"(PDF) (Press release). United States Coast Guard Inspections and Compliance Directorate. 2014-09-09. Retrieved 2015-02-15.
↑"Photograph of de Havilland Sea Dove XJ319, 'The Green Parrot', Admiral's barge, C-in-C HMS Heron, 1973". alamy.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
1234Saunders, Harold E. (1965). "10: Definitions and nomenclature for Seakeeping". In Taggart, Robert (ed.). Hydrodynamics in ship design. Vol.3. New York, NY: Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. p.156.
↑"Nature's Submarines: How we guard our commerce against them". Scientific American Supplement. 86 (2235). Munn and Company: 280–281. 1918-11-02. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican11021918-280supp. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
↑Bathe, Basil W.; Villiers, Alan (March 1978). The Visual Encyclopedia of Nautical Terms Under Sail. New York Crown Publishers Inc. ISBN0-517-53317-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)ISBN978-0-517-53317-8
123456"Origin of Navy Terminology". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
↑Martin, Gary (2023-12-11). "'Let the cat out of the bag' – the meaning and origin of this phrase". Phrasefinder.
↑Hancock, Jim (2004-07-20). "Anchoring Principals". www.sailmagazine.com. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
123Adams, Jonathan (2013). A maritime archaeology of ships: innovation and social change in late medieval and early modern Europe. Oxford: Oxbow Books. ISBN9781782970453.
↑Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1939.
12345"East India Company Ships – The Maritime Service 1600 to 1834". eicships.threedecks.org.
↑Greenhill, Basil (1995). The archaeology of boats & ships: an introduction. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-55750-039-8.
↑Trocki, Carl A. (1999). Opium, Empire, and the Global Political Economy: a study of the Asian opium trade, 1750-1950 (Kindleed.). London: Routledge. ISBN0-415-21500-5.
↑McKee, Eric (1983). Working Boats of Britain, Their Shape and Purpose (1997ed.). London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN0-85177-277-3.
↑"Double the angle on the bow". Deckskills. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
↑"Navigational Rules: International—Inland"(PDF). United States Coast Guard. pp.21, 31. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2019-05-03. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
↑"Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway System: An overview of North America's most dynamic waterway"(PDF). Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2019-02-21. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
↑"Hattendorf, John B. "The Idea of a "Fleet in Being" in Historical Perspective," Naval War College Review (Winter 2014)". Archived from the original on 2014-05-08. Retrieved 2021-07-22.
↑Grenier, Robert (2007). Grenier, Robert; Bernier, Marc-Andre; Stevens, Willis (eds.). The Underwater Archaeology of Red Bay. Vol. 3: The 24M Hull. Ottawa: Parks Canada. ISBN9780660196527.
↑"to flog the glass". Oxford Reference. doi:10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095824410.
↑Nichols, David L (2014). The Working Guide to Traditional Small-Boat Sails: A How-To Handbook for Owners and Builders. Halcotsville NY: Breakaway Books. ISBN978-1-62124-017-4.
↑Karamanski, Theodore J., Schooner Passage: Sailing Ships and the Lake Michigan Frontier, Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2000, ISBN0-8143-2911-X, pp. 46, 47 Accessed July 8, 2021
↑Ansel, Willits Dyer (1978). The Whaleboat: a study of design, construction, and use from 1850 to 1970. [Mystic, Conn.]: Mystic Seaport Museum. ISBN0-913372-39-0.
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