SafekipediaGlossary of nautical terms (M–Z)
Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience
This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of words and phrases connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water, mostly on the sea. Some of these terms are still used today, while many come from the 17th to 19th centuries. The word nautical comes from the Latin word nauticus, which itself came from the Greek nautikos. This Greek word came from nautēs, meaning "sailor", which in turn came from naus, meaning "ship".
If you want to learn more about nautical words used in everyday English, you can read the article on Nautical metaphors in English. There is also a list of special words used by soldiers and sailors in the Multiservice tactical brevity code article. Words used in fishing, diving under water, rowing boats, and weather can be found in the Glossary of fishery terms, Glossary of underwater diving terminology, Glossary of rowing terms, and Glossary of meteorology articles.
M
A structure that combines the radar mast and the exhaust stack of a surface ship, saving valuable deck space.
A personal flotation device used during World War II to keep people afloat in water. It was named after actress Mae West, known for her large bust.
The area on a warship where ammunition is stored.
A direction using magnetic north.
magnetic north
The direction toward the North Magnetic Pole, which changes slowly over time.
maiden voyage
The first trip a ship takes in its intended role, not including test trips.
Maierform bow
A V-shaped bow from the late 1920s that improved a ship's speed, stability, and performance in rough seas.
main
The open ocean.
The top continuous deck stretching from bow to stern.
mainbrace
A rope attached to the yard of the mainsail on a square-rigged ship.
mainmast
The tallest mast on a ship with more than one mast, or the second mast from the bow.
mainmast head
The top of a sailing vessel's mainmast.
mainmastman
A sailor assigned to the mainmast.
mains
The main brails on the mainsail.
A control line for the mainsail, mainly used to adjust the angle of the boom.
mainstay
A stay running from the top of the mainmast to the bottom of the foremast, or from the top of the foremast to the ship's stem.
making way
When a vessel is moving under its own power.
A warship from the Age of Sail.
An emergency call when someone falls into the water from a ship or boat.
To station the crew along the rails and superstructure as a method of saluting or showing respect.
To have all crew members not needed on deck go up and spread out along the yards.
A document listing the cargo, passengers, and crew of a ship for customs and officials.
Marconi rig
An old term for Bermuda rig. The mainsail is triangular and rigged with its luff fixed to the mast.
A docking place for small ships and yachts.
marine
- A soldier trained for service at sea, often part of a navy.
- An alternative term for a navy.
- Relating to the sea (e.g., marine biology).
- A painting of sea-related subjects.
An hourglass-like tool used on ships to measure time from the 14th century until mechanical timepieces became common.
mariner
A sailor.
maritime
- Related to the sea (e.g., maritime activities).
- Bordering on the sea (e.g., maritime states).
- Living near the sea (e.g., maritime animals).
- Relating to sailors.
A tool used for working with rope.
martnet
A type of brail for square sails, replaced by the leechline around 1650.
mast
A tall pole on a ship that supports sails or rigging.
mast case
A fitting where the heel of the mast is mounted on a yacht.
Mast partner
The reinforced area of the deck around the mast.
mast step
The place in the hull where the bottom of the mast rests.
mast stepping
The process of raising a mast.
masthead
A small platform partway up the mast for lookouts.
masthead light
A white light shown at the front of a vessel.
master
- The captain of a commercial ship.
- A senior officer on a naval ship in charge of seamanship and navigation.
- A former naval rank.
A non-commissioned officer responsible for discipline on a naval ship.
mate
- A watch-keeping officer on a merchant ship, subordinate to the master.
- An assistant to a crew member with a specific task.
matelot
A traditional Royal Navy term for an ordinary sailor.
material
Military supplies and equipment for naval services.
A method of mooring a ship stern-to.
All merchant ships registered in a country and the civilians who operate them.
merchant mariner
A civilian officer or sailor in the merchant marine.
The merchant marine of the United Kingdom, a term also used by some other countries. The personnel are civilians.
merchantman
Any non-naval passenger or cargo ship.
- An eating place on a ship.
- A group of crew who live and eat together.
mess deck catering
A system where a standard ration is given to a mess, with extra money to buy food from the purser's stores.
The middle point between a ship's center of buoyancy when upright and when tilted.
metacentric height (GM)
A measure of a ship's stability, calculated as the distance between its center of gravity and its metacenter.
The part of the triangular trade where slaves were taken from Africa to the Americas.
middles
The middle brails on the mainsail.
midship house
A superstructure built over the middle part of the hull, often housing the bridge and officers' quarters.
- In the 17th century, a rating for an experienced seaman.
- From the 18th century, a naval officer candidate.
- From the 1790s, an apprentice naval officer.
- From the 19th century, an officer cadet at a naval academy.
- In modern British use, a non-commissioned officer below the rank of lieutenant.
- In American use, a cadet at the United States Merchant Marine Academy or United States Naval Academy.
midshipman's hitch
An alternative to the Blackwall hitch, used if the rope is greasy.
midshipman's nuts
Broken pieces of biscuit served as dessert.
midshipman's roll
A casual way of rolling up a hammock.
midships
A shorter way of saying amidships.
mile
See nautical mile.
military mast
A hollow, tubular mast used on warships in the late 19th century, often with a fighting top.
millers
Shipboard rats.
mine
An explosive device placed in water to damage or sink ships.
A ship designed to detect and destroy mines.
A ship designed to lay mines.
minesweeper
A ship designed to clear mines from areas of water.
misstay
To lose forward momentum when changing direction.
A large coastal sailing vessel used in the Mediterranean in the 18th and 19th centuries.
mizzen
- The mizzenmast is the after-most mast on ships with three or more masts.
- The mizzen sail is the lowest sail on the mizzen mast.
- A mizzen staysail is a sail set in front of the mizzen mast.
A large structure of stone or concrete used as a pier, breakwater, or causeway.
molgogger
- A type of roller fairlead used to guide fishing nets or towing cables.
- A removable bar or hook on a tug to prevent the towline from moving too far forward.
monitor
- A type of ironclad warship from the late 19th century, used for river and coastal operations.
- Occasionally, any turreted warship.
- A shallow-draft armored ship from the early 20th century for supporting troops.
- A 19th-century monitor with a breastwork for better seaworthiness.
- A river monitor designed for river operations.
monkey bridge
A high platform above the wheelhouse for better visibility while maneuvering.
A ball woven from line to add weight when throwing a line.
moor
- To attach a boat to a mooring buoy or post.
- To dock a ship.
- To secure a ship with a cable or anchor.
mooring
A place to moor a ship.
A ship that leads, serves, or carries smaller ships.
A motor-powered sailing ship that can use sails or engine power.
motorsailing
Using both sails and engines at the same time.
A ship powered by an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine.
mould
A template showing the shape of the hull in cross-section.
moulded
A measurement of a timber in a wooden hull across its surface.
moulded beam
The width of the hull at its widest point.
moulded breadth
The width of the hull lines at the widest point.
moulded depth
The distance from the top of the keel to the top of the main deck beams.
moulded dimensions
Dimensions of a ship from the lines plan, not including planking thickness.
moulded draft
The depth of the ship measured from the baseline.
mould loft
Where the ship's lines are drawn full-size to make templates for timbers.
mousing
Wrapping light line around a hook to prevent it from coming undone.
mulie
A barge with a spritsail main and a large gaff rigged mizzen afore the steering wheel.
multipurpose vessel
A cargo ship that can carry containers and bulk cargo.
multiservice tactical brevity code
Codes used by military forces to share information quickly.
An exercise for the crew of a ship before a voyage, including passengers, to practice emergency procedures.
muster station
A planned gathering place on a ship during an emergency or drill.
muzzle
A metal band around the mast to hold the heel of the sprit.
M.S. (or MS)
Short for motor ship, used before a ship's name.
M.V. (or MV)
Short for motor vessel, used before a ship's name.
M.Y. (or MY)
Short for motor yacht, used before a yacht's name.
N
A name ship is a ship that gives its name to a whole group of similar ships. It is usually the first one finished and put into service.
A natural harbour is a safe place for ships, protected by land and deep enough for boats to stop.
A narrowboat is a special boat made to fit in the narrow canals of the United Kingdom.
Narrows are thin parts of a waterway where ships can travel.
Nautical means anything related to sailors, sailing, or guiding ships.
A nautical chart is a special map for the sea. It shows depths, dangers, landmarks, and things that help ships, like buoys. Governments make these maps.
A nautical mile is a unit of distance used at sea. It is about 1,852 metres, or roughly one minute of latitude on Earth.
Nautical style is a type of clothing that started from old sailor uniforms but is now worn by many people for casual wear.
Naval infantry are sailors trained to fight on land for a short time, or special soldiers in a navy who always fight on land.
A naval programme was the way Britain approved building ships with a law each year.
Navigation is all the things people do to know where a ship is and where it is going. Old maps were used before satellites.
A navigation light is a light on a ship that shows where the ship is and which way it is going.
Navigation rules are like traffic rules for the sea. They help ships avoid hitting each other.
Nay means "no". It is the opposite of "aye".
A net cutter is a tool used to cut nets. It can be used by coast guards, submarines, or torpedoes.
A net laying ship is a special support ship that puts down nets to protect other ships from attacks or submarines.
Net tender is another name for a net laying ship.
The New Company ship was a ship that traded for a new company in England in 1697. This company tried to compete with another big company, but they merged in 1707.
A night boat is a type of steamboat in the United States that had beds for passengers travelling overnight, unlike day boats.
A nipper is a short rope used to tie a big cable to a moving line on a ship.
A nock is the narrow part of a main sail.
Non-self-sustaining means the opposite of self-sustaining.
A nun is a type of buoy used for guiding ships. It is often cone-shaped and coloured green or red depending on the area.
O
This is material, often made from old, untwisted ropes, used to fill gaps between planks on a ship.
oar
A long pole with a blade at one end used to push a boat through the water.
oar crutch
A metal or plastic part on a boat where an oar rests while rowing.
ocean liner
See liner.
officer's country
The living area for officers on a naval ship, where only officers may go unless on duty.
offing
The far part of the sea away from the shore.
offshore
- Moving away from the shore.
- Wind blowing from land to sea.
- Located far from the coast.
oiler
- A ship that carries fuel to refuel other ships.
- A job title for a junior crew member in a ship's engineering team.
Rainy day clothes worn by sailors.
old man
Slang for the captain or leader of a ship.
old salt
Slang for an experienced sailor.
on board
See aboard.
on her own bottom
When a ship travels without being carried by another ship.
on station
A ship's area to patrol or guard.
on the beach
- A Royal Navy term meaning retired.
- On shore leave.
on the hard
When a boat is pulled out and sits on land.
An organization that registers ships owned by other countries.
ordinary
See in ordinary.
An entry-level sailor rank.
ore carrier
A ship designed to carry ore.
oreboat
A ship used to carry iron ore, especially on the Great Lakes.
The lowest deck inside a big ship.
An international signal meaning a man overboard.
outboard
- Outside the hull of a ship.
- Farther from the center of a ship.
- Farther from the shore.
A small motor attached to the back of a boat.
outdrive
The lower part of a sterndrive.
A rope used to shape a sail.
A structure extending from a ship to help it stay steady.
outward bound
Leaving a safe port to go to the open ocean.
Having too many sails up for the current wind.
over-reaching
Going too far while tacking.
overbear
Sailing too close to another ship and taking their wind.
overboard
Something or someone falling or jumping off a ship into the water. See man overboard.
overfalls
Dangerous, steep waves caused by currents and wind.
overhead
The ceiling inside a ship below decks.
overhaul
Pulling ropes over sails to protect them.
Waves coming at a ship from the side faster than the ship moves.
overwhelmed
When a ship capsized or sinks.
owner
Traditional Royal Navy term for the captain.
ox-eye
A cloud that might mean a storm is coming.
P
A package freighter is a type of cargo ship that carries goods in smaller, packaged lots, with costs based on the number of pieces.
The term packet or packet boat originally referred to ships that carried important mail between British places. Later, it described any ship that followed a regular schedule to carry goods or people.
Packet trade means any regular shipping service for goods, passengers, or mail.
A packetman is a sailor on a ship involved in packet trade.
A paddle box is a wooden cover for the top part of a paddle wheel on a paddle steamer.
Paddle guards are supports, also called guards.
A paddy wester is an old Royal Navy name for a new or inexperienced sailor.
A pagoda mast was a special tall mast added to some Japanese battleships and battlecruisers in the 1930s, built with extra platforms for lights and lookouts.
A painter is a rope tied to the front of a boat to connect it to a dock or larger ship, especially when being towed astern[/w/18].
A palace steamer describes some of the largest and finest American passenger steamboats.
Palm is a leather guard worn on the hand when mending sails.
Panting is the up-and-down movement of a ship’s front and back as it moves through the water.
A paravane can be a device dropped from a ship to cut underwater mines, or a special object used in fishing and military tasks.
Parbuckle is a way to lift a long, round object by looping a rope around it and pulling.
Parley means a discussion or meeting, especially between opposing sides.
A parrel is a ring or collar that connects a yard or gaff to its mast, allowing it to move up and down.
Part brass rags means to quarrel with a friend, from old times when sailors shared cleaning tools.
A passageway is an indoor hallway or corridor on a ship.
Passenger-cargoman and passenger-cargo ship both refer to a cargo liner.
A patache (also pataje or patax) was a light Spanish sailing boat from the 15th to 18th centuries, used first in war and later for trade.
Pawls are small bars that stop a winch or capstan from moving backward under pressure. Early ones had to be moved by hand, but later ones worked automatically.
To pay off can mean letting a ship’s front turn away from the wind, paying a crew after a voyage, or taking a British warship out of service.
Paying means sealing seams with material like caulking or pitch, or oiling the ship’s ropes.
A paymaster manages all money matters on Royal Navy ships.
A pea coat is a heavy coat originally made of special cloth, with officers wearing one decorated with gold buttons.
Peace cruiser was an early 20th-century U.S. Navy name for old cruisers and gunboats used for police and diplomatic work.
Peak can mean the top corner of a sail, the narrow front part of a ship, or the tip of an anchor point.
Peaks are the top parts of the mainsail. Some boats have three sets.
Pelagic means living or happening in the open ocean far from coastlines.
A pelican hook (also slip-hook or Davey hook) is a hook that can be released quickly by moving a ring, used on guard rails and life rafts.
A pendant is a length of wire or rope attached to a mast or spar, often ending in a block, or a rope tied to leeboards. It can also be another name for a pennant.
A pennant is a long, thin triangular flag flown from the top of a military ship’s masthead, different from a burgee used on yachts.
Permeability measures how much space in a ship compartment can fill with water, used in safety calculations.
An old term picaroon meant a pirate around the 17th century.
A picket boat is a boat kept ready for watching or to warn of danger.
A pier is a raised structure over water for loading ships, walking, or fishing, different from a quay or wharf.
Pier-head jump is when a sailor joins a warship at the last moment before it leaves.
A pilot is an expert who helps ships navigate tricky waters.
A pilot boat carries maritime pilots to and from ships they guide.
A pilot ladder is a special rope ladder for pilots to climb up or down a ship, different from Jacob's ladders.
A pilothouse is another name for a ship’s bridge or wheelhouse.
PIM stands for Points (or plan) of intended movement, showing a naval unit’s planned route.
Pinas (or pinis) are two-masted schooners from the Terengganu area with special designs.
A pinnace can be a small boat rowed or sailed to serve larger ships, a small fast warship, or today, any small boat linked to a larger one.
The pintle is the pin on which a ship’s rudder turns, fitting into the gudgeon.
A pipe (bos'n's) or bosun's call is a whistle used by boatswains to give commands, making different notes by covering part of the hole.
To pipe down is a signal to end the day, asking the crew to turn off lights and stop talking.
Piping the side is a salute using the bosun's pipe(s) to welcome or say goodbye to important people.
Piracy is robbing or attacking ships at sea by people on another ship, not including attacks by a ship’s own crew.
A pirate is someone who does an act of piracy.
Pitch is when a ship moves up and down at the ends.
To pitchpole means to turn a boat over by lifting the back end out of the water.
Pivotting is a way to turn a wide, shallow boat by dropping an oar to drag in mud and then turning the wheel hard over.
To plane is to glide over the water at high speed instead of pushing through it.
The Plimsoll line (or National Load Line) marks the highest a ship can be loaded in different waters, shown amidships.
A plotting room is another name for a transmitting station.
A pocket battleship was a German ship from the 1930s with heavy guns but smaller size, called Panzerschiffe ("armored ships") by Germany.
A point is a direction measure equal to 1⁄32 of a full circle, or 11.25 degrees. Thirty-two points make a full turn.
To point up or head up means to change a sailboat’s direction closer to the wind.
Points of sail describe a sailing ship’s course compared to the wind, with six positions including in irons, close hauled, close reach, beam reach, broad reach, and running downwind.
A polacca (or polacre) was a 17th-century Mediterranean ship like a xebec with two or three masts, sometimes called a brig-polacca or ship-polacca or polacca-settees.
A polacca-settee is a three-masted polacca.
Polacre is another name for a polacca.
A polacre-xebec is a type of xebec with square sails on the front mast, lateen sails on others, a bowsprit, and two headsails, different from a felucca which only has lateen sails.
A pontoon is a flat-bottomed boat used as a ferry, barge, or float, or moored next to a jetty or ship for people to get on and off.
A poop deck is a high deck at the back of a ship, covering a cabin below.
To be pooped means to have a wave crash over a ship’s back end, which can cause damage. It can also mean being very tired.
Port can mean a place where ships load and unload, a city with such a place, the left side of a ship when facing forward, or toward that left side. In rowing, it’s the side where the oar is on the left.
The port of registry is the port listed on a ship’s papers and shown on its back end. It’s sometimes confused with the home port, where the ship is usually based, but they can be different.
Port tack means sailing with the wind coming from the left side. Ships on port tack must let those on starboard tack pass.
A porthole (or just port) is a window on a ship’s side, often round with thick glass and a metal cover.
A portolan was an old sea chart showing distances and directions between ports before latitude and longitude lines existed.
Position light is another name for a navigation light.
Post-captain was an old rank for a captain in the Royal Navy; after reaching it, promotion depended on time, not extra exams.
A post ship was a British name from the 1700s to 1817 for a small warship with 20 to 26 guns, smaller than a frigate but needing a post-captain to lead it.
A powder hulk is a ship used only for storing gunpowder.
A powder magazine is a room inside a ship where gunpowder is kept, often centrally placed for easy access.
Pratique is permission for a ship to enter a port after the captain says it’s free from disease. A ship can ask for this by raising a solid-yellow flag. Getting this permission is called free pratique.
Predreadnought describes older steam battleships from the 1880s to about 1905. They had a few big guns for long range and smaller guns for closer fights, with engines that used steam from boiling water. They were made old by dreadnought battleships from 1906, which had newer turbine engines and all their big guns aimed far away.
A press gang was a group from a Royal Navy ship that took men, often from merchant ships, to work on naval ships without asking them.
A preventer (or gybe preventer or jibe preventer) is a rope on a boom used to stop or lessen the effects of a sudden jibe.
The Principal Naval Transport Officer in Britain is a shore-based officer or captain who handles sea transport and helps with naval orders and getting soldiers off ships.
The Principal Warfare Officer (PWO) is a specialist officer in one of several warfare areas.
A prison ship (or prison hulk) was a ship used as a prison, especially in the British Empire in the 1700s and 1800s to hold people waiting to be sent to places far away.
In British use, a private ship is a working warship that isn’t a flagship for an officer. This doesn’t mean it’s privately owned.
A privateer (or private man of war) is a privately owned ship allowed by a country to fight enemies in war.
Prize is property taken from an enemy in war, like a ship.
Prize crew are sailors from a warship sent to operate a ship taken as a prize.
A promenade deck is an open upper deck on a passenger ship where people can walk or relax.
A propeller can be a fixed blade on a shaft at the back of a ship, usually turned by a motor inside, or one with blades that fold up on a sailboat when not used.
Propeller walk (or prop walk) is when a propeller pushes the back of a ship sideways. A right-turning propeller going backward will move the back to the left.
The prow is the very front of a ship’s top part above the waterline, or just another word for the bow.
Pudding is old rope fibers packed between poles or used as a cushion.
A puffer is another name for a Clyde puffer.
Pulling means using one oar per person to move a boat, different from rowing where each person uses two oars.
A pump boat is a small boat with a small motor, used in the Philippines and by Sama-Bajau people in Sabah and eastern Indonesia.
A punch[/w/184] is a flat-bottomed boat with a square front, pushed through shallow water with a pole. It’s different from a gondola, which is rowed.
Punting is rowing in a punch.
Purchase is a way to increase force mechanically, like using a tackle or lever.
A purser buys, stores, and sells all supplies on a ship, including food, drinks, and tobacco. Originally this was a private business job, but later it became a government officer position.
Q
A quarter is the back part of a ship. It can be on the right side between 120° and 180° (called the starboard quarter) or on the left side between 180° and 240° (called the port quarter).
The quarterdeck is the very back deck of a warship. In the old days, during the Age of Sail, only the ship's officers were allowed there.
A quartering sea is when waves come at a ship from angles between 105° and 165° to either the left or right side. This is after a beam sea and before a following sea.
A quartermaster is a sailor who helps steer the ship. In the navy, they also help with everyday tasks and, in the US Navy, they assist with navigation too.
The Queen's Regulations (also called King's Regulations) are the rules that govern the British Royal Navy, issued in the name of the current monarch.
A quay is a stone or concrete structure by the water where ships load and unload. It's similar to a wharf, but in the UK, many Commonwealth countries, and Ireland, people usually say "quay," while in the United States, people say "wharf."
Being quayside means being next to a quay, like when a ship is tied up there.
Quickwork, also called lining, is the ceiling inside the hull above the curved part of the ship's side, called the bilge. It's usually lighter than the ceiling lower down.
A quoin is a wedge used to help aim a cannon.
R
Also rebate.
A groove cut in wood to form part of a joint.
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. The term is an acronym for "radio detection and ranging".
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 materially improve the visibility for use by vessels with radar.
A flat structure used for support or transportation over water, lacking a hull and kept afloat by buoyant materials or structures such as wood, balsa, barrels, drums, inflated air chambers such as pontoons, or extruded polystyrene blocks.
raft ship
Another name for a disposable ship.
rail meat
A term used to describe the members of a sailboat crew that are using their body weight to control the angle of heel of the boat.
rake
To incline from the perpendicular; something so inclined is said to be raked or raking (e.g. a stem, stern, mast, funnel, etc.).
1. A weapon consisting of an underwater prolongation of the bow of a vessel to form an armored beak, intended to be driven into the hull of an enemy vessel in order to puncture the hull and disable or sink that vessel.
2. An armored warship of the second half of the 19th century designed to use such a weapon as her primary means of attack.
3. To intentionally collide with another vessel with the intention of damaging or sinking her.
4. To accidentally collide bow-first with another vessel.
range
1. To lay out a rope or chain on deck in a zig-zag or (for rope) a figure‐eight pattern (as opposed to in a coil) so that it can run freely. The zig-zag pattern may be described as flakes.
2. The difference between the heights of the high and low tides – a figure that will vary from place to place and day to day.
3. The distance from an observer to a target, such as in gunnery.
A clockwork device used aboard a warship to continuously calculate the distance or range to an enemy ship.
See leading lights.
Also rate or bluejacket.
1. In British usage, a junior enlisted member of a country's navy; i.e., any member of the navy who is not an officer or warrant officer.
2. In contemporary U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard usage, rating is the occupational specialty of an enlisted member of the service, rate denotes enlisted pay grade, and rank generally applies to commissioned officer pay grades.
3. A classification system of Royal Navy sailing warships.
Also rattlins or ratlins.
The rungs fastened between the shrouds permanently rigged from bulwarks and tops to the mast to form rope ladders enabling access to the topmasts and yards.
1. A sailing ship that has been cut down to reduce the number of decks.
2. To cut down a sailing ship to reduce the number of decks.
reach
1. A section of a stream or river along which similar hydrologic conditions exist, such as discharge, depth, area, and slope.
2. In sailing usage, a straight section of water that can be traversed in a single reaching maneuver, without tacking.
reaching
Sailing across the wind; i.e. bearing anywhere between about 60° and 160° relative to the direction from which the wind is blowing. Reaching can be further subdivided into "close reaching" (about 60° to 80°), "beam reaching" (about 90°), and "broad reaching" (about 120° to 160°). Compare beating and running.
reaching sail
A sail specifically designed for tighter reaching legs. Reaching sails are often used in racing with a true wind angle of 35 to 95 degrees. They are generally used before the wind angle moves aft enough to permit spinnakers to be flown.
ready about
A call to indicate imminent tacking. See also going about.
A government official whose duty is to give owners of shipwrecks the opportunity to retrieve their property and ensure that law-abiding finders of wrecks receive an appropriate reward.
receiving hulk
Also receiving ship.
A hulk used in harbor to house newly recruited sailors before they are assigned to a crew.
Red Duster
A traditional nickname for the Red Ensign, the civil ensign flown by civilian vessels of the United Kingdom.
Also Red Duster.
A British flag flown as an ensign by certain British ships. Since 1854, it has been flown by British merchant ships (except for those authorized to fly the Blue Ensign) as the United Kingdom's civil ensign. Prior to 1864, ships of the Royal Navy's Red Squadron also flew it, but its naval use ended with the reorganisation of the Royal Navy in 1864.
A phrase used as a mnemonic to remember that the navigational standard for a vessel entering ("returning to") a port in the Americas (excluding Greenland), Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines is for her to steer so that red-marked navigational aids lie to starboard (to the "right") of an observer facing forward on the vessel, while green-marked aids must lie to port (i.e. to the "left"). This contrasts with the rest of the world, where the standard is the opposite, i.e. green markers must lie to starboard and red ones to port.
red-to-red
A passage of two vessels moving in the opposite direction on their port sides, so called because the red navigation light on one of the vessels faces the red light on the other vessel.
reduced cat
Also boy pussy.
A light version of the cat o'nine tails for use on young sailors.
reef
1. (noun) Rock or coral that is either partially submerged or fully submerged but shallow enough that a vessel with a sufficient draft may touch or run aground.
2. (verb) 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.
reef-points
Lengths of rope attached to a sail and used to tie up the part of a sail that is taken out of use when reefed. In older systems, such as square or gaff rigs, the reef points take some of the load on the sail and distribute it to the boltrope; with slab reefing, the reef-points just keep the sail fabric controlled in a tidy manner. Reef points pass through the cloth of the sail, either being sewn to each side of the sail to fix them in position or going through eyelets.
reef-bands
Long pieces of rough canvas sewn across the sails to give them additional strength.
reef-tackles
Ropes employed in the operation of reefing.
Also simply reefer.
1. A refrigerated cargo ship used to carry perishable goods that require refrigeration.
2. A shipboard refrigerator.
reeve
To thread a line through blocks in order to gain a mechanical advantage, such as in a block and tackle.
A series of boat races, usually of sailboats or rowboats but occasionally of powered boats.
regular ship
A term used by the British East India Company from the 17th to the 19th centuries for merchant ships that made "regular voyages" for the company between England (later the United Kingdom) and ports east of the Cape of Good Hope, a trade over which the company held a strict monopoly. The company chartered most of its ships; "regular ships" were those under long-term charter, and the company kept their operations under tight control. A set of "regular ships" set off for Asian ports during each sailing season (September through April), and returned up to two years later. The status and role of "regular ships" differed from that of ships the company referred to as chartered ships, country ships, extra ships, and licensed ships.
A bearing relative to the direction in which the vessel is pointing or traveling; the angle between the vessel's forward direction and an object, as measured clockwise from the bow. See also absolute bearing.
A naval auxiliary ship designed to provide maintenance support to other ships.
A naval auxiliary ship which provides fuel and dry stores to other ships.
A ship designed and equipped to carry out research at sea, especially hydrographic surveys, oceanographic research, fisheries research, naval research, polar research, and oil exploration.
A collection of naval vessels fully equipped for service but partially or fully decommissioned because they are not currently needed. In the modern United States, a reserve fleet is sometimes informally called a ghost fleet. During the Age of Sail and well into the 19th century, ships in a reserve fleet were said to be in ordinary.
rib tickler
A bargeman's name for the tiller.
riding light
A light hung from the forestay when at anchor.
riding turn
a type of jam of the rope on a winch drum: the heavily loaded part of the rope unintentionally rises over the successive turns on the winch, so stopping them from moving.
rig
1. The arrangement of masts, sails, and rigging on a sailing vessel.
2. To fit a sailing vessel with its masts, sails or rigging.
rigging
The system of masts and lines on ships and other sailing vessels.
rigging chocks
Thick blocks of wood fixed outside the rails to take the chain plates for the shrouds.
rigging screw
A bottle screw used to keep wires taut.
righting
The process of restoring a capsized vessel to upright condition.
righting couple
righting moment
The force that tends to restore a ship to upright equilibrium once a heel has altered the relationship between the vessel's center of buoyancy and center of gravity.
rigol
The rim or "eyebrow" above a porthole or scuttle.
rip rap
A man-made pile of rocks and rubble used as a base to support an aid to navigation, often an offshore lighthouse.
ro-ro
roads
See roadstead.
Also roads.
A sheltered area outside a harbour where a ship can lie safe at anchor, often situated in a "shallow indentation of the coast".
An area of persistent strong westerly winds found in the Southern Hemisphere, generally between the latitudes of (/wiki/40th_parallel_south) and (/wiki/50th_parallel_south) degrees south. During the Age of Sail, ships took advantage of the Roaring Forties to speed their trips, and yacht sailors still do today.
roband
A piece of rope or sennit that fastens a cringle or an eyelet in the edge of a sail to a spar. One roband is used at each position. The alternative is to use a single piece of rope to lace along the whole length the spar. Often seen in bending the head of a square sail to a yard, being tied either to the jackstay or around the whole yard if there is no jackstay.
rode
Also anchor rode.
The anchor line, rope, or cable connecting the anchor chain to the vessel.
Any unusually large wave for a given sea state; formally, a wave whose height is more than twice the significant wave height of that sea state (i.e. the mean of the largest third of waves in a wave record).
roll
1. The side-to-side motion of a vessel as it rotates about the fore-aft (longitudinal) axis. Listing is a lasting, stable tilt, or heel, along this longitudinal axis.
2. Another name for the longitudinal axis itself (e.g. the "roll axis").
roller
rolling swell
Swell that has increased in height due to influence of the bottom in shallow water, but before it is high enough to break.
roll-on/roll-off ship
Also RORO or ro-ro.
A vessel designed to carry wheeled cargo that can drive on and off the ship on its own wheels.
rolling-tackle
A number of pulleys, engaged to confine the yard to the weather side of a mast; this tackle is much used in a rough sea.
rolling vang
A second set of sprit-head vangs played out forward to rail near the bows, used to give additional control and support when needed in a seaway.
romper
In a convoy, a ship that breaks ranks and "romps" ahead out of formation with the other ships.
ropes, the
1. All cordage; the lines in the rigging.
2. Any cordage of over 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter.
A summary punishment device used as a flog.
rope yarn
1. A period, traditionally on Wednesday afternoons, when a tailor boarded a sailing warship while the vessel was in port; the crew was excused from most duties and had light duty mending uniforms and hammocks and darning socks. When the ship was at sea, the crew similarly was excused from most duties on Wednesday afternoons to engage in mending chores. Wednesday afternoons, like Sundays, thus were a more social time when crewmen rested from normal duties, similar to a Sunday, and, because the crew used rope yarn for mending, Wednesday afternoon became known as rope yarn Sunday.
2. After uniforms began to require less care, and through the mid-20th century, a period on Wednesday afternoons when naval crew members were excused from their regular duties to run personal errands.
3. Since the mid-20th century, any period of free time when a naval crew is given early liberty or otherwise excused from its normally scheduled duties.
4. One of the threads in a rope.
round to
To turn the bow of a vessel into the wind.
rove
1. A metal plate (with a hole in it) or washer placed over the protruding end of a nail driven through two timber components. The nail is deformed over the rove, so as to hold the timber components tightly together. Used particularly in clinker construction.: 212
2. Past tense of reeve.
row
1. (in general speech) to propel a boat with oars
2. (more precisely, as used at sea) to propel a boat with oars, where each rower handles two oars, one on each side of the boat. This contrasts with the inland waters definition. When, at sea, a person is working just one oar, this is termed pulling: 135
2. (more precisely, as used in inland waters) to propel a boat with oars, where each rower uses just one oar. On inland waters, one person using two oars, one on each side of the boat, is termed sculling: 135
1. The cutout in the washstrake of a boat into which an oar is placed, so providing a fulcrum when the oar is in use.
2. A common term for an oar crutch, the u-shaped metal fitting, with a pin underneath that fits in a socket in the gunwale of a boat to provide the fulcrum for an oar. See also thole pin.
royal
1. On large sailing ships, a mast right above the topgallant mast.
2. The sail of such a mast.
rubbing strake
An extra plank fitted to the outside of the hull, usually at deck level, to protect the topsides.
A steering device that is placed aft and pivoted about a (usually vertical) axis to generate a yawing moment from the hydrodynamic forces that act on the rudder blade when it is angled to the flow of water over it. There are several types of rudder, which generally divide into outboard or inboard. An outboard rudder is hung (hinged) on the stern of the vessel. An inboard rudder has a stock which passes through a gland in the hull, with the structure of the hull continuing towards the stern above the rudder. A spade rudder is hinged solely on the stock and has no lower bearing to help take the loads. Other rudder types may be hinged on an extension of the keel or on a skeg. Rudders may be balanced, by having some of the blade extend in front of the stock. On simple watercraft, the rudder may be controlled by a tiller—essentially, a stick or pole attached to the top of the rudder to allow it to be turned by a helmsman. In larger vessels, the rudder is often linked to a steering wheel via cables, pushrods, or hydraulics.
rudder stop
A fitting that limits the swing of the rudder.
rudderstock
The structural part of a rudder that transmits the torque created by the tiller or steering gear to the rudder blade. It may consist of a steel tube which passes through bearings in the hull above the rudder, or with a stern-hung rudder, is the structure carrying all or some of the pintles or gudgeons on which the rudder pivots.
ruffle
A serrated iron ring attached to the barrel of the anchor winch and to which the pawl is applied to prevent backruns of the anchor chain.
rum-runner
See go-fast boat.
rummage
Also romage.
1. A place or room for the stowage of cargo in a vessel.
2. The act of stowing cargo aboard a vessel.
3. To arrange (cargo, goods, etc.) in the hold of a vessel; to move or rearrange such goods; the pulling and moving about of packages incident to close stowage aboard a vessel.
4. To search a vessel for smuggled goods, e.g. "The customs officers rummaged the ship."
rummage sale
A sale of damaged cargo (from French arrimage).
run
1. The stern of the underwater body of a ship from where it begins to curve upward and inward.
2. A voyage, particularly a brief or routine one.
Also simply running.
Sailing more than about 160° away from the direction from which the wind is blowing (i.e. moving in the same or nearly the same direction as the wind). If moving directly away from the wind, it is called a dead run. Compare reaching and beating.
running (adjective)
A piece of the ship's rigging that is regularly moved in normal operation, as opposed to permanently or semi-permanently fixed in position. For instance a running bowsprit may only be put into its working position when a sail is set from it.
running backstays
A backstay that can be released and moved out of the way so that it does not interfere with sails or spars on the leeward side. On tacking, the new windward running backstay must be set up promptly to support the mast.
running gear
1. The propellers, shafts, struts, and related parts of a motorboat.
2. The running rigging of a sailing vessel.
running light
An alternative term for navigation light.
Also running gear.
Rigging used to manipulate sails, spars, etc. in order to control the movement of a sailing vessel. Contrast standing rigging.
S
A safe harbour is a place where ships can stay safe from bad weather or attacks. A safe haven is also a safe place for ships, like a natural harbour, to protect from storms or danger.
A safety briefing is like a practice drill where crew members learn what to do in an emergency. A saddle chock is a wooden beam placed over the back of a boat to tie ropes for anchoring.
Sagging happens when the middle of a boat dips down while the ends rise, often caused by waves or loading. Sails are fabric pieces attached to boats to catch the wind and move the boat. Sail drive is a way to power a sailboat using a propeller.
A sail loft is a big open space where sailmakers work. A sail-plan shows different sail setups for various situations. A sailing canal boat or sailing canal schooner is a type of boat used on canals, and a sailing skiff is a small boat for leisure or fishing.
A sailmaker makes and fixes sails, either on land or on big ships. A sailorman is a term used in London for someone who works on sailing barges. To Sally ship means to free a stuck boat by having the crew move back and forth to shake it loose.
A saloon is a comfortable room on a passenger ship for socializing. A saltie is a Great Lakes term for a ship that travels the oceans. A salty dog is a slang term for a sailor, especially in the navy.
A salvage tug is a special kind of tugboat used to help ships in trouble or to recover sunken ships. A salvor is someone who helps recover lost ships or items at sea.
A sampan is a small, flat-bottomed boat from China, often used for fishing or as a home on inland waters. A sampson post is a strong vertical post used to tie ropes, support equipment, or hold up heavy loads on a ship.
A sandsucker is a barge that scoops up sand from the bottom of lakes. SB or S.B. stands for "sailing barge," used before a ship's name.
To scandalize a sail means to reduce its area without properly reefing, which slows the boat down. Scantlings are the measurements of a ship’s structural parts like beams or frames.
A schooner is a type of sailing ship with two or more masts, where the front mast is shorter than the ones behind. A schooner barge is a barge converted from or built like a schooner, used mainly on the Great Lakes and later in salt water.
A schuyt is another name for a Dutch barge. Scope refers to the length of rope let out when a ship is anchored.
A scow can mean several things: a way to prepare an anchor, a type of wide and slow boat, or an inland racing boat with no keel. A scow schooner has a scow-like hull with schooner sails, and a scow sloop has a scow-like hull with sloop sails.
The Screaming Sixties are strong westerly winds found south of 60 degrees in the Southern Hemisphere. A screecher is a special sail used for different wind directions. A screw can mean a propeller or a propeller-driven ship.
Scud is a term sailors use for low clouds seen in stormy weather. Scudding describes a ship being pushed quickly by strong winds.
To scull means to row a boat using two oars per person, or to use a single oar in a special way. Scuppers are pipes on a ship’s side that let water drain off the deck.
A scute or galiote is a flat-bottomed boat with a simple sail used to carry wine in France’s Anjou region. To scuttle means to make a hole in a ship’s deck or hull, often to sink it on purpose. Scuttlebutt can mean a water barrel with a hole for drinking or slang for gossip.
Scuttling is making a hole in a ship’s hull to sink it deliberately. The sea refers to the ocean, a smaller salt body of water, a large lake, the movement of waves, or a single wave.
A sea anchor is a stabilizer used in heavy weather to keep the ship steady. A sea chest is a watertight box on a ship used for water or storing items. A sea lawyer is a sailor known for arguing a lot.
A sea shanty or chanty is a work song sung during rhythmic tasks. Sea state describes the condition of the water’s surface, including wave height and period. A sea trial tests a new boat or ship to check its performance before it’s officially handed over.
A seaboat is a ship’s small boat kept ready for use at sea, or a term describing how well a ship handles rough waters. Seaboots are waterproof boots worn at sea. A seacock is a valve in a ship’s hull to let water in or out for various purposes.
Seakeeping is a ship’s ability to stay stable in rough waters. A ship that is sea-kindly moves comfortably in rough seas. A sealer is a ship used for hunting seals, and sealing refers to that hunt or the lining of a ship’s hold.
A seaman is a general term for a sailor. A seamount is an underwater mountain that doesn’t reach the surface. A ship that is seaworthy is safe to sail on the ocean.
The second mate or second officer is a licensed crew member on a merchant ship, usually third or fourth in command, responsible for navigation and other duties.
The phrase see you on the one is a friendly farewell used by river tug and barge crews, indicating a port-to-port crossing.
Seekers is a London term for sailing barges that carried cargo for other merchants. A seiner is a fishing boat that uses nets to catch fish. To seize means to tie two ropes together with a small line.
A ship that is self-sustaining can unload its cargo without help from harbor facilities. A self-unloader is a Great Lakes ship with equipment to unload cargo without shore help.
A semi-dreadnought is a type of battleship from the early 20th century with mixed-caliber big guns. Sennet is cord made by twisting rope-yarn by hand, used for various purposes. A sennet whip is a tool used for punishment.
To serve a rope means to wrap it with thin line to protect it. Set refers to the direction a current flows. A settee can be a special type of sail or a type of merchant ship from the Mediterranean.
To settle means for a ship to sink lower in the water, sometimes before sinking completely. A sextant is a tool used to measure a ship’s latitude.
A shackle is a U-shaped iron piece with a screw used to secure stays to sails. A shaft can refer to a propeller shaft or to push a boat with a pole. The shaft alley is the part of a ship that houses the propulsion shaft.
The shaft log is a piece of timber or metal fitted where the stern tube passes through the hull. A shakedown cruise or shakedown is a test sail before a ship enters service or after major changes.
Shakes are broken pieces of barrels used to save space but worth very little. A shallop is a term for various small boats used for coastal navigation, or a large armed boat used by Danes during the Gunboat War.
To be shanghaied means to be forced into service on a ship. A sheave is the wheel in a block that rotates as rope runs through it. A sheave-hole is a hole in a spar fitted with a sheave for a rope to run through.
Sheer is the upward curve of a ship’s sides when viewed from the side. The sheer line is where the hull meets the deck, shown as a line on a sheer plan. A sheer plan is a diagram showing the side view of a ship’s shape.
A sheet is a rope attached to the corner of a sail to control it. A sheet anchor is the heaviest anchor, used only in emergencies. A sheet bend is a knot used to attach a rope to a small eye or corner of a sail.
A shell or fine boat is a very narrow, long rowing boat designed for racing. A shelter deck is an upper deck that doesn’t protect from weather but shelters the deck below. To shift colors means to change flags when a ship leaves or enters a port, or to change out of a uniform to go ashore.
Shift tides involves measuring the positions of the Sun and Moon to calculate tide effects on navigation. A ship can mean a sailing vessel with three or more masts, any large sea-going vessel, or to send or bring something by water.
To ship a sea means for a ship to be flooded by a wave. Ship breaking or ship demolition is the process of dismantling ships for parts and scrap metal. A ship on its way to be scrapped is said to be going to the breakers.
A ship cemetery or ship graveyard is a place where old ship hulls are left to decay, where shipwrecks accumulate, or an anchorage for reserve fleet ships. A ship classification society is an organization that sets standards for ship construction and operation.
A ship-of-the-line was a powerful warship from the 1600s to mid-1800s, part of the line of battle. A ship graveyard is also a place where discarded ship hulls decay, where shipwrecks build up, or an anchorage for reserve ships.
To ship over means to reenlist for another term of service. A ship-polacca is a three-masted polacca. Ship rig refers to the rigging of a full-rigged ship. A ship sloop is a type of sloop-of-war with three square-rigged masts.
Ship stores are the supplies needed to run a ship. A ship taken up from trade or STUFT is a civilian ship requisitioned for naval or government use. The ship’s bell is used to mark time and regulate crew watches. Ship’s biscuit or hard tack is a type of hard bread on ships.
The ship’s company is the crew, and the ship’s complement is the number of crew members. The ship’s husband manages a ship’s repairs and operations in the home port. Ships husbandry covers all maintenance and upkeep of a ship.
Shipbreach is another term for a shipwreck. Shipping can mean the act of transporting by ship or the collection of ships from a country or industry. To be shipshape means to be neatly arranged and tidy.
A shipwreck is the remains of a sunk or stranded ship, or the event of a ship sinking. Shipwrecking means causing a ship to wreck, and a shipwrecked person is someone marooned after a ship is lost. A shipwright designs, builds, and repairs ships, especially wooden ones.
A shipyard is a place where ships are built and repaired, often used interchangeably with dockyard. A shoal is shallow water that can danger navigation. Shoal draught is when a ship can sail in very shallow water.
Shore leave is time off for naval crew to be on land. Short stay is when an anchor chain is slightly slack. To shorten a rope means to take in the slack, and to shorten sail means to reduce its area.
Shot across the bow is a warning shot fired in front of a moving vessel. To show your true colors means to display your ship’s flag to show allegiance after using a false one.
The Shrieking Sixties are the same as the Screaming Sixties. A shrimper is a boat used for shrimp fishing. A shroud is a rope or cable supporting a mast.
A sick bay is a medical area on a ship. A sideboy is part of a group of sailors who help a visiting dignitary board or leave a ship. To be sided means to measure a timber’s width in a wooden hull.
A sidewheel is a paddle wheel on the side of a ship for propulsion. A sidewheeler is a paddle steamer driven by sidewheels. Single-banked describes oars with one oarsman per thwart, alternating sides.
To single up means to reduce mooring lines to a minimum before leaving. A siren is a sound signal using electricity or air. A sister ship is a ship of the same class as another, nearly identical in design.
A skaffie is a small sailing fishing vessel from Scotland. A skeg is a projection from the keel protecting the rudder. A skeleton crew is the minimum crew needed to operate a ship during an emergency or when inactive.
A skiff is a small boat for leisure or fishing. A skipjack is a traditional fishing sailboat used on Chesapeake Bay for oyster dredging. A skipper is the captain of a ship. A skysail is a square sail set above the royals on large ships.
A skyscraper is a small triangular sail used in light winds. Slack tide is the period when there’s no tidal current between rising and falling tides.
Slamming is when part of a ship lifts out of the water and slams back down due to waves or wind. A slave ship or slaver was a ship used in the slave trade to transport enslaved people.
A slide is the cabin hatch on a barge. To sling a rope around something prepares it for lifting or lowering. A slip can mean letting go a rope, slipping an anchor to abandon it in an emergency, or the difference between a propeller’s theoretical and actual movement.
A slip rope is a mooring rope that can be released from onboard, like one led through a buoy ring. A slipway is a shore ramp for moving ships or boats in and out of the water, used for building, repairing, launching, and retrieving them.
A sloop since the 1850s is a single-masted sail with one headsail and a mainsail behind the mast. In older times, it might have more headsails. Informally, it can mean a sloop-of-war, though these aren’t rigged as sloops.
A sloop-of-war in the 18th and 19th centuries was a small sailing warship with 18 or fewer guns on a single gundeck, or any warship with fewer than 20 guns. In the 19th-century U.S. Navy, it referred to what other navies called a corvette. By the early-mid 20th century, it described small oceangoing warships for convoy escort or gunboat duties.
The slop chest is a store of items like clothing for sale to crew on merchant ships. Slush is fatty residue from boiled meat barrels, sold or traded by the ship’s cook, used for greasing rigging. A slush fund is money from selling slush, used for crew benefits.
A smack was a traditional fishing boat off England’s and America’s Atlantic coast, originally cutter-rigged then lengthened with a ketch rig, some with topsails or bowsprits.
The small bower is the smaller of two anchors carried in the bow. A smoking lamp is a restricted flame source allowed only during authorized smoking hours.
A snag can be a tree or branch submerged in water that can damage vessels, or an underwater obstruction catching fishing gear. A snagboat is a river boat with cranes to remove snags and obstructions from shallow waterways.
A snatch block is a block with one hinged cheek, allowing the bight of a rope to be inserted instead of threading the end.
Snipe can mean a member of a ship’s engineering department, or a mythical object in a “snipe hunt” for inexperienced crew. A snotter is a short rope spliced and covered with hide, seized to the mast to hold the lower end of a sprit.
Snotty is Royal Navy slang for a midshipman. A snow is a type of brig with a gaff spanker rigged on a “snow mast,” a lighter spar behind the mainmast.
To snub is to quickly stop a line running out by taking a turn on a bollard, cleat, or winch drum. Snug loaded means a barge with all cargo below deck, none on deck.
A soft eye is an eye splice without a thimble. SOG stands for “speed over ground,” a vessel’s speed relative to Earth, shown by GPS. Soogee means to wash down a ship’s deck and paintwork.
SONAR is an acronym for “sound navigation and ranging,” using sound pulses to detect and image underwater targets, obstacles, or the sea bed. It also refers to the equipment used for these tasks.
SOS is the international distress signal.
A sou'wester can mean a southwest storm or a waterproof hat with a wide brim worn in storms. Soul or souls with a number refers to people on board ship, as in SOS meaning “Save Our Souls.”
Sounding can mean measuring water depth traditionally with a lead line or modern echo sounding, or measuring liquid depth in a tank to find its volume.
A spanker is a fore-and-aft or gaff-rigged sail on the aftmost mast of a square-rigged vessel, or the main fore-and-aft sail on the aftmost mast of a partially fore-and-aft rigged vessel like a schooner, barque, or barquentine.
A spanker-mast is the aftmost mast of a fore-and-aft or gaff-rigged five-masted vessel such as a schooner or barquentine. A full-rigged ship has a spanker sail but not a spanker-mast; see jigger-mast.
A spar is a pole, wooden or metal, supporting rigging and sails. The tall ship Preussen had 30 steel yards but only one wooden spar, the gaff of its spanker sail.
A spar torpedo is a bomb at the end of a long spar attached to a boat. A speaking tube is another term for a communication tube. A spencer is a trysail.
A speronara is a small merchant sailing ship from Malta used in the Mediterranean from the 16th to early 20th centuries, usually with no deck and one mast, sometimes with a lateen or spritsail, or up to three masts with a half deck.
A spider band or spider hoop is an iron band around a mast’s base holding belaying pins. Spindrift is finely divided water from wave crests blown by strong winds, used to estimate wind speed.
A spinnaker is a large sail flown in front of the vessel while heading downwind, or a headsail set windward when running before the wind. The bargeman’s spinnaker is his topmast staysail, tacked to the mast and sheeted round the weather crosstree.
A spinnaker pole is a spar helping control a spinnaker or other headsail. Spirketting is the thicker planks of the ceiling at the hold’s bottom, continuing up the hull to the quickwork.
To splice is to join lines by unravelling and intertwining their ends, or to form an eye or knot by splicing. Splice the mainbrace is an order to give the crew a drink, used idiomatically to mean going ashore for an evening of drinking.
A splinter fleet or splinter navy is an informal term for wooden boats used by the U.S. armed forces in WWII, including civilian vessels pressed into service, boats built for wartime, and some transferred to Allied countries.
Split lugsail uses two sails, foresail and mainsail on a lugsail yard, eliminating the need to dip the yard around the mast when tacking.
A sponson is a projection from a vessel’s side for protection, stability, or mounting equipment like armaments or lifeboats. A sponson extending a hull dimension at or below the waterline adds flotation or lift. In salvage, a sponson can be a flotation tank attached to a damaged vessel for stability or buoyancy.
To spoke another ship means to speak to it, as in “Spoke a brig from Rio.” A sponsor is the person, traditionally a woman, who christens a ship at its launching ceremony.
A spotting top is a platform on a mast used to aid gun laying. A spreader is a spar on a sailboat deflecting shrouds to better support the mast.
A spring is a mooring warp from the bow to the quayside level with the stern (backspring) or from the stern to a point level with the bow (forespring), used with the engine to swing the bow or stern away from a quayside. Springs are big tides caused by the alignment of the Moon and Sun.
A sprit is a spar supporting a spritsail, attached to the mast near the deck and extending diagonally to the sail’s peak, steadied by vangs. A spritsail is a fore-and-aft sail with its peak supported by a sprit, which may be free-footed or use a boom, or a square sail flown beneath a bowsprit.
A sprittie is a spritsail-rigged barge. A spurling pipe connects to the chain locker, bringing the anchor chain onto the deck at the bow.
A squadron can mean any significant group of warships too small to be a fleet, a group assigned to a specific region commanded by an admiral, a temporary subdivision of a fleet, a temporary detachment, a permanent battle formation, or an administrative command for manning, training, supply, and maintenance of ships or submarines.
To square is to place something at right angles with the mast or keel and parallel to the horizon, e.g., “square the yards.” Square meal is a sufficient quantity of food, historically served on a square wooden plate aboard ship, though the link isn’t established. Square rig is a sail and rigging arrangement with primary driving sails on yards perpendicular to the keel and masts, with a square-rigged ship having such rigging.
A square rigger is a square-rigged ship. Squared away means yards held rigidly perpendicular to masts and parallel to the deck, rarely the best trim but neat for inspections and harbor, applied figuratively to resolved situations or well-prepared people.
Squat effect is the phenomenon where a vessel moving quickly in shallow water creates lowered pressure under its keel, reducing buoyancy particularly at the bow, causing the ship to sit lower in the water than expected, increasing its effective draught.
Squid is a derogatory term for a U.S. Navy sailor. SS or S.S. is an abbreviation for “Steam Ship” or “Screw Steamer,” used as a prefix to ship names. Compare with “PS” for “Paddle Steamer.”
A stack can mean a funnel or deck cargo. Stack marking is a logo or livery on a ship’s stack indicating ownership by a private entity or government agency, with all ships in a fleet sharing the same marking.
A stackie is a barge designed for large deck cargo like hay or straw for feeding horses. A stanchion is a vertical post near a deck’s edge supporting life-lines, or a timber or bracket on a wooden or steel vessel supporting bulwark plating and rail.
To stand means for a ship or its captain to steer or sail toward a direction or destination, e.g., “The ship stood out of the harbor.” Stand-on (vessel) is a vessel directed to keep its course and speed when approaching another to avoid collision.
Standing part is the section of a rope at a cleat or block under tension, opposite the loose end. Standing rigging supports masts and spars and isn’t manipulated during normal operations, unlike running rigging.
Stanliff is a heavy wire cable attached to the mast at the hounds to support the weight of a spritsail at the heel. Starboard is the right side of a ship facing forward, denoted by a green light at night, derived from the old steering oar or “steerboard.”
Starboard tack means sailing with the wind from the starboard side, giving right-of-way over vessels on port tack. A starter is a rope used as a punitive device. See teazer and togey.
A stateroom can be a first-class passenger cabin or any passenger cabin, or a superior cabin for an officer. Station can mean a naval formation under a commander-in-chief controlling operations in a geographic area, a harbor or cove in Newfoundland suitable for fishing support, a naval base, or a coaling station.
A station ship is a ship assigned to a particular station like a port or region, to support naval vessels and operations, patrol, provide personnel, fuel, or services like repairs.
Stay can mean a strong rope supporting a mast forward or aft, to incline a mast by stays, to tack or change direction, to be in stays or hove in stays, to miss stays (fail to tack), a fixed anchorage, or to be in stays while going about.
Stayfall is a flexible wire cable rove through blocks on the stemhead and forestay end, used to lower the mainmast. A staysail is a sail attached to a stay, usually a headsail on the most forward mast, closest to the mast if multiple headsails are set.
A steamer or steam vessel is a ship or boat powered by a steam engine. Steerage can mean the effect of the helm on a vessel, the act of steering, or a 19th-20th century term for inexpensive passenger accommodation without individual cabins.
Steerageway is the minimum speed at which a vessel answers the helm, below which it can’t be steered. Steering flat is the compartment containing the steering gear. A steering oar or steering board is a long flat board or oar from the stern underwater, used to steer before rudders, traditionally on the starboard side.
A steersman is another name for a helmsman. Steeve can mean a spar or derrick with a block at one end for stowing cargo, or to incline upwards at an angle rather than lie horizontally, used especially of a bowsprit, or to set at a particular upward incline.
Stem is an extension of the keel at the forward end of a ship, or on a barge, the foremost timber set vertically to the keel, forming the head of the stem and carrying the forestay and other rigging.
Stern is the rear part of a ship, technically the area built up over the sternpost, extending from the counter rail to the taffrail. Contrast bow.
A stern chaser is another term for a chase gun. Stern tube can be the tube under the hull bearing the tailshaft for propulsion, usually at the stern, or a torpedo tube mounted in the stern of a submarine.
Sterncastle is another name for an aftercastle. Sterndrive or stern drive is a propeller drive system like the lower part of an outboard motor, extending below the hull of a larger power boat or yacht, driven by an engine within the hull. Unlike a fixed propeller, it can be steered by twisting the drive. See also inboard motor.
Sternender is Great Lakes slang for a vessel with all cabins aft. Sternlight is a white running light displayed on the stern of a vessel. A sternpicker is a gillnetter that fishes by deploying a gillnet from the stern.
The sternpost is the upright structural member at the stern of a wooden ship or boat, to which transoms and the rearmost corner part of the stern are attached, resting on the keel and may be vertical or raked slightly aft.
Sternsheets can mean the area at the stern of an open boat, or the benches there forming the seating. A sternwalk is an external walkway or gallery for officers on the stern of British warships until the early 20th century.
Sternway is the reverse movement of a boat or watercraft through the water. A sternwheel is a stern-mounted paddle wheel used for propulsion by a paddle steamer, or a vessel propelled by one.
A sternwheeler is a paddle steamer propelled by a sternwheel. A steward is a crew member involved in commissary duties or personal services to passengers or other crew.
A stiff vessel has a high metacentric height, making it more stable and less prone to rolling than a tender vessel. Stood see stand.
Stocks are the frame supporting a ship or boat during construction. A stoker see fireman.
The Stone Fleet was a fleet of old ships loaded with stone, sand, or dirt and scuttled by the U.S. Navy during the American Civil War to block ports of the Confederate States of America in 1861 and 1862.
A stone frigate is an informal Royal Navy term for a naval shore establishment. A stopper knot is a knot tied in the end of a rope to stop it passing through a hole, commonly a figure-eight knot.
Stoppers are short ropes used to check a cable in a fixed position, such as anchor stoppers holding the anchor when catted, bitt stoppers and deck stoppers retaining the cable at anchor, shroud stoppers containing damaged shrouds, and foretack and sheet stoppers securing tacks until belayed.
A storeship was during the Age of Sail and afterwards a captured ship used to store supplies for naval purposes, or since the mid-20th century a naval ship providing supplies like provisions and fuel to warships at sea, also called a replenishment oiler, fleet replenisher, or fleet tanker.
Stove or stove in means to smash inward, as in a cask, door, ship’s hull, or other wooden barrier.
To stow is to store or put away, e.g., personal effects, tackle, or cargo. Stowage is the amount of storage space on a ship. A stowaway is a person aboard without permission, usually hidden and jumping ship at a port.
A straggler in a convoy is a ship unable to maintain speed and falling behind. A straight decker originally was a ship with its pilothouse forward and engines aft to provide a continuous hold, commonly associated with Great Lakes ships in North America, or in recent usage a Great Lakes bulk carrier lacking self-unloading machinery.
A strake is a continuous line of planking on a wooden hull from bow to stern, usually a single plank in a small boat or several joined end to end in a larger vessel, or applied to a continuous line of steel plates at the same level in a steel hull.
A stretcher is a foot rest for a rower, taking some of the load from the oar, attached to the boat or as an adjustable wooden bar in competitive or working boats.
To strike can mean to haul down a flag or mast, to surrender a vessel by striking its colors, to remove a vessel’s name from a naval register (stricken), to attack with a naval asset, or to undergo training to qualify for an enlisted rating.
To strike the colors is to surrender a vessel to an enemy by lowering its ensign, a custom from the Age of Sail.
A stringer is a longitudinal structural element of a hull, usually a timber fastened to frame inner faces in wood, or moulded in fibreglass against the inner skin over a core, running fore and aft.
Studding sails are long and narrow sails used in lighter winds, set outside the large square sails. STUFT is a British and Commonwealth acronym for Ship Taken Up From Trade, a civilian ship requisitioned for naval or government service.
Stumpy can describe a spritsail barge without a topmast, normal before 1850 with a longer sprit than topsail barges, or a tops’l barge underway without topsails set.
STW is an abbreviation for “speed through (the) water,” an abbreviation for the speed of the vessel relative to the surrounding water, used in navigation.
Subchaser see submarine chaser. A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operations underwater, renewing its own power and air, differing from a submersible which has more limited capabilities and requires support. Informally any submarine is called a “boat.” It can also mean a large crewed vessel for independent underwater operations, or historically a broad category including midget submarines, wet subs, remotely operated vehicles, and autonomous underwater vehicles.
A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel for antisubmarine warfare, introduced in World War I and obsolete by the late 20th century. A submarine pen or sub pen is a bunker for submarines, protecting them from air attack, primarily associated with German U-boat pens in WWII for construction, fitting-out, repair, and shelter.
A submarine tender is a naval auxiliary ship designed to supply and support submarines, known in British English as a submarine depot ship. A submersible is a small watercraft operating underwater but requiring support from a surface vessel, platform, shore team, or larger undersea vessel, contrasting with a submarine’s autonomy.
A sunfish is a personal-sized, beach-launched sailing dinghy with a pontoon-type hull, daggerboard, and lateen sail on an unstayed mast.
A supercargo is a person aboard employed by the cargo owner, handling merchandise sales in ports and buying goods for the return voyage. Superfiring is a naval technique where turrets are lined up for one to fire over another.
Superstructure is the part of a ship above the main deck, not including masts or armament turrets. A surface warfare officer/specialist is a U.S. Navy qualification for surface warfare training. A surfboat or surf boat is an oar-driven boat for entering the ocean from a beach in heavy surf, often used for lifesaving or rescue.
Surge can mean a vessel’s transient motion fore and aft, or controlled slackening of a rope under tension. A survey vessel maps bodies of water for hydrography, oceanography, marine salvage, archaeology, or habitat study.
S/V is an abbreviation for “Sailing Vessel,” used before a ship’s name. Swallow is the gap in a block’s shell where a line passes over a sheave.
A swatchway is a twisting channel navigable by shallow vessels at high water, between sandbanks or a sandbank and shore. Sway is a vessel’s lateral motion side to side, or the act of hoisting, e.g., “sway up my dunnage.”
Sweep can be a long oar for rowing or steering an unpowered lighter, a rower using a single oar on one side, or verb to search for underwater objects with a towed line or device, or to clear water of dangers like mines (minesweeping).
Swept means cleared of dangers such as mines and obstructions, e.g., “The swept channel was safe for vessels to use.” Swig or swigging means taking up the last bit of slack on a line by taking a turn around a cleat and alternately heaving on the rope above and below while keeping tension on the tail.
Swimhead or swim-head describes a ship with a straight overhanging bow and stern. A swimmie or muffie is a barge with a square overhanging bow, like a swimhead lighter.
Sweat is a technique to finally tension a halyard by pulling alternatively on the tail from the cleat and at right angles on the taut standing line.
Swinging the compass measures a ship’s magnetic compass accuracy by turning the ship and taking bearings on reference points. Synonymous with swinging the ship. Swinging the lamp means telling sea stories, referring to lamps slung from the deckhead that swing at sea, often used for storytellers exaggerating tales.
Swinging the lead measures water depth with a lead-weighted sounding line, an easy job, or feigning illness to avoid work. Swinging the ship turns the ship to steady it on various headings while taking bearings to measure compass accuracy, synonymous with swinging the compass.
Switch tack or change tack means changing course or heading.
Only output the adapted Markdown section. No explanations.
T
tabernacle
Also known as a mast case, this is a large bracket attached to the deck where the base of the mast is fixed. It has two sides and a bolt that acts as a pivot for raising and lowering the mast.
tack
- One side of a sailing route, especially when turning toward or away from the wind.
- Another name for hardtack, a type of hard bread.
- The front bottom corner of a sail.
- A rope or purchase that holds down the lower corner of a sail.
tacking
A sailing maneuver where a boat turns toward and through the wind to change direction and move in the desired path. This "zig-zagging" is called beating and allows the boat to sail upwind.
tackle
A pair of blocks with a rope running through them, used for lifting heavy loads and adjusting sails.
taffrail
A rail at the back of a boat that covers the edge of the hull.
tail
The loose end of a rope that is attached to a winch or cleat.
tailshaft
A metal rod that connects the engine to the propeller for movement.
taken aback
When the wind blows into the sails from the front, causing a sudden shift in sail position.
taking on water
When a boat slowly fills with water due to leaks or waves washing over it, which can eventually cause it to sink.
tall ship
A large, traditionally rigged sailing vessel.
tally
The act of pulling in the sheets of a sail toward the back of the boat.
tanker
A ship designed to carry liquids in large amounts.
target ship
A ship used for naval practice or testing weapons, often an old or captured warship.
tartane
A small, single-masted sailing ship used in the Mediterranean for fishing and trade from the 16th to the 19th century.
Task Force
A temporary group of ships, aircraft, or land forces assigned to a specific mission.
tell-tale
A small piece of string or yarn attached to indicate wind direction or the flow of air over sails.
tender
- A ship that supports other vessels in harbors.
- A vessel that transports people and supplies to larger ships.
- A ship that maintains buoys and lighthouses.
stiff
A ship that is stable and less likely to roll, due to its design.
TEV
A prefix meaning "turbo-electric vessel," used before a ship's name.
texas
A part of a steamboat that includes the pilot house and crew quarters, located on the top deck.
texas deck
The top deck of a steamboat where the texas is located.
thimble
A grooved ring of iron used in splicing ropes.
third mate
A crew member on a merchant ship responsible for safety equipment and emergency systems.
thole pin
A wooden peg used to hold oars in place when rowing.
throat
- The top front corner of a square sail.
- The end of the top sail pole next to the mast.
three sheets to the wind
When all sails on a three-masted ship are loose, causing the ship to drift aimlessly. It can also describe a sailor who has had too much to drink.
thwart
A seat that runs across the width of a small boat.
tier
Ships moored side by side in open water.
tiller
A handle used for steering, attached to the top of the rudder on small boats.
tilt boat
A type of ferry with a square sail, used from Gravesend, carrying up to 37 passengers and rowed by five people.
timber
The wooden pieces used in building a wooden ship's hull.
timoneer
The person who steers a ship, also known as the helmsman.
tin can
A slang term for a destroyer in the United States Navy.
tinclad
A lightly armored river boat used by the United States Navy during the American Civil War.
toe-rail
A low strip around the edge of the deck to prevent water from washing away.
toe the line
A command for sailors or soldiers to stand in a straight line.
tompion
A block of wood placed in the barrel of a gun to keep out water or dirt.
tonnage
Different ways to measure the size or carrying capacity of a ship.
top
A platform at the top of a mast on a square-rigged ship, used for support and work.
topgallant
The mast or sails above the top level.
tophamper
The masts, sails, and rigging at the top of a ship.
topman
A crew member who works in the top of the mast.
topmast
The second section of the mast above the deck.
topping lift
A rope that lifts and supports a spar or boom on a sailing boat.
topsail
The second sail from the bottom on a mast.
topsail schooner
A type of schooner that carries a square sail on the front mast.
topsides
The part of the hull between the waterline and the deck.
torpedo
A self-propelled weapon with an explosive that moves underwater toward a target.
torpedo boat
A small, fast naval vessel from the late 19th century designed to carry torpedoes.
touch and go
When the bottom of a ship briefly touches the ground but does not get stuck, or when a plane lands and takes off again quickly from an aircraft carrier.
towing
The act of pulling a vessel or equipment through the water with ropes.
track
The path a vessel follows through the water.
training ship
A ship used to train sailors, often operated by navies or coast guards.
tramp freighter
A cargo ship that does not follow a fixed schedule.
tramp steamer
A steamship that operates without a fixed schedule.
transom
A flat surface at the back of a boat, often where motors are attached.
transom stern
A stern that ends in a flat, vertical surface.
transport
See troopship.
travellers
Small fittings that slide on a track, often used to hold sails in place.
trawler
- A fishing boat that uses nets to catch fish.
- A person who uses such nets.
- A boat used for naval purposes, converted from a fishing style.
- A pleasure boat built like a trawler.
treenail
A wooden peg used to join pieces of wood together in a ship.
trial trip
A short voyage to test a new ship before its first long journey.
trim
- The angle of a ship’s hull in the water.
- Adjustments to sails for better performance.
trimaran
A boat with three hulls.
trimmer
A person who ensures a ship stays balanced.
tripod mast
A mast with three columns, used on warships for lookouts and equipment.
tripping line
A line attached to an anchor to help lift it out of the water.
troller
A fishing boat equipped for trolling.
trooping
Operating as a troopship.
troopship
A ship used to carry soldiers, not designed for combat but for transport.
truck
- A wooden disc or ball at the top of a mast for signal lines.
- A temporary lookout spot.
true bearing
A direction measured from true north.
true north
The direction toward the North Pole.
truncated counter
A stern that is cut off to create a flat area, often with windows for a room.
truss
A rope or iron piece that holds the center of a yard to the mast.
trysail
Also called a spencer, a small strong sail used in bad weather behind the main mast.
tugboat
Also called a tug, a powerful boat used to push or pull other vessels.
tumblehome
A hull shape where the widest part is below deck level.
tuna clipper
A fishing boat used on the United States West Coast for catching tuna, equipped with poles and bait tanks.
turn
A rope wrapped around an object like a cleat to control its movement.
turnbuckle
See bottlescrew.
turret
- A rotating, armored box with guns on a ship from the 19th century.
- A modern rotating gunhouse on a warship.
turtleback deck
A rounded deck shape like a turtle's back, used on certain ships.
turtling
When a small boat turns over completely but may still float.
tweendeck
A deck between the main deck and the hold on a cargo ship.
tweendeck space
The area on a tweendeck used for carrying cargo.
tweendecker
A cargo ship with one or more tweendecks.
two six heave
A command for a group to pull together on a rope.
two blocks
When the two blocks in a tackle are so close they can’t move further.
tye
A chain or rope used to lift or lower a yard on a ship.
U
This term describes the empty space at the top of large tanks or holds. It helps figure out how much material is inside for safety and balance reasons. It's often used for tanks with thick or tricky liquids, or very deep tanks.
This refers to a sailing trip, often done alone, without stopping or getting help from others.
under the weather
This means being on the side of the ship that faces the wind and waves while on watch.
This is the depth of water below the bottom part of the ship.
under way
underway
This describes a ship that is out at sea, not anchored, tied to shore, or stuck on the bottom. It has legal meaning in rules for avoiding collisions at sea.
underwater hull
Also underwater ship.
This is the part of a ship below the waterline that you usually can't see unless the ship is in a special dock or leaning on its side.
This is a way for navy ships to get fuel, weapons, and supplies from another ship while moving through the water. It's sometimes called UNREP.
U.N.P.O.C.
This stood for "Unable to navigate, probably on course." It was a term used in old ship logs when sailors couldn't navigate well because of bad visibility or being close to the North Pole. It stopped being used in the 1950s when better navigation tools were made.
unreeve
This means taking a rope out of a wheel or pulley.
unship
-
To take something off a ship.
-
To take an oar or mast out of its usual place.
up-and-down
This describes the position of the anchor chain when the ship is almost directly above the anchor, which is about to be pulled up. It can also mean the chain is loose and hanging straight down.
up-behind
This is an order to quickly loosen a rope and secure it at a special spot. It's used when a rope has been stopped or ropes have been tied in a certain way and need to be fixed.
-
Moving upstream, against the current.
-
In the Great Lakes area, moving westward (as used by the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation).
uppers
Also peaks.
These are the ropes above the main sails.
upper-yardmen
These were special crew members chosen for important positions.
urca
-
A type of ship from the 1500s used to carry military supplies. These ships were mostly used by Spain in the Mediterranean. They looked like galleons but were smaller and had fewer weapons.
-
An armed, flat-bottomed, high-stern Spanish flyboat from the 1600s and 1700s. Urcas could have different types of sails and were used for trading along coasts, with some serving as message carriers for the navy.
V
This is the shape of a boat or ship where the bottom of the hull slopes straight down to the keel.
vang
-
A line from the gaff to the side of the deck that stops the gaff from sagging.
-
One of two ropes from the deck to the top of a spritsail. It keeps the sprit in place and helps control the sail when the ship turns, called a tack. The vang fall blocks are placed slightly afore the main horse, and rolling vangs are extra preventers that guide the sail to leeward in strong winds.
vanishing angle
This is the most the ship can tilt (heel) before it cannot right itself again.
Also called a vedette boat.
This is a small boat used by the navy to look for enemy ships.
veer
When the wind moves clockwise from the ship's current path, it is called veering. If it moves counterclockwise, it is called backing.
veer away
To let a rope out slowly.
This is a way for ships to get supplies from a helicopter. It is short for VERTREP.
very good
very well
These are positive answers an officer might give to a report from someone lower in rank, like if the helmsman says, "Rudder is amidship, sir," the officer might say, "Very good" or "very well."
vessel
Any boat or ship made for traveling on water.
vessel of opportunity
A ship not usually used for a certain job, but available and suitable for a short time, often needing extra equipment.
viol
Also voyl.
A large rope used to let go or pull up the anchor.
voice pipe
voice tube
See communication tube.
voyage
-
A long trip by ship.
-
To make such a trip.
voyl
See viol.
W
waist
The central part of a ship's deck between the forecastle and the quarterdeck.
waist clothes
Colored cloths or sheets hung around the outside of a ship’s upper areas, used for decoration during special events or as a screen to protect crew during action.
wake
The turbulence in the water behind a moving ship. Not to be confused with wash.
wale
- A thicker plank in the outer side of a ship’s hull, providing extra strength.
- Another name for a gunwale.
wardroom
The living area for naval officers other than the captain.
warm the bell
Royal Navy slang for doing something too early, from an old practice of timing watches under one’s coat to make time pass faster.
warp
- To move a ship by pulling on a line tied to an anchor or pier.
- A line or cable used for this purpose.
- The length of the shrouds from the bolster to the deadeye.
warship
A ship built for naval combat, carrying weapons and supplies for its crew, unlike a merchant ship which carries cargo or passengers.
wash
The waves made by a moving ship. Not to be confused with wake.
watch
A period when part of the crew is on duty. Changes are marked by strokes on the ship’s bell.
watchstanding
Assigning crew members to duties to keep the ship running continuously.
water bus
A boat that operates like a bus on water, providing scheduled stops in cities.
water taxi
A boat that takes passengers to different places on demand, like a taxi on land.
watercraft
Any vessel for travel on water, such as ships, boats, or personal watercraft.
waterline
The line where a ship’s hull meets the water.
- Any navigable body of water.
- A strip of timber along a wooden deck’s edge.
way
Speed or progress of a ship, or the point where water flow lets the ship steer.
waypoint
A planned location in navigation.
ways
Sloping timbers in a shipyard where ships are built or broken up.
weather deck
The part of a ship always exposed to weather, usually the main or upper deck.
weather ship
A ship that records weather information for forecasting.
weatherly
A ship that sails well and doesn’t drift much when going upwind.
weigh anchor
To lift the anchor before sailing.
well-found
Properly equipped or supplied.
- A special cargo ship with a curved hull, once used on the Great Lakes.
- A fast boat design from World War II.
- A sheltered part of a fishing boat’s deck.
wharf
A structure where ships dock to load and unload people or goods.
wheel
The usual steering device on larger ships, a wheel connected to the rudder.
wheelhouse
The area on a ship where the steering wheel is located.
wherry
A boat used for carrying goods or passengers on rivers and canals in England.
whip
A small tackle for lifting light loads.
white horses
Foam or spray on wave tops caused by stronger winds.
wide berth
Leaving space between two moored ships for safety.
winch
A device for pulling on a rope, often with a pawl to help control it.
windjammer
A large sailing ship from the late 1800s and early 1900s with multiple masts, used for carrying cargo.
windlass
A winch for moving very heavy loads, such as raising the anchor on small ships.
windward
The direction the wind is coming from.
X
A xebec is a special kind of ship from the Mediterranean Sea. It was used for trading and had both lateen sails and oars to move. It had a unique shape with a pointed front called a bow and a back called a stern. Early xebecs had two masts, but later ones had three.
Xebecs were also used as small, fast warships from the 16th to 19th centuries. These warships looked similar to trading xebecs but were slightly smaller than a frigate and had fewer guns. Another type was the xebec-frigate, a European warship that was fully square-rigged but otherwise looked like a normal xebec.
XO or X.O. stands for executive officer.
Y
A yacht is any boat or ship made for fun and leisure. This includes sailing yachts, motor yachts, and steam yachts.
A yard can mean a few things on a ship. It can be a horizontal pole where a square sail is hung. It can also refer to the pole for certain other types of sails, or it can mean a dock or shipyard where ships are built.
Each ship built in a shipyard often has a yard number, which helps identify it before it gets an official name. The yard name is the first name given to a ship while it is being built.
A yardarm is the very end of a yard pole. Being "over the yardarm" means it is late enough to have a drink.
When a ship moves quickly and easily, it is described as yar. Saying "yarr" is a way sailors agree with an order, similar to saying "yes, yes."
A yaw happens when a ship moves from side to side as it turns.
A yawl is a small sailing boat with two masts. It can also be a small, open boat used for fishing or helping other ships.
A yawl boat is a rowboat kept at the back of a larger boat.
A yeoman in the U.S. Navy handles important paperwork and admin work.
Z
An alternative spelling of xebec.
A type of Scottish sailboat introduced in 1879, used for fishing. A zulu is carvel-built, with the vertical stem of a fifie and the steeply raked stern of a skaffie; two masts rigged with three sails (fore, mizzen, and jib); and a longer deck and shorter keel than previous Scottish fishing boats, allowing greater maneuverability. The term "zulu" came from the Zulu War, which the United Kingdom fought in 1879 at the time the zulu was introduced.
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