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Glossary of Nautical Terms |
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A B C
D E F
G H I
J K L
M N O
P Q R
S T W
X Y Z
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| Abeam - At right angles to , or beside, the boat |
| Aboard - On or in the boat |
| Aft - Toward the stern |
| Aground - When the hull or keel is against the ground |
| Aloft - overhead, above |
| Amidships - the middle of the boat |
| Anchor - An object designed to grip the ground, under a body of water, to hold the boat in a selected area |
| Apparent Wind - the direction of the wind as is relative to the speed and direction of the boat |
| Astern - behind the boat |
| Backstay - a support wire that runs from the top of the mast to the stern |
| Bail - to remove water from the boat |
| Ballast - weight in the lower portion of a boat, used to add
stability |
| Battens - thin, stiff strips of plastic or wood, placed in pockets in
the leech of a sail, to assist in keeping its form |
| Beam - the width of the boat at its widest |
| Beam reach - a point of sail where the boat is sailing at a right
angle to the wind |
| Bearing - a compass direction from one point to another |
| Belay - to make secure |
| Bight - a loop of line or rope |
| Bilge - the lowest part of a boat, designed to collect water that
enters the boat |
| Block - a pulley |
| Boat Hook - a device designed to catch a line when coming alongside a
pier or mooring |
| Bolt Rope - a rope sewn into the luff of a sail for use in attaching
to the standing rigging |
| Boom - the horizontal spar which the foot of a sail is attached to
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| Boom Vang - a line that adjusts downward tension on the boom |
| Bow - the front of the boat |
| Bowspirt - a spar extending forward from the bow |
| Breast line - a docking line going at approximately a right angle
from the boat to the dock |
| Broach - to spin out of control, either causing or nearly causing a
capsize. |
| Broad reach - a point of sail where the boat is sailing away from the
wind, but not directly downwind |
| Buoy - an anchored float marking a position or for use as a mooring
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| By the Lee - sailing with the wind coming from behind, and slightly
to the side, that the sails are on |
| Can - a kind of navigation buoy |
| Capsize - to turn a boat over |
| Cast Off - to release lines holding boat to shore or mooring, to
release sheets |
| Catboat - a one sail sailboat |
| Centerboard - a fin shaped, often removable, board that extends from
the bottom of the boat as a keel |
| Chafe - damage to a line caused by rubbing against another object |
| Chainplates - metal plates bolted to the boat which standing rigging
is attached to |
| Chock - a guide for an anchor, mooring or docking line, attached to
the deck |
| Cleat - a fitting used to secure a line to |
| Clew - the lower aft corner of a sail |
| Close hauled - a point of sail where the boat is sailing as close to
the wind as possible |
| Close reach - a point of sail where the boat is sailing towards the
wind but is not close hauled |
| Cockpit - the area, below deck level, that is somewhat more protected
than the open deck, from which the tiller or wheel is handled |
| Displacement - the weight of the water displaced by
the boat |
| Dock - the area a boat rests in when attached to a pier, also the act
of taking the boat to the pier to secure it |
| Downhaul - a line, attached to the tack, that adjusts tension in the
sail |
| Draft - the depth of the boat at its lowest point, also the depth or
fullness of the sail |
| Drift - the leeway, or movement of the boat, when not under power, or
when being pushed sideways while under power |
| Ease - to loosen or let out |
| Fairlead - a fitting used to change the direction of
a line without chafing |
| Fathom - a measurement relating to the depth of water, one fathom is
6 feet |
| Foot - the bottom part of a sail |
| Forward - toward the bow to the boat |
| Foremast - the forward mast of a boat with more that one mast |
| Foresail - the jib |
| Fouled - entangled or clogged |
| Freeboard - the distance from the highest point of the hull to the
water |
| Furl - to fold or roll a sail and secure it to its main support |
| Genoa - a large foresail that overlaps the mainsail
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| Gimball - a device that suspends a compass so that it remains level
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| Gooseneck - a device that connects the boom to the mast |
| Ground Tackle - the anchor, chain and rode |
| Gunwale - the railing of the boat at deck level |
| Halyard - the line used to raise and lower the sail
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| Hard Alee - the command given to inform the crew that the helm is
being turned quickly to leeward, turning the boat windward |
| Head - top of the sail |
| Head to Wind - the bow turned into the wind, sails luffing |
| Headsail - a sail forward of the mast, a foresail |
| Headstay - a wire support line from the mast to the bow |
| Headway - forward motion |
| Heave To - to stop a boat and maintain position (with some leeway) by
balancing rudder and sail to prevent forward movement, a boat stopped this way
is "hove to" |
| Helm - the tiller or wheel, and surrounding area |
| Helmsman - the member of the crew responsible for steering |
| Heel - the leeward lean of the boat caused by the winds action on the
sails |
| Hike - leaning out over the side of the boat to balance it |
| Hoist - to raise aloft |
| In Irons - having turned onto the wind or lost the
wind, stuck and unable to make headway |
| Jib - a foresail, a triangle shaped sail forward of
the mast |
| Jibe - a change of tack while going downwind |
| Keel - a fin down the centerline of the bottom of the
hull |
| Ketch - a two-masted ship with a small mast mounted forward of the
rudder post |
| Knot - a unit of speed, one knot=6,076 feet per hour |
| Lanyard - a line attached to any small object for the
purpose of securing the object |
| Lazarette - spaces below the deck that are designed for storage |
| Leech - the back edge of a sail |
| Leeward - downwind |
| Lifeline - a cable fence that surrounds the deck to assist in the
prevention of crew falling overboard |
| Line - rope or cordage |
| List - the leaning of a boat to the side because of excess weight on
that side |
| Luff - the front edge of a sail, and the flapping in the wind of the
front of the sail (luffing) |
| Mainsheet - the line that controls the boom |
| Mizzen - the shorter mast behind the main mast on a ketch or yawl |
| Mooring - an anchor or weight, permanently attached to the sea floor,
with a buoy going to the surface, used to hold the boat in a certain area |
| Nun - a kind of navigational buoy |
| Outhaul - the line that adjust tension along the foot
of the sail along the boom |
| Painter - a line tied to the bow of a small boat for
the purpose of securing it to a dock or to the shore |
| Pennant - a triangular flag |
| Pinch - to sail as close as possible towards the wind |
| Point - to turn closer towards the wind (point up) |
| Port - the left side of the boat |
| Port tack - sailing with the wind coming from the port side, with the
boom on the starboard side |
| Privileged vessel - the ship with the right of way |
| Reach - sailing with a beam wind |
| Ready about - prepare to come about |
| Reef - to reduce the size of a sail |
| Rhumb line - a straight line compass course between two points |
| Rigging - the standing rigging is the mast and support lines, running
rigging is the lines with which you adjust the sails |
| Rode - the line and chain that connect the anchor to the boat |
| Rudder - a fin under the stern of the boat used in steering |
| Running - a point of sail, going directly downwind |
| Scull - moving the rudder back and forth in an
attempt to move the boat forward |
| Shake out - to release a reefed sail and hoist the sail aloft |
| Sheave - the wheel of a block pulley |
| Sheet - a line used to control the sail |
| Shrouds - support wires for the mast |
| Spinnaker - a large, light sail used in downwind sailing |
| Spreaders - struts used to hold the shrouds away from the mast |
| Spring line - docking lines that keep the boat from drifting forward
and back |
| Starboard - the right side of the boat |
| Starboard tack - a course with the wind coming from starboard and the
boom on the port side |
| Step - the frame that the bottom of the mast ends into |
| Stern - the back of the boat |
| Stow - to put away |
| Tack - the front, lower corner of the sail, also
course with the wind coming from the side of the boat, also to change course by
turning into the wind so that the wind comes from the other side of the boat
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| Tender - a small boat used to transport crew and equipment from shore
to a larger boat |
| Tiller - controls the rudder and is used for steering |
| Topping lift - a line that holds up the boom when it is not being
used, also the line that controls the height of a spinnaker pole |
| Transom - the back, outer part of the stern |
| Traveler - a device that the mainsheet may be attached to which
allows its position to be adjusted |
| Trim - to adjust the sails, also the position of the sails |
| Tuning - the adjustment of the standing rigging, the sails and the
hull to balance the boat for optimum performance |
| Wake - the swell caused by a boat passing through
water |
| Whisker pole - a light spar which holds the jib out when sailing
downwind |
| Winch - a metal drum shaped device used to assist in trimming sails
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| Windward - upwind |
