Selected Extracts from "Famous Ships of the British Navy"

A Glossary of Nautical Terms

Aback, the situation of the sail of a ship, when its forward surface is pressed upon by the wind.

Abaft, the hinder part of a ship, or some point nearer the stern than any given part, as abaft the fore-mast.

Abeam, or Abreast, the point at right angles with the ship's mainmast: hence, abaft the beam, is a position or situation between the direct line abeam and the stern, and before, the beam, is between the beam and the head.

Aboard, the inside of a ship : hence, any person who enters a ship is said "to go aboard." To fall aboard, is to strike against another ship. To haul aboard the main tack, is to bring the clew of the mainsail down to the chest-tree.

About, the position of a ship immediately after she has tacked, or changed her course.

Adrift, the state of a vessel or ship broken loose from her moorings, and driven about, at the mercy of the wind, sea, or tide.

Afore, that part of a ship which lies forward or near the stem.

Aft, After, behind, or near the stern of a ship. See Abaft.

Aloft, up in the tops, at the mast-head. or anywhere about the yards or rigging.

Alongside, close to the ship.

Amidships, the middle of the ship, either with regard to her length or breadth; as, "the enemy boarded in the midships," i.e., in the middle, between the stem and stern. "Put the helm amidships," i.e., in the middle, between the two sides.

Anchor, best bower and small bower, the two stowed furthest forward or near to the bows ; the best bower being the anchor on the starboard bow, the small bower the one on the larboard bow ; the sheet anchor is of the same size and weight as either of the bowers ; stream anchor, a smaller one ; and kedge anchor, the smallest of all.

Astern, behind the ship.

Athwart hawse, the situation of a ship when she is driven by the wind, tide, or other accident, across the stem of another, whether they bear against, or are at a small distance from, each other, the transverse position of the former with the latter being principally understood.

Bar, a shoal across the mouth of a harbour or river.

Barricade, or Bulwark, the wooden parapet on each side of the forecastle, quarter-deck, or poop.

Bear up, or Bear away, to change the course of a ship, in order to make her run before the wind, after she has sailed some time with a side wind, or "close-hauled;" the term appears to have been suggested by the motion of the helm, which partly produces the change, as it is then "borne up" to windward or to the weather-side of the ship. Hence bear up seems to have reference to the helm only; as, "Bear up the helm aweather." With respect to any other thing, it is said, Bear away, or bear down; thus, "We bore away for Plymouth;" " We bore down upon the ship, and fought her."

Bearing, the point of the compass on which any object appears, or the situation of any object in reference to any given part of the ship; as, "the bearing of the Cape was N.N.E."

Beating, the operation of making progress at sea against the direction of the wind, in a zigzag line, or " transverse."

Belay, to make fast.

Bend the sails, is to fasten them to the yards; bend the cable, to fasten it to the anchor, &c. A

Berth, the place where a ship lies; a cabin on board ship.

Bight, any part of a rope between the ends; also a collar, or an eye, formed by a rope.

Binnacle, the box which contains the compass.

Bits, large upright pins of timber, with a cross-piece, over which the bight of the cable is put; also smaller pins to fasten ropes, &c.

Bow, is the rounding part of a ship's side forward, beginning where the planks arch inwards, and terminating where they close at, the stem or prow. On the bow, means an arc of the horizon, not exceeding 45 degrees, comprehended between some distant object and that point of the compass which is right ahead, or to which the ship's stem is directed.

Bowlines, ropes made fast to the leeches or sides of the sails, to pull them forward.

Box off, is, when a ship having got up with the wind, or been taken by the wind ahead, the head yards are braced round to oppose its effect, and prevent the ship from being turned in a contrary direction.

Braces, ropes fastened to the yard-arms to brace them about.

Breaching, a stout rope fixed to the ring of a cannon and fastened to the ship's side, to prevent the gun from running too far in.

Bring to to check the course of a ship by so arranging the sails as to make them counteract each other, and keep her nearly stationary; when she is said to lie by or lie to, having, according to the sea-phrase, some of her sails "aback," to oppose the force of those which are full. To come to is sometimes used with the same meaning; although, more generally, it means "to let go the anchor."

Broach to, is when by the violence of the wind, or a heavy sea upon the quarter, the ship is forced to windward of her course in defiance of the helm.

Bulkheads, partitions of the cabins.

Cable, the large rope by which the ship is secured to the anchor.

Cable's length, a measure of 120 fathoms, or 240 yards.

Cat-head, a strong projection from the forecastle on each bow, furnished with sheaves or strong pulleys, and to which the anchor is lifted after it has been hove up to the bow by the capstan.

Chains, or Channels, of a ship, those strong projections from the sides below the quarter-deck and forecastle ports in large ships, but above the guns in small ones, to which the shrouds or rigging of each of the lower masts are secured, by means of wooden blocks, or dead-eyes, strongly chained and bolted to the ship's side.

Chess-tree, a piece of wood bolted perpendicularly on each side of the ship near the gangway, to confine the clew of the mainsail.

Close-hauled, the arrangement or trim of a ship's sails when she endeavours to advance in the nearest direction possible towards that point of the compass from which the wind blows.

Club-hauling, tacking by means of an anchor.

Davit, a piece of timber used as a crane to hoist the flukes of the anchor to the top of the bow ; this is called " fishing the anchor."

Fore-and-aft, from stem to stern of the ship.

Forging ahead, to be forced ahead by the wind.

Furl, to wrap or roll a sail close to the yard, stay, or mast to which it belongs, and wind a gasket or cord about it to fasten it thereto.

Gaskets, a piece of plait to fasten the sails to the yards.

Haul the wind, to direct the ship's course as near as possible to that point of the compass from which the wind arises.

Hawse, is generally understood to imply the situation of the cables before the ship's stem, when she is moored with two anchors out from the bows ; viz., one on the starboard, and the other on the larboard bow. It also denotes any small distance ahead of a ship, or between her head and the anchors by which she rides.

Hawser, a small cable.

Heave to, synonymous with bring to. Heaving to an anchor, is when all the cable is taken in until the ship is directly over her anchor preparatory to its being weighed.

Larboard, a name given by seamen to the left side of the ship, when looking forward from the stern.

Luff, the order to the helmsman to put the tiller towards the leeside of the ship, in order to make the ship sail nearer to the wind.

Main sheet, a large rope fixed to the lower corner or clew of the mainsail, by which, when set, it is hauled aft into its place.

Main tack, another large rope fixed to the same corner of the sail, but to haul it on board or down to the chess-tree on the fore part of the gangway; when set upon a wind, or "close-hauled," the foresail is provided with similar ropes.

Offing, implies "out at sea," or at a good distance from the shore.

Pay round off; is, when the ship is near the wind, to fall off from it against the Helm, and in spite of every effort to prevent it.

Port the helm, the order to put the helm over to the larboard side of the ship. Used instead of larboard, on account of the resemblance in sound between the latter word and starboard.

Quarter, that part of a ship's side which lies towards the stern, or is included between the aftmost end of the main chains and the side of the stern, where it is terminated by the quarter-pieces.

Rake a ship, is when the broadside sweeps another 's docks fore and aft, either by lying athwart her bows or her stern. Rake means also the inclination of the masts, bowsprit, stern, or sternpost.

Reef, to reduce a sail by tying a portion of it to the yards with points.

Sapping the cable, unsplicing it within, a buoy and buoy rope having been previously fixed to it, to show where the ship has left her anchor.

Splicing, the mode by which the broken strands of a rope are united.

Spring. to anchor with a, is, before letting go the anchor, to cause a smaller cable or hawser to be passed out of the stern or quarter-port, and taken outside of the ship forward, in order to be bent or fastened to the ring of the anchor intended to be let go, for the purpose of bringing the ship's broadside to bear in any given direction.

Squadron, an assemblage of ships of war in number less than ten.

Stay, to stay a ship, is to arrange the sails, and move the rudder, so as to bring the ship's head to the direction of the wind, in order to get her on the other tack. When she does not answer her helm she is said to be " in stays."

Tack, to change the course from one board to another. To turn the ship about from the starboard to the larboard tack, or vice versa, in a contrary wind.

Taut, or taunt rigged, means when a ship is very lofty in her masts. All-a-tauto, is used when a ship, having had some of her masts struck, has rehoisted them.

Taut, a corruption of tight.

Wake of a ship is to be immediately behind or in the track of her. It also means when a ship is hid from view by another ship.

Warp a ship, is to change her situation by dragging her from one part of a harbour, &c., to some other, by means of warps (ropes or hawsers), which are attached to buoys, to other ships, to anchors sunk in the bottom, or to certain stations on the shore, such as posts, rings, trees, &c. The ship is then drawn forward to those stations, either by pulling on the warps by hand, or by the application of some purchase, as a tackle, windlass, or capstan.

Way, a ship is said to be under way, that is, to have way upon her, when she has weighed her anchor, and is exposed to the influence of the tide, current, or wind.

Weather a ship, headland, &c., is to sail to windward of it. The weather-gage implies the situation of one ship to windward of another when in action, &c.

Wear or veer ship, is to change her course from one board to the other by turning her stern to windward.

Weigh, is to heave up the anchor of a ship from the ground in order to prepare her for sailing,

The End

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