Sailing Terms
I have been reading some books written by Alexander Kent and Dudley Pope. The books are naval fiction that take place from the mid 1700's to the mid 1800's. The stories take place on British ships and use a lot of sailing terms that I have not seen in other books. In the back of Alexander Kent's 9th book called "FORM LINE OF BATTLE!" there is a list of sailing terms. I used that list as a starting point and have added others as I found them. You can find a lot of the terms below in your dictionary.
- Aback: The position of the sails when they press against the masts.
- Abaft: Toward the stern of the ship. Used relatively, as in "abaft the beam" of a vessel.
- A-box: When the yards are braced in opposite directions.
- About: On the other tack.
- A-lee: Position of the helm when placed in the opposite direction from that in which the wind is blowing. To leeward.
- All in the wind: When too close to the wind so that the sails shake.
- Amidships: In or toward the middle of a vessel.
- Athwart-ships: At right angles to the keel.
- Avast: To hold fast. Hence the term: avast heaving.
- A-weather: When the helm is placed in the direction the wind blows.
- Bear up: To keep further away from the wind.
- Beating: Tacking towards the direction of the wind.
- Belay: To secure a running rope used to work the sails. Also to disregard.
- Belaying pin: A fixed pin used aboard ship to secure a rope fastened around it.
- Broach to: Coming suddenly up into the wind.
- By the wind: Sailing as close to the wind as possible.
- Cable: A strong, thick rope to which the ship's anchor is fastened. Also a unit of measure equaling approximately one-tenth of a sea mile, or two hundred yards.
- Claw to windward: Beating gradually to windward. To claw off a lee shore.
- Close-hauled: Sailing close to the wind.
- Counter: The portion of a ship's stern extending from the water line to the extreme outward swell.
- Course: The sail that hangs on the lowest yard of a square-rigged vessel.
- Dog vane: A small vane made of feathers or bunting attached to the weather shroud to show the direction of the wind.
- Fathom: Six feet in depth or lenth.
- Fife rail: a rail around the mast or along a ship's sides with holes for belaying pins, used to secure the running rigging.
- Flat aback: When the wind takes the sails well on the wrong side.
- Flemish horse: a foot-rope on a square rigged ship that is found at the extreme outer end of the yard.
- Fly up in the wind: When a vessel comes up quickly head to wind.
- Full and bye: Sailing close to the wind but keeping all sails full.
- Go about: To tack.
- Gripe: To carry too much weather helm.
- Helm's a-lee: The helm put right over leeward.
- Hove to: Remaining stationary.
- Irons: A vessel is said to be in irons when up in the wind but will not pay off on either tack.
- Lee: The side of a ship, land mass, or rock that is sheltered from the wind.
- Luff: To bring a vessel close to the wind.
- Manger: A small triangular area in the bow of a warship in which animals are kept.
- Ratlines: Small lines fastened horizontally to the shrouds of a vessel, used to climb up and down the rigging.
- Reeve or Rove: To pass (a line or rope) through a block (pulley), ring, or hole.
- Shiver: To luff up so far as to cause the sails to shiver.
- Slack is stays: Slow in tacking.
- Top-gallent: The third sail or yard above the deck.
- Topsail: The second sail above the deck, set above the course or mainsail.
- Tumble-home: The inward curve of a ship's upper sides. Allows the ship's upper deck to be narrower than the lower decks.
- Veer: Wind is said to veer when it shifts with the hands of a watch, and to "back" when it shifts against the hands of a watch (It is the reverse way in the Southern Hemisphere). Also to pay or ease out cable.
- Warp: To move (a vessel) by hauling on a line that is fastened to or around a piling, anchor, or pier. (in the books they also warp a ship by towing it with smaller boats)
- Wear: To make (a sailing ship) come about with the wind aft. To come about with the stern to windward.
- Windward: Facing the wind or on the side facing the wind.
- Yard: A cylindrical spar slung across a ship's mast for a sail to hang on.
- Yardarm: The outer extremity of a yard.
- Yaw: When a ship does not steer a straight and steady course and the head "yaws" from one side to the other.
Copyright © 2003 - 2010 Dick Schaffer. All rights reserved.