THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ 124 125 THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF PETER TURNER THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF PETER TURNER ©2024 If any reader can provide information, please send to galf@abandos.com If any reader can provide information, please send to galf@abandos.com Nadir – The point in the heavens directly opposite the zenith. Nail-sick - When a vessel begins to complain Nankeen - Nantucket sleigh ride – The American term for the wild ride in a whaleboat being towed by a recently harpooned whale, before it tires out enough for the lances to be used to finish it off. Nao - Early Portuguese/Spanish sailing ship. Napeau - Handkerchief. Napoleon - Mention The Continental System of trade embargo. Narker - Narrow Pendant - Narrow Seas - The English Channel. Natation - Nau - Generic term in Latin navies for large ship. Naus - Greek word for ship, from which we get the word nausea. Very apt. Nautical Almanac - First useful one by Maskelyne in 1767. Then revised editions published throughout 18c. Nautical chart - See Sea-chart. Nautical day – Began at noon 12 hours before the civil day and so 24 hours before the astronomical day, until early in the nineteenth century. Nautical mile – A measure of distance of one minute of arc on the meridian. Because of the flattened shape of the earth the actual distance varied between 6,046 feet at the equator and 6,108 feet at the poles, with the standard sea mile being taken as 6,080 feet. Also sea mile. Nautilus - Naval Architecture - Naval cadet – Modern term for present day sea officer trainees. Naval court – A court convened by a naval or consular officer to try a member of a crew or to enquire into the loss of a ship, comprising three to five naval officers or people of similar rank. Naval futtock - The lowest futtock in the midship frame of a vessel. Naval, or navel, line – A rope attached to the mast-head and passing round the yard truss, to help hold it up. Naval Sabre - Mid 19c curved sword. Naval stores - Any item issued by the purser, or pusser. Nave - Generic term originating in Latin navies for large sailing ships in Middle Ages in the Mediterranean. Navel-futtock - The lowest futtock in the midship frame of a vessel. Nave line, naveline - A tackle rigged to the parrel, from the main and foremasts, to keep the former level and in line when raising or lowering it. Navel line - See Nave line. Navigable semi-circle - The part of the path of a rotating tropical storm that a ship will tend to blown away from the storm centre, farthest from the direction of re-curvature. Navigate - Navigation – The art of locating the position of a vessel. Navigational triangle – The basis of much maritime navigation, comprising a spherical triangle abounded by the pole, the observer and the heavenly body, joined by zeniths. Also PZX triangle. Navigation Acts - English trade restriction laws first passed in 1382 and 1463, reserving English trade to English ships. Many foreign shippers found it to be irksome. Strictly reimposed by England on foreign shipping in the seventeenth century, when we were seeking to irritate our foes, and finally repealed in 1849, when we wanted to encourage foreign trade after having taken over the world's oceans and whilst leading the world in producing cheaply manufactured goods. Navy Board - First formed in 1546 as the 'Council of the Marine' or 'Chief Officers of the Admiralty', it became the first permanent Royal Navy administration. Members entitled the Principal Officers and Commissioners of the Navy. The Controller (Chairman of the Board); Surveyor, responsible for ship design and construction; Clerk of the Acts, who supervised the Secretariat; and civilian Controllers. The Principle Officers & Commissioners of the Navy - Navy Office - Responsible for the admin of Dockyards, Design & Construction & Repair of ships & the supply of naval stores. The 'Principle Officers' were the Controller, Surveyor, Clerk of Acts & Controllers of Treasury A/Cs, and Victualling A/Cs & Storekeepers A/Cs-See Commissioners of the Navy Board WW33 Navy Club - Originally met in Will's Coffee Shop in Scotland Yard in mid 18c. Navy Commission - The body that replaced the Navy Board during 1618-28. Navy List, The - The annual list of officers in the Royal Navy, on which their seniority was/is recorded. Navy Office - Located in Crutched Friars, Seething Lane, near the Tower of London Navy Royal - Incorporated by Henry VIII. Neaped – Said of a vessel that has run aground during periods of neap tides, or has been prevented from leaving a barred harbour until a corresponding period of higher tides occurs. Also beneaped. Neap tides – Tides of reduced range occurring when the sun and Moon are not aligned, at the first and last quarters. Neaters - Undiluted rum. Popular, but rare. Neat Harbour - Furl sail to make a "Neat Harbour Stow" Neat's - Leather shoes from early Slops. Necessary Roll – A seaman’s or marine’s bedroll, in which other necessaries were contained. Necessity - Seamen's term for a tot of rum and water, or grog. Neck - See Cuckold's knot. Necking brace - (tge) Necking transom - (tge) Necklace – A chain round the lower mast, California shallows. Mudhook - Seamen's slang for an anchor. Mud-pilot - River pilot on the River Thames. Muffled oars - Mulatoes - Mulct - A stoppage of pay as a punishment. Mule-rigged sprittie - Muleta - A Portuguese lateen-rigged fishing boat with characteristic long bowsprit, giving it a large sail area for its size. Munnions - The carved uprights between a ship's stern windows. Muntz Metal - 50/50 zinc and copper mix, used for "coppering" CTC Murder - Murderer – An iron bar fitted with a number of hooks that was dragged along the seabed to impale fish. Also called a fluke bar. Muscovy Company, The – Established ?, trading finished cloth with Russia, for timber and naval supplies. Sought NE & NW Passages to Asia. Music, The - The Band Muskein boats - Flat-bottom landing boats, built for the Commission des Cotes de la Manche flotilla, for use by Napoleonic invasion force in 1797. Muskein was the name of the Antwerper who designed them. Musketoon - Large calibre musket mounted on swivels. Muslin, The – Occasional seamen’s name for the sails. Mussel bow - A design of yacht in which the bow is formed into a shallow shape like a mussel shell. Muster - 1 The formal gathering together of the crew. 2 A Kit Muster is the formal inspection of kit aboard. 3 Passed muster is what happened when the kit was in order. Muster Book - Mustering by the Open List - The men would walk up to the Captain in turn and declare their listing. Mustering – Calling all the crew and/or passengers together for drill or discipline, or for a head count. Mutiny - Collective insubordination. Includes striking an Officer, they were usually over pay and were considered to be in the tradition of the sea service. Sometimes "Mutiny" was branded onto the forehead of a mutineer, but see also Punishment. Muzzle - (hgv) Muzzler - SMS My Lord Mayor's Men - Quota Men. N Necklaces and Nooners
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