THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ 14 15 THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF PETER TURNER ©2024 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 cables. A ship would 'ride at anchor' whilst anchored. To 'sheer' to the anchor was to move the ship's bows in the direction at which the anchor lies, while heaving in the cable. To 'shoe anchor' meant to cover the palms of an anchor with large triangular pieces of wood, to give the anchor more effectiveness in soft mud. To 'shoulder' the anchor was when a ship was given too short an anchor cable, causing her to be thrown across the tide and lift, or shoulder, the anchor and drift off. A ship that swung or turned with the wind and tide, when riding at a single anchor, was said to be 'tending'. A ship 'tide-rode' when it lay with its anchor up current. To 'trip anchor' was to move and cause the anchor to lift from the bottom, when it was said to be 'a-trip' and no longer holding. To 'weigh anchor' was to raise the anchor from the bottom, at which point the weight of the anchor was taken on the cathead. A ship 'wind-rode' when it lay with its anchor to windward. Anchor-watch - 1. The duty of keeping the deck when the vessel is at anchor. An important duty usually performed by a watch of experienced seamen. 2. The officer and seamen detailed to see that the ship does not drag whilst at anchor. Ancient - An archaic term for the colours, or flag, and their bearer. Ancon - An angle of a knee timber. Also a Spanish name for an anchorage. Andrew Miller, The Andrew - 1. A legendary pressgang leader, who was reputed to have pressed so many seamen that he owned the navy. 2. US and UK seamen’s nickname for the Navy, and for any other unpopular form of authority, after Andrew Miller. 3. A colloquial American nickname for a Man-of-War, probably through the initial letters, and possibly borrowed from the British seamen’s habit of calling the navy The Andrew. Anemometer - Wind gauge or wind speed measuring instrument. Anemoscope - A wind direction indicator pointer. An-end – 1. The position of any mast rigged above another. 2. The term used for a rope coiled down and clear for running. 3. Said of a yard rigged perpendicularly. Aneroid - A portable barometer. Angary, Right of - The claim by a warring country to seize ships of a neutral country that could benefit an enemy. Valid in maritime law, but restoration is required, eventually. Angel - Slang term for a coin of Elizabethan times. Angel shot - Slang term for chain shot. Angil - A fish-hook. Angle bar - Steel or iron rolled bar, used in ship construction, with an L-shaped section. Angle Crown - Anchor with straight arms meeting in a point, called Admiralty Pattern after 1840. Angle of commutation - The difference between the heliocentric longitudes of the earth and a planet or comet, the latter being reduced to the ecliptic. Angle of cut - In navigation, the smaller angle at which a pair of position lines intersect. Larger angles give a better fix. Angle of eccentricity - An astronomical term meaning an angle whose sine is equal to the eccentricity of an orbit. Angle of lee-way - The difference between the true and apparent course, when close-hauled. Angle of the vertical - The difference between the geocentric and geographical latitudes of a place. Angle stringer - A longitudinal frame member made from angle-bars, sometimes with added strength from a bulb bar, often fitted halfway between the deck and the bilge. Angular distance - A term denoting heavenly bodies being within measurable distance for calculating the longitude from them. The length of an arc of a great circle. Angular motion - Motion in a circular direction, such as planets revolving around the sun. Angular velocity - The speed of motion of binary stars around each other. Angulated sail - A sail of triangular shape, with the cloths running differently at the top and bottom, meeting in a mitre joint. Used to save cloth and to spread the load more evenly across the sail. Also mitred sail. Anigh - Close by. Anilla – The commercial term for indigo. Anker - A cask of about 8 gallons. Anne, Queen - (1665-1714) The only woman to ever hold the office of Lord High Admiral of Britain, in 1708, for twenty-nine days, on the death of her husband, Prince George of Denmark, who had held that office since 1702. Anniversary winds - Regular winds occurring at certain seasons, such as monsoons, trade winds, etc. Annotinae – Ancient Roman victualling vessels. Annual Accounts – A ship’s books for the year. Annual returns - A navy ship was required to return three reports to the Admiralty each year, in addition to the general accounts; namely, on the sailing qualities, the men and the progress of the young gentlemen in their navigation lessons. Annul - To cancel a flag signal. Annular Eclipse - An eclipse of the sun, in which a ring of sunlight shows all round the silhouette of the moon. Annular scupper - An invention by Capt. Downes, in which scuppers were fitted with removable concentric rings, thus enabling a surcharge of water to be passed quickly. Annulus Astronomicus - A 16c brass navigational instrument. Anomalistic year - The actual period of the Earth's orbit. Anon - Directly, or immediately. Anson, Lord George - (1697-1762) English admiral of the fleet who famously circumnavigated in the mid 18c, in the ship HMS Centurion, The ship in which he tested the first practical (if unwieldy) ship's chronometer on an earlier trip to the West Indies, and returning with few of the original fleet company but with vast prize wealth. He later became a very effective First Sea Lord of the Admiralty. Answer, to - To reply or succeed. When a ship was seen to follow the instructions given in signal, she was said to 'answer' the signal. Also used in describing the suitability of a gun, boat, etc., e.g. 'the gun will answer' meaning it is 'just the job'. Answering pendant - A red and white striped pendant that was hoisted when answering a flag signal, to indicate that it was understood. It was hoisted 'at the dip', i.e. at half mast, until the message was fully understood. Antarctic – The south polar region. The Antarctic Circle is the latitude of 66° 33' S. Antarctic convergence - The boundary where the cold Antarctic surface water flowing north passes beneath the warmer sub-Antarctic waters flowing south, marking a change in sea temperature and chemical composition and significant biological differences. Ante lucan - Before daylight. Ante meridian - Before noon. Anthelion - A luminous ring surrounding the viewer's shadow, projected onto a cloud or fog bank. Anticyclone - A weather pattern comprising the rotary outward flow of air from a high pressure area. Anti Gallicans - Temporary additional backstays rigged to provide extra support when a ship was in the trade winds. Anti-guggler - The term for a criminal method of extracting the contents of a cask or bottle, by a straw or tube surreptitiously inserted. Anti-Jacobin - An opposer of the French Revolution. The Jacobin political party in France in 1789 supported democratic principles, which caused their revolution. Antipathes – A type of coral with a black horny stem. Antipodes - The opposite side of the globe. Came to popularly mean Australia and New Zealand. Hence 'antipodean' applied to the peoples of those countries. Antiscorbutic - An enriched vitamin source used in the treatment for scurvy. The best form was fresh meat and vegetables, citrus fruit being often issued, but not often effective. Antitrade - A wind blowing steadily in the opposite direction to a prevailing trade wind. Antwerp Hell Burner - 16c explosive fire ship. Anyhow – Doing ones duty by any means. Apace - Quickly. Apeak, apeek - Vertically. "Oars apeak" was an order given in a ship's boat, on approach to its destination. Also said of an anchor when the ship has moved to be over its vertical cable while being hove in, and it is about to break free of the ground. Aphelion - The point on a planets orbit farthest from the sun. Aphlaston – Ship’s stern ornament. Aplanatic - Refraction that corrects the aberration and chromaticity of light rays. Aplustre - The ornamentation at the prow and the ensign on the stern of ancient vessels. Apobathra - Gang-boards on ancient ships, onto the quay. Apocatastasis - The time taken by a planet to return to a heavenly position from whence it started. Apogee - The point on the moon's orbit farthest from the earth. cf perigee. A-poise - When a ship was well trimmed she was said to be a-poise. A-port - Towards the port side. Apostles - Two large bollards near the bows, on the main deck, around which anchor cables were belayed. Apparel - All the removable equipment and fittings of a ship, such as sails, rigging, boats, etc. Apparatus – The equipment of war. Apparel – The furniture or gear of a ship, for insurance purposes. Apparelled – Fully equipped, of a ship. Apparent Equinox – The position of the equinox, as it has been affected by nutation. Apparent Noon – The moment when the centre of the sunis on the meridian. Apparent solar day - The interval between two successive transits of the true sun across the observer's meridian, at which times it is the apparent noon. The length of the apparent day varies with the Earth's orbit. Apparent solar time – Time based on the hour angle of the true sun. The time used on sundials. Also true solar time or astronomical time. Appearance – 1. The moment that land is first seen on lanf-fall. 2. The first arrival of an officer for duty upon a new appointment. Apple-bowed - Bluff shaped ship's bow. Appledore Roller Boom - Worm operated reefing system. Apple-Pie Order – In good order. Apples - Pay, from the golden apples in mythology. Appointed - Equipped or armed and commissioned for duty. Appointment – 1. An officer’s commission. 2. The equipment of a vessel. Appraisement – A legal requirement of the captors of a vessel, from their being responsible for its expenses henceforth. Approval – A senior officer’s signature on an application. Apron - 1. Curved timbers of uniform section, fixed below the stem and above the leading end of the keel. Also Stomach-Piece. 2. In dock, the underwater masonry platform at the entrance to a dock, over which the gates close, if they exist. 3. The piece of sheet lead laid over the touch-hole of a gun, in an attempt to prevent the entry of dampness. Apostis - Outrigger structure of a galley which allows the use of longer oar stroke. Aquage – An old term for water-carriage tolls. Arbalest – An ancient wooden instrument used to measure altitudes of heavenly bodies, comprising a cross, or transversary, sliding on a staff that had graduated degrees marked on it. Also cross-staff, Jacob’s staff or fore-staff. Ardent - Said of a vessel that tends to fly into the wind, needing an excess of weather-helm. Argand light - An early type of lighthouse or alarm light vessel. Arch-Board – Part of the stern above the counter. Arch Of The Cove – The elliptical moulding installed over the cove of a vessel, at the lower part of the taffrail. Arched Squall – A type of violent squall under
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