THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ 156 157 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 tanks. Side boy – A crew member who stands at the gangway of a Royal Navy ship, to salute visiting dignitaries, and who runs messages and performs other general duties. Side fishes - The side pieces of a made mast. Also called fish sides or aris pieces. Side keelson - Fore-and-aft timbers on both sides of the keelson, provided for extra strength along the vessel. Side ladder - A rope ladder suspended over a ship's side, for access to or from the boats. Sidelight - The glass part of a scuttle in a vessel's side. Sidereal time – Time based on the rotation of the Earth relative to the stars. Also right ascension of the meridian. Side skids – Hardwood runners temporarily rigged on a ship’s side against which heavy loads could be slid without causing damage. Side stitch – An extra line of stitching to give added strength to the seam of a sail. Side tackles - SMS Side Trees - Sides of made mast CTC Sidelights - Two carried between sunset and sunrise, red to starboard and green to larboard. Sight – Measurement of the vertical angle between the horizon and a celestial body or the angular distance between two bodies. Also observations. Sighter - The first try at something new, from the practice of making a sighting shot at a target before getting serious. Sighting the anchor- SMS Sighting the bottom – Examining a vessel’s bottom in a dry dock to determine the extent of necessary repairs. Sight reduction – The name for the process of producing a position from observed information. Also reducing an observation. Sights - Observations to help in finding the ship's position. Signal flags – The usual positions at which signal flags were worn included: Crossjack yardarm; Ensign staff; Fore shrouds; Fore topmast; Fore topsail yardarm; Fore yardarm; Main backstay; Main shrouds; Main topmast; Main topmast shrouds; Main topsail yardarm; Main yardarm; Mizzen backstay; Mizzen peak; Mizzen shrouds; Mizzen topmast; Mizzen topmast shrouds. Signalize - To show one's flag, particularly showing an admiral's flag in battle. Signal Rockets Signal Slate Signalling- Howe's "Signal Book" 1782, based on numerary system, revised 1790. "Signal Book for Ships of War" issued in 1799 by Admiralty. In 1800 Sir Home Popham's "Telegraphic Signals or Marine Vocabulary" enabled each C-in-C to say exactly what he wanted by signal. Silence of crew- SMS Silent hours - The period when the ship's bell was not struck, except in an emergency, between Pipe down and Call the hands. No bells were struck after the four struck at 2200 until the one struck at 0830. Silk Sock Gentry- See Afterguard Silver Fleet- Spanish fleets from the New World carrying silver plundered from natives. Silver pits – A deep narrow sea valley south of the Dogger Banks which was once one of the world’s richest fishing grounds. Simoom, Simoon Winds - Hot, dry, dust-laden SE-E seasonal winds of the Persian, or Arabian, Gulf.winds Simple rudder- SMS Simple whip - A single block purchase. Sin bosun - A vicar. Singing- Not usually permitted on Men-of-War when pulling on ropes, etc Single banked – 1. A boat pulled by one oarsman on each oar. 2. Having one oar at each thwart. Single-day tides - See Diurnal. Single frame - A frame section formed from a single angle-bar. Single purchases- SMS Single shoulder block(hgv) Single-Stick- Contest hitting each other over the head with Great Gun Rammers Single-tree mast - A lower mast made from one piece. Single whip – A small light tackle comprising a fall reeved through a single block. Singling up – Taking in as many of the mooring lines as possible while still keeping a vessel secure, so that she can be quickly unmoored when the time comes to do so. Sink (vb) - 1. To drop beneath the surface of the water and go to the bottom. 2. To drop out of sight over the horizon. 3. To carry out such damage to another vessel to cause it to drop beneath the water. Sinker - 1 The weight on the end of a diving marker line, or similar. 2 A suet dumpling. Sinking- SMS Sinking a strand – The evolution of splicing a three-strand rope to a four-strand rope, by opening the extra strand into three and sinking these before they enter the splice. Sink Ships – Machine ships of the 17th century. Also Smoke Ships. Sink the land - Steer away from land until it disappears over the horizon. Sinnate (Sennit, Sennet)- Braided or plaited yarn. Sippers - A small drink from an oppo's tot, given in payment for a service rendered. Two sippers equal one gulper. Sirmarks – Diagonals on a half-breadth ship construction plan. These indicated the points on moulds where bevelling had to be applied. Sister block – The cylindrical double block that is seized to the topmast shroud and used to reeve the reef tackle pendants and lifts of the topsail yards. Sister blocks - Blocks mounted side-by-side on a bracket or mounting. Sister keelsons - Keelsons fitted each side of the vessel, along the inside of the bilges. Sith, sithens - In Elizabethan times, since. Six Upon Four-+102 Sixpenny Office-WW149 Sixteen Bells- Struck at midnight on New Year's Eve by youngest crew member, denotes eight bells for old and eight bells for New Year. Sixty-fourth – The share-owning system used in shipping, in which a ship’s value was divided into sixty-four equal shares, each of which represented a part ownership in the vessel. Skargardsflottan- Finnish warship designed to operate between the islets and rocks off Finnish coast. Skate - Seamen's slang for someone who misbehaves ashore, despite being good at his shipboard job. Skate - Seamen’s slang, one who misbehaves ashore but is good at his work aboard. Skead – The wooden racks in a whaleship’s hold where the barrels were stowed. Skedway, The -Deep water channel in the shallows off Suffolk Skee-man – The officer in charge of a whaleship’s hold. Skeet – A long-handled dipper used to throw water onto sails or the deck. Also called scoop. Skeg - A wooden knee used to strengthen the heel joint between the keel and the sternpost. Skerries,The - A tide race off Anglesey. Skerry boats - Danish brigantine type Skiatic- SMS Skid beam - A beam over the booms above the main deck, supporting the boat deck and onto which the ship's boats were stored. Skids - Wooden contrivances on which the ship's boats rest. Skiff Skillagolee-+104 Skimmer – 1. An iron hoop with rope netting, used by the scavelman to scoop flotsam from around docks. 2. A medieval term for a pirate. Usually used as ‘skimmer of the seas’ or similar. Sometimes ‘scimour’. Skin - A vessel's external plating and timbers. Skinful - Said to describe a person who was up to the brim with drink. Skinners - Whaler crewmen whose task it was to skin the carcass. Skinning a sail – Making the exposed surface of a furled sail smooth and tiddly. Skin The Rabbit – Fold sail canvas onto the yard. Skipjack- A Single-masted North American oyster dredger about 40 to 80ft(12-24m) long, whose hull design was adopted for small yachts. Skipper – Officially, the title of the master of a fishing vessel, but often used colloquially for the master on any vessel. Skrimshander Skrimshaw Skulking Skuta- Scandinavian coastal trader. Skylark Skylight - A hinged, glazed window in the deck, and often a raised construction above the deck, providing light and air to the cabin below. Sky Pilot - Seamen's name for a clergyman. Skyrasas - Turkish merchant vessel. Skysail - A small triangular sail, seventh in ascending order from the deck, used only in light winds. Also Skyscraper. Skyscraper - A small triangular sail, seventh in ascending order from the deck, used only in light winds. The Americans borrowed the term, as they did many other things, and claimed it as their original. If set above a moonsail, it would be called a stargazer. Slab – The slack part of a sail that hangs down when the leech lines are hauled up. Slab hatch covers - Hatch cover sections comprising planks in frames that could be lifted by a crane or derrick. Slap in - Make a written request. Slab lines - Small lines passing from the foot to the head of a sail, via blocks behind the yard, leading them to the middle of the yard and thence down to the deck, and used to gather it up for furling. Slab points, etc- SMS Slack – 1. Not taut, so applied to someone who was lazy and undisciplined. 2. The order given to loosen the running rigging to facilitate the handling of the yards and sails. 3. Slack hammocks was the name for the punishment given for being late turning to through oversleeping. Slack Away Slack Captain Slack in stays – Going slowly about from one tack to another with only just enough way on. Slack mooring- SMS Slack of a rope – That part of a rope that hangs loose. Slack of sail ERR Slacken off- SMS Slackness- SMS Slag off - Say something un-nice. Slam – (v) To strike the waves heavily with the forefoot when pitching. Slammer - Prison. Slant of the wind – A wind from a direction that may be usable for sailing. Slatches - Wind squalls BDD Slate – 1. The watch keeper would record the day’s progress on a slate, in the form of details of directions, speeds, distances, etc. At the end of the watch the relevant details would be transferred into the ship’s log and then the slate would be wiped clean and the next watch keeper would start with a clean slate. 2. Slates were used for midshipmen’s workings out during lessons. Slatting – 1. The action of sails flapping against the mast when the vessel’s head comes too close to the wind. 2. Said of the noise made by a ship pitching and rolling in a calm. Slaughter House-+126 Slave Ship - Fast light brigs or schooners used to transport abducted slaves from Africa to America, after the slave trade had been outlawed. Ships of about 250tons were crammed with up to 500 slaves and the quality, or even amount, of care taken of them was poor, often resulting in the death of half the load. Slave ships were not usually given large crews and their conditions were not much better than the slaves. It was not a popular profession and did not usually attract the best quality seamen. Slaves - Thought improper on King's ships by the Admiralty as ships were British Territory. Slave Trade Slaving Sledway - Channel off east coast Sleek(n)- Smooth water left in wake of whale Sleeper - A knee used to connect a transom to the
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