THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ 172 173 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 masts of the same height. Terrestrial magnetism - The Earth's magnetic field is similar to that which would be produced by a short magnet near the Earth's centre, its axis passing through the neighbourhood of Hudson's Bay in the north and South Victoria Land in the south, known as the North Magnetic Pole (Blue) and South Magnetic Pole (Red) respectively. These magnetic poles do not coincide with the north and south geographical poles and are constantly moving, although comparatively slowly. Tetanus – A frequent killer of seamen as an after effect of injuries sustained from gunshot or other penetration wounds. Tew, or tow – 1. Any rope used for towing. 2. The beating of hemp in the preliminary stage of rope making. T'garns Thames barges - Large shoes. Thames measurement - The measurement of a yacht based on her Thames Tonnage. Thames tonnage - The method of calculating the tonnage of a yacht by the formula: (B²(L-B))/ 188, Thames tonnage - where B is the beam and L is the length, in feet. Theatre Theft-More serious crime than Mutiny or Desertion The Island - In the RN: Madeira. Thews Thick - Misty, hazy. Thick and thin block – A single-shelled block in which two sheaves turn on separate pins, a larger one above a smaller, thus permitting two ropes to be worked at the same time. This type of block could lie closer to the yard than a double block and was sued to take sheets and clewlines on the quarters of a yard. Thick strake(tge) Thick stuff over the wales(tge) Thick With – Friendly with. Thief's, Thieves' cat - A cat'o'nine tails in which the ropes were knotted along their length, for special effect, and used for the more serious thieves. Thimble – A metal ring made with a concave outer edge round which a rope could be spliced, used as a rope guide or to take a hook. Thin plate keel - A keel formed from a number of plates laid side by side and with shifted butt joints. Third Leaguer Third Rate-See Rate Thole, or thole pin – Strong wooden or metal pegs arranged usually in pairs, but sometimes singly, in a boat’s gunwale, used as a rowlock. Thoroughfoot – 1. A method of removing a twisted rope by coiling it down in the direction of the twist, drawing its end up through the centre of the coil and then hauling out the coil. 2. The fouling of a tackle when one of its blocks catches in the running parts. Thrash - That part of an anchor cable that rises and falls on the sea bed, with the wind and tide, and so wears most. Thrashing – 1. Sailing fast on a wind. 2. Making heavy work of beating in heavy weather. Thread – The name for individual yarns, or pairs of yarns, composed of hemp fibres twisted up for rope making. Three and one - Grog. Originally grog was two parts of water to one of rum, but was reduced to the more general mixture of three parts of water to one of rum. Three-arm protractor – An instrument used to plot a position obtained by horizontal sextant angles. Also station pointer. Three-Decker Threefold purchase – A tackle comprising a rope through two treble blocks. Three glasses - An hour and a half Three half hitches - Seamen's slang for someone taking too much care over a job, from the complete expression 'Three half hitches are more than the king's yacht wants'. Three sheets in or to the wind - Drunk. Originally said of a sail that is almost out of control because its sheets, or control ropes, are flapping in the wind. Three-sticker - Salvagee for a three masted vessel about to founder on rocks, etc Three-stranded – The term for a rope formed of three strands, such as a hawser. Three Water Grog- 3 parts water to 1 part rum. Usual mix until 1937, then two water grog. Six water grog used as punishment. Submariners always had one for one grog. Throat - The widened end of a gaff, where it fits to its mast. Throat - on bower anchor(tge) Throat - Top fore corner of a fore and aft sail. Throat bolts - Eye-bolts in the throat of a gaff, which hold the throat halyards. Throat brail tackle- SMS Throat brails - Ropes attached to the gaff and the leech of a fore-and-aft sail, and used for gathering the sail in to the gaff. Throat downhaul - The rope used for hauling down the throat of a gaff. Throat halliard(tge) Throat halliards - Halliards used to control the throat or gaff-jaws of a fore-and-aft sail. Throat halyard - The rope and tackle used to hoist the inboard end of a gaff and its sail. Throat seizing - Method in which a rope's turn is seized with riding turns and the end put through the last turn of the riders, then knotted. Used for turning in dead-eyes, hearts, blocks and thimbles. A throat seizing holds the dead-eye or other fitting and the end part of the rope is turned up and fastened to its standing part with a round seizing. Throat tye - ERR Through the Hawse Hole-Enter RN as an unrated seaman or boy or landsman*. Thrum Cap - Hat like a mop BDD Thrum Cap- Warm hat. Early Slops*. Thrum mat- SMS Thrumming- Matting made of small rope yarns. Thrumming - The temporary blocking of a hole letting in the sea, by covering it with a sail & sealing with oakum. Thumb cleat – A small single-horned cleat. Thumpers"- Big Ships Thus – A helm order given when the conner wanted the vessel to continue sailing in the present direction when sailing close-hauled. Also ‘very well thus’, or ‘very well dyce’, or ‘keep her so’. Thwart hawse - Said of a vessel ahead of another and across her keel centreline. Thwarts – 1. The planks of a boat on which the oarsmen sit, which are arranged athwartships and supported by the stringers. 2. The Viking measure equalling each hull section divided by two adjacent sets of frames and the beams spanning them, not including cant frames. Only one oar could be situated in each thwart, so a forty oared ship had twenty on each side, so was a twenty thwarter. Also called rooms. A twenty thwarter was about 75 feet long. Thwartships - A contraction of the term 'Athwartships'. Ticket – In the Merchant Navy, an officer’s Certificate of Competency, without which he could not be enlisted. Ticket - Pay warrant signed by the captain, to discharge the amount owing to a seaman. Sale of tickets was common, but illegal. Ticket Brokers Tickets- Pay notes to seamen, only redeemable at the port of embarkation. Led to "quayside sharks" buying them at often not more than half their face value, to provide cash to the owner. Tidal currents - See Tidal stream. Tidal day – The tidal prediction term meaning the interval between successive Moon transits across the meridian. The average lunar day is 24 hours and 50 minutes. Also lunar day. Tidal estuary- SMS Tidal prediction – A necessity for navigators was the accurate prediction of the effects of local tides. The technical terms used included: age of the Moon; age of the tide; change of the Moon; epact for the month; epact for the year; establishment of the port; high water full and change; interval; lunar day; lunar month; lunation; lunitidal interval; Moon’s bearing; Moon’s southing; synodical month; tidal day; vulgar establishment and tide tables. Tidal stream – The periodical horizontal water movements due to tidal action. In rivers or straits they are usually rectilinear, but offshore they are more frequently rotary. Tidal waters – Any waters that are affected by tidal forces. Tiddlers, Tom- See Tom Tiddlers. Tiddley, Tiddly - Very neat and tidy, even perhaps too much so, such as white painted anchor cables. Tiddly - Slightly drunk, a hopefully temporary state, on the way to later oblivion. Tiddy oggy - A Cornish pasty, or a seaman from the Devonport area. Tide – 1. The natural rising and falling of the sea, from the effects of the Moon’s gravitational pull, with a little help from the sun’s, on the water surface added to the effects from the Earth’s rotation. 2. (v) To work a vessel into or out of a river, anchoring whenever the tide is adverse. Tide Crack - A working crack between the land ice and the sea ice, in Arctic or Antarctic regions, which rises and falls with the tide. Tide gate – A particularly strong tidal stream caused by a narrow channel. cf tide race. Tide gauge – An instrument used to measure the current water level. Tide it (up) – When the wind is contrary, sailing with the tide and anchoring when the tide is adverse. Tide making, The – The rising tide. Tide over - Drop anchor until the tide turns, if headway was impossible to make. Ships that were making poor headway against the prevailing wind could also not make progress against a flood tide, so they would drop anchor until the tide began to ebb, thus tiding over a temporary difficulty. Tide race – A strong tidal stream caused by a narrowing of the tideway by a headland or similar constriction. Also just race. cf tide gate. Tide raising forces - The Moon's force of attraction tends to create high tides, or tidal waves, on the points on Earth nearest to and furthest from it. As the Earth rotates, so the two tidal waves move around. The tides experienced are the cumulative result of both lunar and solar tidal waves, modified by the shape and size of the land masses, ocean basins and water-ways. Not to be confused with the erroniously-named ‘tidalwave’ that is a tsunami. Tide-rip – Disturbance of the water’s surface caused by the meeting of opposing currents or by the water passing rapidly over an irregular seabed or riverbed. Tide rode – Said of a vessel at anchor as it swings to the tidal stream with its head pointing into the tide. Tides, Types of – The gravitational pull from the Moon causes tidal waves on the points of the Earth nearest to and opposite to it and the rotation of the Earth cause these tidal waves to move round the globe. The sun does a similar job, but less pronounced due to its weaker effect. All local tides are caused by the combination of lunar and solar tidal waves affected by local land masses. A tidal wave is not a tsunami. Local tides include: diurnal; single-day; semi-diurnal; mixed; spring; neap; equinoctial; tropic and solsticial tides, cf. Tide tables – The tidal prediction tables giving high water full and change or the Moon’s bearing for the local ports, together with the times and heights of low and high water. The earliest printed tide tables were in the almanac published by the Breton, G Brouscon, in 1546. The British Admiralty published tide tables for London Bridge from 1834 until 1916. Tideway – The part of a waterway where the tide runs strongest. Tiding it over- SMS Tidley - Seamen's slang for very smart. Taut is also used, but for something more efficient. Tie Tie - Block Tie beam Tie block - See Tye block. Tie block- SMS Tie mate Tie Mates-(Hair Plaiting)
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