THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ 176 177 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 Topped Topped his boom - Fled. Toppers - Full up. Topping – The tilting of yards by slackening off one lift and hauling on the other. Topping gaff - ERR Topping lift(tge) Topping lift- SMS Topping lifts - 1 The ropes used to raise and lower, or square up, the yards. 2 The ropes and tackle that support the head of a spar being used as a davit, or similar. Toprail - A rail mounted on stanchions along the after edge of the top. Top rope - The rope used to hoist or lower a topmast or topgallant mast, via a sheave in the cap of the lower mast. Topsail Topsail halyard bend – A method of attaching the halyard by passing the rope end three times round the yard and back under the turns, over the outer turns and back under the first turn. Topsail ketch - The same as a schooner ketch. Topsail Schooner- Schooner* with a square sail on at least one topmast. Topsail sheet - The rope extending and holding down the lower corners of a topsail, and led aft. Topsail sheet and lift - Block Topsail sheet bitts - Bitts on the vessels sides to which the topsail sheets are belayed. Topsail Spilling lines - ERR Topside line - The sheer line drawn along the top edge of the gunwale. Topside strake - The line of side plating attached adjacent to and above the main sheer strake. Topsides - 1. The part of a ship's side that is above the waterline. 2. Seamen's term for 'on deck'. Topsides"- On deck, aloft. Top strake – The top plank of a boat that is adjacent to the gunwale. Top tackle – A tackle comprising double and treble blocks with the fall rove through a leading block, used to hoist topmasts. Top timber(tge) Tordesillas - 47°27'W Tormentor – A large fork used to lift boiled salted meat out of its cooking pot. Torque Torrid Zones - Between the tropics. BDD Toshing"- Stealing copper from ships hulls. “Toss Oars!" Tot – A half-gill measure of real rum. If a seaman is asked “Why tot?” the usual reply is “Why not?” Touch – 1. (v) The first shiver of a sail as its luff starts to catch the wind. 2. The point at which the keel ceases to be straight, at the stem. Touch and go – To touch the bottom briefly and refloat immediately. Touch the ground – To graze the bottom. Tow – To pull another vessel through the water. Tow, or tew – 1. Any rope used for towing. 2. The beating of hemp in the preliminary stage of rope making. Towage - CTC Towardly - Promising. Towards - destination, not "To", otherwise the sea will repay the arrogance of confidence badly. Towards - Superstition demands that one sails "For” or "Towards" a destination, not "To", Towed under – What happens to a trawler when it’s snagged net pulls it under. Towing Towing block – The block used to keep a fishing trawl warp close alongside the trawler whilst in use. Towing drugg – Two heavy squares of wood attached to a whale harpoon with line, used to tire out the and slow down a whale. Towing post – A strong post fitted amidships on a trawler, around which the warp of the trawl net was passed. Tow line – A hawser used by one ship to tow another. Town ho! – An early call from the lookout when a whale was sighted. Later ‘there she blows’ became more popular. Trabaccolo ERR Track – 1. The path of a vessel over the ground. 2. (v) To take a small vessel in tow from a berth ashore. Tracklements – Pickles, chutneys, etc. Trade - In Elizabethan times, a trail, tread or footprints. Trade, The – The sea area between Brest and Ushant. Trade Winds Trafalgar - Atlantic and back. The battle was between the Royal Navy fleet led by Admiral Horatio, Lord Nelson, supported by Vice-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, and the combined French and Spanish fleet led by Vice-Admiral Pierre Charles Trafalgar - Jean-Baptista Silvestre, Comte de Villeneuve, supported by Admiral Gravina, the latter fleet being superior in numbers but not in experience and quality, as history has revealed. Trafalgar, The Battle of- The last and greatest battle between two fleets, each under sail, fought off Cape Trafalgar on 21 October 1805, after a long chase by Nelson's fleet of the French fleet, out of the Mediterranean and across the Trafalgar - The famous sea battle still celebrated every 21 October. Trailboard(tge) Trailboard- The timbers between the cheeks* and the knee* of the head*. Train - In Elizabethan times, a trap for catching wild animals. Trained Bands- Bands from City of London, from whom many early marine recruits were drawn. See Jollies*. Train oil - Russian sailors' repast – refined whale oil. Train tackle(tge) Train Tackles Transferred position line – The line drawn between such time-spaced position lines when a vessel’s position can only be determined by a running fix. Transom Transom bolt(hgv) Transom plate - A flat transverse plate at the stern of a vessel, fixed to the frames. Transport – Ship carrying passengers or troops, with or without victuals. Transport Agent (P384?) – Officer employed afloat and in uniform by the Navy Board to control and organise merchant ships on charter to the government. Looked like sea officers but were only naval officers. Transporting line – A rope used for warping. Trap - A large mess serving dish. Traveller – A large light iron ring or cylinder able to move freely along a yard or mast, or along a rope. Traveller guy - ERR Traverse – The zigzag route of a tacking vessel. Travelling Backstay - ERR Travelling backstays Traverse Board - A board on which the main 32 compass points are marked, each with eight equally spaced holes radiating out along the rhumb of the point, into which a peg is inserted at each half-hour of a four-hour watch. Each peg indicated the mean Traverse Board - Each peg indicated the mean course steered during Traverse sailing – Moving a vessel in a windward direction by tacking. Traverse the yards – To brace the yards as far aft as possible. Traverse wind Traversing tackle(hgv) Trawler – A fishing vessel that fishes by dragging a large net called a trawl along the bottom to catch bottom-dwelling fish. Trawler crew – Skipper, mate, third hand and three boys. Trawl warp – The rope by which a trawl net is towed along the seabed. Trayne Oil – Train oil – refined whale oil. Treasury of the Navy Treaty – A tender for a contract to supply the Admiralty. Treble block – A block with three sheaves turning on a single pin, within one shell. Treble riveting - Rivets placed three abreast in close parallel lines. Treenails - on bower anchor(tge) Treenails - See Trenels Tremisses (Merovingian gold coins, early) Trenche - A faggot of burning reeds used as a signal. Trend – 1. The angle between the fore-and-aft line of a ship and her anchor cable when riding at a single anchor. 2. The swelling of an anchor shank, where it joins the arms. Trenels(Treenails)-Oak or Pitch Pine+11 Trestle tree(ecr) Trestle-trees - Two heavy timbers resting foreand-aft on the cheeks at the head of a mast, to support the cross-trees and the mast above. Triatic stay - The horizontal stay running between mastheads. Tribunale degli Armamenti – A tribunal set up in 1605 to administer the Maltese Corsairs. Trice – (v) To haul on any rope passing through a sheave. Trice up – The order given to haul lines and tackle out of the way, temporarily, while carrying out a particular operation. Tricing line – Any small rope or tackle used to hoist something higher. Tricing Up - Punishment Trick - Seamen's slang for an ordinary two hour spell on watch, or at the wheel. Trim - The way a vessel rides in the water, referring to whether she is 'by the head' or 'by the stern', meaning deeper in the water at the end referred to. Trim – 1. The general adjustment of sails and yards to improve the vessel’s efficiency. 2. The order given to adjust the angle of a yard to improve efficiency. 3. (v) To arrange the load and crew of a boat or ship to achieve the best ride in the water. Trim and make sail – The order given to adjust yards and make more sail. Trim the dish - Seamen's slang for levelling things up, usually passengers in a boat, to trim it onto a more even keel. Trimmed the Yards Trim sails – The order given to adjust the sails to improve efficiency. Trinity House – The organisation responsible for the maintenance of navigational aids, such as lighthouses, and for the supervision of pilots. Originally established by Henry VIII to oversee the construction of Royal Navy ships. Its managing board members are called Elder Brethren and other house members are called Younger Brethren. Trip – Another term for a leg. Tripod mast - A three-legged mast, designed to eliminate the need for shrouds and much of the standing rigging. Their success can be judged by the number not seen today on sailing vessels. Tripping – Freeing an anchor that has been fouled on the sea bottom, by pulling on the tripping line. Tripping line – 1. The line fastened to an anchor fluke when about to anchor in rocky ground, used to trip the anchor out of the ground when getting under way. 2. The line fastened to a sea anchor or drogue and used to haul it back on board empty of water. Tripping palm – A projection on a self-canting anchor’s shank by which the flukes are forced downwards to dig into the ground. Trip shores Trip strop Trip the anchor - The practice of jerking the anchor flukes out of the sea-bed before raising it. Trireme Trisse (ecr) Trompete Tropes Tropic tides – Tides that occur every two weeks when the Moon’s declination north or south of the equator has its greatest effect. Trot – 1. A line of mooring buoys or ships at anchor, from which we now get “…and then six came along on the trot.” 2. Desert. Trotma's Anchor Trots, The - Diarrhoea. Trottero - A messenger. Trounser – A useless member of the crew. Truck - 1 The circular wooden cap on an upper masthead, usually having sheaves for signal halyards. 2 Spherical wooden beads threaded
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