THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ 18 19 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 side, from where the wind blows, short for 'aweather of'. cf Alee. Aweigh – 1. A-trip, of an anchor. The point of time when the anchor lifts off the bottom, thus transferring its weight onto the hawser. 2. The vessel is under way. Awkward squad - Nickname for a division formed of men to whom the skills of seamanship seem impossible to master. Awning - 1. Temporary covering rigged above the deck on stanchions and suspended from a crowfoot, as protection from the sun or rain. 2. The part of the poop deck that projected beyond the doors of the poop cabins, to shelter the wheel and the binnacle. 3. Piecrust, particularly one made by the mess cook. Axe - A commonly used heavy sharp-edged tool or weapon. Axes - Centres of action of rolling, pitching and yawing motions. The plural of axis. Axial pin - Pin through the centre of blocks and sheaves. Axiometer - Helm indicator showing how much helm was being applied – usually expressed as how much helm was 'on'. Axis - Centre of action of rolling, pitching and/or yawing motions. Axle-trees - 1. The cross pieces of a gun carriage, particularly prone to rot away. 2. The spindle of a chain-pump. Ay - Yes. Aye-aye! - General reply or acknowledgement to order, etc., followed by "Sir" in the Royal Navy, or else! Reply to Watchman's or Boat Challenge if boat contained officers below post rank. Aylet - The sea swallow. Aylon, Lucas Vasquez de - (1475-1526) Spanish adventurer, credited with the dubious distinction of being the man who introduced African slaves on to mainland North America. Ayont - Beyond. Ayr - A bank of sand. Ayscue, Sir George - (c.1610-71) English admiral who served both King Charles I and the Commonwealth. Azimuth - The horizontal angle, or direction; i.e. the point of compass. The bearing of a celestial body. Azimuth Compass - Mariner's compass with vertical sights, used for taking magnetic azimuth of a heavenly body. An improved version was invented by Adams in 1795. Azimuth Ring - Attachment for binnacle compass, or similar, through which the observer looked, to line up on heavenly bodies. Azogue - Spanish for quicksilver. Hence, Azogues were Spanish ships fitted out for carrying quick-silver. Azores - A group of islands in the north Atlantic, approximately 900 miles west of Portugal, the scene of frequent conflict between neighbouring nations at war. Azure - The usual term for the deep blue colour of a cloudless sky. Baartze - Early Dutch sailing ship with oars, similar to early cog. Baas – Old term for a Dutch merchant skipper. Babbing - Catching crabs with a baited line. Baboon watch - The man detailed to stand watch whilst the other crewmen were off duty. From the name 'baboon' often given to one of the apprentices. Bacallao – Spanish name for the Newfoundland area, that gave rise to the name used for salted cod-fish from there. Bace - Canister shot or Langrel. Bachot - Small French river ferry, operated by the bachoteur (ferryman). Back - 1. Keel. e.g. 'broke her back' meant a broken keel. 2. To 'back an anchor' was to set a small anchor to help the main anchor and prevent its coming home. 3. To 'back a ship at anchor' was to use the mizzen topsail to hold her head whilst at anchor. 4. To 'back and fill' was the action of the sails being alternately filled and emptied of wind, often to get ahead against the wind and in narrow channels. 5. To 'back a sail' was to let the wind blow into the front of the sail, to slow or stop the ship. 6. To 'back astern' was to row a boat backwards. 7. To 'back a rope or chain' was to assist it with a preventer, to stop it breaking. 8. To 'back water' was to proceed backwards in the water. 9. To 'back a worming' meant to attach a small line in the crevasses of a worming, to prevent the ingress of water, and to make the wormed surface smooth. 10. When the wind changes, contrary to its usual course, it is said to 'back'. 11. The convex part of a compasstimber. Back astern – To push on a boat’s oars to give her stern way. Back a strand - To fill a gap made between strands, when making a long splice. Back board - 1. The board across the back of a boat, just in front of a boat’s transom, against which the coxswain leans when steering, or supporting the passengers' backs. 2. Early name for larboard, so named because the helmsman's back was to it. Back cloths - Triangular pieces of canvas fixed to each quarter of a topsail yard, for stowing the bunt of a topsail. Backer-in – The crew member of a line-smack who stood in a small boat at the stern, coiling the fishing lines back after the boardsman has removed the fish. Back-frame - The driving wheel of a small rope machine. Back in – To take a boat in through surf backwards to prevent it broaching-to and capsizing. Backing - 1. The action of taking the wind from the front, thus stopping the ship, by losing motive power. 2. Endorsement of Impress Warrant by local Magistrates. 3. The wind altering direction anti-clockwise. 4. The wood behind the armourplating of iron-clad ships. Back off - To retreat from danger. When a harpoonist had thrown his harpoon into a whale, the order was given "back off all", and smart compliance was favourable. Back rope - A rope or chain used for staying the dolphin striker, leading inboard of the martingale. Back sailing – Box-hauling, by hauling the mainsail or mizzen boom to windward and so forcing the vessel’s head onto a new tack. Backshore – The area of shore above the normal high tide level, that gets wet only in extreme conditions. Back, Sir George - (1796-1878) British admiral and Arctic explorer. Back splice - A splice used to finish off a rope end. Backspring – A mooring line attached to the forward part of a vessel and to a buoy or mooring point astern, to prevent her turning at anchor. Backstaff - Davis's quadrant (late 16c), used to take altitudes at sea, with the observer's back to the sun. Backstay - Rope rigged from mastheads to ship's sides, used in helping shrouds in support of masts against the thrust of the sails, rigged from the mast heads to the sides of the ship aft of the mast. Backstay channel - Channel on ship's side, onto which backstays are fixed. Backstay plates - Metal plates on the hull, to which the deadeyes and lanyards at the lower ends of the backstays are attached. Backstay stools - Separate small channels, fixed abaft the main channels, used to avoid extending the latter. Back strapped - Said of a ship held back by adverse winds and tides, particularly when trying to enter the Straits of Gibraltar. Back sweep - Forms the hollow of the top-timber. Backwash - The backward current of a receding wave and downward movement of water under surf. Backwater - 1. Water flowing from behind or the swell of sea thrown back by the motion of the ship. 2. The motion of a ship moving backwards. 3. An arm of the sea, or a creek, separated from the sea by a narrow strip of land. Bad-Berth – A poor anchorage. Badge - The decorative ornament particular to a ship, usually in the form of a carved and painted frame to a window, or the ornamental stern framing the cabin window of smaller sailing ships. Sometimes used to create the imitation of a frigate-built ship. Badger Bag - The name given to Neptune, who traditionally visits the ship on her crossing the line. Bad name - Something to be avoided by a ship, not always easily. Bad relief - One who reluctantly, and slowly, turns out to relieve the watch on deck. Baessy - Early name for the Base gun. Baffin, William - (1584-1622) English navigator and explorer, famous for his expeditions in search of the North West passage, and for Baffin Bay, which is named after him as the discoverer. B Backstays and Burtons
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