THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ 22 23 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 Barca - A Spanish or Italian bark. Barca longa - A Spanish fishing boat with three masts, each with a lugsail. Also Barque Longue. Barcaruolo - An Italian boatman. Barces - Early large bore short guns used on ships. Bareca, bareka - See barrico or breaker. Bare Boat Charter - A charter of a ship without her crew and with few restrictions as to her use by the charterer. Also sometimes Bare Pole Charter. Bare Navy - A poorly victualled ship, in which there were no little extras. Bare poles - The state of a ship when all sails have been taken in, due to heavy winds. Barents, Willem - (c.1550-97) Dutch navigator and explorer, known mostly for his Arctic exploration, in seeking a northern route to India, or the north east passage. Barfleur - Famous sea battle of 1692, between an Anglo-Dutch and a French fleet, to the great disadvantage of the latter. Barge - 1. The second of a ship's boats, usually reserved for the Captain's use. 2. A ceremonial state vessel, propelled by rowers. 3. A form of large coastal merchant sailing vessel. 4. A flat wooden mess table dish for bread or biscuit. Bargee - One who mans a trading barge. Those who rowed the captain's or the state barges were usually picked men and known as rowers. Barge mate - The officer of a barge, when it carries an important passenger. Bargemen – Sailor’s slang for weevils, found in the bread barge. Barge pole – A long ironclad heavy pole used on a barge to fend off other vessels or to push off from an obstruction, hence 'would not touch with a barge pole'. Bargue sterer - Burgoo stirrer (dialect). Bark, Barque - Three masted sailing ship, square-rigged on fore and main masts, lateen rigged on mizzen mast. In early times this name was given to any ship of reasonable size, but by the 17thand 18th centuries, it usually referred to fishing vessels. Bar keel - A keel made up from flat iron bars, joined end-to-end and overlapping, onto which the garboard strake flanges were fixed. Barkentine, Barquentine - A ship with the foremast square-rigged and the main and mizzen masts fore-and-aft rigged. Barkers - Lower deck guns and pistols. Barkey – The generic name given by a seaman to his ship. Barking - The treatment given to the sails of fishing and other vessels, as a preservative, giving them their red, brown or yellow appearance. See Cutch. Barking irons - Large duelling pistols. Barking Smack - Early fishing trawler. Barm skin – An oilskin apron worn by fishermen. Barnacle - Shelled sea creature that sticks itself to ships' hulls, and anything else usually under water. The cause of serious drag to ships if not cleaned off regularly. Barnacle paint - Early anti-fouling paint, used to discourage the growth of barnacles. Barn door rudder - A tall narrow rudder. Barney's Bull - A figure in marine proverbs, very popular in marine repartee, but not usually in polite company. Barometer - An instrument used to find the atmospheric pressure, on which weather predictions could be based, invented in 1643 by Torricelli. Barque - See Bark. Barque Longue - Original name for a corvette, from a Spanish fishing boat. Also Barca Longa. Barquentine - See Barkentine. Barrack Stanchion - The term used for an officer or rating who spends long periods in the shore barracks. Barracoon - Enclosure for slaves prior to selling on to slave trader. Barratry - Theft from cargo by captain or crew. Barrel – 1. Cylindrical wooden container used for most cargo or stores on board. See casks, kegs, etc. 2. A commercial measure of 31½ gallons. 3. The main cylindrical body of a capstan, mounted on a vertical spindle, with sockets in the top rim into which the capstan bars are inserted and pawls in a rim at the base. 4. The barrel of the wheel was the cylinder around which the tiller ropes were wound. 5. The tube of small arms through which the projectiles are fired. Barrel Builder – A cooper. Barrel-bulk - A measure of bulk, equal to five cubic feet, used to judge the carrying capacity of a ship. Barrel, to be over – When a sailor was flogged he was either seized up, or tied, to a grating or a mast or the barrel of a cannon. Barricade - 1. A stout rail fence across quarterdeck Sometimes also called the barricado. 2. Fenders. Barricado - A ship's tender, or odd job boat, in harbour. Barrico, barricoe - Pronounced, and sometimes spelt, "breaker". An 8 gallon keg or container into which rum is poured and conveyed from the Spirit Room, for the grog issue, or used as a small water cask carried in a boat. Barrier reef - Offshore reef formed by coral growth, separated from land by a deep channel. Barron, James - (1768-1851) American naval officer, most widely known as the captain of USS Chesapeake, who tried to surrender toHMS Leopard when the latter stopped her to search for deserters. One of the incidents that eventually led to the war of 1812, between Britain and America. Barrow, Sir John - (1764-1848) British statesman who, for forty years, from 1801, was a greatly trusted second secretary to the Admiralty, and a biographer of some acclaim. Barry, John - (c.1745-1803) American naval officer, born in Ireland, who was the senior officer of the US Navy from its inception in 1794, until his death. Bar-shot - Ammunition used to inflict damage on spars and rigging, comprising two hemispheres joined by a bar that would spin in flight. Bart, Jean - (1650-1702) French naval officer who became a famous commerce raider and privateer. Base - 1. Lowly. 2. Rear part of a cannon between the knob and the base ring. 3. A small 16-17c cannon that fired a six ounce shot. Basilicon – An ointment considered to be a supreme curative. Basilisk - A long 48 pound cannon. Basin – An enclosed area of water with constant depth that could be used as a safe anchorage. Most often applied to such areas equipped to serve ships with goods and repairs. Basket Hilt – The protective whole-hand guard of a cutlass. Basking Shark - The largest fish, named for its habit of lying on the surface of the water. Basque Roads, Battle of - Famous battle of 1809, between British and French squadrons. It was a victory to the British, but the leader of the attacking British ships, Captain Lord Cochrane, complained afterwards about the excessive caution of his commanding admiral, Lord Gambier, which he claimed prevented destruction of the French squadron. His continuing stand on this matter contributed to the ruin of Cochrane's naval career in the Royal Navy. Bass - A type of sedge or rush used to make rough rope and matting. Bass, George - (1771-1802) English naval surgeon, naturalist and explorer, known for his surveys of the Australian coast, including the Bass Strait between Tasmania and Australia, named after him. Bassos - Old name for shoals or rocks awash. Bastard – A piece of ordnance of non-standard proportions. Bat – Anglo-Saxon term for boat. Batavia - Original name for Djakarta, named for its Dutch rulers, who were called Batavian, after the island Batawe, between the Rhine and the Waal. Hence also, Batavian, for a product of Batavia. Batchelor's Delight - Famous 17c Caribbean pirate ship, named by John Cook from his band having earlier swapped a ship for sixty slave girls, who sailed with them in this ship. Bateau - A long French river boat. Bateau Cannonier - French name for a ship's gunnery officer. Bateloe - A Brazilian river boat, used to transport latex. Batillage – An old term for boat-hire. Bat-Swain – The original Anglo-Saxon for boatswain. Battard - An early small cannon. Batten down – To securely close hatches against bad weather, by covering their gratings with tarpaulin and firmly fixing them all round by battens wedged into the coamings. Battened sail – A sail, more usually found on smaller yachts, fitted with batten or splines of wood, running horizontally, to keep the sail taut and to help with its handling on heavy weather. Batten observations – A way of determining the extent by which a vessel rolls by means of reading where the sea horizon cuts across a vertical batten fixed near the ship’s side. Battens - 1. Wooden strips nailed to masts and spars to prevent chafing. 2. A bar from which hammocks are slung. 3. Thin wooden or iron bars used to tightly secure hatch covers. Battery - An onshore emplacement of cannon. Battle – 1. A big fight, between fleets or single ships. 2. The central squadron of a fleet. Battledore – A fitting installed through the cable bitts and projecting at the sides, used to keep the cable in place. Battledored - Knocked back and forth by the sea and winds, from the racquet game of 'Battledore and Shuttlecock'. Battle lantern - Lantern kept in a fire-bucket, for use in night action. Usually one for each gun. Also Fighting Lanterns. Battle honours - The names of battles in which the ship has taken part. Battle ship - Modern name for a Line-of-Battle Ship, which was usually called a Ship of the Line. Battle royal - A right noisy affair. Battle the watch - To cope with a difficulty as well as possible by ones own efforts. Baulk - A large timber beam used in ship construction. Bawley - A small Kentish or Essex coastal fishing vessel. Baw-burd - An old expression meaning larboard. Bay - 1. Indentation of the sea into the land. 2. 'The Bay' usually referred to the Bay of Biscay. 3. The area between decks, in front of the bitts, usually referred to as the starboard and larboard bays. Bayamo - A violent squall off the southern coast of Cuba. Bay ice - New sea ice. See Ice. Bayle - A bucket. Baymen - Men from the Bay of Campeche, in the Gulf of Mexico, renowned for their usefulness as seamen. Bayonet - Small flat bladed weapon attached to long barrelled firearms, as they would originally fire just once and then be useless until they could be recharged and reloaded. The bayonet consequently converted a club into a stabbing weapon. Bayou - Swampy flatland and streams near the coast of southern US. Bay-salt - Salt from Baye in France, used by some fishermen to preserve their catch. Bay, Sick - Place of work of the ship's surgeon, usually located in the orlop or main deck, in a dark unventilated space. Bazaros - A Ganges pleasure-boat. Beach - The shore. To 'beach' a boat meant to run it up the beach with sufficient force for it to stay there. To 'beach' a man was to land and desert him, a form of punishment 'enjoyed' by pirates. 'On the beach' referred to a sea officer or seaman out of work. Beachcombers - Harbour loiterers and mainchancers. Beach-head - A land attack from the sea, having landed and holding position. Beach-master - The officer in charge of the landing of an attacking force. Beach men - Boatmen who ferried passengers through the heavy surf of a beach, where no more convenient landing place occurred. Beach-rangers - Beach-combers who have been turned out of ships for bad behaviour. Beach-trampers - A slang name for the coastguard. Beachy Head - Sea battle of 1690, between an
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