THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ 38 39 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 irons, requiring skilled seamanship to recover. Bow chaser - Light long cannon mounted on the forecastle, usually one of a pair used to fire on ships under pursuit. Also bow piece or bow chase. Bowd-eaten - Eaten by weevils. Bowditch. Nathaniel - (1773-1838) American Navigator and author, whose works on navigation were authoritative for many years, amongst Americans. Bower anchor - One of two principle everyday of a ship, carried at the bows and permanently attached to the anchor cable, ready for immediate use. There was usually a Best Bower Anchor and a Small Bower Anchor, which weighed the same, but were so named for the bow on which they were placed, that on the starboard bow being 'best' and that on the larboard, or port, being 'small'. See anchors. Bower anchor cable, or bower cable - What it says: the cable fixed to the bower anchor. 'Best' and 'small' nomenclature applies also to the cables serving their respective anchors. Bow-fast – A mooring rope leading from the bow of a vessel to a dockside. Bowge - An old term for the bilge. Also bouge. Bow-grace - Old junk or chain fenders, rigged over the side in cold rivers, to protect the ship's sides from damage by ice. Bow-head - A certain shape of bow on clippers. Bowing - 1. Damage done to yards or masts by overloading them or by setting the rigging too taut. 2. 'Bowing the wind' was the term given to meeting a heavy swell when coming to the wind. 3. The 16c practice of contriving the broadside great guns to fire as far forwards as they could. cf Quartering. Bowing and Scraping - Doffing a hat and causing a scraper to scrape on the ground. Bowline - A line attached to the leech rope of a close-hauled square sail and used to hold its weather side forward and steady, enabling the ship to sail as close to the wind as possible. To 'check or come up' a bowline is to slacken it to suit a wind going large or free, and to 'sharp or set taut' a bowline is to pull it as taut as possible. Bowline bend - A method of bending warps or hawsers together. Now known as a 'bowline knot' in everyday language. Bowline bitts - Heavy timbers onto which bowlines were fastened. Bowline bridle - Subdivision of the bowline on the weather side of square sails that connects the bowline to two places to spread the load.. Bowline cringle - The eye worked into the leechrope of a square sail to take the bowline brindle. By the number fitted seamen could identify the sail to hand in the dark. Bowline haul - A strong pull by a group of seamen on the bowline. Bowline knot - Knot in the bowline, used to fasten it to the cringles. Bowline on a bight – Two parallel rigid loops knotted on a bight. Bow-lines - The longitudinal curves cut in vertical sections to represent a ship's fore-body, in shipbuilding. Bowling along - Going free. Bow locker – The small store compartment in a boat’s bow, in which the boat’s bag is kept, together with other essential items. Bowls – Small black tubs attached to the headlines of a drift net to keep it afloat. Bowman – The boat’s crewmember whose normal work station was to pull the bow oar and to man the boathook when coming alongside. In an accident, boat the bowman would release the boat rope. Sailing boats would have two bowmen, who were also responsible for the tack of the foresail. Also called bow oar. Bow man - Seaman in the bow. Bow oar – 1. The foremost and consequently the most difficult to operate oar. 2. The oarsman who wields the bow oar, also known as the bowman. Bow piece - Bow chaser. Bow rail - The rail around the bows. Bow rudder - A rudder mounted at the front. This was largely ineffectual and therefore uncommon, which follows. Bows – 1. Beer. 2. The order given to a boat’s crew, when approaching the landing point, to raise the oars to the vertical, boat them and take hold of boathooks. Also ‘in bows’. Bowse Down - 1. To tie and secure firmly, having tightened with a tackle. 2. To 'bowse up the jib' was to drink oneself insensible, probably from the Dutch verb buyzen, to booze. Bow sheets – The small platform or grating in a boat’s bow. Also head sheets. Bow-shot - In Elizabethan times, about 240 yards. Bowsprit, boltsprit - Large spar projecting from the stem of the ship. Bowsprit-bitts - Strong timbers secured to the below deck beams, between which the inner end of the bowsprit is stepped. Bowsprit-cap - The cap or crance on the end of a bowsprit, through the hoop of which the jib-boom is fixed. Bowsprit collar - One of several metal bands fitted around the bowsprit to prevent it splitting. Bowsprit-gear - The name for the whole set of ropes, blocks, &c. of the bowsprit. Bowsprit-heart - The block of wood to which the lower end of the fore-stay is secured and the inner end of the jib-boom is inserted. Bowsprit-horse - Foot-ropes on the bowsprit. Bowsprit horse netting - Safety netting rigged under the bowsprit, to supplement the foot-ropes. Bowsprit ladder - Skids on the bowsprit of some ships, to allow the crew to run along it. Bowsprit netting - The netting placed above the bowsprit, in which the fore-topmast staysail is stored. Bowsprit shrouds - Strong rope or chain shrouds rigged from the end of the bowsprit to the sides of the bow, to give it lateral support and prevent lateral movement of the bowsprit. Bows under - Overworked. Bow timbers - Timbers forming the bow of a ship. Bow wave - The wave formed under the stem by the forward motion of the ship. A ship with a bow wave was often referred to as having 'a bone in or under her nose', or such similar expressions. Box - 1. The space between the stern-post and the back-board of a boat, on which the coxswain sits. 2. Pumps had a lower and upper box, permanently fixed, joined by pipe. Box beam - A beam formed from four long plates riveted together by means of angle-bars, to form a hollow box section. Box Chronometer - Marine clock on gimbals in a box, like the ship's compass. Box haul - To veer a ship round on her heel, when she could not tack. Box-hauling – A method of wearing in a confined space, by judicious use of sails and helm to turn the head at the moment of making sternway. Box keelson - A box-beam formed to be used as the keelson, with its foundation plate riveted to the centreline of the top of the floors. Not to be confused with hollow iron keels. Boxing - 1. Small dry pieces of hardwood, used to connect the frame timbers. 2. An area around the hawse holes where the planks fail to meet. 3. If the stem is joined to the fore end of the keel by a side scarph it is said to be boxed. 4. Box hauling. 5. A type of scarf joint. Boxing off - To pay the ship's head out of the wind when tacking, by hauling the head sheets to windward and laying the head yards flat aback, when the helm alone would not answer. Box off – To make a vessel’s head pay off by hauling the jib sheets aft and bracing back the foremast yards, usually in an emergency. Box the compass - 1. Repeat the names of 32 compass points, in order and then backwards, and then answer random questions about its divisions, an exercise learnt by those seeking to master navigation, or just be allowed to con a ship, the efforts to which would be the cause of great hilarity amongst those 'superior' beings who could do it, having usually 'forgotten' how difficult it really is and the trauma of being laughed at themselves. 2. Turn a ship through sixteen points, stern to wind, then gradually turning again into the wind. Boy - Ship's boy, who slaved as directed. Boyart - A hoy. Boy Captain - Whoever was the current youngest captain on the Navy List. Boyer - Boier. BP - Between Perpendiculars. Modern designers measure of length, roughly equal to length on the lower deck as used in 18c. Brace – 1. A rope or wire attached by a block or pendant to a yard-arm and used to adjust the yard horizontally. 2. See gudgeon. Brace – (v) To swing round the yards by means of braces, to improve sail efficiency to suit the wind conditions. 'Brace aback' was to brace the yards in and thereby bring the wind onto the front of the sails, to take the way off the ship. 'Brace about' was turn yards round for the contrary tack. 'Brace abox' was to brace the headyards flat and stop the ship. 'Brace by' was to brace yards in contrary directions on different masts. 'Brace in' was to trim the sail angle, to suit the wind direction, into a square position. 'Brace sharp' was to brace the yards round to the smallest angle with the foreand-aft line, when close hauled. 'Brace to' was to ease off the lee braces. 'Brace up' was to brace the yards into a more oblique position. Brace aback – To arrange a yard by means of braces so that the wind strikes the fore side of the sails. Brace block - A block for a brace attached to a yard. Brace in – To bring a yard more athwartships by using the braces. Brace of shakes - Naval term that found its way into everyday language, meaning the time it takes for a sail to shake twice, i.e. not long. Brace pendants – A short length of rope or chain suspended from a yard-arm, fixing brace blocks to foot-ropes, etc. Brace round - Same as brace about. Braces - Ropes attached or reeved to the end of all yards, used to turn the angle of yard relevant to the ship's centreline, and to firmly fasten them in position. Hence, 'splice the main brace' was a usually fictional command resulting in a double issue of rum. The actual main brace was rarely spliced as it rarely parted, demonstrating the rarity of the command being given, either to actual or metaphoric ends. In Dutch, the order 'Bezaansschoot aan', or 'Haul the mizzen sheet', served the same purpose, regarding the rum issue. Brace spreader - Spreader used to keep aft blocks away from the ship, thereby giving more force to the braces. Also spider. Brace to - To ease the lee braces and draw in the weather braces to bring a yard round when tacking so that the sail is taken slightly aback. Brace up – To bring a yard to more of a fore-andaft direction by using the braces. ‘Brace up and haul aft!’ - The order given after being hove-to, with sails aback and jib-sheet flowing, for the purpose of heaving to. Brace winch - An invention of Jarvis, comprising a winch with pairs of conical drums, first used in mid 19c merchant ships to brace yards simultaneously, and hence to reduce labour . Bracket - Aim to hit a gun target each side, leaving the third shot to land right in the middle, and spot on - with luck. Bracket knee plate - A flat, usually triangular, plate that is fixed at the join of a beam and frame member, to form and strengthen the join. Brackets - 1. Generic name for various shaped timbers or steel members used to connect two parts of the ship. See knees. 2. The side pieces of a gun carriage. Usually the cheeks. Brackish - 1. Partly contaminated by a salty taste. 2. Nautical. Brail - One of the ropes attached to the leech of a fore-and-aft sail and used to truss up sails before furling them to a spar or boom, originally used for shaping sails. The run from points on the leech of the sail down to the deck, via leading blocks on the mast bands. ’Brail’ – The order given to gather a fore-and-aft sail to its mast. Brail block - Block through which brails were hauled. Brailed Up - Sails hauled up by brails. Brail thimble - Thimble in sail for fastening a brail. Brail up, or in – Gather a fore-and-aft sail into the mast by hauling on the brails. Brake - The lever or handle, used by up to six men, to operate the ship's pump.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTYyMzU=