THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ 42 43 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 the vessel at her moorings. Bridle port - The port in a ship's bow, through which bridles could be run, or chase guns fired. Also called main-deck chase-ports. Bridles – The ropes attached to the lute heads, to which the main towing warp of a trawl net is attached. Brig - 1. Brigantine, also called a snow, when the main mast was rigged with a trysail mast abaft it. A vessel with two masts, square-rigged, as a ship's fore and main mast, but with a gaff and boom fore-and-aft sail on the lower main mast. 2. A modern name for a ship's jail. Brigantin, Brigantine – 1. A brig. ‘Brigantin’ was the southern expression and ‘brigantine’ was northern. 2. An English, oared tug, of c1690, 48' long with 13' beam. Bright Lookout - Term for an alert lookout. Bright-side - Polished streak on side of US ships. Brightwork - Fancy brass and/or metalwork and/or painting to the stern, or any brass or copper fittings that needed to be kept shiny clean. Brig-Schooner - A brig with square-rigged foremast and schooner-rig on the mainmast. Brim – 1. The edge of the bank of a stream, river or lake. 2. The circular outer edge of the top of a container. Sometimes called the rim. Brimmer - Full glass or goblet. Brimstone - Sulphur. Brine - 1. Water saturated with salt. 2. The sea. Brine Gauge - See salinometer. Bring about - To reverse ship. Bring by the lee - With the wind on the quarter, if by careless steering the stern swung round to bring the wind onto the other quarter, throwing the main topsail aback, the ship was said to have been 'brought by the lee'. In heavy weather this could result in the ship broaching to; undesirable. 'Bring 'em near' - Colloquial term for a telescope. Bringers up - The last members of a boarding party, or landing force. Bring her all up - To stop the ship. Bring home - 1. To 'bring home the anchor' means to weigh it. 2. A ship 'brings home its anchor' when it drags and causes the anchor flukes to slip and not hold. 3. To 'bring home the log' is to cause the pin to slip out of the log, thereby letting it slide easily through the water. Bring in - To detain a suspect vessel on the high seas and bring her into port for adjudication. Bring to - 1. To tie or bend a rope. 2. Stop a vessel by bringing her head to the wind. 3. To cause a vessel to come to a standstill, so the evolution of anchoring a vessel. cf Come to and Lay to. 4. The order shouted from one ship to another instructing her to make herself ready to be boarded. This order is sometimes forcibly given by firing a shot across the target ship's bow. 5. To apply a rope to the capstan, such as 'bring to the messenger'. More often used in the past tense as brought to, after the event. Bring to anchor - To let go the anchor at the chosen mooring. Bring to the wind - Steer into the wind. Bring to the yard - Hoist up a sail and bend it onto its yard. Bring up - 1. To cast anchor. 2. To 'bring up with a round turn' is to stop a running rope by quickly taking a turn round a bollard or similar device. 3. Used to express the sudden, effective, completion of a task. 4. To 'bring up with a round turn' is also to put someone in the right, sharply. Bring up to the mast - Informal trial. It was permitted for seamen to talk to officers 'at the mast', and for officers to question seamen about a transgression, without resorting to a court martial, or formal trial. The attraction for seamen was that they had more freedom to speak up, and for officers was the lack of fuss and the speedy resolution of a developing problem. Briny - The sea. Brisas, Briza - A South American off-shore north eastwind. Bristol - West country seaport, the principal English port after London, at some times, known for its very large tide height, at 50 feet the second highest in the world, that resulted in ships spending up to two thirds of their time in dock drying out on the mud flats. This required ships to be well made and kept in good condition, so they became known for their smartness and the habit of ship's captains to require their ship to be among the best in port. Hence the phrase 'shipshape & Bristol fashion'. Brit - 1. Young herring and sprat. 2. A Briton. Britanniaware – A non-rusting alloy of copper, tin, antimony and bismuth. Used for tableware. Britannic - Relating to Great Britain. e.g. 'His Britannic Majesty', meaning the British king. British Seas - See Quatuor Maria. Brixham Trawler - English ketch-rigged trawler. Very good to handle, they were and still are, often used for training. Broach – 1. To open a cask or bottle. 2. To broach a subject is to begin it. Broach-to – 1. To veer suddenly so as to turn the ship's broadside to windward, or to meet the oncoming seas, and be turned over onto her beam ends, or to cause the ship to go down stern foremost. 2. To be brought broadside on to the wind and sea in heavy weather. Broad Arrow - The traditional royal mark on government stores, introduced during the reign of Elizabeth I. Broad axe - Originally a weapon of war, but subsequently a tool favoured by the ship's carpenter, for making masts and for cutting away the detritus of conflict. Broad cloth - Square sails. Broadcloth (Blue) - Double width fine plain weave dressed cloth used to make officers' uniforms. Broad Pennant or Pendant - A tapering swallow-tailed bunting flag at the mast-head of a man-of war, being the mark of a Commodore and often used as the term for the officer himself. See also Bougee. cf cornet. Broad reach - Modern term replacing 'going large'. Broads - Fresh-water lakes. Broadside - 1. The side of the ship above water, between the bow and the quarter. 2. The whole array of artillery on one side of a ship. 3. The simultaneous discharge of item 2. 4. An old folio sheet on which ballads or proclamations were printed and distributed on land, giving news or comment on events. Broadside-on - The side of the vessel, as distinct from end-on. Broadside weight of metal - The weight of shot fired from all the guns on one side, single-shotted. Broad Street - Pay office of the Royal Navy. This is where seamen officially had to attend to claim their pay, resulting in the practice of trading Pay Tickets with agents and money lenders, when remote from Broad Street, in the quest for cashin-hand, often with a loss to the original owner of the Pay Ticket, due to bad exchange values set by unscrupulous agents. Broadsword - See cutlass. Broad water - A lake connecting with the sea. Brocage - Brokerage. Brocles - Strake-nails. Brogger – A broker or dealer (16c). Brogues - Coarse seamen’s' sandals of green hide. As distinct from the well known strengthened shoes of a landsman. Broke - The sentence of a court-martial, removing a guilty officer's commission, resulting in the culprit being forced to leave the service. Broken - 1. Reduced in rank. 2. A storm is said to have broken when it passes its worst. 3. Parole is broken by one who abuses the trust placed in him, and runs. Broken backed - The state of a ship whose frame had loosened, causing droops at both ends. A ship in this condition is said to be hogged. Broken off - 1. Fallen off course. 2. Men taken off one duty to perform another were said to have been 'broken off'. Broken squall - Term used to describe a squall that divides, the two halves passing either side or end of a ship and failing to seriously affect it. Broken sproggins - Thrown overboard?? Broken water - Unsmooth water, at sea or in a channel. Broker - One who carries out negotiations and transactions between tradesmen and shipowners, regarding cargoes and clearances. He also arranged contracts and insurances with the undertakers. Originally a broken tradesman himself acting as go-between, for a commission, being unable to trade on his own account, but latterly developing into a respectable profession, if carried out honestly. Broke up - 1. A ship that has come apart on a reef or on rocks. 2. Said of a gale that is passing away. Brond - A sword. Brook - 1. A stream of fresh or salt water. 2. Clouds are said to 'brook up' when they gather together and promise rain. Brooking, Charles - (1723-1759) English maritime artist, considered by many to be possibly the greatest, certainly had he lived, although dying early was a bad habit of maritime artists. Broom - When a ship was to be sold, a broom or besom was bent onto the mast-head as a signal to those interested. Brooming - Breaming. Broth - Thin soup made from boiled meat and vegetables. Brothel creepers - White shoes with brown leather trims, said to be a sign of bad taste. Brother-officer - One from the same ship. Brot-tow - To collect scraps of rope to make coarse paper. Brought by the lee - See Bring etc. Brought-to - 1. Said of a ship that has been anchored. 2. A cable is 'brought-to' the messenger by nippers. 3. A messenger is 'brought-to' the capstan, etc. 4. A chase made to stop is 'broughtto'. 'Brought to his bearings' - Made to obey. 'Brought to book' - When a transgression resulted in the need for formal punishment, such punishment was entered into the Punishment Log, in the presence of the transgressor, who was then said to have been 'brought to book'. 'Brought to the gangway' - Punished. Brought up – Of a vessel, stopped but not anchored. Brought up all standing – Of a vessel, stopped suddenly and taken aback, by a sudden change of wind. Brow - 1. Old name for the gangboard between ship and shore, particularly for loading horses or wheeled vehicles.. See gangplank. 2. Any inclined plane of planks used to communicate internally, or to accommodate shipwrights carrying materials on board during construction. Brown Admirals - Floating faeces in harbour. Also known as brown trout. Brownbill - A burnished axe. Brown - Faecal matter, used in many expressions, such as 'Done brown', which meant done the dirty on, or dropped upon, from a great height. Brown Bess - An old government issue bronzed musket. Brown George - A particularly hard and coarse biscuit. Brownie - A whaler's term for the Polar bear. Brown Paper Warrant - See Warrant. Brown stopper - A transverse bar used to retain the anchor cable, was known by the Dutch as a 'brown stopper'. Brown Stuff - Slang term for antifouling compound made of brimstone mixed with tar and pitch. Brown water navy - Coastal fleet. Browse - Light dunnage. Bruise-water - Derogatory term for a ship with a bluff bow. Bruising water - Pitching heavily to a head-sea, making little headway. Brulot - French or Italian name for fireships. Brunton's anchor trigger - Patented mechanism for releasing the anchor chain in a safe way, to prevent it fouling the rigging, etc. Brush - A skirmish. Brushes - Nickname for Ship's Painter. Brush the salt off his shoulders! - Said of an old salt who is perceived to be telling exaggerated sea stories, or swinging the lamp, as they now say. Brustle - A mix of bustle and rustle, used to describe a ship making a lot of fuss and spray. Brutes - Dockside 'ladies'. Brydport - An early name for cable, from the fact that the best hemp cables were made in Bridport, Dorsetshire. There was once a statutory requirement that all Royal Navy cables were to
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