THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ 50 51 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 they did not like disrupted. Calm - The name for the weather condition when there is not a breath of wind. Caltraps - Weapons thrown from the attacking deck to another deck. Cam, Diogo - (fl.1482-6) Portuguese navigator who was the first European to explore the west coast of Africa south of the equator. Sometimes called Diogo Cao. Camber - 1. The curve of a deck downwards to the ship's sides. 2. A small salt water dock where timber was stored submerged to pickle, which was sometimes used as shelter by small boats. Camber keel - A vessel's keel in which the depth at the bow and stern is greater than in the middle. Camboose – An American term for the cookhouse or galley of a whaleship. Camels - 1. A pair of floats made to fit against a ship, which were firmly chained to the sides, semi-submerged, then pumped out, thus raising the ship. Of great use when moving a ship in shoal water. 2. Strong wooden fenders used when alongside a wharf. Camperdown - A famous furious sea battle fought off Camperdown on the coast of Holland in 1797 between a British fleet commanded by Admiral Adam Duncan and a Dutch fleet under Vice Admiral Jan de Winter, fighting on behalf of Napoleon. Not a good day for the Dutch, by a long way. Canary - Fortified wine, similar to Madeira. Can buoy - A sea marker in the shape of a truncated cone painted red, or in red and white chequers, indicating the port side of a channel when entering. See buoys. Candia - Crete (Elizabethan). Candle out of binnacle - To run out of money was to 'run the candle, etc Cane fender – Fenders made from bundles of cane lashed together. Cangue – A wooden collar with a cannon ball attached, used as a punishment for swearing. Can-hooks - Hooks arranged in pairs, joined by chain, used to hoist casks by fitting the hooks under the chines. Cannikin Cannon - larger than perier, it fired stone or iron balls. Cannon - Various types of cannon are as follows: 12pdr: long, medium, short(hgv) 24pdr long(hgv) 32pdr long(hgv) Many cannon were named after birds, e.g. a Saker Drake was named after the saker falcon a small portable gun, and the drake was a large form with a tapering barrel, thus using a reduced charge. Lanyard, Port Piece- Pre 17c in RN, Sling- Pre 17c in RN, Slow-Match, Fowler- Pre 17c in RN, Saker, Power-Train, Flintlock, Cannon-Royal- Short gun with 8.5 inch bore, 10 foot long, Cannon-Perier, Bombard- Pre 17c in RN, Bass- Pre 17c in RN, Culverin- Longbarrelled heavy gun firing lighter iron shot at higher velocity for greater distance, short range impact similar to cannon. Demi cannon- Very heavy gun, a cross between cannon and culverin. Cutts or Curtal - A short heavy gun firing large heavy iron shot. Cannon - In Elizabethan times, the English cannon was a 7 inch gun firing a 40 pound round shot. The Spanish was larger, firing a 50 pound round shot. Cannonade - Minion- Pre 17c in RN. Cannon of 7 – A 42 pounder cannon with a 7” bore, weighing about 3 tons. Canoe - A small primitive open boat. Canser, Carnser Cansey, cannsey - Quay. Cant - 1. The cut made in the side of a whale, between the neck and the fins, used to attach a purchase that was needed to turn the carcass during flensing. 2. The timber of a ship, located near the stem and stern, that are not at right angles to the keel. 3. To cant a ship is to turn its head to one side or the other when weighing anchor or leaving a mooring. 4. To cant a yard is to brace forward a yard. Cant frame - One of the frames of a ship near the stem and stern, that are not at right angles to the keel. Cant hook – A hooked lever used to handling heavy cargo. Cantick quoin – A type of quoin. Canting - Turning something over. Canting a yard - The bracing forward of a yard. Cantline – The groove between the strands of a rope. Can't make head nor tail of it! - Originally expressed by the signal midshipman unable to read or make sense of a distant hoist of flags signals. Cant ribbon - Cant piece – A strip of whale blubber about two feet wide and up to 40 feet long. Cant purchase – A heavy tackle rigged from a whaleship’s mainmast, used to haul the cant piece inboard. The American term was cutting tackle. Cant ribbon - The vertically fixed horizontal deck plank, at the junction of the deck and the bulwarks or sides, usually a band of gilded and/or painted mouldings, that runs along the sides of a vessel, canting up towards the stern. Cant rope - The old name for a four-stranded rope laid without a central core. Cant spar - A length of timber suitable for making a small mast or spar. Cant-tackle - The tackle attached to the blubber to be stripped off a whale carcass alongside a whaler. When hoisted it would cant the carcass and tear off the blubber strip prepared by the flensers. Canute or Cnut - (c.995-1035) The king of Denmark and England who is most famous for ordering the tide back from the bank of Thames at Westminster. This was to demonstrate to his courtiers that there are some forces that cannot be withstood, in preparing them for his intention to submit to the Holy See in Rome. Canvas back - Someone who prefers sleeping to waking, and avoids the latter. Canvas set - The choice and number of sails set, selected by considering the direction and strength of the wind. Canvas - A cloth woven from hemp, from the Greek word kannabis for hemp. Sails were made of hemp canvas that was numbered according to thickness and hence strength, the lowest number being coarsest and heaviest. See bolt and cloths. Cao - See Cam, Diogo. Cap – 1. The wooden block with two holes at the top of a mast, holding the top of a lower mast and the foot of an upper mast, rigged at the top of the former. Also Cap Plate. 2. The semi-circular projection from the sides and round the end of a block, into which the strop is let to prevent chafing. Cap-a-Bar - Nickname for the misappropriation of Government stores. Also Cape Bar and Cappabar. Capacity plan - A plan of a vessel, showing the capacity of its tanks, holds and carrying spaces. Cap a rope – To parcel a wormed rope by wrapping tarred canvas round the end before it is served, to keep water out of the end. Cape Finisterre - The most westerly point on the coast of Spain, off which a naval battle was fought in 1747, between a British fleet under Admiral Sir George Anson and two French squadrons, for which Anson was awarded a peerage. Cape Horn Fever – 1. The name given to the disease of malingering, from the reluctance of seamen to sign on for a voyage intending to round the Horn, because of the well known hardships they would endure if they survived, or, having signed on, feigning illness to avoid dangerous conditions. 2. Any imaginary disease. Cape Horn Snorter - Particular storm Cape Horners - This originally referred to the American clipper ships that rounded Cape Horn during the 19c. Later the name was extended to apply to any ship or sailor that had achieved the feat and survived. Capelle, Jan van de - (c.1624-79) Dutch maritime painter, particularly known for his calm seas and limp sails. Caper - A small Dutch vessel used as a privateer. Cape Spartel - ? Cape stiff - Seamen's nickname for Cape Horn. Cape St Vincent - The site and name of the battle fought on 14 February 1797 between a British fleet under Admiral Sir John Jarvis (as a result of which to become Earl St Vincent) and a Spanish fleet under Admiral Don José de Cordova. This is the famous battle in which Commodore (as he was then) Horatio Nelson, in HMS Captain, exceeded the current Fighting Instructions by acting independently to attack San Nicholas and San Josef, the latter being boarded across the former; described by Nelson as his 'patent bridge for capturing enemies' and for which action he was knighted. Jervis is reckoned to have missed further destruction of the enemy by failing to pursue them throughout the night. Cape, The - Generally used to refer to Cape Horn, but also used for the Cape of Good Hope if nearby, but without the capital letters. Cape Town - Seaport of South Africa, founded by the Dutch in 1652. Capful of wind – An occasional breath of wind. Caping - Sailing a coastal course within sight of land, from cape to cape. Capital Ship - The term used for the most important ships in a nation's fleet, usually applied to ships-of-the-line during the periods relevant to this dictionary. Cappanus - A type of sea-worm that attacks a ship's bottom. Capping - Strips of hardwood fitted to the tops or edges of gunwales, tops, etc., to strengthen them. Cap rail (tge) - Capshore - The vertical pillar located under the fore part of the lower mast cap, to shore it up when under strain. Cap square (hgv) - Capsize - To upset or overturn a vessel, so that her keel is above water and her masts submerged. Capshore, cap-shore - A supporting spar between the cap and the trestle-tree. Capstan - The large vertical barrel-shaped mechanism turning about an upright spindle on the main deck of larger ships, first used in 14c as a manpowered winch for heavy work, such as weighing the anchor or swaying up a yard. The men powering it pushed against capstan bars, inserted into the head, the other ends of which were joined together by a swifter, to give more space for extra men to pull. The capstan had a set of pawls at the base that would drop into a pawl rim to prevent it slipping back. For really heavy work a messenger was rigged, to allow even more men to join in the 'fun'. Smaller vessels had a windlass to carry out similar tasks, the main difference being that the spindle of the windlass is horizontal as compared to the vertical capstan. Capstan bar – One of many long wooden levers or 'handles' that were inserted into sockets in the drumhead of the capstan when in use, against which the crew pushed in order to work the capstan by hand. They were usually made of ash and had a metal shoe at the inner end. When not in use they were placed on shot boxes as seats for crew at entertainment or church Capstange - Early word for capstan. Capstan Pawls - Sprung levers that clicked into place as the capstan turned and prevented it from slipping back as pressure was released. Capstan room – The space on board directly beneath the capstan. Cap-stay - A stay rigged forward from the mastcap. Captain - 1. The commissioned rank below admiral. 2. The title of the commander of any naval ship, regardless of his commissioned rank. 3. The master of a merchant ship. 4. The senior rating in charge of a specific group of men, such as the captain of the maintop, captain of the fo'c's'l, etc. 5. The early title of a Mediterranean commodore of a galley fleet. See Post Captain. Captain, HMS - Seven ships of the British Navy have famously held this name, the most famous being the seventy-four gun flagship of Commodore Nelson in the Battle of St Vincent, in 1797, qv. Captain of gun/ maintop/ head/ sweepers/ crosstrees, etc - See Captain. Captain of the Heads - Seaman assigned the duty of cleaning the heads, usually selected as a punishment. Captain of Fleet - The Post Captain responsible for the day-to-day organisation of a fleet, under local Admiral. Now known as Captain's Agent. Captain of top – The petty officer in charge of one of the three groups of topmen in each watch.
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