THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ 58 59 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 intention to pass water. Cheek block – A block made to match the size of the topmast head to which it was attached by a pin that also served as the sheave pin. Cheek knee - See Head knee. Cheeks - 1. The timber or iron brackets fitted each side of a mast and supporting the heel of the upper mast and the trestle-trees. Also called Bibbs. 2. The two sides of a block. 3. The timber sides of a gun carriage. 4. The extension of the bows, under the forecastles of early warships. 5. The heavy shaped knee pieces between the knee of the head and the bows. 6. Nickname for Marine Officer, from his short uniform jacket. Cheerly, chearly - An old maritime expression used to express the need for a job to be carried out briskly. cf roundly. Cheering the ship or cheer ship - A ceremony when all the crew stand visible all over and wave hats and cheer in unison to another ship or some suitable personage, who returns the courtesy. Cheese - The flat coil of a rope end on deck. cf cheese down. Cheese cutter - A drop-keel on a smaller boat. Cheese down - To coil the tail end of a rope on deck, with the end in the middle of a flat coil with each fake touching. A Flemish coil was a tiddley coil of rope, and, if it was Flemish, it follows that it must be cheese. Not done on ropes needed to be used quickly, as they could easily kink when uncoiled. Cheese of Wads - A bundle of wads that resembled a cheese shape, or thick disk. Cheesed Rope - See cheese and cheese down. Cheeses - See Suffolk Cheese. Cherbourg - An important French naval harbour since Roman times. Cherriliccum – A badge of office of the boatswain. It was a cane sheathed in the cured penis of a bull, with which he beat the crew to encourage them in their labours. Chesapeake, USS - One of the six original frigates forming the first US Navy in 1794. Although a famous valiant ship, she is perhaps best remembered for the 'Chesapeake Incident' in 1807, when she was surrendered to Captain Broke commanding HMS Shannon, after an action lasting less than 15 minutes, off Boston, Mass., when her captain, James Barron, was killed. Chesapeake Bay - The large inlet on the US east coast, the scene of two major actions in 1781, fought between English and French fleets during the War of American Independence. Neither action were particularly decisive, in naval terms, but the second resulted in relief being prevented from reaching the occupying British Army, under the Earl of Cornwallis, who was consequently forced to surrender. Chess trees - Two vertical pieces of, usually, decorated timber mounted one on each side of the topsides of square-rigged ships, where the curve of the bows meet the ship's side, with a hole or sheave in the middle through which the bowlines were reeved, in order to help the crew with a clear haul to the mainsail to windward. The mainsail tacks also run through holes at the top of the chess-trees. Chest rope – A boat rope extending from a ship’s bow to an entry port in her side. Chew the fat – When seamen chewed the tough rind of old salt-beef they would take a long time, and talk whilst so employed. Chevils - Wooden cleats for the tacks and sheets of sails. Chew the fat - A long and drawn out discussion, from the time it took to soften, by chewing, the tough rind of old salt beef. Chief-of-Staff - Chiloé - A Chilean seaport and province that was the first welcome sight of land by many an early explorer, after rounding Cape Horn from the east. Chime - See Chine. Chinch, chinse - The action of pressing oakum into a seam with a knife or chisel, temporarily, until it can be properly caulked. It sometimes referred to the light caulking of those more delicate parts of a ship's structure that could not stand hard caulking with an iron and hammer. Chine - 1. The angle where the side of a boat meets the bottom strakes. If sharp, the boat is said to be hard-chined, and, if rounded is said to be soft-chined. 2. The part of the waterway of a ship, projecting up along the side of the top deck, to assist caulking the spirketting. 3. The part of the ends of a barrel that project beyond the top or bottom. 4. Smallest diameter of a cask. Chine & bulge - The description of the way a layer of casks lay on top of its next layer below, namely, the chine or rim of the one above was located over the bulge or middle of the one below, by half a length and half a width displaced. In this way, the cask above rested on four below. This was repeated layer by layer, the bottom layer being well chocked and ballasted to make a firm base to the stack. Chine & chine - When casks were laid end to end they were said to be stowed chine-and-chine. See chine and bulge. Chinese gybe - An uncontrolled gybe in which the boom moves but the gaff does not, from its commonness in Chinese junks, which had no boom. Chinky, or Chinky Silver – Chinese traders used to cut chips, or chinks, off gold and silver coins, to make small change, from which they earned this epithet. Pieces of silver dollar or other coins were valued in China by weight. These coins broke up after repeated stamping by traders. Chinkle – 1. A twist in a light line. 2. A small bight made in a rope or line, with a crossing or riding turn and seized; used in the middle of back ropes and passing round the end of the dolphin striker. 3. A half-crown. Chinse - See chinch. Chinsing iron - A caulker's tool with a grooved curved lower edge, used to force oakum into seams between planks. Chip-log - A weighted billet of wood that floated upright and therefore still in the water, onto which the log-line was attached. See Log. Chippy – Later seamen's nickname for the shipwright artificer or an orthopaedic surgeon (even more recently). Chippy chap – Earlier seamen's nickname for the ship's carpenter, or one of his crew. Cf Chips. Chips - 1. The ship's Carpenter's nickname. 2. Pieces cut off timber in Royal dockyards, when ships were under construction, which were traditionally the perquisites of the carpenters and shipwrights, who were permitted to remove them from the dockyard without penalty. The system was frequently abused, especially during the 17c, with whole planks and timbers being removed, for house and furniture construction. Chirurgeon - Surgeon. Chock – 1. (v) To secure an article stowed away to prevent them breaking loose in heavy weather. 2. A wooden wedge used to keep any article of cargo from moving when the ship is in motion. Chock a block – An informal name for block and block. Chock piece - Wedges or similar devices used to chock an article of equipment. Chocks - Wooden stands on which the ship's boats are stored. Used to wedge casks etc into place BDD Chock-a-block - The state of tackle when it’s standing and moving blocks are hauled tight together and so immovable. Hence its colloquial use to mean bored. Chocolate gale - The prevailing brisk north-west wind of the West Indies, as known to seamen. Choiseul, Étienne Francçois, Duc de - (171985) French minister of marine in 1758, during the Seven Years War. Plotted to create an excuse to start a war of revenge against Britain, for which he was dismissed in 1770. Choke his luff! - Shut him up! See next item. Choke the luff - A quick method of stopping a rope through a block, by trapping the hauling part across the sheave of the block. Released by a tug on the hauling part. Chokey - Prison. Chop – 1. Commercial quantity of tea. Merchants bought in chops. 2. Seamen’s’ term for a Chinese bribe, or for Customs revenue, which was considered to be equally offensive. Choppers - Whaler crewmen whose task it was to chop up the carcass. Chopping, or choppy sea - See short sea. Chops - The place where tides meet or where a channel meets the open sea. Also chapp. Chops of the Channel - The western mouth of the English Channel, between Cornwall and Brittany. Chow - Food, after the Chinese "chow-chow". Chowder - Shark meat, salt pork and biscuit. Christian – Naval slang for civilised. Christian, Fletcher - (1764-93) An English seaman, from the Isle of Man, who was a protégé of Captain William Bligh, who acted as lieutenant on the Bounty during her voyage to Tahiti in 1788. After falling out for various reasons, Christian led the mutiny, resulting in Bligh's famous open boat journey of escape and in Christian's people setting up home on Pitcairn Island, where he died. Christmas Rounds - Captain's Christmas morning rounds, accompanied by the lowest rating dressed as a mock Admiral and with the Master-at-Arms and a scratch band. Chronometer - Although technically the name for a large watch, it was generally agreed as the name first coined by Jeremy Thacker (English horologist) in 1714, which became accepted as the name for a marine timekeeping instrument. Such an instrument was essential if longitude was to be accurately and simply calculated, and it had to be accurate because the calculation is a function of the difference between local time and Greenwich mean time, the chronometer needing to maintain the latter. It is now recognised that Harrison's chronometer was the winner of the competition to find a means of finding longitude, set up by the Board of Longitude in the early 18c. An essential feature of Harrison's, and indeed all, chronometers is some form of compensation spring, to replace the balance of a land based clock. After extensive testing, Harrison's chronometer was first used during 7 Year War, in 1735. John Harrison was a village carpenter nicknamed "Longitude Harrison", after his obsession. See Harrison and Board of Longitude for more details. Chronometer error – The amount by which a chronometer varies with Greenwich Mean Time when checked. Chuck – See fairlead. Chummed - Shared. A term used by seamen who paired off for the mutual convenience of such things as plaiting each others hair, and watching each others belongings. Church Pennant, pendant - An old signal flag, formed from a red St George cross on white with red white and blue fly, therefore formed from a combination of English and Netherlands colours, used to call a temporary cessation of hostilities so that prayers and worship can be conducted, from the First Dutch War in 17c when both used a common pennant, so the other would not fight when flown. Still used today. Chyrurgion - Surgeon Ci-devant – French exiled and active supporter of the king, during the revolution. Cimaroons - Seamen purposely marooned as punishment, or to avoid paying(Also” Maroons"). Cinque Ports - Originally, the grouping of five ports, namely Dover, Hastings, Hythe, Romney and Sandwich, to which later was added Rye and Wynchelsea, brought together to provide ships and their crews for the crown, in return for rights over shipping and fishing in the English Channel. The first charter is known to pre-date 1278, the date of the earliest existing charter, and their power lapsed when the first true English Navy was formed by Henry VII. Cipangu - Japan, as she was known in 15-17c. Circular sailing – Sailing along a great-circle. Circumbendibus - A seamen’s’ name for a circuitous route or journey. Circumnavigation - Generally meant to refer to the globe. The first was by Magellan. The first Englishman to do it was Drake in late 16c. Civil day – Begins at midnight, unlike ship’s time, which started at noon. Clacker – Seamen’s term for food; one of many. Clamp - 1. Another name for a fish on a mast or spar. 2. Planks laid fore and aft under the deck beams of the lower and orlop decks, to add strength. 3. Strakes on the inside of ships, onto which the knees were fastened. Clanger - A remark that is so inappropriate as to make the ship's bell clang.
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