THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ THE READERS’ DICTIONARY OF SAILING SHIP TERMINOLOGY ___________________________________________________________________________ 6 7 THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF PETER TURNER 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 A1 - The first class of excellence of merchant ships, listed by vowel and numeral. e.g. A1, A2, E1, E2, I1, etc. A - Anglo-Saxon word meaning 'in' or 'on'. A'back, abaft, etc. A.B. - The name used for the rating of able seaman, an abbreviation comprising the first two letters of 'able'. Aak - A ketch rigged cargo ship, used for river or coastal transport, mainly on the Maas and Rhine, for wine shipping. Abab - A Turkish coastal sailor. Ab-Goozar - Ganges river ferry boat. Aback - A ship is 'laid aback' when her way is accidentally, or sometimes purposely, deadened and 'taken aback' when the wind suddenly shifts onto the fore side of the sails, blowing her in a different direction to that intended, often dangerously. Hence the use of that phrase for being surprised. Also ‘all aback’. Abaft - To the rear of the ship. Abaka - A vegetable fibre from which fine ropes and rigging could be made. It floated and did not need tarring, due to its resistance to rot. Abandon - A maritime legal term for the release of control of a ship. Abandonment - Abandoning an interest or claim, in maritime law. Abase - To lower a flag or sail. Abatement - When a merchantman has been delayed or otherwise hindered, there may be a case for abatement, or reduction, of freight charges. Abblast - Crossbow. Abblaster – Crossbowman; often carried on early ships. Abeam - Alongside the ship. Abeam Arm – See Fork Beam. Abel Brown - An unquotable sea-song. Aberration - An apparent change of place of fixed stars, caused by the earth's orbital movement. Abited – Infected with mildew. Abjuration - An oath taken by officers on receipt of their commission. Able - 1. Able-bodied: fit and strong. 2. Able seaman: A senior deckhand, capable of carrying out all the various tasks required to keep the ship afloat and working, including fighting with the guns and enemy crews. Able seamen constituted about one third of crew. Able Whackets - 1. A popular card game with seamen, in which the loser's hand gets beaten with a rope. 2. A good share. Aboard - On board ship. Aboard main tack - The order given when closehauling, instructing the hands to haul the tack of the mainsail down to the chess-tree. Abode - Waited for. Abord - Across, such as from shore to shore of a river, etc. About - Go, come, put, etc., - change direction, through 180°. 'About-ship!' was the order to the ship's crew to prepare for tacking. Above board - Above the deck and visible. Hence the term came to mean honest and fair. A-box, Abox - Said of a square-rigged ship when the yards are braced in opposite directions or laid square to the foremast, in order to heave-to. Yards braced abox were braced flat aback to the wind. Abraham men - Nickname for vagrants, from Abraham ward in Bedlam, which was reserved for mentally disadvantaged patients. Malingerers trying to enter the ship's doctors list were said to 'sham Abraham'. Abrase – To smooth planks, etc. Abreast - 1. Opposite to, or parallel with. cf Afore and abaft. 2. When inboard, parallel with the ship's beams. 3. Positioned off a place that lay directly abeam. 'Line abreast' described a fleet moving in a line side-by-side. Abrid - A pintle plate. Abroach - Broached or pierced, as in a barrel in use. Abroad – 1. Foreign, such as being posted to a foreign station. 2. At sea. About. In the vicinity. 3. Spread out, said of a flag or sail. Absciss - A part of the diameter or transverse axis of a cone; used in navigation. Absence - A formal permission issued to officers to temporarily quit their duties, usually on an urgent mission. Absorbtion – The subsidence of islands. Abstract - A short register of a warrant officer's stores. An 'abstract log' has brief important features copied from the ship's log. A-burton – The stowage of casks laid athwartships or sideways across the ship’s hold. The usual way is in a fore-and-aft position. Abut - See Butt. Abyme - The site of a permanent whirlpool. Abyss - A place of deep water. Academite - A graduate of the Royal Navy Academy at Portsmouth, which was later called Royal Naval College. Acair-Phuill – A safe anchorage. Acast - Lost or cast away. Acater - A name for a purveyor of victuals, hence, eventually, 'caterer'. Acates – Victuals; especially nice ones. Access - Means of entry on board. Access space - Space left in cargo, stores, or ship structure to afford access. Accident boat – A boat kept clear and with a well-stocked boat bag, ready for immediate lowering at sea in case of emergency such as assisting another ship or a man overboard. Also sea-boat. Acclivity - The slope of a cliff. Accoil - See Coil. Accommodation – 1. The living space of a vessel, where the officers and crew ate, slept and generally looked after themselves. Cabins on board. Accommodation ladder - A light staircase with hand-ropes or rails, fixed at a ship's sides to a convenient entrance. A Admirals and Azimuths
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