Fiddler's Green

From 19th-century English maritime folklore.

Sam Tyler: Where to now?
Gene Hunt: Fiddler's Green.
Sam Tyler: I hope that's the name of a pub.

2007 March 6, Julie Rutterford, Life on Mars, Season 2, Episode 3:

(nautical, folklore) A legendary afterlife for retired sailors, where there is perpetual mirth, fiddle music, and dancing.

(nautical, slang, dated) A place of frolic on shore.


monk's seam

(nautical) A strong seam formed by laying the selvage-edges of two pieces of canvas over each other and stitching on each side and down the middle.


leading line

(nautical) An imaginary line between two objects that can be used to chart a safe course in a difficult situation.


overlanded

Overlanded cargo may be further defined as cargo which has been discharged at a port for which it was not intended according to the ship's manifest.

2014, Peter Brodie, Commercial Shipping Handbook, third edition, Routledge, →ISBN, page 280:

(shipping, of cargo) Exceeding the originally declared shipped quantity.


kill cord

(nautical) On a small boat, a safety device consisting of a cord attached to the helmsman's leg or arm and linked to an engine cut-out switch, such that the switch is triggered and the boat's engine automatically stopped ("killed") if the helmsman is thrown from his seat.


TSMV

(nautical) Initialism of twin screw motor vessel.


go down with

en-verb

go down with (third-person singular simple present goes down with, present participle going down with, simple past went down with, past participle gone down with)

goes down with (present singular third-person)
going down with (participle present)
went down with (past)
gone down with (participle past)

Edward Smith went down with the Titanic.

(nautical) To die in the sinking of (a ship or boat).


bunkerage

These agencies had been largely engaged in supplying coal for the bunkers of vessels sailing for foreign ports and had accumulated a considerable fund by reason of the fact that the bunkerage premium had been collected on all such coal

1921, United States Fuel Administration, Final Report of the United States Fuel Administrator, 1917-1919:

(nautical) The act of bunkering (loading a vessel with oil or coal)

18 October 2017, Italy busts gang smuggling Zawia diesel to Sicily in Libya Herald
Gazzettinonline reported that the smuggled diesel was in fact low grade and normally used as bunkerage for ships.

(nautical) Oil or coal used for the engine of a vessel


keelboatman

By and by the steamboat intruded. Then for fifteen or twenty years, these men continued to run their keelboats down-stream, and the steamers did all of the upstream business, the keelboatmen selling their boats in New Orleans, and returning home as deck passengers in the steamers.

1870, Mark Twain, chapter 3, in Life on the Mississippi:


muzzle-bag

(nautical, historical) A canvas bag fixed to the muzzle of a gun at sea, to keep out water.


plate ship

Nor had the English Nation any Benefit of the Two Ships taken by Blake in September 1656 off the Coast of Spain; where one was sunk, another burnt, and two broke to pieces on the Shoar; so that of eight Plate Ships, but two got into Cadiz:

1697, Roger Coke, chapter 2, in A Detection of the Court and State of England during the Four Last Reigns and the Inter-Regnum, London: Andrew Bell, page 388:

1742, Lord Cholmondeley, Debate on Trade and Navigation, 1 June, 1742, in Samuel Johnson (editor), Debates in Parliament, London: John Stockdale, 1787, Volume 2, p. 219,
By serving the merchants, they […] enjoy the prospect of a near and certain advantage; they have not indeed any expectations of being suddenly enriched by a plate ship, and of gaining by one engagement such wealth as will enable them to spend the rest of their lives in ease and affluence; but they are sure of a speedy payment of their wages […]

1803, John Browne Cutting, “A Succinct History of Jamaica” in Robert Charles Dallas, The History of the Maroons, London: Longman and Rees, Volume 1, p. xlix,
[…] Sir William Phipps […] had discovered the wreck of a Spanish plate ship that had been stranded in 1659, on a shoal to the north east of Hispaniola. By the efforts of skilful divers sent out in sloops from Jamaica, twenty-six tons of silver were said to be recovered.

She carries not only the West Indies pay chests but also the money for the regiments in the north—in fact she’s as rich as a plate ship—and all good English money too—

1948, Andre Norton, chapter 14, in Scarface, New York: Harcourt, Brace, page 198:

(nautical, historical) A galleon, especially a Spanish one, carrying a cargo of precious metals and other treasure.


well-boat

They [the "Hollanders", that is, Dutch] have One Hundred Dogger-Boats, of One Hundred and Fifty Tuns a piece, or thereabouts: Seaven Hundred Pincks and Well-Boats, from Sixty to One Hundred Tuns a piece; which altogether fiſh upon the Coaſts of England and Scotland, for Cod and Ling only; [...]

1695, [Company of the Royal Fishery of England], “A Collection, with Some Observations, Touching the Royal Fishery of Great Britain and Ireland. [First, Increase of Shipping.]”, in A Collection of Advertisements, Advices, and Directions, Relating to the Royal Fishery within the British Seas, &c. […], London: Printed for H.M. and are to be sold by J. Whitlock […], →OCLC, page 21:

In our way we overtook a great Jonk that came from Palimbam, a Town on the Iſland Sumatra: [...] This Veſſel was of the Chineſe make, full of little Rooms or Partitions like our Well-boats, [...]

1699, William Dampier, chapter XIV, in A New Voyage Round the World. […], 4th corrected edition, volume I, London: Printed for James Knapton, […], →OCLC, page 401:

[T]hough the people fiſhed ever ſo often, they could never find any ſigns of lobſters being in this part of the ſea: they were therefore continually brought in great wellboats from New England, where they are plentiful; but it happened that one of theſe wellboats broke in pieces near Hellgate, about ten Engliſh miles from New York, and all the lobſters in it got off. Since that time they have ſo multiplied in this part of the ſea, that they are now caught in the greateſt abundance.

1748 November 11, Peter Kalm [i.e., Pehr Kalm], “October the 31st [1748; Julian calendar]”, in translated by John Reinhold Forster [i.e., Johann Reinhold Forster], Travels into North America; Containing Its Natural History, and a Circumstantial Account of Its Plantations and Agriculture in General, […] Translated into English […], volume I, Warrington, Cheshire: Printed by William Eyres, published 1770, →OCLC, page 241:

VIII. And it be further enacted by the Authority aforeſaid, That no Live Salmon, Salmon Trout, Turbot, Large Freſh Cod, Half Freſh Cod, Haddock, Seate, Freſh Ling, Soles or Whitings, ſhall at any Time after the Arrival thereof at the Nore as aforeſaid be put into any Well Boat or Store Boat from or out of any ſuch Fishing Ship, Sloop, Smack or other Fiſhing Veſſel or Veſſels as aforeſaid, in which the ſame ſhall have been brought to the Nore; [...]

1759, “Cap. XXVII. An Act to Repeal so Much of an Act Passed in the Twenty-ninth Year of His Present Majesty’s Reign, Concerning a Free Market for Fish at Westminster, […]”, in [Owen Ruffhead], editor, The Statutes at Large, from the Thirtieth Year of the Reign of King George the Second to the End of the Second Year of the Reign of King George the Third. […], volume VIII, London: Printed for Mark Basket, […], and by the assigns of Robert Basket; [a]nd by Henry Woodfall and William Strahan, […], published 1764, →OCLC, page 474:

And the rivers are moſt of them very full of fiſh, eſpecially in the back country, to which parties are made in boats with nets; in which excurſions ſhooting is joined: the fiſh they take are brought home alive in well-boats, and put into their ſtores: [...]

1775, “an American” [pseudonym; John Mitchell or Arthur Young?], chapter XIII, in American Husbandry. Containing an Account of the Soil, Climate, Production and Agriculture, of the British Colonies in North-America and the West-Indies; […] In Two Volumes, volume I, London: Printed for J[ohn] Bew, […], →OCLC, page 187:

Where circumstances permit, they [the fish] are in general used in a fresh state; and even in large cities, where the supply must be brought from a distance, various expedients are resorted to, to prevent the progress of putrefaction. By far the best contrivance for this purpose is the well-boat, in which fish may be brought to the place of sale even in a living state.

1822, John Fleming, “Fishes”, in The Philosophy of Zoology; or A General View of the Structure, Functions, and Classification of Animals. … In Two Volumes, volume II, Edinburgh: Printed [by P[atrick] Neill] for Archibald Constable & Co. […]; London: Hurst, Robinson & Co., →OCLC, page 371:

When taken, the crabs are kept alive in well[-]boats, until wanted.

1867, J[ohn] G[eorge] Wood, “The Crustacea”, in The Boy’s Own Book of Natural History, London, New York, N.Y.: George Routledge and Sons, […], →OCLC, page 333:

A well boat or small vessel with a water compartment, to which sea water has access, is ideal for the transportation of marine specimens. There are many such vessels in use along the Atlantic coast wherever it is customary to carry fishes and lobsters to market alive. [...] The New York Aquarium has a well boat for this work, which permits great extension of the collecting field and gives excellent results.

1928, Charles Haskins Townsend, “Collecting the Specimens”, in The Public Aquarium: Its Construction, Equipment, and Management: Appendix VII to the Report of the U.S. Commissioner of Fisheries for 1928 (Bureau of Fisheries Document; no. 1045), Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, →OCLC; in Report of the United States Commissioner of Fisheries for the Fiscal Year 1928 with Appendixes: In Two Parts, part I, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1929, →OCLC, page 284:

Inland transport of live cod is a far cheaper method than wellboat transport. On the other hand the psychological stress on the fish is much higher and it can by no means be compared with wellboat transport in this field.

1970, Robert M. Howland, Gertrude Kavanagh, editors, Sport Fishery Abstracts: An Abstracting Service for Fishery Research and Management, volume 15, number 1, Narragansett, R.I.: Narragansett Marine Game Fish Laboratory, Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, →ISSN, →OCLC, paragraph 12110, pages 200–201:

We had to intercept, load, and run the shipment to our smaller, faster T-Crafts and well boats waiting near the shore to take it to a stash house. A typical job for us.

2015 April, Tim McBride, with Ralph Berrier, Jr., Saltwater Cowboy: The Rise and Fall of a Marijuana Empire, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, →ISBN, page 34:

Another good example of the development of the specialized service supplier is the wellboats industry. ASENAV (a firm located in Valdivia, Los Rios region), a manufacturer of marine vessels, undertook the production of wellboats with up to 800-ton capacity for the transport of salmon.

2016, Michiko Iizuka, Pedro Roje, Valentina Vera, “The Development of Salmon Agriculture in Chile into an Internationally Competitive Industry: 1985–2007”, in Akio Hosono, Michiko Iizuka, Jorge Katz, editors, Chile’s Salmon Industry: Policy Challenges in Managing Public Goods, Tokyo: Springer Japan, →ISBN, section 3.2 (The Expansion of Intermediate Inputs and Services Suppliers), page 86:

(nautical) A fishing vessel designed to carry live fish in a tank or well.


sandlighter

A small boat used to gather sand and bring it to shore for use in construction etc.


head reach

(nautical) The distance to windward traversed by a vessel while tacking.


day shape

It would be a very simple matter to include with each keyboard, whether for night signal sets or day semaphores, a small vertical panel with miniature reproductions of the night lanterns in their proper color and position, and of the day shapes in proper order; these last to be made by illuminating a circular aperture containing a darkened glass disc with the figure of the shape in white.

1903, Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute, volume 29, page 425:

International Rule 25(e) requires the use of a cone, with point downward, as a day shape on all sailing vessels using machinery for propulsion while its sails are up.

2006, Elbert S. Maloney, Chapman Piloting & Seamanship, page 145:

(nautical) Any of a set of simple geometric shapes that are hung from a mast and visually indicate the status of a vessel to other vessels.


CBG

en-noun

CBG (countable and uncountable, plural CBGs)

carrier battle group
carrier battle group#English

(countable, military, nautical, aviation) Initialism of carrier battle group.


tomol

For this reason a better understanding of their earliest acquisition and the implications for the invention of the tomol require further analysis using the higher caliber "high-resolution" data.

2004, Jeanne E. Arnold, Foundations of Chumash Complexity, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, →ISBN:

K'twa, the primary tomol maker, had worked his way up the society to become the most important carpenter in the village. It was his job to ensure that the village had a sufficient number of tomols.

2012, Carl W. McClure, And That's the Truth!: Meaningful Fiction to Stimulate Your Mind and Nurture Your Soul, →ISBN, page 656:

Apart from the dalca of southern Chile, the only pre-Columbian planked boat in the Americas is the tomol, built by the Chumash Indians, who lived in the Channel Islands and along the coast between Los Angeles and Point Conception[.]

2013, Lincoln Paine, The Sea and Civilization: A Maritime History of the World, Vintage, →ISBN, page 34:

A planked boat used by the Chumash and Tongva peoples of California since pre-Columbian times, propelled by crouching occupants using paddles.


hospital corpsman

hospital corpsman (plural hospital corpsmen)

(military, US, nautical) A member of a hospital corps, typically an enlisted navy sailor, often working at military hospitals.


hospitalman

(military, US, nautical) A seaman who is also a hospital corpsman.


floating light

(historical) A ship, bearing a light, moored on sunken rocks to warn sailors of danger.


headsheet

Hilloa, the periagua !” it cried. “ Haul over your headsheet, and jam the tiller down into the lap of that comfortable-looking old gentleman.

1873, James Fenimore Cooper, The Water-witch Or the Skimmer of the Seas: A Tale, page 37:

Why don't you haul your headsheet to windward and Starboard your tiller.

1914, Happy Days: A Paper for Young and Old - Issues 1051-1100, page 33:

There has been great controversy as to the position in the barge in which the last reel was deposited. The plaintiff says that it was only some 2 or 3 ft. from the headsheet, and that it was in the centre line between aft and forward of the barge.

1960, J. A Edwards, Henry Patten Henley, Lloyd's List Law Reports - Volume 2, page 658:


house-flag

Her house-flag was flying, and her whistle from time to time acknowledged the salutes of friendly boats, who saw that she was new to the High and Narrow Seas and wished to make her welcome.

1899, Rudyard Kipling, The Day's Work, page 84:

And when the house-flag fluttered half-way to the deck and climbed again to the masthead, the soul of Hector McKaye would thrill.

2008, Peter B. Kyne, Kindred of the Dust, →ISBN, page 1:

No more dignified ship than the Queen Victoria flies the house-flag of any British line.

2012, John Dickson Carr, The Blind Barber, →ISBN:

(nautical) A flag that uniquely identifies the company that owns or, occasionally, that operates a ship.


Dutchman's log

(nautical, historical) Any early device for measuring the speed of a moving ship, where a sailor threw a floating object overboard and used a sandglass to measure the time it took to pass between two points on deck.


set the land

en-verb

set the land (third-person singular simple present sets the land, present participle setting the land, simple past and past participle set the land)

sets the land (present singular third-person)
setting the land (participle present)
set the land (participle past)
set the land (past)

(nautical) To observe by the compass how the shore bears from the ship.


sea captain

The captain of a ship, as distinguished from a captain in the army.


beam sea

(nautical) A sea whose waves come from abeam and roll against the ship's side. The waves strike the ship beam-on.


bear away

bear away (third-person singular simple present bears away, present participle bearing away, simple past bore away, past participle borne away)

bears away (present singular third-person)
bearing away (participle present)
bore away (past)
borne away (participle past)


gallows-bitts

(nautical) A frame fixed in a ship's deck to support spare spars.

sparrachroch

a frame fixed in a ship's deck to support spare spars


governail

From Middle English governail, governaile from Middle French and Old French governail, from Latin gubernāculum. Doublet of gubernaculum.

We immediately threw out all the little things we had with us, ſuch as biſcuits, apples, &c. and after that one of our oars or wings; but ſtill deſcending, we caſt away the other wing, and then the governail ; having likewiſe had the precaution, for fear of accidents, while the Balloon was filling, partly to looſen and make it go eaſy, I now ſucceeded in attempting to reach without the Car, and unſcrewing the moulinet, with all its apparatus; I likewiſe caſt that into the ſea.

1786, John Jeffries, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, A narrative of the two aerial Voyages of Dr. J. with Mons. Blanchard: with meteorological observations and remarks., page 45:

That he has contrived a “ self-acting governail, which has the peculiar power of directing the course of the vessel, entirely independent of the action of the helm, and which is positively called into operation by the very presence of danger."

1834, The Printing Machine: Or Companion to the Library, and Register of Progressive Knowledge, Volumes 1-3, London: William Clover, page 61:

But this whole arsenal of methods remained only a metaphor when it came to the art of governing men politically. What does the helmsman with his governail have to teach those who govern?

1995, Michel Serres, The Natural Contract, University of Michigan Press, page 43:

(archaic) That which steers a nautical vessel; a rudder or a person employing it.


dead-rope

(nautical) A rope not running in any block.


unrep

en-noun

unrep (countable and uncountable, plural unreps)

(nautical, military) The act of taking on fuel without putting into port.


unrep

en-verb

unrep (third-person singular simple present unreps, present participle unrepping, simple past and past participle unrepped)

unreps (present singular third-person)
unrepping (participle present)
unrepped (participle past)
unrepped (past)

(intransitive, nautical, military) To take on fuel without putting into port.


studdingsail

(nautical) A sail attached to the side of another in a square-rigged ship in order to increase the speed of the vessel.


spike plank

(obsolete, nautical) A platform before the mizzenmast of a vessel, used in Arctic voyages so that a sailor standing on it can see further ahead and pilot the ship out of the ice.


bottle chart

(obsolete, nautical) A chart purporting to show the track of sealed bottles thrown from ships into the sea, based on its currents.


train ferry

Pack ice, at times mounting to a height of 35 ft., snow, fog, and floating mines all played their part in the disorganisation of railway services, and most of the train ferry services were completely suspended for a month or more; [...].

1940 May, “Overseas Railways: Icebound Denmark”, in Railway Magazine, page 302:

Even without the Channel tunnel, British Railways carry on a substantial exchange of traffic with the Continent by the various train ferries, which handle some 500,000 tons of cargo annually.

1960 March, “Talking of Trains: London-Paris in four hours”, in Trains Illustrated, page 134:

(nautical, rail transport) A ferry used to transport rail vehicles from one railway line to another across a stretch of water.


livewell

A well in a fishing boat where fish are kept alive.


rhumb sailing

(nautical) The course of a vessel keeping straight on a rhumb line.


sheer hulk

(nautical, historical) An old dismasted ship with a pair of shear legs mounted on it for masting ships.


ratline stuff

(nautical) Tarred rope from which ratlines are made.


clinker-work

(nautical) clinker-built work on a vessel


fife-rail

(nautical) The rail round the mainmast for belaying pins.


royal mast

(nautical) The fourth and highest part of the mast from the deck, commonly made in one piece with the topgallant mast.


drift sail

(nautical) A sail immersed in the water, used for lessening the drift of a vessel during a storm.


have way

have way (third-person singular simple present has way, present participle having way, simple past and past participle had way)

has way (present singular third-person)
having way (participle present)
had way (participle past)
had way (past)

(nautical) Of a vessel: to be under way; to be moving or making progress.


heave in view

heave in view (third-person singular simple present heaves in view, present participle heaving in view, simple past hove in view, past participle hove in view or hoven in view)

heaves in view (present singular third-person)
heaving in view (participle present)
hove in view (past)
hove in view (participle past)
hoven in view (participle past)

1864, Reverend H. Eastman, in a letter to A. Lincoln, An Acrostic
Ho! The haven of rest is now heaving in view
And the calm shall succeed where the winds fiercely blew.


open order

(nautical) A naval formation in which ships are four cables'-length (2880 feet) apart.


gamber

(nautical) A curve in the keel of a ship


storm sail

(nautical) A sail of the strongest canvas, for use in stormy weather.


storm stay

(nautical) A stay on which a storm sail is set.


pilot flag

(nautical) The flag hoisted at the fore by a vessel needing a pilot.


raft port

(nautical) A square hole in some ships for convenience in loading and unloading timber.


flag-hopping

flags of convenience
flag of convenience

(nautical) The unethical practice of registering a vessel under a series of different flags of convenience so as to circumvent regulations etc.


rough book

Synonym of notebook, especially
(nautical) A rough logbook.

Synonym of notebook, especially
A rough logbook.


sliding keel

(nautical) An oblong frame let down vertically through the bottom of a vessel in order to deepen the draught and sustain against a side wind.


factory ship

(nautical) a vessel, usually part of a fleet, which processes catches of fish or whales while at sea


stay tackle

(nautical) A large hoisting tackle fixed by a pendant to the mainstay of a ship.


scrollhead

(nautical) An ornamental piece at the bow of a vessel.


storm card

(nautical) A sailor's chart showing from the direction of the wind the ship's position in relation to the eye of a storm, and accordingly the proper course to be taken.


cargo liner

(nautical) A cargo ship in liner service which carries a small number of passengers, typically limited to 12 to avoid the requirement for the ship to carry a doctor.


training ship

(nautical) a ship, often a sailing ship, used to train people as sailors


wing-and-wing

(nautical) Sailing a square-rigged vessel before the wind with studding sails on both sides.

(nautical) Sailing a fore-and-aft-rigged vessel before the wind with the mainsail and a headsail on different sides (in goose wing position).

purjeet virsikirjalla

sailing mainsail and headsails on different sides


clock calm

(nautical) The condition of a perfectly flat sea with no waves and no wind.


hawse timber

(nautical) Any of the upright timbers in the bow in which the hawseholes are cut.


head pump

(nautical) A small pump at a ship's bows to raise seawater for washing decks.


twin screw

(nautical) A vessel with two propellers on separate shafts.


twiddling line

(nautical, historical) A piece of small rope for steadying the steering wheel.

(nautical, historical) A string attached to a compass-gimbal, by which the compass card may be started so as to play freely.


throat halyard

(nautical) A halyard for hoisting the throat of a gaff.


throat brail

(nautical) A brail attached to the gaff for trussing up the sail close to the gaff as well as the mast.


main deck

(nautical) The deck below the spar deck.


flush deck

(nautical) A deck that is continuous from stem to stern at the same level.


monkey pump

(nautical, slang, historical) A straw inserted through a gimlet-hole into a cask for the purpose of covertly taking sips of the contents.


monkey bag

(nautical, slang, historical) A sailor's small money bag, worn around the neck.


log-glass

(nautical, historical) A sandglass used with the logline to ascertain the speed of a ship.


log chip

(nautical) The board, in the form of a quadrant, attached to a logline.


log slate

(nautical) A double slate, marked and ruled on the inside, for recording the log.


log reel

(nautical) A reel on which the logline is wound.


solar boat

(archaeology, Egyptology) The boat that, in myth, carries the sun on its journey across the sky; solar barque.


liberty ship

Originally used in a speech by then U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt when the first of the ships were launched to emphasize their purpose, and then later spread.

(nautical) A simple, cheap cargo ship built in the United States during World War II.


drop astern

drop astern (third-person singular simple present drops astern, present participle dropping astern, simple past and past participle dropped astern)

drops astern (present singular third-person)
dropping astern (participle present)
dropped astern (participle past)
dropped astern (past)

(nautical, intransitive) To pass or move towards the stern.


eye plate

(nautical) A metal plate, either having a hole in it, or a loop protruding from it, that is part of a ship's rigging


untoggle

untoggle (third-person singular simple present untoggles, present participle untoggling, simple past and past participle untoggled)

untoggles (present singular third-person)
untoggling (participle present)
untoggled (participle past)
untoggled (past)

(nautical, transitive) To remove from its fixed position.


culvertailed

(carpentry, nautical, archaic) dovetailed


culvertail

(carpentry, nautical, archaic) A dovetail joint.


drop down

drop down (third-person singular simple present drops down, present participle dropping down, simple past and past participle dropped down)

drops down (present singular third-person)
dropping down (participle present)
dropped down (participle past)
dropped down (past)

(nautical, intransitive) To sail, move, or row down a coast, or down a river to the sea.


disease boat

The loading of diseases into disease-boats, of sins onto scape-goats, the propitiation of the forces of nature by victims, human or animal, sacrifices, ceremonies of re-birth, eucharistic feasts, sexual communions, orgiastic celebrations of the common life, and a host of other things — all said plainly enough what was meant, but not in words.

1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., page 165:

(historical) In early societies, a boat, canoe, etc., in which community members suffering from a disease were exiled in the belief that the evil spirits of the disease would be carried away.


long-togs

They laugh at long-togs so, Flask; but seems to me, a Long tailed coat ought always to be worn in all storms afloat. The tails tapering down that way, serve to carry off the water, d'ye see. Same with cocked hats; the cocks form gable-end eave-troughs, Flask.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:

(nautical, obsolete) Clothes to be worn when going ashore.


throat-bolt

(nautical) An eyebolt to which to hook the throat halyards.


pumpout

(nautical) The emptying of a waste from a vessel into a holding tank by means of a pump


Blackwall hitch

en-noun

Blackwall hitch (plural Blackwall hitches)

(nautical) A means of fastening a rope to a hook: a turn of the rope, either the end or the middle, around the hook, having the part the strain is on riding over the loose part, with the bight well up on the back of the hook.


main belt

(nautical, military) The primary belt of armor protecting the sides of a warship above and slightly below the waterline.


M/T

(nautical) Initialism of motor trawler. A trawler fishing vessel propelled by an internal combustion engine, instead of sails or steam engine

motor trawler

(nautical) Initialism of motor tanker. A tanker vessel, such as an oil tanker, propelled by an internal combustion engine, instead of sails or steam engine


towboard

(nautical) A board, typically fitted with survey equipment, towed behind a vessel


swinging boom

(nautical) The spar which stretches the foot of a lower studdingsail.


sternboard

(nautical) Backward motion of a ship; loss of way in tacking.


wring-stave

(nautical) One of the strong pieces of wood used in applying wringbolts.


come home

en-verb

come home (third-person singular simple present comes home, present participle coming home, simple past came home, past participle come home)

comes home (present singular third-person)
coming home (participle present)
came home (past)
come home (participle past)

The sport usage was popularised by the 1996 song "Three Lions", which contains the phrase "it's coming home", referring to the UEFA Euro 1996 championship hosted in England, the birthplace of association football.

(nautical, of an anchor) To drag or slip through the ground.


tumble in

tumble in (third-person singular simple present tumbles in, present participle tumbling in, simple past and past participle tumbled in)

tumbles in (present singular third-person)
tumbling in (participle present)
tumbled in (participle past)
tumbled in (past)

(nautical) Synonym of tumble home (“to incline inward”)


shank-painter

(nautical) A small rope for fastening the shank of an anchor, when catted, to a ship's side.


latitude by account

en-noun

latitude by account (plural latitudes by account)

(nautical) The latitude calculated from the course and distance sailed since the previous observation.


watch bill

(nautical) A list of the officers and crew of a ship, as divided into watches, with their various stations.


full sail

We were under full sail.

(nautical) The condition of having all sails set (raised).


derig

en-verb

derig (third-person singular simple present derigs, present participle derigging, simple past and past participle derigged)

derigs (present singular third-person)
derigging (participle present)
derigged (participle past)
derigged (past)

"No way, we have to derig." "Okay. I'll keep paddling." I started untangling lines, pulling in jibsail cloth like a lobster fisherman pulling up a trap.

2002, Eric Stiller, Keep Australia On Your Left: A True Story of an Attempt to Circumnavigate Australia by Kayak, page 106:

(nautical, transitive, intransitive) To remove the rigging from (a vessel, etc.).


balinger

(nautical, historical) A small medieval sea-going ship with oars and sails.


headfast

(nautical) A rope at the bows of a ship used to fasten it to a wharf, etc.


chainbolt

(nautical) A large bolt used to secure the chainplates to the ship's side.


range light

One of the lights on board ship placed to give a ready indication of changes of course to other vessels.


head chute

(nautical) A canvas tube used to convey refuse matter from a ship's bows down to the water.


gunnade

(nautical, historical) A naval artillery piece, variant of the carronade, developed by the British navy circa 1820 CE.


half-port

he heard the clanking of their capstan pawls — putting to sea with bands playing and guns grinning through yawning half-ports

1939, Roland Barker, The Middle Passage:

(nautical) one half of a two-part shutter used to close a porthole.


sternfast

(nautical) A rope or chain for making fast a ship's stern to a wharf, etc.


makefast

(nautical) Something to which a vessel can be made fast or tied, such as a cleat, post or bollard.


roding

en-noun

roding (countable and uncountable, plural rodings)

Three boats found their rodings fouled by these reckless mid-sea hunters, and were towed half a mile ere their horses shook the line free.

1897, Rudyard Kipling, Captains Courageous:

(nautical, countable) A small boat's anchor line.


container port

(shipping) A port which specialises in handling the loading and unloading of shipping containers onto and from container ships.


lo-lo

Elsewhere, some trade appears to have moved away from the Dover Straits already, either coming into other ports as unaccompanied or accompanied trailers, or in some cases moving to lo-lo (lift on, lift off) routes to the east and west coast ports.

2019 October, Rail Freight Group, “Consequences of a no deal Brexit”, in Modern Railways, page 20:

(transport, nautical) Abbreviation of lift-on/lift-off.


signal bridge

(nautical) An open platform by the navigating bridge of a warship for the use of signalmen.


flag state

The country in which a ship is registered.


light line

From light (“lacking weight”, adjective) + line (noun).

affix

(nautical) The waterline at which a vessel floats when at light displacement; the light waterline.


light waterline

en-noun

light waterline (plural light waterlines)

From light (“lacking weight”, adjective) + waterline (noun).

affix

(nautical) The waterline at which a vessel floats when light or unladen.


corticene

(nautical, historical) A kind of linoleum decking used to provide a grip for the feet.


line gun

(nautical, orienteering, search and rescue) A firearm designed to shoot a rope across a distance, usually used to pass lines from one ship to another.

harpoon gun

those that fire harpoons attached to lines


light along

en-verb

light along (third-person singular simple present lights along, present participle lighting along, simple past and past participle lighted along)

lights along (present singular third-person)
lighting along (participle present)
lighted along (participle past)
lighted along (past)

Phrasal verb from light (“to make less heavy”, verb) + along (“forward”, adverb).

affix

to light along a cable or sail

(transitive, nautical) To lift or carry anything along the deck; to help in hauling along.


merchant mariner

en-noun

merchant mariner (plural merchant mariners)

A sailor who works on a merchant marine (vessel), that is, in a merchant marine (fleet).


folkboat

A small, affordable sailboat, rigged as a sloop.


solepiece

(architecture, nautical) Synonym of sole


ship a sea

en-verb

ship a sea (third-person singular simple present ships a sea, present participle shipping a sea, simple past and past participle shipped a sea)

ships a sea (present singular third-person)
shipping a sea (participle present)
shipped a sea (participle past)
shipped a sea (past)

[…] VVaterman, ſays I, vvhat are you doing? vvhat did you ſhip a Sea? ay, ſays the VVaterman, and a great one too; vvhy it blovvs a Frett of VVind; […]

1724, [Daniel Defoe], “Letter V”, in The Great Law of Subordination Consider’d; or, The Insolence and Unsufferable Behaviour of Servants in England Duly Enquir’d into. […], London: Sold by S. Harding, […], →OCLC, page 134:

Thus we scudded before the wind […] and at nine shipped a sea in the poop, as we in the cabbin were going to supper.

1774, David Henry, “The Voyages of Captain Cooke”, in An Historical Account of All the Voyages Round the World, Performed by English Navigators, volume 2, London: F. Newbery, page 19:

At almost every roll to leeward she shipped a sea, several of which came partially down into the cabin during our scuffle, the hatchway having been left open by myself when I descended.

1838, [Edgar Allan Poe], chapter VIII, in The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 81:

Once I shipped a sea so heavy that I had to stop and bail, with my heart fluttering like a bird […]

1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, chapter XXIV, in Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC, part V (My Sea Adventure), page 196:

(intransitive, nautical) To have a large wave wash over one's vessel.


paddlewheeler

People along rivers and the coast who used rowboats and small sailboats for fishing and ferrying learned to dread the sound of a paddlewheeler coming through the mist.

1987, Bob Whittier, Paddle wheel steamers and their giant engines, page 39:

A long drawn-out whistle from a paddlewheeler filled the air.

1995, Cassie Edwards, Savage Pride, page 23:

In the foreground is the deck of the paddlewheeler she is racing.

1999, Graham Wilson, Paddlewheelers of Alaska and the Yukon, page 57:


chest becket

(nautical) An intricately woven handle for a sea chest.


sea chest

I remember him as if it were yesterday, as he came plodding to the inn door, his sea-chest following behind him in a hand-barrow — a tall, strong, heavy, nut-brown man, […]

1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:

Now and then he slipped down into the hold and looked at his watch, which he had shut up in a large, red-painted sea-chest.

1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 183:

(nautical) A box or case used to store a sailor's property.

(nautical) A recess in the hull of a ship, usually rectangular or cylindrical.


swab hitch

(nautical) A becket hitch applied to a swab.


double becket hitch

en-noun

double becket hitch (plural double becket hitches)

(nautical) A becket hitch with an extra turn, for security. Often used to hitch a line to a harpoon.


steering wheel becket

steering wheel becket (plural steering wheel beckets)

(nautical) A rope with a becket at one end and a hook at the other, used to hold the ship's wheel (the helm) in fixed position. Normally used in pairs, with the becket on a spoke and the hook on a ring in the deck.


beef chit

Give me the beef-chit, and let me see if the chef 'as got the chow right.

1935, Ian Hay, Sir Stephen King-Hall, Admirals All: An Amphibious Adventure in Three Acts, page 10:

The tombstone is another name for the beef chit, or menu, while a Bombay Duck is a bloater, a two-eyed steak a kipper, and the bags of mystery or links of love are sausages.

1962, John O'London's, volume 6, page 571:

(nautical, slang) The menu in a ship's wardroom.


schooner on the rocks

schooner on the rocks (plural schooners on the rocks)

(nautical slang) A meal of roast beef served on a bed of potatoes.


dragon's tail

dragon's tail (countable and uncountable, plural dragon's tails)

(countable) A thermistor that is towed behind a ship to measure the ocean's temperature.


riding sail

So called because it was devised for keeping the vessel's head to the sea when riding at anchor.


blue-water navy

blue-water navy (plural blue-water navies)

(military, nautical) A naval force capable of independent military operations on the open sea with a global reach.


weather helm

(nautical) A keeping of the helm somewhat aweather when a vessel shows a tendency to come into the wind while sailing.


quadrofoil

(nautical) A hydrofoil (vessel) that has four wings.


letter of countermarque

letter of countermarque (plural letters of countermarque)

his Majesty likewise foreseeing of what mischievous consequence it would be to all his loving subjects if the States General, upon the execution of the said Letters of Reprisal (contrary to the meaning of the said Treaties, and after the annulling of them by the same), should grant Letters of Countermarque against the said subjects and their goods, to the hindering of commerce and the ruin and damage of many particular men, although unconcerned in the case of such Reprisal :

1903, Sir Ralph Winwood, Edward Montagu Baron Montagu, Report on the Manuscripts of the Duke of Buccleuch and Wueensberry Preserved at Montagu House Whitehall:

(nautical, historical) An official commission from a government authorizing someone to seize the property or people of another nation in reprisal for a similar seizure by a ship from the other nation.


R/V

(nautical) Initialism of research vessel;


sjark

From Norwegian sjark, from Russian, from English shark.

(nautical, fishing) A Norwegian fishing boat classification, for boats around 10 metres in length, between 25 and 40 feet, and with a particular hull style, used in northern Norway.


HTMS

(military, nautical) Initialism of His Thai Majesty's Ship., a ship prefix for the Royal Thai Navy.

HBMS

HMS (“His/Her Majesty's Ship”) (non-specific use)

His/Her Britannic Majesty's Ship; dated American English

HNMS

His/Her "N" Majesty's Ship; Netherlands or Norway


HMSAS

(military, nautical) Initialism of His or Her Majesty's South African Ship., a ship prefix for the South African Naval Forces or its predecessor South African Division of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, of the Dominion of South Africa, used from WWI through WWII


yard-rope

Trice down the jack-block, by letting go the halyards and hauling down on the yard-rope. Cast off the yard-rope from the slings of the yard, and hook the tye to its thimble; haul taut the halyards, and square the yard by the lists and braces.

1841, Benjamin J. Totten, Naval Text-book: Letters to the Midshipmen of the United States Navy, page 57:

Have hands by the braces and lifts , man the yard-rope, and when ready, sway up on the yard-rope, and lower lift, steadying the yard by the braces.

1866, Stephen Bleecker Luce, Seamanship:

But this plan is manifestly too expensive and troublesome to meet with much encouragement in the merchant service —a yard-rope being also requisite, in case of sending the yard up or down.

2012, John M'Leod Murphy, W. N. Jeffers, Spars and Rigging: From Nautical Routine, page 1849:

(nautical) A rope that goes through a block or sheave at the top of a mast that is used for hoisting or lowering a yard; gantline.


Maierform

From German Maier + Form, after Austrian engineer Fritz F. Maier.

The latest steamer built for these passages is worthy of more than a passing reference in that she is a pioneer. Isle of Sark is the first cross-channel steamer to have a Maierform hull. The bows are so shaped as to reduce the resistance of the ship in calm weather, while enabling a higher speed to be maintained in heavy seas.

1939 June, G. W. Tripp, “The Modern Railway Steamer”, in Railway Magazine, page 342:

(attributive, nautical) A design of hull for a ship.


shelter deck

Her saloons are luxurious, and there are a number of cosy alcoves, as well as a spacious shelter deck surrounded with large plate glass windows, enabling passengers to sit in arm chairs and at the same time enjoy an unobstructed view.

1939 June, G. W. Tripp, “The Modern Railway Steamer”, in Railway Magazine, page 392:

(nautical) A lightly-constructed deck over the main deck of a ship covering a space open to the weather; offering some protection from the weather but not completely enclosed.


weather roll

(nautical) The lurch of a vessel to windward when in the trough of the sea.


riding light

(nautical, historical) A light hung out in the rigging at night when a vessel is riding at anchor.


Portus Julius

From Latin Portus Iulius (Port Julian).
From Iulius (“Gaius Julius Caesar (Gaius Iulius Caesar)”) + portus.
From the gens Iulia (Julii clan).

(historical, nautical, military) A port on the Gulf of Naples, Mediterranean in Baiae, Italia, Roman Empire, the primary naval base of the Western Empire


mainpiece

(nautical) The principal part of a ship's head; the principal piece of timber in a rudder.


abackstays

(obsolete, nautical, of sails) Lined up in the direction of the wind and thus not propelled by the wind


harpoon gun

(nautical) A small gun, on a whaler, that fires harpoons


breast line

(nautical) A rope used to tie a small ship to a dock, keeping it close to the pier


PT boat

The PT boat is not merely a small boat for attack in rivers and inland seas. It is a deadly offensive weapon for use under the most trying conditions [...]

1943, Lawrence Conant, quoting Charles Edison, “The PT Boats: Weapons of Opportunity”, in William Harrison Fetridge, editor, The Navy Reader:

(military, US) A type of fast motor torpedo boat used by the US Navy during World War II.


AVS

angle of vanishing stability
angle of vanishing stability#English

(nautical) Initialism of angle of vanishing stability.


trim one's sails

en-verb

trim one's sails (third-person singular simple present trims one's sails, present participle trimming one's sails, simple past and past participle trimmed one's sails)

trims one's sails (present singular third-person)
trimming one's sails (participle present)
trimmed one's sails (participle past)
trimmed one's sails (past)

(nautical) To adjust a ship's sails to make the best of wind conditions.


motor cruiser

(nautical) A small pleasure craft that is fitted with an engine


a taunto

French autant (“as much (as possible)”).

She was a noble vessel. Trim, ship-shape, all a taunto, as Captain Swosser used to say. You must excuse me if I occasionally introduce a nautical expression; I was quite a sailor once.

1852 March – 1853 September, Charles Dickens, chapter 11, in Bleak House, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1853, →OCLC:

(nautical) Of a ship, especially a tall square-rigged one: in which all running rigging is hauled taut; having all spars hoisted aloft; having all sails set.


short-sea shipping

At the time, international deep-sea shipping remained a loose cargo operation, although BR did seek to influence conversion to unit loads by providing a containerised short sea shipping service between Harwich and Rotterdam in 1968.

2020 May 20, Industry Insider, “An online boost for freight”, in Rail, page 68:

Shipping that takes place in coastal waters or on short sea crossings.


megaport

Given the critical importance of megaports to sea transport, might we witness a rebirth of interest in sea-lane protection, a mission that has in recent years lost ground to the task of projecting naval power ashore?

2001, Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute, volume 127, page 64:

They are all border crossings across our borders into the U.S. and I was thinking of these 650 border sites and 100 megaports.

2012, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, Energy and Water Development Appropriations for 2013, page 193:

An extremely large port, especially one that combines support for air, naval, and/or terrestrial travel.


fire-escape knot

en-noun

fire-escape knot (plural fire-escape knots)

(nautical) A series of evenly spaced overhand knots in a rope, which make it more secure for climbing or descending. Often used for fire escapes and jib boom foot ropes on rigged sail ships. Also known as the Philadelphia knot.


Philadelphia knot

Philadelphia knot (plural Philadelphia knots)

fire-escape knot
fire-escape knot#English


aye aye

(nautical) Response to ahoy if a commissioned officer is in the boat.

(nautical) I acknowledge and will comply.


DKM

From German DKM, from German Deutsche Kriegsmarine, from deutsch+Kriegsmarine, from Krieg+Marine.

(military, nautical, World War II, initialism) A ship prefix used for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine.

H. M. S.

His Majesty's Ship; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland


turbosail

A ship that uses rotating vertical cylinders instead of sails


weather bow

The schooner was then within two miles, and in another hour came dashing by close to us in a noble style, and hove to upon our weather bow […] .

1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 126

(nautical) The bow of a ship that is turned towards the wind.


full clew

That which eſpecialleſt nouriſht the moſt prime pleaſure in me, was after a ſtorme when they were driuen inſwarmes, and lay close peſtred together as thicke as they could packe; the next day following, if it were faire, they would cloud the whole skie with canuas, by ſpreading their drabled ſailes in the full clue abroad a drying, and make a brauer ſhew with them, then ſo many banners and ſtreamers diſplayed againſt the Sunne on a mountaine top.

1599, [Thomas] Nashe, Nashes Lenten Stuffe, […], London: […] [Thomas Judson and Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] L[ing] and C[uthbert] B[urby] […], →OCLC, pages 5–6:

(nautical) The state of having the bottom corners of a sail (or, by extension, the sail in general) spread wide


aftercabin

I was admitted to the after cabin where Mr Suffren was sitting at a table, having a number of papers upon it which he appeared to be inspecting […] .

1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 342

(nautical, now chiefly historical) The cabin in the stern of a vessel, typically used by the captain or senior officers.


boatmaster

From Middle English botmeyster, equivalent to boat + master.

(nautical) A person officially qualified to be in charge of a vessel of a specified category.

laivuri

person qualified to be in charge of a vessel


pitchmeter

(nautical, aviation) A device, encompassing a clinometer, used for measuring the pitch of a vehicle, especially a ship or aircraft.


pitchometer

For years, repairing a prop has involved the use of pitch blocks, similar to specially shaped anvils, and pitchometers. Placed under propeller blades, pitch blocks give the prop repairman a surface against which to restore the blade to factory shape and angle. The repaired blade is then checked with a pitchometer to determine how close to specification it is.

2001 January, Dudley Dawson, “Spin Control: When damage needs repair, place your props in good hands”, in Yachting, volume 189, number 1, page 38:

(nautical) A pitchmeter, especially on a ship.


port of registry

port of registry (plural ports of registry)

(nautical) The port where a boat or ship is officially registered, which determines legal consequences such as taxation.


guarda costa

[…] I vvas attacked by one of thoſe curſed Guarda-Coſtas, vvho took our Ships before the Beginning of the VVar; […]

1742, Henry Fielding, “A Dialogue between Mr. Abraham Adams and His Host, […]”, in The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews, and of His Friend Mr. Abraham Adams. […], volume I, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book II, page 301:

While we were employed in this manner, our vessel went northward to Black River to trade. While she was there, a Spanish guarda costa met with and took her.

1789, Olaudah Equiano, chapter 11, in The Interesting Narrative, volume I:

(nautical, historical) A Spanish vessel used to protect the coast.


nautical chart

(nautical) A map of a maritime area showing characteristics which are relevant for navigation.


quadreme

(history, nautical, archaic) A galley with four banks of oars, one above the other


astream

1892, E. F. Qualtrough, The Sailor’s Handy Book, New York: Scribner, Section 3, p. 145,
Icebergs should always be passed to one side to avoid the detached fragments, lying low in the water, which are often found astream of the berg in masses sufficiently great to stave in the bows of the strongest ship.

1896, Claud Worth diary entry dated 24 September, 1896, in Yacht Cruising, J.D. Potter, 1910, cited in J.O. Coote (ed.), The Norton Book of the Sea, New York: Norton, 1989, p. 138,
After she was once fairly astream of her drogue she shipped no more heavy water.

The ship was pitching with an unsteadiness which meant they were now well astream; their charges could not get away.

1945, Thomas B. Costain, The Black Rose, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran, Book 2, Chapter 11, p. 286:


swim platform

(nautical) A board sticking out from the stern of a yacht, allowing people easy access to swim into the water or come aboard.


soft tack

(UK, nautical, slang, obsolete) Synonym of soft tommy (“bread”)


power pole

A kind of modern anchor on the back of a boat, often one of a pair, that looks like an antenna and goes down on demand to hold the vessel in place.


paddlebox

(nautical) The upper covering of a paddle wheel.


Harriet Lane

Named after the mistress of Henry Wainwright (1832–1875), whom he murdered, storing her body parts in parcels. Compare Fanny Adams.

(UK, nautical slang, obsolete, derogatory) Tinned meat.


oversheeted

en-adj

oversheeted (comparative more oversheeted, superlative most oversheeted)

more oversheeted (comparative)
most oversheeted (superlative)


honey barge

(nautical) A vessel that transports lavatory waste.


topgallant sail

en-noun

topgallant sail (plural topgallant sails)

(nautical) square-rigged sail immediately above topsail -- sometimes divided in two


channel money

(nautical) Money paid to sailors before completion of a voyage, when reaching a port.


lofty ship

mackerel sky and mare's-tails make lofty ships carry low sails


hooden

From hood + -en or a reduced form of hood-end(s).

By means of a diver a bad place was found in the after hooden ends, and the vessel was dipped by the head to bring it out of the water.

1872, The London and China Telegraph, page 48:

Show by a sketch how the tenons in the body-post of a screw ship should be placed in relation to the rabbet of the hooden ends. Give the reason for so placing them.

1882, Great Britain. Education Department. Department of Science and Art, Examination Papers for Science Schools and Classes, page 21

Judging by the greatness of the leake, it must have been some Butt or Hoodens end started her lying swadling with her lee Gunnhill in the Sea, & almost ungovernable by her helm, and that it was impossible to keep her up long enough to get ...

1929, Madras (India), Diary and Consultation Book, 1672-1756

But for deep and narrow vessels you must line your hooden-ends wider to get up faster, and consequently the lower ends of the after-hoods will come round, […]

1940, Lauchlan McKay, Richard Cornelius McKay, The Practical Ship-builder, page 62:

(nautical) Pertaining to a hood (end of a plank, which fits into the rabbet).


scupper plug

(nautical) a plug used to close a scupper hole


scupper hole

(nautical) a scupper on a ship, canoe or other vessel


scupper nail

(nautical) a nail with a broad head used to fix a scupper hose to the vessel


corbita

From Latin corbita (“sailing freight ship”).

The corbita was heading directly back to Chalcedon, on the Asian side of the Straits.

1998, Eric Flint, David Drake, In the Heart of Darkness:

The reverse depicts a Roman corbita of the third century CE against the background of a map of the Mediterranean Sea from Tunisia and Sicily in the west to the eastern end of that sea and two lions in the foreground.

2007, Yossi Dotan, Watercraft on World Coins: Europe, 1800-2005, page 51:

Two corbitas have arrived at the shipwright in Pompeii, back from Persia; on board are the fine silks and spices that I ordered.

2013, Coulsdon Writers, Back to the Writing, page 48:

(historical, nautical) A two-masted merchant ship of Ancient Rome.


two-block

en-verb

two-block (third-person singular simple present two-blocks, present participle two-blocking, simple past and past participle two-blocked)

two-blocks (present singular third-person)
two-blocking (participle present)
two-blocked (participle past)
two-blocked (past)

He cleared one of the tangled halyards and swiftly two-blocked the flag.

[…] wore a perfectly two-blocked field scarf and had razor-sharp creases that cut with a surgeon's precision right through the center of seven chevrons and the embroidered emblems on his sleeves.

1992, The Leatherneck, volume 75, page 12:

(nautical, colloquial) To rearrange (one's clothing) to make it look more tidy.


throw-weight

en-noun

throw-weight (countable and uncountable, plural throw-weights)

(military, nautical) A measure of the total weight of projectiles that can be delivered by a single broadside.


afterbrow

(nautical) A gangway positioned aft of midship


archboard

(nautical) The board, on the stern of a ship, on which its name is painted


barrelman

(nautical) A sailor keeping a lookout from the crow's nest (often in the form of a barrel)


boatsteerer

(dated, nautical) The person, in a whaleboat, who manned the forward oar and whose task was to harpoon whales


bugeye

(nautical) A sailboat once used for oystering out of Chesapeake Bay


charthouse

(nautical) The place on a (Royal Navy) ship in which the course is plotted manually on charts


cottonclad

(nautical) A wooden warship, of the Confederate States during the American Civil War, that used bales of cotton to protect it from enemy fire.


daybeacon

(nautical) An unlighted sea mark typically used to identify navigable channels


Chadburn

* (surname): Variant of Chatburn.
* (telegraph): From the name of the manufacturing company, Chadburn's Telegraph Company of Liverpool.

engine order telegraph
engine order telegraph#English

(nautical, historical) Synonym of engine order telegraph


engine order telegraph

engine order telegraph (plural engine order telegraphs)

(nautical) A device used by the pilot in the bridge to communicate the desired speed of the engines to the people manning the engine room.


footboat

(nautical) A dinghy or similar small boat attached to a barge


foretack

(nautical) The fore tack (part of a sail)


decky

(nautical) Alternative form of deck hand


foretruck

(nautical) A truck on the foremast (from which the Blue Peter is hoisted)


dorey

(nautical) Alternative form of dory (“boat”)


fifie

(nautical) A small fishing boat that operated out of Fife in Scotland


foulies

(informal, nautical) Synonym of oilskins


huffler

(nautical) An unqualified pilot, typically employed by the crew of a barge


jackline

(nautical) A strong line, fixed fore-and-aft on a yacht, to which the crew are clipped for safety


hawsepiper

(informal, nautical) A merchant navy sailor promoted to be an officer without attending an academy


gurdy

(nautical) A manual crank used on fishing lines


lazyjacks

(nautical) Alternative form of lazy jacks


jibstay

Jollies? Lord help such jollies! Crish, crash! there goes the jib-stay! Blang-whang! God!.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 40, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:

(nautical) A stay (normally the forestay) to which the jib is attached


oreboat

(nautical) A vessel used to transport iron ore on the Great Lakes


swimmie

(nautical) A barge with a square overhanging bow.


pinrail

(nautical) A rail, at the base of a mast, to which halyards are fixed using belaying pins


skaffie

(nautical) A small Scottish fishing boat that was used in the Moray Firth region


sprittie

(nautical) A barge rigged with a spritsail


predreadnought

(nautical) Alternative form of pre-dreadnought.


mulie

(nautical) A barge rigged with a spritsail main, and a large gaff rigged mizzen afore the steering wheel


stackie

(nautical) A barge used to transport hay or straw on its deck


stanliff

(nautical) A wire cable used to support a spritsail


sternwalk

(nautical) A gallery on the stem of a British warship for the use of officers


stayfall

(nautical) A wire cable used to support the mainmast when it is lowered


swatchway

(nautical) A twisting channel amongst sandbanks that is only navigable at high water


tailshaft

(nautical) A shaft that connects a propeller to its engine


kaep

(nautical) A type of proa native to Palau


trailboard

(nautical) A decorative board at the bow of a ship, sometimes bearing the ship's name


tweendecker

(nautical) A merchant ship that has one or more tweendecks


tweendeck

(nautical) A deck on some merchant ships between the maindeck and the hold.


Jack Nasty-Face

Jack Nasty-Face (plural Jack Nasty-Faces)


'bout ship

en-verb

'bout ship (third-person singular simple present 'bout ships, present participle 'bout shipping, simple past and past participle 'bout ship or 'bout shipped)

'bout ships (present singular third-person)
'bout shipping (participle present)
'bout ship (participle past)
'bout ship (past)
'bout shipped (participle past)
'bout shipped (past)

`Very well, then; there are two alternatives before us. One is to 'bout ship, and try and run for some port in the whale-boat, which would be a sufficiently risky proceeding, and the other to sail or row on up the river, and see where we come to.'

1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

(intransitive, nautical) Alternative form of about ship (“to tack through 180 degrees”)


capshore

(nautical) A support for the cap of a mast


shrimp boat

A marker placed beside a blip on the radar screen, used by air traffic control to indicate a specific aircraft.


Rope Yarn Sunday

en-noun

Rope Yarn Sunday (plural Rope Yarn Sundays)

(nautical, historical) A period, traditionally a Wednesday afternoon, set aside for the repair of uniforms, hammocks, etc. instead of normal duties.

(nautical) In modern times, a period of free time for the crew.


pipe the side

en-verb

pipe the side (third-person singular simple present pipes the side, present participle piping the side, simple past and past participle piped the side)

pipes the side (present singular third-person)
piping the side (participle present)
piped the side (participle past)
piped the side (past)

(UK, nautical) To salute a distinguished visitor arriving on a warship by playing the boatswain's pipe.


sail-by salute

(nautical) A close passage by a nautical vessel to a fixed point (on shore), to "salute" the location or persons assembled at the location.


semi-dreadnought

A type of advanced pre-dreadnought battleship from the very early 20th century, carrying a main armament composed entirely of big guns of different calibers (typically having four guns of the largest caliber, plus a larger number of smaller big guns). It was superior to earlier pre-dreadnoughts, but still not as powerful as the dreadnought introduced in 1906.


armored cruiser

en-noun

armored cruiser (plural armored cruisers)

(military) A type of cruiser (the warship) common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, carrying a small number of moderately-heavy main guns plus a large secondary battery of smaller guns and with armor protecting the sides and upper and lower decks, but lighter and with thinner armor and less powerful guns than a battleship; a mainstay of battle fleets around the turn of the 20th century, but displaced from this role by the more powerful battlecruiser after ca. 1908, becoming obsolescent by the time of WWI.


protected cruiser

protected cruiser (plural protected cruisers)

(military, nautical) A type of cruiser (the warship) carrying moderately-heavy main guns (although considerably lighter than those of a battleship) in armored turrets or other enclosures and having the machinery and magazine spaces protected by an armored lower deck, but leaving the sides of the ship unarmored (relying on the ship's coal bunkers to absorb hits to the sides of the hull) to save weight and allow for a high speed and long range; common in the late 19th century, but rendered obsolescent by the armored cruiser around 1900 as technological advances reduced the weight penalty of a side-mounted armor belt and made warships lacking belt armor increasingly vulnerable to enemy gunfire.


dry port

an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport


codman

(nautical) A fishing boat that fishes for cod; a fisherman on such a boat


FGS

Federal German Republic
Federal German Republic#English

(military, nautical) Initialism of Federal Germany Ship. A ship prefix used for naval ships of the Federal German Republic, both West Germany and unified Germany.


t'garns'l

Smite me if I haven't been swearing you was a gentleman born and bred ever since I first lugged you out of the t'garns'l.

1896, William Clark Russell, The Convict Ship:

(nautical, slang) Alternative spelling of topgallant sail


monkey bridge

(nautical) The highest navigational platform on the bridge of a ship.


snotty's nurse

(nautical, slang) A lieutenant who supervises a midshipman.


deck boat

We were to spend some days by the outermost skerries. We had the deck-boat, and its crew consisted of Rasmus Olsen this was the name of my old friend the pilot's boy, and myself.

1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 181:

A shallow boat designed to maximise deck space.


after-hatch

Rasmus sat in the after-hatch at the helm, while the boy was now forward, now aft, as circumstances required.

(nautical) A hatch located towards the aft of a vessel.


pilot coat

So called because it was worn by seamen or aviators.

As he sat there with a sou'wester down over his ears, in a long pilot coat, his figure appeared in the misty morning air to assume quite supernatural proportions, and you might almost imagine that you had one of the old Vikings before you.

For some years past the favorite costume of the out-and-out young gentleman has been a rough pilot coat, with two gilt hooks and eyes to the velvet collar; buttons somewhat larger than crown-pieces; a black or fancy neckerchief, loosely tied; a wide-brimmed hat, with a low crown; tightish inexpressibles, and iron-shod boots.

1833-36, Charles Dickens, Sketches by Boz, "The Out and Out Young Gentleman", in The Oxford Illustrated Dickens, p. 596


MCM

MCM (countable and uncountable, plural MCMs)

(military, nautical) Initialism of (naval) mine countermeasure(s).


LCI

(military, nautical) Initialism of landing craft, infantry.


halibuter

(fishing) A fishing boat used for catching halibut.


quarterdecker

(nautical) A ship that has a quarterdeck; an officer who serves on a quarterdeck


crush depth

crush depth (usually uncountable, plural crush depths)

(nautical) The depth at which a submarine's pressure hull will collapse under external water pressure, causing the submarine to implode.


test depth

test depth (usually uncountable, plural test depths)

(nautical, military) The maximum depth at which a submarine is permitted to operate in peacetime.


design depth

design depth (usually uncountable, plural design depths)

(nautical) The maximum depth at which a submarine is designed to be able to operate safely.


operating depth

operating depth (usually uncountable, plural operating depths)

(nautical, military) The maximum depth at which a submarine is permitted to operate when actively engaged in battle.


quayful

a quayful of broken cargo

(nautical) As much or many as a quay can accommodate.


arm-chest

This Disappointment chagreen’d the Ship’s Company, who were very intent upon their Market; which was reported to be an Arm-Chest full of Gold, and kept with three Keys;

1724, Daniel Defoe, chapter 11, in A General History of the Pyrates, London: T. Warner, page 265:

[…] as soon as he had taken charge of the deck, he saw Mr. Hayward, the mate of his watch, lie down on the arm-chest to take a nap;

1831, John Barrow, chapter 3, in The Eventful History of the Mutiny and Piratical Seizure of H.M.S. Bounty,, London: John Murray, page 87:

[…] there being no line-and-sinker at hand, I sent Jarl to hunt them up in the arm-chest on the quarter-deck, where doubtless they must be kept.

1849, Herman Melville, chapter 20, in Mardi, volume 1, New York: Harper, page 79:

[…] he stood on his own particular perch behind the mail, beating his feet, and keeping an eye and a hand on the arm-chest before him, where a loaded blunderbuss lay at the top of six or eight loaded horse-pistols, deposited on a substratum of cutlass.

1859, Charles Dickens, chapter 2, in A Tale of Two Cities, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, book I (Recalled to Life), page 4:

(historical, nautical) A portable chest for storing weapons or tools on a ship.


misfetch

Sometimes you had to work the weather side on account of that being too far to get across the sand to a wreck from the leeward. That wasn't very nice, because you hadn't got no shelter and if you made a misfetch you'd soon be up alongside the wreck yourself.

1980, Hervey Benham, The Salvagers, page 69:

(nautical) The act of fetching to the wrong location.


misfetch

en-verb

misfetch (third-person singular simple present misfetches, present participle misfetching, simple past and past participle misfetched)

misfetches (present singular third-person)
misfetching (participle present)
misfetched (participle past)
misfetched (past)

Furthermore, the direct container handling at shipside can also be controlled by the ACYAS in order to prevent containers from misfetching.

1986, International Journal on Policy and Information - Volume 10, page 41:

In Halfway Reach we mis-fetched and narrowly missed colliding with a fast moving freighter.

1989, Dick Durham, The Last Sailorman, page 85:

(nautical) To steer to the incorrect location when trying to fetch somewhere.


NDB

non-directional beacon
nuclear depth bomb

(military, nautical) Initialism of nuclear depth bomb.


disreef

disreef (third-person singular simple present disreefs, present participle disreefing, simple past and past participle disreefed)

disreefs (present singular third-person)
disreefing (participle present)
disreefed (participle past)
disreefed (past)

(nautical) To let out (a reefed sail) to increase the area it exposes to the wind.


turtle ship

(historical) A Korean armored warship with iron spikes on its deck, chiefly known for being used in the Imjin War (1592—1598) against the Japanese by Admiral Yi Sun-sin.


jumboization

(nautical) The shipbuilding technique of enlarging a ship by inserting middle sections to it, extending its length.


bank effect

(nautical) The effect of suction from the nearside shore or close watercourse bed, caused by the Bernoulli effect making a low pressure zone in the constricted region, leading vessels to be drawn to that surface.


dog basket

[…] and would look with quiet scorn on his less punctilious shipmates when they made a rush at the cuddy "dog basket."

1879, The Nautical Magazine, volume 48, page 307:

A very good table was kept, and the dog-basket and menavelings from it alone would have supplied the fo'c'stle twice over.

1893, John Arthur Barry, Steve Brown's Bunyip: And Other Stories, page 34:

(slang, nautical, archaic) A container holding the remnants of meals from the cabin.


LPV

(nautical) Initialism of landing platform vessel/vehicle.


LPD

(nautical) Initialism of landing, platform, dock.


through the hawsehole

(nautical, slang) Of an officer: having risen from the grade of an ordinary seaman, whose original position in the vessel was forward, before the mast.


shot in the locker

en-noun

shot in the locker (plural shots in the locker)

(nautical, slang) Money or other resources available on hand.


twice-laid

There should have been there a superb dish of twice-laid, only the rats had eaten up all the salt fish, and the Commodore and his friends had eaten up all the potatoes […]

(slang, nautical, archaic) A dish prepared from cold fish and potatoes.


slop chest

(nautical) A supply of clothing and other items on board a ship, which can be purchased by the seamen.


flag list

(military, nautical) A list of active flag officers.


avcat

From aviation, aviation carrier (aircraft carrier), and aviation turbine fuel (avtur).

(US, military, aviation, nautical) Synonym of JP-5, the U.S. Navy jet fuel.


shot soup

Beside this, every other day we had what English seamen call "shot soup" — great round peas, polishing themselves like pebbles by rolling about in tepid water.

1847, Herman Melville, Omoo: A Narrative of Adventures in the South Seas:

They ate in relays, surprised to find their appetites good: they wolfed salt junk and a weak concoction of peas in broth called shot soup.

1950, Robert W. Krepps, The Courts of the Lion, page 80:

(nautical, slang, archaic) A weak soup containing whole peas.


brassbounder

(nautical, historical) A young ship's apprentice whose parents paid for him to have certain privileges on board.


QF

(military, chiefly nautical, of artillery) Initialism of quick-firing.


mark of the beast

mark of the beast (plural marks of the beast)

From Middle English, 1350–1400; earliest use in Wycliffe's Bible. Calque of Ancient Greek χάραγμα τοῦ θηρίου (kháragma toû thēríou).

calque

χάραγμα τοῦ θηρίου

(nautical, slang, archaic) The patches on the lapels of a midshipman's jacket.


by the lay

Sailors on whaling ships were traditionally shipped by the lay.

(nautical) Paid a portion of any profits from the voyage, rather than receiving wages.


crash boat

(historical) A wooden speedboat used to rescue the crew of downed aircraft, chiefly in World War Two.


Splinter Fleet

(colloquial or historical) Collectively, the wooden boats used by the United States military, chiefly in World War Two.


E-boat

After the naming pattern used for the German boats (in this case German S-Boot), but using E for enemy.

(historical) Any German fast attack craft in World War Two.


Higgins boat

Named after American boat designer Andrew Higgins.

named-after

(historical) A type of shallow-draft boat used in amphibious landings, chiefly in World War Two.


jackcrosstree

(nautical) The highest of the crosstrees of a ship; it supports the jackstaff


jackyard

(nautical) A spar at the top of a mast that supports a topsail


hike out

en-verb

hike out (third-person singular simple present hikes out, present participle hiking out, simple past and past participle hiked out)

hikes out (present singular third-person)
hiking out (participle present)
hiked out (participle past)
hiked out (past)

(nautical) to lean over the edge of a boat, in order to counterbalance its weight when it is tilted, to avoid heeling.


spurling pipe

(nautical) A pipe leading the anchor cable from the gypsy of a ship's windlass to the chain locker.


goashore

(nautical, historical, in the plural) A sailor's best clothes, to be worn when going on land.


wheelbox

(nautical) A box beneath a ship's wheel containing the steering gear.


bag reef

(nautical) The fourth or lower reef of a topsail.


cothon

From Ancient Greek κώθων (kṓthōn), rendering a Phoenician term meaning something like "excavated". (Cothon was the name of the island in Carthage's artificial harbor, namesake of the type.)

The cothons at Carthage, during the Punic wars, are said to have held over two hundred ships. The small size of the Motya cothon may be accounted for by […]

1965, Helen Hill Miller, Sicily and the Western Colonies of Greece, New York: Scribner:

Cothons - artificial inner harbours, or perhaps rather docks and repair basins - are another architectural feature ascribed to Phoenician and Punic towns […]

1973, Rivista Di Studi Fenici, volume 1, page 142:

It resembles the Phoenician cothons'.

1999, Ancient Infrastructure: Remarkable Roads, Mines, Walls, Mounds, Stone Circles : a Catalog of Archeological Anomalies:

An artificial, protected harbor in a Phoenician city, especially and originally the one in Carthage.


MAIB

(UK, nautical) Initialism of Marine Accident Investigation Branch.


seacunny

From Arabic سُكَّان (sukkān, “helm”), influenced by sea.

(historical or India) A lascar helmsman.


DDG

guided-missile destroyer
guided-missile destroyer#English

(military, nautical) Initialism of guided-missile destroyer.


waterdrome

Blend of water + aerodrome. May be analyzed as water + -drome.

(nautical, aviation) A facility for landing and launching aircraft, where the runway is the surface of a body of water.


black gang

(nautical) A group of workers who fed the furnaces of a coal-powered steamship or other vessel.


hammock netting

en-noun

hammock netting (countable and uncountable, plural hammock nettings)

(nautical) A net, or later (by extension) a box or trough, for stowing hammocks.


Flemish coil

/ˌflɛmɪʃ ˈkɔɪl/

From Flemish (“of or relating to Flanders”) + coil, the fact that the technique of coiling rope in this manner began with sailors from Flanders.

compound

(nautical) A rope that has been arranged into a neat, flat spiral coil.


kappal

(historical) A ship, especially a square-rigged vessel with top and top-gallant masts.


calaluz

(obsolete) A swift rowing boat used in the Indian Archipelago.


stem for stem

(nautical, obsolete, of ships) Side by side so that both ships’ prows or stems are even with one another, abreast.


give the stem

en-verb

give the stem (third-person singular simple present gives the stem, present participle giving the stem, simple past gave the stem, past participle given the stem)

gives the stem (present singular third-person)
giving the stem (participle present)
gave the stem (past)
given the stem (participle past)

(transitive, nautical, obsolete) To ram with a ship.


batchy

[…] two of them [the crew] were now temporarily incapable of either good or harm. They had gone quite “batchy” with fright, requiring a not too gentle application of the tiller to their heads in order to keep them quiet.

1898, Frank T. Bullen, chapter 5, in The Cruise of the “Cachalot,”, London: Smith, Elder, page 39:

“Does that mean we have to go out in those small boats?” he asked of Sherwood […].
“Nothing less! But buck up, old man, and don’t go batchy, as these whalers call it!”

1925, Patrick Casey, chapter 10, in Sea Plunder, Boston: Small, Maynard, pages 68–69:

He’d seen a great deal older and more seasoned men than that lot go batchy through fatigue or some inexplicable, inner nervous flaw.

1958, Robert Carse, chapter 6, in Great Circle,, New York: Bantam, page 73:

(nautical, slang, obsolete) Experiencing a loss of courage and self-control.


float tube

A small, lightweight inflatable fishing craft.


sea link

However, when Britain left the European Union, ferries started to ply a direct sea link from Ireland, to save hauliers from custom's bureaucracy of driving via Britain.

2021 December 29, Philip Haigh, “Rail's role in unifying Great Britain and Northern Ireland”, in RAIL, number 947, page 25:

(shipping) A regular connection between two (or more) ports, such as that provided by a ferry service.


upper deck

(nautical) The topmost full-length deck of a ship.


monkey forecastle

en-noun

monkey forecastle (plural monkey forecastles)

(nautical) A small, low forecastle, with an open aft, and used for stowage.


unreef

en-verb

unreef (third-person singular simple present unreefs, present participle unreefing, simple past and past participle unreefed)

unreefs (present singular third-person)
unreefing (participle present)
unreefed (participle past)
unreefed (past)

(nautical, transitive) To release (a sail that was previously reefed, or taken in).


MARPOL

(shipping, international law) The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships.


HMB

It has taken 22 years for experts to prove His Majesty’s Bark Endeavour, renamed Lord Sandwich, was one of 13 ships sunk in Newport Harbour in 1778.

2022, Charis Chang, “How did the HMB Endeavour end up near the coast of Rhode Island in the United States?”, in news.com.a (Usenet):

(initialism, nautical, military, UK, historical) His/Her Majesty's Bark


beam-on

Wave direction and frequency (period) are two factors that influence the effect of waves on a moored ship. Whether the ship responds by surging, swaying or yawing will depend on whether the waves are striking the moored vessel head-on, beam-on or quartering, the frequency of the waves and the manner in which the tanker is moored.

2015, Duncan Bruce, Tanker Jetty Safety – Management of the Ship/Shore Interface (1st 2015 ed; second ed. January 2022), 1st edition, Witherby Seamanship International, →ISBN, 3.1.2:

"The jetski slewed around and hit the buoy beam-on. A bystander on the dock hastily threw a lifeline, which flew over the swimming jetskier's head and hit our boat beam-on, tangling itself in the shrouds."

(nautical) Coming from a point abeam (neither directly ahead/head-on, nor well before the beam, nor directly astern, nor well abaft the beam/quartering); said of waves or any object moving relative to the vessel.


hydroflight

(nautical, aviation) A method of tethered flight using an umbilicus to provide power and reaction mass via a hydrojet supplied from a surface pump on a body of water.


autoalarm

(nautical, radio) An automatic radio receiver on a ship, for picking up distress calls.


bunker fuel

en-noun

bunker fuel (usually uncountable, plural bunker fuels)

mechanical engineering
mechanical engineering

(mechanical engineering, petrochemistry, maritime) A type of extremely viscous, heavy fuel oil primarily used by large oceangoing ships.


Aton

(nautical) Alternative letter-case form of AtoN


Viking ship

(historical, nautical) A marine vessel of unique structure, used in Scandinavia from the Viking Age through the Middle Ages, and generally slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel.


surface combatant

surface combatant (plural surface combatants)

(nautical, military) A warship that floats on the surface of the ocean, as opposed to a submarine. Aircraft carriers are also generally excluded.


unbrail

en-verb

unbrail (third-person singular simple present unbrails, present participle unbrailing, simple past and past participle unbrailed)

unbrails (present singular third-person)
unbrailing (participle present)
unbrailed (participle past)
unbrailed (past)

(nautical) To undo the brailing of a sail.


matelotage

A social practice of same-sex civil union among seafarers in the 17th and 18th centuries.


haul out

haul out (third-person singular simple present hauls out, present participle hauling out, simple past and past participle hauled out)

hauls out (present singular third-person)
hauling out (participle present)
hauled out (participle past)
hauled out (past)

It is mostly the way to man the clue-lines and the bunt-lines, to ease off the lee-sheet and clue it up; then man the weather-brace, let go the lee-brace and bunt-lines at the same time; when the sail is spilled, haul out the reef-tackles, and reef as before.

1800, John Hamilton Moore, The New Practical Navigator:

Haul up and spill the sail, as if you were going to furl it, then haul out the reef-tackles and reef it.

1871, Thomas Liddell Ainsley, A Guide Book to the Local Marine Board Examination, page 297:

When the yard is down, but not before, haul out the reeftackles, and haul taut the buntlines — the yard will brace in easier if the ship is luffed to make the weather leach of the sail lift.

1876, George Strong Nares, Seamanship: Including Names of Principal Parts of a Ship, page 202:

Hoist Away, Haul Out! taking in the slack of the outhaul and inner halliards. When halfway up between the deck and lower yard, haul out the squilgee, and as the sail falls, haul out on the outhaul, and hoist the sail up taut to the topmast studding-sail boom; then haul out the outhaul and pull up on the inner halliards.

1884, Stephen Bleecker Luce, Aaron Ward, Text-book of Seamanship, page 407:

(nautical) To pull on an outhaul in order to extend (a sail) along a spar, or to pull on a reef-tackle to reef (a sail).

She may then steer by the eye, keeping about three times as far off the islet Chapany, as from the shore, until all the islands be in one, she will then be in the narrowest part of the channel; she must then haul out to the westward, so as to get midchannel between the shores of Zanzibar and Chapany, when the latter bears N.W.b.N. (true).

1844, The Nautical Magazine and Naval Chronicle, page 275:

If stop-off point is not on the direct run, a charge of 1 cent per ton per mile (minimum 20 miles) for haul out of direct run will be made in addition to stop-off charge, except that such charge will not be made between Sudbury Junction and Sudbury, Ont., on lumber for dressing at Sudbury, Ont., and reshipment to points south of Sudbury Junction, Ont.

1934, Report of the Board of Transport Commissioners for Canada, page 181:

They led me into less than 3 fathoms water and a very narrow Channel formed by Isles, that led into a deep Bight; and as I went in with a large wind, and not having room to haul out either way, or even bring the Ship's head to, to the wind, I was obliged to let go the anchor all Standing, and send my Boat to sound the Passage out.

1940, James Colnett, The Journal of Captain James Colnett, page 245:

(nautical) To turn sharply in order to deviate from the current heading or course.

They managed to haul out their motorboat by paying a local to drag it ashore with a line hitched to a truck.

A small marine railway at Fleming Landing can haul out boats up to 35 feet in length.

1953, United States Coast Pilot, page 32:

That is why, wherever there is a threat of ice forming, mariners haul out their boats, if they possibly can, or escape the threat.

1988, Tristan Jones, The Improbable Voyage of the Yacht Outward Leg Into, Through, and Out of the Heart of Europe, page 64:

Boats of all sizes have to be hauled out for maintenance sooner or later.

(nautical) To pull a boat out of the water; (by extension, loosely) to drydock a ship.


unwhip

unwhip (third-person singular simple present unwhips, present participle unwhipping, simple past and past participle unwhipped)

unwhips (present singular third-person)
unwhipping (participle present)
unwhipped (participle past)
unwhipped (past)

(transitive, nautical) To unbind the end of a rope that was previously whipped or bound up to prevent its unlaying.

(intransitive, nautical) To become unbound in this way.


untrice

untrice (third-person singular simple present untrices, present participle untricing, simple past and past participle untriced)

untrices (present singular third-person)
untricing (participle present)
untriced (participle past)
untriced (past)

Then ordering the boy of the mess to untrice his hammock, and staggering towards it, after several attempts he succeeded in springing into it from a chest, […]

1847, John Ross Dix, Jack Ariel, Or, Life on Board an Indiaman, volume 1, page 83:

I walked forward and untriced the bowsprit dolphin-striker, to get ready for sailing.

1996, Tristan Jones, A Steady Trade: A Boyhood at Sea, page 249:

(transitive, nautical) To release something previously triced, i.e., hoisted and tied up.


LVW

(automotive, military, nautical) Abbreviation of landing vehicle, wheeled. (amphibious truck)


FV

(maritime, nautical, fishing) Initialism of fishing vessel. (also a ship prefix)


R.V.

(nautical) Initialism of research vessel.

Alternative form of RV
Initialism of research vessel.


superfiring

(military, nautical, of a gun turret on a warship) Mounted higher than one or more other turrets within its firing arc, allowing it to fire over the top of the lower-mounted turret(s).


V-berth

(nautical) An approximately V-shaped berth at the extreme forward end of the hull, usually in a separate cabin called the forepeak.


raise steam

raise steam (third-person singular simple present raises steam, present participle raising steam, simple past and past participle raised steam)

raises steam (present singular third-person)
raising steam (participle present)
raised steam (participle past)
raised steam (past)

[…] the fireman has to divide his time between getting up into the bunker to throw more turfs into the cab, and getting down on his hands and knees to get it into the firebox, and even then a reserve supply of turf must be carried on a truck behind the engine, and stops must be made on each steep ascent to raise more steam.

1945 January and February, “Notes and News: Locomotive Firing with Turf”, in Railway Magazine, page 46:

(engineering, nautical, rail transport) To build up a useful head (pressure level) of steam in a steam-engined vehicle's boiler.


hambroline

en-noun

hambroline (countable and uncountable, plural hambrolines)

(nautical) A three-stranded tarred hemp cord.


cross someone's T

en-verb

cross someone's T (third-person singular simple present crosses someone's T, present participle crossing someone's T, simple past and past participle crossed someone's T)

crosses someone's T (present singular third-person)
crossing someone's T (participle present)
crossed someone's T (participle past)
crossed someone's T (past)

From the shape formed by the opposing battle lines, which resembles a capital letter T.

No sooner has the fleet settled onto this course than a small group of Japanese cruisers and actual, real, live, all-singing, all-dancing, all-features-included, protected-by-the-Emperor torpedo boats begin to move to cross the T of the Russian fleet. Worried about a torpedo attack on his lead battleships and determined to sweep this small formation aside, Rozhestvensky orders his main ships into a line abreast, a far-more-potent display of force that allows every forward-pointing gun on his capital ships to bear at the same time.

2019 September 18, Drachinifel, 12:24 from the start, in Battle of Tsushima - When the 2nd Pacific Squadron thought it couldn't get any worse..., archived from the original on 2022-12-04:

(military, nautical) To sail one's battle line across the front of the enemy battle line, allowing one to bring one's full firepower to bear on the enemy battle line while limiting the firepower that the enemy can use in return.


downflood

downflood (third-person singular simple present downfloods, present participle downflooding, simple past and past participle downflooded)

downfloods (present singular third-person)
downflooding (participle present)
downflooded (participle past)
downflooded (past)

Once seawater flowed down (downflooded) to the fourth deck through the ventilation trunks and their unsecured (open) closures, the vessel would have sunk deeper because of the weight of the added water and rolled more easily as it lost its residual righting arm.

2017 December 12, National Transportation Safety Board, “2.4.2 Flooding”, in Marine Accident Report: Sinking of US Cargo Vessel SS El Faro, Atlantic Ocean, Northeast of Acklins and Crooked Island, Bahamas, October 1, 2015, archived from the original on 2022-05-15, page 194:

(nautical, of water or other liquid) To enter a boat, ship, or other vessel through openings that are normally above the waterline.


downflooding angle

en-noun

downflooding angle (plural downflooding angles)

Figure 60 shows the downflooding angles for the downflooding points described above, plus the angle at which the edge of the freeboard deck would have been immersed (about 15°). The downflooding angles are superimposed on two righting arm curves. The upper curve is the righting arm for El Faro in the intact condition on the morning of the sinking, before flooding began and with no wind. The lower curve is the righting arm for the vessel with hold 3 flooded to 20 percent and a sustained 80-knot beam wind.

2017 December 12, National Transportation Safety Board, “1.12.10 Postaccident Analysis of Stability, Structures, and Sinking”, in Marine Accident Report: Sinking of US Cargo Vessel SS El Faro, Atlantic Ocean, Northeast of Acklins and Crooked Island, Bahamas, October 1, 2015, archived from the original on 2022-05-15, page 156:

(nautical) The minimum bank angle which will submerge at least one non-watertight opening on a boat, ship, or other vessel, allowing for downflooding into the interior of the vessel.


downflooding point

downflooding point (plural downflooding points)

The El Faro stability booklet did not identify the cargo hold ventilation trunk openings as potential downflooding points, nor did it indicate that they should be closed to prevent downflooding. None of the former officers or crew of El Faro remembered the dampers being closed at sea (even for expected heavy weather), except when they were periodically tested. When asked what a captain should have done if faced with the risk of fire or flooding, an ABS representative stated that the captain would have to "trade off one risk against another risk and maintain certain weathertight integrity while not compromising or not reintroducing some other risk."

2017 December 12, National Transportation Safety Board, “1.12.4 Methods of Assessing Stability”, in Marine Accident Report: Sinking of US Cargo Vessel SS El Faro, Atlantic Ocean, Northeast of Acklins and Crooked Island, Bahamas, October 1, 2015, archived from the original on 2022-05-15, pages 138-139:

(nautical) An opening above the waterline of a boat, ship, or other vessel through which water or other liquid can enter if the vessel rolls to an excessive angle or rides lower than normally.


righting arm

Figure 60 shows the downflooding angles for the downflooding points described above, plus the angle at which the edge of the freeboard deck would have been immersed (about 15°). The downflooding angles are superimposed on two righting arm curves. The upper curve is the righting arm for El Faro in the intact condition on the morning of the sinking, before flooding began and with no wind. The lower curve is the righting arm for the vessel with hold 3 flooded to 20 percent and a sustained 80-knot beam wind. The smaller area under the lower righting arm curve, compared with the area under the upper curve, illustrates the severely reduced energy the vessel had available to right itself after hold 3 flooded and the ship lost power, with hurricane winds on its beam (blowing at a 90° angle to its starboard side).

(nautical, physics) The horizontal distance between the center of mass of a tilted vessel and the vertical line connecting its center of buoyancy and its metacentre (conventionally taken as positive if the aforementioned line lies on the low side of the center of mass, and negative if the line lies on the high side of the center of mass), measuring the strength of the vessel's tendency (or lack thereof) to return to an upright orientation.


metacentric height

metacentric height (plural metacentric heights)

The distance from a ship's center of gravity (G) to its metacenter is known as the metacentric height (GM). GM is a measure of the vessel's ability to right itself when experiencing an overturning moment. For the same vessel, a higher GM value indicates a greater initial static stability.

2017 December 12, National Transportation Safety Board, “1.12 Stability Information - 1.12.1 Concepts”, in Marine Accident Report: Sinking of US Cargo Vessel SS El Faro, Atlantic Ocean, Northeast of Acklins and Crooked Island, Bahamas, October 1, 2015, archived from the original on 2022-05-15, page 132:

(nautical, physics) The vertical distance between the metacentre and center of mass (conventionally taken to be positive when the metacentre is above the center of mass, and negative when the center of mass is above the metacentre) of a vessel (such as a ship or a boat) when the vessel is upright with zero bank angle; measures the vessel's tendency to resist being rolled from the upright orientation; must be positive in order for the vessel to have positive static stability.


downflooding

The tops of the baffle plates installed to limit water from entering holds 3 and 2A through the fire dampers, which were about 25 to 26 feet above the accident voyage still waterline, were found after loss of propulsion to submerge at heeling angles of 26° to 29°, with only hold 3 flooded to 20 percent at 0.7 permeability. No damage control plan or emergency plan was found that might recommend securing the fire dampers in extremely high seas to prevent potential downflooding through ventilation openings into cargo holds.

2017 December 12, National Transportation Safety Board, “1.12.10 Postaccident Analysis of Stability, Structures, and Sinking”, in Marine Accident Report: Sinking of US Cargo Vessel SS El Faro, Atlantic Ocean, Northeast of Acklins and Crooked Island, Bahamas, October 1, 2015, archived from the original on 2022-05-15, page 155:

(nautical) The entry of water or other liquid into a boat, ship, or other vessel through openings that are normally above the waterline.


HMNB

(UK, nautical, military) Initialism of Her (or His) Majesty's Naval Base; prefix used in the names of naval bases of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom.


mutinery

mutinery (countable and uncountable, plural mutineries)

Of course, a Capitaine of a ship having already a mutinery aboard before he got the chair is not very pleasant. I didn't mean to criticize Souvannaphouma solely. His XO, Cox'n and the rest of the personel could have gave their support to their CO.

1998 April 6, CHOWIGAN, “INSULTED”, in soc.culture.laos (Usenet), retrieved 2022-05-26:

I am here in Abidjan, military mutinery still goes on but there are no injuries or major problems to fear, especially within the Lebanese community.

1999 December 24, lib...@my-deja.com, “Lebanese in ABIDJAN OK...”, in soc.culture.lebanon (Usenet), retrieved 2022-05-26:

Americans win their sole victory in Saratoga when general Burgoyne realise that Canadian merchants sold him ragweed instead of tea before his departure. Unable to get new provisions and facing a mutinery he decides to surrender.

2003 December 23, assurancetourix, “Daughter wants to visit Saddam Hussein, He may be one of many doubles.”, in alt.conspiracy (Usenet), retrieved 2022-05-26:

Investigations and stuff about 1917 mutineries are well known from ages and such death penalties for "treason" were even amnistied in 1936-37. More details came with time but there is nothing really that would worry any French government from the last six decades.

2007 August 6, Takata, “Casualties in the Battle of France?”, in soc.history.war.world-war-ii (Usenet), retrieved 2022-05-26:


mainboom

(nautical) The boom (spar) of the mainsail.


sofar channel

(hydrology, physics, nautical) The depth in the oceans, usually around 750 m below the surface, where the speed of sound is the lowest, causing it to transmit sound waves generated within this channel for long distances with little attenuation by acting as a waveguide.


sofar bomb

(nautical, military) A device (usually an imploding metal sphere or an explosive charge fuzed to explode at depth) which sinks in the ocean and creates a loud, low-frequency sound when it enters the sofar channel; used to determine the location of sunken vessels.


rose box

(nautical) A perforated box attached to the input pipe of a bilge pump, to trap any solid material that might otherwise clog the pump.


heavy frigate

(nautical) A type of frigate, characterised by its heavy armament.


LASH

(nautical) Acronym of lighter-aboard-ship.


super-heavy frigate

super-heavy frigate (plural super-heavy frigates)

(nautical) A type of frigate, characterised by its very heavy armament.