squill-gee

After the holy-stone, comes the squill-gee; a wooden instrument like a hoe, but with a face, broad and flat, and lined with leather: the decks are partly dried with it; and the operation is completed by the swabs, articles formed by tying a number of loose yarns together, now dashed, by their handles, with violence about the deck.

1829, George Jones, Sketches of Naval Life, with Notices of Men, Manners and Scenery, on the Shores of the Mediterranean, in a Series of Letters from the Brandwine and Constitution Frigates, volume 1, page 97:

(nautical) A tool used for cleaning the decks of ships.


Union Flag

(nautical, British) The flag flown on ships of the government of Great Britain or the United Kingdom.


astern of

The ship left a wake astern of her.


shear legs

Apart from its unique public viewing gallery, the depot features 40-ton capacity shear legs which will be complemented shortly by an overhead lifting crane.

1979 August, Michael Harris, “A line for all reasons: the North Yorkshire Moors Railway”, in Railway World, pages 412, 414:

(nautical) A form of derrick, consisting of three poles and a block and tackle, used to hoist and lower heavy weights, especially the masts of sailing ships.


green water

“When green water started coming over the flight deck, you knew you were in water. The smaller ships like the destroyers and stuff had a terrible time. When a carrier takes green water that’s a good sixty feet above the water if not more, and its rough.” James Spence WWII Veteran describing June 5, 1945 typhoon, The Last Days of World War II, episode 7, The History Channel

(nautical) A large quantity of water on a ship's deck as a result of massive waves during a large storm.


Kriegsmarine

(historical, military, nautical, World War II) The navy of Nazi Germany.


sideboy

(nautical) One of an even-numbered group of seamen posted in two rows on the quarterdeck when a visiting dignitary boards or leaves the ship, historically to help (or even hoist) him aboard.


fore-and-aft-rigged

(nautical, of a ship) having its main sails rigged onto spars or stays parallel to the keel

pitkittäistakiloitu

having sails rigged parallel to the keel

(nautical, of a sail) rigged in this manner


spiling

(nautical) The edge-curve of a plank or of a strake in a vessel's hull.


hause

A variant, like hawse (“part of a vessel's bow containing hawseholes”), of Middle English halse (“neck”); see hawse for more.


galley slave

"That is a chain of galley slaves, on the way to the galleys by force of the king's orders." "How by force?" asked Don Quixote; "is it possible that the king uses force against anyone?" "I do not say that," answered Sancho, "but that these are people condemned for their crimes to serve by force in the king's galleys."

1885, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, chapter XXII, in John Ormsby, transl., The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha […] In Four Vols, volume I, London: Smith, Elder & Co. […], →OCLC, part I, page 346:

(historical, nautical) A slave who rows in a galley (type of ship).


damage control

en-noun

damage control (countable and uncountable, plural damage controls)

(nautical) A department or group, as aboard a naval vessel, responsible for taking action to control damage caused by fire, collision, etc.

損害管制

department responsible for taking action to control damage


paravane

(nautical) A device, stabilized with vanes, towed alongside a vessel such that the cable attaching it cuts the moorings of submerged mines.

paravane

device for cutting the moorings of mines

(nautical) A towed underwater object with hydrofoils, of diverse uses.


plane sailing

Audio (GA)

From plane (adjective) + sailing (noun), a variant of plain sailing probably by analogy with plane chart (“(nautical) chart representing the earth in which lines of latitude and longitude are respectively shown as parallel straight lines”) or plane scale (“(chiefly nautical, obsolete) scale or ruler with markings used for calculations, especially for navigation”).

[…] I hired a Tonquineſe for about a Dollar to be my guide. This, tho but a ſmall matter, vvas a great deal out of my Pocket, vvho had not above 2 Dollars in all, vvhich I had gotten on board, by teaching ſome of our young Seamen Plain Sailing.

1699, William Dampier, Voyages and Descriptions. Vol. II. […], London: […] James Knapton, […], →OCLC, part I (His Voyage from Achin in Sumatra, to Tonquin, […]), page 90:

[…] Me[r]cators Sailing gives the correct Difference of Latitude and Longitude both; Middle Latitude Sailing, only the correct Difference of Longitude; Plain Sailing gives neither correctly; and therefore their Merits are in Proportion.

1735, Benjamin Martin, “The Use of Decimals in Plain Trigonometry, and Other Mathmatical Sciences Depending thereon”, in A New Compleat and Universal System or Body of Decimal Arithmetick, […], London: […] J[ohn] Noon, […], →OCLC, page 322:

I doubt as hovv I've ſteered by a vvrong chart, d'ye ſee—as for the matter of the ſciences, to be ſure, I knovv plain ſailing and mercator; and am an indifferent good ſeaman, […]

1760 January – 1761 December, [Tobias George Smollett], “In which the Knight Resumes His Importance”, in The Life and Adventures of Sir Launcelot Greaves. […], Dublin: […] James Hoey, junior, published 1762, →OCLC, page 78:

[W]e have determined to go by way of Lisbon, […] and so on our old route to Malta and Constantinople, if so be that Captain Kidd, our gallant commander, understands plain sailing and Mercator and takes us on our voyage all according to the chart.

1809 June 25, Lord Byron, “Letter XXXV. To Mr. Henry Drury.”, in Thomas Moore, editor, Letters and Journals of Lord Byron: With Notices of His Life, […], volume I, London: John Murray, […], published 1830, →OCLC, page 188:

(nautical) A technique for navigation using the assumption that the journey occurs over a plane or flat surface rather than the actual curved surface of the Earth, which is sufficiently accurate over short distances.


puddening

puddening (countable and uncountable, plural puddenings)

(nautical) Fibres of old rope packed between spars, or used as a fender.

кранец

fibres of old rope packed between spars, or used as a fender


banana boat

(nautical) An inflatable recreational boat meant for towing, often yellow and banana-shaped.

bananbåd

(nautical) A ship designed to transport bananas.


pull in

en-verb

pull in (third-person singular simple present pulls in, present participle pulling in, simple past and past participle pulled in)

pulls in (present singular third-person)
pulling in (participle present)
pulled in (participle past)
pulled in (past)

pull in the main sheet

(idiomatic, nautical, transitive) To tighten a sail by pulling on a rope.


galliass

[T]he greateſt of their Galliaſſes fell foule vpon another ſhip, and loſt her Rudder, ſo that guideleſſe ſhe droue vvith the tide vpon a ſhelue in the ſhoare of Callis, vvhere ſhee vvas aſſaulted by the Engliſh.

1611, Iohn Speed [i.e., John Speed], The History of Great Britaine under the Conquests of yͤ Romans, Saxons, Danes and Normans. […], London: […] William Hall and John Beale, for John Sudbury and George Humble, […], →OCLC, book IX ([Englands Monarchs] […]), paragraph 210, page 861:

(nautical) Alternative spelling of galleass


HBMS

(UK, military, nautical, obsolete) Initialism of His/Her Britannic Majesty's Ship, replaced by HMS (His/Her Majesty's Ship).


HDMS

(military, nautical) Initialism of His/Her Danish Majesty's Ship. a ship name prefix for a naval ship of the navy of Denmark

KDM

short for 'Kongelige Danske Marine', (Royal Danish Navy)


HNoMS

(military, nautical) Initialism of his/her Norwegian majesty's ship.


HNLMS

(military, nautical) Her Dutch Majesty's Ship

(military, nautical) His Dutch Majesty's Ship


HNMS

(military, nautical) His/Her Norwegian Majesty's Ship

(military, nautical) His/Her Dutch Majesty's Ship


HSwMS

(military, nautical) Initialism of His/Her Swedish Majesty's Ship; a ship prefix for a naval ship of the navy of Sweden


M/S

(nautical) Initialism of motor ship. – a ship propelled by an internal combustion engine, such as a diesel engine, in contrast to sailing ships and steamships


picard

Inherited from Middle English picard. Doublet of Picard.

Others, used commonly as fishing boats and in trade with Ireland, were “picards”, named often in the Tolsey Court books as pledges for debts, and worth about £8.

1933, E. M. Carus Wilson, “The Overseas Trade of Bristol”, in Eileen Power, M. M. Postan, editors, Studies in English Trade in the 15th Century, page 239:

Irish picards were noted as leaving Bridgewater or Minehead one day with small cargoes of salt or victuals, and returning the next or even the same day with loads of fish.

1947, Dorothy Burwash, English Merchant Shipping, 1460–1540:

Picards were very small. They were sailing lighters of some kind, primarily used to carry the catches from fishing boats at sea to port.

2015, Ian Friel, Henry V’s Navy: The Sea-Road to Agincourt and Conquest, 1413–1422, →ISBN:

(historical, nautical) A type of light, seaworthy vessel used in trade and the transport of fish in Britain and Ireland in the late medieval and early modern period.


turn flukes

turn flukes (third-person singular simple present turns flukes, present participle turning flukes, simple past and past participle turned flukes)

turns flukes (present singular third-person)
turning flukes (participle present)
turned flukes (participle past)
turned flukes (past)

But come, it's getting dreadful late, you had better be turning flukes--it's a nice bed; Sal and me slept in that ere bed the night we were spliced.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 3”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:


master mariner

That B. C. S., late, &c., master mariner, on, &c., at a foreign port or place called Valparaiso, in South America, then and there being the master and commander of the "Henry Clay," ...

1849, Francis Wharton, Precedents of Indictments and Pleas:

1901, Joseph Conrad, Falk: A Reminiscence,
He was a Schiff-fuhrer: Ship-conductor. That's how they call a Master Mariner in Germany. I prefer our way. The alliteration is good, and there is something in the nomenclature that gives to us as a body the sense of corporate existence: Apprentice, Mate, Master, in the ancient and honourable craft of the sea.

1987, D. J. House, Seamanship Techniques, Volume 2, chapter heading,
Certificate of Competency for Master Mariner, Class 1

(nautical) A seaman who has qualified to be a captain of a merchant ship


headsail

(nautical) Any sail (of a sailing vessel) set forward of the foremost mast.


stone frigate

(UK, naval slang) A shore establishment of the Royal Navy and some Commonwealth navies.


buckler plate

(nautical) a cover over a hawsehole, used to keep spray out of the chain locker and prevent deckhands from stepping into the hawsehole.


hawsepipe

(nautical) metal pipe fitted into a hawsehole, to protect the wood


chain locker

(nautical) A space in the forward part of the ship, typically beneath the bow in front of the foremost collision bulkhead, that contains the anchor chain when the anchor is secured for sea.


RAS

(military, nautical) Initialism of replenishment at sea.


COG

Coordinate term: SOG

(nautical) Abbreviation of course over ground.


LSO

landing signal officer
w:landing signal officer

(aviation, nautical, military) Initialism of landing signal officer.


waistcloth

(nautical, historical) A covering of canvas or tarpaulin for the hammocks, stowed on the nettings, between the quarterdeck and the forecastle.


transport ship

(nautical) A ship that is used to transport military personnel; a troopship.

transportskib

a ship that is used to transport military personnel


unrig

unrig (third-person singular simple present unrigs, present participle unrigging, simple past and past participle unrigged)

unrigs (present singular third-person)
unrigging (participle present)
unrigged (participle past)
unrigged (past)

No, I have brought nothing but Ballaſt back,—made a delicious Voyage, Setter; and might have rode at Anchor in the Port till this time, but the Enemy ſurpriz'd us.— I vvou'd unrig.

1693, [William] Congreve, The Old Batchelour, a Comedy. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Peter Buck, […], →OCLC, Act V, scene i, page 43:

Some climbed the masts to unrig her, others rushed into the hold to get out the cargo, and numbers hurried to the cabin to carry off the lighter articles which it contained.

1859, W[illiam] H[enry] G[iles] Kingston, chapter 22, in Old Jack:

TRIPPING-LINE. A small rope serving to unrig the lower top-gallant yard-arm of its lift and brace, when in the act of sending it down on deck.

1867, William Henry Smyth, The Sailor's Word-Book:

[I]n bathing costumes they unrigged the boat, put away the sails, and got her up to her resting place upon the dry sand of the beach.

1957, Neville Shute, chapter 3, in On the Beach, New York: William Morrow & Co:

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


rerig

rerig (third-person singular simple present rerigs, present participle rerigging, simple past and past participle rerigged)

rerigs (present singular third-person)
rerigging (participle present)
rerigged (participle past)
rerigged (past)

The Edward A. Horton, the Gloucester schooner forced into Guysborough, Nova Scotia, and stripped of its sails, is part of Gloucester lore. Six New Englanders broke into a warehouse at night, took the impounded gear, rerigged the schooner, and slipped away on the flood tide.

(nautical, transitive) To rig again; to outfit (a ship) with new rigging.


ride down

ride down (third-person singular simple present rides down, present participle riding down, simple past rode down, past participle ridden down)

rides down (present singular third-person)
riding down (participle present)
rode down (past)
ridden down (participle past)

(nautical) To bear down, as on a halyard when hoisting a sail.


landing ship

(military, nautical) a sea-going military light ferry designed to assault shores that are held against them, and disembark forces directly onto the shore


brailing

During the day the brailings were rolled up and tied with tapes.

2007, Ron Pottinger, A Soldier in the Cockpit, page 13:

(nautical) Synonym of brail (“rope for trussing sails”)


turtled

Righting a turtled boat is usually difficult, since an upside-down hull is very stable and the submerged sails will resist your efforts.

1988, Derrick Fries, Start Sailing Right!, page 85:

(nautical) Capsized; turned upside-down in the water.


footrope

(nautical) a rope attached to the lower part of a sail

(nautical) a rope attached to a yard that sailors stood on to stabilize it when furling or reefing


foresheet

Tom sprang to the position which had been occupied by the spokesman of the party, and grasping the foresheet and the tiller of the boat, he soon brought her up to the wind.

1864, Oliver Optic, The Soldier Boy; or, Tom Somers in the Army:

They saw him board, neatly running the small boat under the schooner's counter; they saw the foresheet eased off and the ship run up into the wind; then the foresail dropped and the wheel lashed so that she would stand so.

1907, Stewart Edward White, Samuel Hopkins Adams, The Mystery:

(nautical) one of the sheets (ropes) that controls the foresail

tile tosaigh

one of the ropes that controls the foresail


foretopsail

(nautical) The sail draped from the foretopmast.


gantline

A moment later, I saw the man's head appear over the top. He had the tail-block slung round his neck, and the end of the gantline over his shoulder.

1909, William Hope Hodgson, The Ghost Pirates, Chapter IV:

He drew deep breath; a gantline swayed aloft
A lower topsail, hard with rope and leather,
Such as men's frozen fingers fight with oft
Below the Ramirez in Cape Hom weather.

“Now then — to the main topsail now! Tally on to that gantline. Don't stand about there!”

1914, Joseph Conrad, chapter 4, in The Niger of Narkissos:

(nautical) A line rigged to a mast, used to hoist rigging.


brightwork

en-noun

brightwork (usually uncountable, plural brightworks)

Polished metal fixtures, especially aboard a boat.

If you're drawn to a boat with even a moderate degree of brightwork, you are obviously so attracted because you appreciate the aesthetics of wood.

1990, Rebecca J. Wittman, Brightwork: The Art of Finishing Wood:

The varnished or oiled wood trim aboard a boat.


round-top

A man on the roundtop cried out, Au voile, a sail.

1722, Daniel Defoe, chapter 11, in Colonel Jack:

(nautical) A platform at the top of a ship's mast.


spritsail

Finding it was like to overblow, we took in our Sprit-ſail, and ſtood by to hand the Fore-ſail; but making foul Weather, we look'd the Guns were all faſt, and handed the Miſſen.

1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “A Great Storm Described, the Long-Boat Sent to Fetch Water, the Author Goes with It to Discover the Country. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part II (A Voyage to Brobdingnag), page 151:

(nautical) A form of three- or four-sided fore-and-aft sail and its rig, supporting the leech of the sail by means of a sprit.


speronara

From Italian speronara, Sicilian spirunara.

'Whilst my boat was preparing (a Maltese speronara, with a crew of twelve men, selected for their knowledge of the coast,) I wrote two letters, one to Malta, and the other to Lisbon, stating the loss of the ship.

1850, William O. S. Gilly, Narratives of Shipwrecks of the Royal Navy; between 1793 and 1849:

We had the ponente, or west-wind, all night, but the speronara moved sluggishly, and in the morning it changed to the greco-levante, or north-east.

1863, Bayard Taylor, The Lands of the Saracen:

(nautical, historical) A small, usually single-masted, sailing boat, used especially for transport between Sicily and Malta, remaining in use along the coast of Sicily until the mid-20th century.


stokehold

Yarrow's patent water tight ash pans are fitted to each boiler, to prevent the fire being extinguished by a sudden influx of water into the stokehold.

1887, Various, Scientific American Supplement, No. 598, June 18, 1887:

A plume of smoke went nearly straight up from the funnel, and now and then the clang of furnace-slice and shovel rose from the stokehold, for Mayne hoped to float the vessel next tide.

1918, Harold Bindloss, The Buccaneer Farmer:

The noise and roar of the engines was ever in my ears, and the peculiar ocean-like noise of the stokehold ... and the metallic clang of coal as it shot from shovels....

(nautical) A chamber where a ship's furnaces are stoked.

котелно

a chamber where a ship's furnaces are stoked


copperfasten

en-verb

copperfasten (third-person singular simple present copperfastens, present participle copperfastening, simple past and past participle copperfastened)

copperfastens (present singular third-person)
copperfastening (participle present)
copperfastened (participle past)
copperfastened (past)

/ˈkɒpəˌfɑːsn̩/

From copper + fasten. From copper sheathing of ship hulls (to protect from damage by marine organisms. Originally copper sheathing but non-copper bolts were used, leading to corrosion. Later copper bolts (fasteners) were also used, eliminating corrosion issues. Literal sense from 18th century, metaphorical sense attested 1948.

She is copper-fastened and copper-bottomed, and a remarkable fine ship.

1796, The Hull Advertiser, 9th July 1796

(transitive, historical) To protect the timbers of (a ship) with plates of copper secured with copper nails or bolts.


bosun's chair

boatswain's chair
boatswain's chair#English


buoy tender

(nautical) Someone charged with looking after buoys.


longship

From Middle English *langschip, from Old English langscip (“a longship, a large warship”), equivalent to long + ship. Cognate with German Langschiff, Swedish långskepp, Icelandic langskip, Norwegian langskip, Dutch langschip.

inh

A type of naval vessel made by the Vikings.


ROKS

Republic Of Korea
Republic of Korea#English

(South Korea, military, nautical) Initialism of Republic Of Korea Ship, a warship of South Korea.


oscillometer

(nautical) A device that measures the roll (or pitch) of a ship


cat-harping

(nautical) One of the short ropes or iron cramps used to brace in the shrouds toward the masts so as to give freer sweep to the yards.


ground tackle

(nautical) equipment, such as anchors, cables, or windlasses, for mooring a vessel away from a pier or other fixed moorings.


windage

en-noun

windage (usually uncountable, plural windages)

(chiefly nautical) Exposure to the wind.


bitt-heads

(nautical) The upright timbers let in and bolted to the beams or the deck, and stepped to the backbone or infrastructure of the ship.


scramble net

(nautical) A net used to allow people to climb off a ship in an emergency.


bitt-pin

(nautical) A device like a belaying pin but of heavier scantlings; a turned length of wood or metal passed through the bitts or cross-piece, used to prevent the cable from slipping off or over the bitt-heads yet removable so as to facilitate doing so.


boatel

(nautical) A ship, normally moored alongside a quay, used as a hotel


breasthook

(nautical) A horizontal timber fitted in the bows of a ship to add strength and to connect the sides to the stem.


sterndrive

(nautical) A form of marine propulsion similar to an outboard motor


forestaysail

(nautical) A triangular sail attached to the forestay.


westing

(nautical) A distance travelled westward.


foretriangle

(nautical) A triangular space on a sailing ship between the deck, foremast, and forestay.


windbound

en-adj

windbound (comparative more windbound, superlative most windbound)

more windbound (comparative)
most windbound (superlative)

(nautical) Unable to sail because of high winds, or of onshore winds.


southing

(nautical) A distance traveled southward.


downhaul

(nautical) Any rope used to haul down a sail or spar.


skillygalee

Unknown and much-speculated (compare lobscouse and other fancifully-named hardy foods), but possibly Irish in root.

Breakfast was served at 8am and sometimes consisted of skillygalee, a sort of oatmeal gruel prepared in fatty water and which by the time of Trafalgar included butter and sugar.

2005, Gregory Fremont-Barnes, Steve Noon, Nelson's Sailors, Osprey Publishing, page 24:

(obsolete, nautical) A type of gruel made from oatmeal, oft-served historically in poorhouses, sailors' ships, etc.


skilly

“I would be given for supper six ounces of bread and ‘three parts of skilly.’ ‘Three parts’ means three-quarters of a pint, and ‘skilly’ is a fluid concoction of three quarts of oatmeal stirred into three buckets and a half of hot water.”

1903, Jack London, The People of the Abyss, Macmillan:

Of course unlike the officers we never got fresh bread, we got what came from barrels stored in the lower peak and under the steward's padlock. Pantiles baked brick hard, mouldy oats for skilly, dried peas for soup, embalmed pork and beef more fat and bone than meat.


midbowman

(nautical) a member of the crew who works with the mast and often packs the sails below deck.


America's Cup

From America, the name of the yacht which won the first race, and was awarded the trophy.

A sailing regatta between two yachts, usually held every three or four years.


backwind

en-verb

backwind (third-person singular simple present backwinds, present participle backwinding, simple past and past participle backwinded)

backwinds (present singular third-person)
backwinding (participle present)
backwinded (participle past)
backwinded (past)

If a sailing boat's bow is pointing too high into the wind the sails backwind.

(nautical) To deflect air into the back of a sail or of a vessel


deckhead

Coordinate term: bulkhead

(nautical) The underside of a deck (equivalent to a ceiling).


fairwater

(nautical) A device that improves the streamlining of a vessel.


spraydeck

(nautical) A cover, for a kayak or canoe, that prevents water entering during rough weather.


sternsheets

(nautical) The stern area of an open boat; the planking that forms the floor or seating in that area

кърмова площадка

the stern area of an open boat; the planking that forms the floor or seating in that area


waterplane

(nautical) The horizontal cross section of a vessel on a level with the waterline.


blockship

[…] the veteran paddle-steamer Gondolier was sunk as a blockship at Scapa Flow; […].

1946 September and October, “Notes and News: The War Effect on the Clyde Steamers”, in Railway Magazine, page 324:

(nautical) A vessel that is deliberately sunk in order to block a waterway (to prevent it being used by an enemy)


bellyband

From belly + band. As a Japanese article of clothing, a calque of Japanese 腹巻き (haramaki).

(nautical) A band of canvas used to strengthen a sail.


shove off

shove off (third-person singular simple present shoves off, present participle shoving off, simple past and past participle shoved off)

shoves off (present singular third-person)
shoving off (participle present)
shoved off (participle past)
shoved off (past)

(nautical) To set a boat in motion by pushing with an oar or boat-hook.


daybook

From day + book. Cognate with Dutch dagboek (“diary, journal, logbook”), German Tagebuch (“diary, journal, daybook”), Danish dagbog (“diary”), Swedish dagbok (“diary, logbook, journal, daybook”).


deadlight

(nautical) A strong (often wooden) shutter fitted over a porthole, that can be closed in bad weather to keep water out and discourage the glass windows from breaking.

(nautical) A deck prism, a device to allow light into the cabin of boat through the deck.


daggerboard

(nautical) A retractable centreboard that slides out to act as a keel.


reefpoint

(nautical) Any of a series of short ropes attached to a sail that are used to secure it when reefed.


shantyman

(nautical, music) The sailor who sings the main line of a sea shanty (the other sailors singing the responses or choruses)


privateersman

(nautical) The captain or member of the crew of a privateer.


sailyard

From Middle English saylyerde, sailyerd, seilȝerd, from Old English seġlġyrd, seġelġyrd (“sailyard”), from Proto-West Germanic *seglagaʀdī and *seglagaʀd (“sailyard, mast”, literally “sail-rod, sail-staff”), equivalent to sail + yard (“staff, rod, stick”). Cognate with German Segelgerte.

(nautical) A yard (spar or shaft) to which the sails of a ship are bent (tied or fastened to).


shake a cloth in the wind

en-verb

shake<,,shook,shaken> a cloth in the wind

shake a cloth in the wind (third-person singular simple present shakes a cloth in the wind, present participle shaking a cloth in the wind, simple past shook a cloth in the wind, past participle shaken a cloth in the wind)

shakes a cloth in the wind (present singular third-person)
shaking a cloth in the wind (participle present)
shook a cloth in the wind (past)
shaken a cloth in the wind (participle past)

(obsolete, nautical) To be tipsy (but not really drunk).


piss in a quill

piss in a quill (third-person singular simple present pisses in a quill, present participle pissing in a quill, simple past and past participle pissed in a quill)

pisses in a quill (present singular third-person)
pissing in a quill (participle present)
pissed in a quill (participle past)
pissed in a quill (past)

Reflective of a pirate's lack of interest in formalizing a strict plan, where piss, or urine is filling the quill, or pen, and their perceived worthlessness of a written or signatory agreement.

He is mad to think all men can't piss in a quill, nor see with his spectacles.

(obsolete, nautical, slang) To reach an agreement on a plan.


pitcher-bawd

(obsolete, nautical, slang) An elder, worn-out, or semi-retired prostitute working in a tavern, who is only desired for fetching pitchers of beer for patrons.


purser rigged and parish damned

En-au-purser rigged and parish damned.ogg

purser (“ship mate in charge of accounting for passengers aboard”) + rigged (“fixed”) + parish (“meaning church community ashore”) + damned (“forsaken”).

“Purser rigged and parish damned,” is the sailor saying in the American Navy, when the tyro first mounts the lined frock and blue jacket, aptly manufactured for him in a State Prison ashore.

1850, Herman Melville, White-Jacket, page 352:

(obsolete, nautical, slang) Having joined the United States Navy, either because of destitution or in order to flee problems on land.


rosewater sailor

en-noun

rosewater sailor (plural rosewater sailors)

(obsolete, nautical, slang) An officer who is incompetent, or not well-suited for the seas.


DSRV

deep submergence rescue vehicle
w:deep submergence rescue vehicle

(nautical) Initialism of deep submergence rescue vehicle.


rattle the bones

en-verb

rattle the bones (third-person singular simple present rattles the bones, present participle rattling the bones, simple past and past participle rattled the bones)

rattles the bones (present singular third-person)
rattling the bones (participle present)
rattled the bones (participle past)
rattled the bones (past)

Little Mr. Crow shook the dice up and down in his balled hands so long that the Butcher growled "Come on! Come on! Get done, man!" He continued to rattle the bones between his palms, and the Butchers red face twisted up into a scowl.

1902 March, John Oxenham, “The Legion of the Lost”, in Macmillan's Magazine, volume 85, number 509, pages 386–87:

(obsolete, nautical, slang) To play dice.


DSV

deep submergence vehicle
deep submergence vehicle#English

(nautical, submarines) Initialism of deep submergence vehicle.

diving support vessel
diving support vessel#English

dive support vessel
dive support vessel#English

(nautical, underwater diving) Initialism of diving support vessel. or dive support vessel


sail on another board

sail on another board (third-person singular simple present sails on another board, present participle sailing on another board, simple past and past participle sailed on another board)

sails on another board (present singular third-person)
sailing on another board (participle present)
sailed on another board (participle past)
sailed on another board (past)

(obsolete, nautical) To act in an unusual manner; to behave differently.


ship's cousin

"You're a ship's cousin, I tell ye, Master Doo-but-little," roared the steward; "some such matter as a ship's cousin, sir.."

1876, James Fenimore Cooper, “The Pioneers”, in The Pioneers, Houghton Mifflin:

(obsolete, nautical, slang) an esteemed or preferred passenger aboard ship.


piss more than one drinks

piss<> more than one drinks<drinks,drinks,drank>

piss more than one drinks (third-person singular simple present pisses more than one drinks, present participle pissing more than one drinks, simple past and past participle pissed more than one drank)

pisses more than one drinks (present singular third-person)
pissing more than one drinks (participle present)
pissed more than one drank (participle past)
pissed more than one drank (past)


gone north about

..And he's gone on a cruise he liked better than the one you'd have had him; but that's no matter; I had better have gone north about twenty times over than come athwart you.

(idiomatic, obsolete, nautical) Dead, of sailor or seaman whose cause of death was anything except by drowning.


pirate round

(historical, nautical) The sailing route for many trade ships during the 17th century between North America and the Indian Ocean where pirates, with the intention of attacking, could be found along.


red-to-red

(nautical) Describing the condition in which two sea-going ships travelling in opposite directions pass each other on their port sides, making their red navigation lights face each other.


disrate

disrate (third-person singular simple present disrates, present participle disrating, simple past and past participle disrated)

disrates (present singular third-person)
disrating (participle present)
disrated (participle past)
disrated (past)

(nautical) To demote a sailor to a lower rank


inhaul

(nautical) A rope used to haul in the clew of a sail, or a jib boom


green-to-green

(nautical) Describing the condition in which two sea-going ships travelling in opposite directions pass each other on their starboard sides, making their green navigation lights face each other.


shipbroker

(nautical) An intermediary who negotiates between shipowners and people wanting to charter shipping


lengthman

From length + -man (suffix denoting a man or person who is an expert in an area or who takes part in an activity).

suffix

Plans have already been prepared for signalboxes, lengthmen's huts, and first aid rooms. […] Lengthmen's huts are to be built in brick.

1952 February, “British Railways Standard Buildings”, in Railway Magazine, page 74:

A derailment which occurred on April 18 last between Laindon and Pitsea on the London Tilbury & Southend Line was caused by a lengthman who in a moment of aberration clipped a set of spring catch points in the derailing position, concludes Col. J. R. H. Robertson in his report […]

1961 December, “Talking of Trains: Derailment near Laindon”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 717:

I started working on the canal when I was only 14. I was a lengths man on the Shrewsbury, the canal. It was my job to cut hedges and to keep the toe path^([sic – meaning towpath]) clear.

2006 October, Mal Edwards, “Money for Old Rope”, in BBC Wales, archived from the original on 2021-04-21:

It became common practice for day-to-day maintenance to be undertaken by a number of roadmen, each appointed to maintain a length of road. This gave rise to the term, ‘the lengthsman’. Over time, greater mechanisation and centralisation replaced lengthsmen with area-based work teams, controlled from County offices and depots. […] In 2000 Herefordshire Council launched a local initiative, the ‘Lengthsman Scheme,’ to devolve some minor highway works to Parish Councils. […] Parishes are permitted to use the delegated budget to employ a local contractor to undertake the works – the lengthsman. […] Works carried out by lengthsmen can range from clearing minor storm debris discharged onto the highway, cutting back overgrown hedges encroaching on footways and verge cutting as required by the parish.

2021, “Lengthsman Scheme”, in Herefordshire Association of Local Councils, archived from the original on 2021-02-08:

(nautical, rail transport, road transport, chiefly historical) A man responsible for the care and maintenance of a length of canal, railway, or road.

ratavartija

man responsible for the care and maintenance of a length of railway or road


WRNS

Women's Royal Naval Service
w:Women's Royal Naval Service

(UK, military, nautical) Initialism of Women's Royal Naval Service.


skippet

Compare Icelandic skip, English skipper. See ship.

Vpon the banck they sitting did espy / A daintie damzell, dressing of her heare, / By whom a litle skippet floting did appeare

1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 14:


reacher

Each tack was only for 100 yards and now we had the right sail while they had reachers.

2005, J. Howard Williams, Love at First Sight: A Lifetime of Sailing on Galveston Bay:

(nautical) A sail, a kind of asymmetrical spinnaker.


boilerhouse

(nautical) The deckhouse above a ship's boiler and engine room.


baris

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek βᾶρις (bâris), from Coptic ⲃⲁⲁⲣⲉ (baare), from Demotic br, from Egyptian bꜣjr b-bA-A-y:r*Z1-P1 Doublet of barge, bark and barque.

lbor

(historical) A type of flat-bottomed freighter used on the Nile in Ancient Egypt, powered either by sail, or by being towed by a downstream raft driven by the current, while dragging a stone anchor to keep the course steady.


deballast

en-verb

deballast (third-person singular simple present deballasts, present participle deballasting, simple past and past participle deballasted)

deballasts (present singular third-person)
deballasting (participle present)
deballasted (participle past)
deballasted (past)

(nautical) To remove ballast from a vessel


taffrail log

(nautical) A mechanical device dragged from the stern of the vessel that indicates the vessel's speed through the water; usually consists of a propeller, a reading unit and a stiff line connecting them.


chip log

(nautical) A simple device for measuring the speed of a vessel, consisting of a wooden board (drag) attached to a line on a reel.


dockage

en-noun

dockage (countable and uncountable, plural dockages)


chainplate

(nautical) A plate on the side of a sailing ship to which the shrouds are attached.


stationkeeping

(nautical) The maintenance of a ship's position relative to others in a fleet or convoy.


outhaul

(nautical) A rope that is used to extend a sail along a spar


sailable

en-adj

sailable (comparative more sailable, superlative most sailable)

more sailable (comparative)
most sailable (superlative)


lapstrake

en-noun

lapstrake (usually uncountable, plural lapstrakes)


afterdeck

(nautical) The part of a ship's deck from amidships toward the stern


donkeyman

One of the stokers was disabled, the others had given in, the second engineer and the donkey-man were firing-up. The third engineer was standing by the steam-valve. The engines were being tended by hand.

1902 January–March, Joseph Conrad, “Typhoon”, in George R. Halkett, editor, The Pall Mall Magazine, volume XXVI, London: Printed by Hazell, Watson & Viney, →OCLC, chapter IV, page 226, column 2:

(nautical) The person in charge of a ship's engine room.


aftcastle

Raised part of the upper deck at the stern of a ship.


longliner

(nautical) A fisherman or fishing boat that uses longlines.


cunningham

Named after its inventor, Briggs Cunningham.

(nautical) A downhaul located at the tack of a sail, used for tightening the luff.


rambade

From French rambade, rambate. Compare with Italian rambata and Spanish arrumbada.

(nautical) The raised platform above the main artillery in the bow of the type of galley used from the 15th to the 19th century, used as a fighting platform and command post.


OBO

(nautical) Initialism of ore-bulk-oil: designating a ship designed to be capable of carrying wet or dry cargoes.


rule of the road

(nautical) A regulation concerning safe handling of vessels on seaways.

meriteiden sääntö

nautical: regulation concerning safe handling of vessels


reem

en-verb

reem (third-person singular simple present reems, present participle reeming, simple past and past participle reemed)

reems (present singular third-person)
reeming (participle present)
reemed (participle past)
reemed (past)

(transitive, nautical) To open (the seams of a vessel's planking) for the purpose of calking them.


shake out

shake out (third-person singular simple present shakes out, present participle shaking out, simple past shook out, past participle shaken out)

shakes out (present singular third-person)
shaking out (participle present)
shook out (past)
shaken out (participle past)

"Thunder!" he cried. "A week! I can't do that; they'd have the black spot on me by then. The lubbers is going about to get the wind of me this blessed moment; lubbers as couldn't keep what they got, and want to nail what is another's. Is that seamanly behavior, now, I want to know? But I'm a saving soul. I never wasted good money of mine, nor lost it neither; and I'll trick 'em again. I'm not afraid on 'em. I'll shake out another reef, matey, and daddle 'em again."

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

(nautical, transitive) To unfurl a reef from a sail


cratch

From Middle English cratche, cracche, crecche (“crib”), from Old French creche (“crib, manger”), from Frankish *krippjā, *kribbjā (“crib”), from Proto-Germanic *kribjǭ. More at creche, crib.

The fore-end of the cargo space terminates in a triangular board, called the cratch, raised to the same height as the cabin roof and connected to it […]

1966, Gervis Frere-Cook, The decorative arts of the mariner:

(nautical) The vertical planks at the forward end of the hold of a traditional English narrowboat which constrain the cargo and support the top plank or walkway.


topman

There, when not actually engaged on the yards yet higher aloft, the topmen, who as such had been picked out for youth and activity, constituted an aerial club lounging at ease against the smaller stun'sails rolled up into cushions, spinning yarns like the lazy gods, and frequently amused with what was going on in the busy world of the decks below.

1924, Herman Melville, chapter 8, in Billy Budd, London: Constable & Co.:

(nautical) The man stationed in the top on a sailing vessel, responsible for the setting of the sails


sheetsman

(nautical) someone who controls the trim of the sails.


jackstay

(nautical) A stay (rope, bar or batten), running along a ship's yard, to which is attached the head of a square sail.

(nautical) A cable between two ships or from a ship to a fixed point which can be used to support a load during transfer of personnel or materiel along the cable.

(nautical) A line (rope, webbing or cable), attached to a boat at the ends, to which a safety harness can be clipped to restrain falling in rough conditions and to prevent falling overboard.

elämänlanka

nautical: line etc. to which a safety harness can be clipped


pocket battleship

en-noun

pocket battleship (plural pocket battleships)

(nautical) Any of a class of German cruisers, having guns normally found on a battleship, operated during World War II; a battlecruiser.


gun-brig

(nautical) A small two-masted vessel during the Age of Sail, typically carrying 12 guns, comprising two long guns in the chase position and ten carronades on the broadsides.


looard

So my great-uncle, who were bosin, made an observation, and says he, 'There's just ten days' provision for seven men, and we're twenty days to looard of Silly Bes (Celebes), if we only row ten miles a day.

1877, Charles W. Hall, Adrift in the Ice-Fields:

"Keep away, boy--keep to looard.

1884, Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Complete:

I heard the starboard steward Singing abaft the poop; He lewdly sang to looard And sleep fled from the sloop.


deadweight ton

(nautical) A long ton (2,2240 pounds), as used to measure of a ship's carrying capacity, including bunker oil, fresh water, ballast water, crew, and provisions.


ahull

[…] for four dayes and nights, not daring to beare any ſaile, but lay ahull […]

1638, Sir Thomas Herbert, Some years travels into divers parts of Asia and Afrique:

(nautical) Having the sails furled and the helm lashed alee, as during a storm.


ekranoplane

(aviation, nautical) Alternative spelling of ekranoplan


WIG

(aviation, nautical) Initialism of wing-in-ground.


WISE

(aviation, nautical) Acronym of wing-in-surface effect.


ekranoplan

Borrowed from Russian экранопла́н (ekranoplán), itself derived from экра́н (ekrán, “screen”) as used in экранный эффе́кт (ekrannyj effékt, “ground effect”), from French écran, + the root of French planer (“to glide, to hover”).

ground-effect vehicle
ground-effect vehicle

(aviation, nautical) a ground-effect vehicle


beneaped

en-adj

beneaped (comparative more beneaped, superlative most beneaped)

more beneaped (comparative)
most beneaped (superlative)


wave off

en-verb

wave off (third-person singular simple present waves off, present participle waving off, simple past and past participle waved off)

waves off (present singular third-person)
waving off (participle present)
waved off (participle past)
waved off (past)

(aviation, nautical, military) Of an aircraft carrier landing signal officer, to signal a pilot to go around.


RDML

rear admiral (lower half)
rear admiral (lower half)#English

(US, military, nautical) Abbreviation of rear admiral (lower half).


RADM

(military, nautical) Abbreviation of rear admiral.

rear admiral (upper half)
rear admiral (upper half)#English

(US, military, nautical) Abbreviation of rear admiral (upper half).


HMIS

(nautical, military) Initialism of His Majesty's Indian Ship.

(nautical, military) Initialism of Her Majesty's Indian Ship.


radio shack

(slang, nautical) A room for hosting radio equipment.


(nautical) A muzzleloading gun capable of firing shells weighing sixty-four pounds


fore and aft

(nautical) From the bow of a ship to the stern; lengthwise.


shipping company

en-noun

shipping company (plural shipping companies)

Steamship arrivals, however, are less predictable and the best arrangements of shipping companies and the railway operating department may be upset by weather and tide.

1962 April, J. N. Faulkner, “Summer Saturday at Waterloo”, in Modern Railways, page 264:

(business, shipping) A company whose main line of business is ownership and operation of ships.


dwell time

dwell time (usually uncountable, plural dwell times)

The length of time that a thing or person remains in a given state.

(shipping) The amount of time a container is sitting onshore before being loaded onto trucks.


antipirate

The Rasulids kept the southern coast under loose control up to Dhofar, even holding Hadramawt to some extent and maintaining an antipirate squadron.

(nautical, military) Opposing or countering pirates.


wolfpack

(historical, nautical, military) During World War II, any of various marauding groups of submarines, especially German submarines that patrolled the North Atlantic and preyed upon merchant ships.


jolly boat

>? Gulf Arabic: جالبوت (jālbōt)

Boats for Ships. A Jolly-boat. A Long-boat. A Skiffe. A Pinnace. A Water-boat. A Yaul.

1696, John Houghton, Collection for Improvement of Husbandry and Trade, London, Issue 187

[H]e went down the ship's side […] and, seating himself in the stern sheets of the jolly-boat, took the helm, pushed off, and four young lads rowed him ashore.

1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 346

When they reached the brig, they found that the jolly-boat had been lowered and laid alongside.

1874, Marcus Clarke, For the Term of His Natural Life, Penguin, published 2009, page 139:

A type of ship's boat of the 17th to 19th centuries, used mainly to ferry personnel to and from the ship.


OOD

OOD (countable and uncountable, plural OODs)

(countable, nautical) Initialism of Officer of the Deck.


blackstrap

blackstrap (usually uncountable, plural blackstraps)

From black + strap? Possible connection with Dutch stroop (“syrup”).

(obsolete, nautical, slang) Bad port wine; any common wine of the Mediterranean.


forehold

From fore- (prefix meaning ‘positioned at or near the front’) + hold (“the cargo area of an aircraft or ship”). Hold is a variant of hole (influenced by hold (verb)), from Middle English hole, hol (“perforation, hole; cave, cavern; hiding place, shelter; cell, compartment”), from Old English hol (“hole (in the ground)”), from Proto-West Germanic *hol (“hollow”), from Proto-Germanic *hulą (“depression, hollow; hole”), from Proto-Germanic *hulaz (“hollow”); further etymology uncertain, possibly either from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover; to conceal, hide”) or *ḱewh₁- (“to be strong; to swell”).

inh

It freezes very hard, and we find it extreamly cold. The next Day, the ſame Weather, we went aboard, and ſcuttled for Flower in the Forehold. The 25th, little Wind at N.E. and froſty Weather, went aboard again, and got out of the Forehold eight Barrels of Flower, one Cask of Peaſe, with ſome Brandy and Wine.

1743, John Bulkeley, John Cummins, A Voyage to the South-Seas, in the Years 1740–1. Containing, a Faithful Narrative of the Loss of His Majesty’s Ship the Wager on a Desolate Island in the Latitude 47 South, Longitude 81:40 West: […], London: […] Jacob Robinson, […], →OCLC, page 24:

At nine in the evening, the Rippon, which ſtill remained aground, ran her larboard guns over the ſtarboard ſide, ſtarted thirty tun of water in the forehold, to lighten her forward, and employed all her boats in endeavouring to tow off: […]

1761, John Barrow, “Containing the Naval Transactions in the Year 1759”, in The Naval History of Great Britain; with the Lives of the Most Illustrious Admirals and Commanders, Deduced from the Earliest Establishment of the British Marine. […], volume IV, London: […] T. Lownds, […]; T. Caslon, […]; and W. Bristow, […], →OCLC, page 366:

Captain [John] Gore therefore ſent the carpenters of the Reſolution to aſſiſt our own in repairing her [the Discovery]; and accordingly, the forehold being cleared, to lighten her forward, they were ſet to work to rip the damaged ſheathing from the larboard bow.

1784, James King, chapter V, in A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean. Undertaken, by the Command of His Majesty, for Making Discoveries in the Northern Hemisphere. […], volume III, London: […] W[illiam] and A. Strahan; for G[eorge] Nicol, […]; and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC, book VI (Transactions during the Second Expedition to the North, by the Way of Kamtschatka; […]), page 287:

Extract of a Letter from an Officer belonging to the Major East-Indiaman, dated Calcutta, April 30 1784. […] The ſhip had been extremely infeſted with a kind of beetle called Cockroaches, which eat through every thing; and it was found neceſſary to fumigate the holds and decks, previous to her receiving the cargo on board, in order to deſtroy theſe vermin. In performing this buſineſs, by ſome accident, the fore hold of the ſhip caught fire.

1784 April 30, “Advices from the East Indies”, in Sylvanus Urban [pseudonym], editor, The Gentleman’s Magazine: and Historical Chronicle, volume LIV, part II, number 5, London: […] John Nichols, for D[avid] Henry, […]; and sold by E[lizabeth] Newbery, […], published November 1784, →OCLC, page 866, column 1:

The salt provision rooms are on either side of the forehold amidships.

1847 November 6, “The Blenheim, Steam Guardship”, in The Patent Journal, and Inventors’ Magazine, volume III, number 76, London: […] Patent Journal Office, […]; sold by Curry, jun., and Co., [et al.], →OCLC, page 566, column 2:

I knew there was no other bulkhead in the ship but the collision bulkhead separating the forepeak from the forehold.

1899 September – 1900 July, Joseph Conrad, chapter IV, in Lord Jim: A Tale, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, published 1900, →OCLC, page 29:

If a total retarding force of 5,000 tons (which at least would be required by a 30,000 ton ship) is required, the aggregate area of the brakes must be 10,000 sq. ft., to accommodate which would very naturally reduce the capacity of the forehold.

1904 June 9, “Latest in Engineering. [A New Marine Brake.]”, in Percival Marshall, editor, The Model Engineer and Electrician. A Journal of Practical Mechanics and Electricity, volume X, number 163, London: Percival Marshall & Co., […], →OCLC, page 534, column 2:

Quite a number of people recently gathered at the Wellington Wharf to watch the patent acetone process of cutting, with a flame forced out of a jet at terrific pressure, some steel beams and a bulkhead on a ship, the Arapawa, where it was desired to convert two foreholds into one.

1911 November 24, Henry D. Baker, “New Zealand Trade Notes. [Cutting Steel with a Flame.]”, in Daily Consular and Trade Reports, volume 4, number 276, Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Manufactures, Department of Commerce and Labor, →OCLC, page 984:

Everything about the steamers was filthy and neglected except the engines, which were in reasonably good order. The foreholds were crammed with ammunition, dhurra, wool and fuel, […]

1965, Julian Symons, “The Steamers Arrive: The Delay”, in England’s Pride: The Story of the Gordon Relief Expedition, Looe, Cornwall: House of Stratus, published 2001, →ISBN, part 3 (The Fighting), pages 218–219:

The forehold was a store for sails, warps and other gear and its floor covered a dank space known as the dill room where imperishable stores were stowed.

2002, John Leather, “The Ketch”, in The Gaff Rig Handbook: History, Design, Techniques, Developments, 2nd edition, London: Adlard Coles Nautical, published 2012, →ISBN, page 168:

The third mate tried to retrieve the weapon from the two islanders who seized it, but when he saw a native approaching with a spear, he ran forward, barely escaping a spade thrown from the opposite side of the deck. He saw an open hatch and leapt for it, landing on the lower deck of the forehold.

2004, Wilson [Lumpkin] Heflin, “Enchanted Isles”, in Mary K. Bercaw Edwards, Thomas Farel Heffernan, editors, Herman Melville’s Whaling Years, Nashville, Tenn.: Vanderbilt University Press, →ISBN, page 93:

(nautical) The forward or front part of the hold of a ship.


O/O

(nautical) ore/oil ; designating that a ship can carry both ore and oil


VLCC

very large crude carrier
very large crude carrier#English

(nautical) Abbreviation of very large crude carrier. (the second largest category of crude carrier or oil tanker)


BIBO

(nautical) Initialism of bulk in/bags out: a type of bulk carrier that takes in bulk cargo and is equipped to bag it, to provide bagged cargo for disembarkment.


ULOC

(nautical) Abbreviation of ultralarge ore carrier.


ULCC

ultra large crude carrier
ultra large crude carrier#English

(nautical) Abbreviation of ultra large crude carrier. (the largest category of crude carrier or oil tanker)


VLOC

very large ore carrier
very large ore carrier#English

(nautical) Abbreviation of very large ore carrier. (a type of ore carrier, a kind of bulk carrier, used to carry ore in bulk form)


very large crude carrier

en-noun

very large crude carrier (plural very large crude carriers)

(nautical) a type of supertanker, the second largest class of crude carrier or oil tanker, having a capacity of 160,000–320,000 DWT


ultra large crude carrier

ultra large crude carrier (plural ultra large crude carriers)

(nautical) a type of supertanker, the largest class of crude carrier or oil tanker, having a capacity of 320,000–550,000 DWT


ECS

electronic chart system
electronic chart system#English

(nautical) Initialism of electronic chart system.


uncast

en-verb

uncast (third-person singular simple present uncasts, present participle uncasting, simple past and past participle uncast)

uncasts (present singular third-person)
uncasting (participle present)
uncast (participle past)
uncast (past)

[…] the vessel, uncasting the hawser which had detained it, instantly left the ice […]

1846, Francis Bond Head, chapter 12, in The Emigrant, London: John Murray, page 264:

[…] I pulled up my dinghy and uncast the painter, and pushed off and left them there together, Sir Philip and Lady Stenning.

1932, Neville Shute, Lonely Road, London: Heinemann, Chapter:

(nautical) To detach (a rope, line, etc.).


up and down

(nautical) Vertical; perpendicular; said of the cable when the anchor is under, or nearly under, the hawse hole, and the cable is taut.


deckhouse

Flinging himself on hands and knees he dragged the girl down with him. As he did so two of her companions came sliding down to their assistance, and the four glissaded back to the deckhouse as the following roll began.

1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 5, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC:

Then, through his web of contacts, he was told that the Nightingale’s original deckhouse was being used as a cottage on a private island outside of Kragero, Norway, a shipbuilding port.

2008 January 4, Wendy Moonan, “The Auction Block Is the Next Stop for a Well-Traveled Lady”, in New York Times:

A cabin that protrudes above a ship's deck.


leadsman

From (genitive form of) lead (“heavy metal; Pb”) + man.

In the same moment the leadsman hove the lead, and, finding it directly take the ground, he, in his fright, called out, ‘There's only three fathom.’

1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 205

(nautical) A sailor who takes soundings with a lead, measuring the depth of water.

אִישׁ חֶבֶל הָאֲנָךְ

Seaman taking soundings with a hand lead


shipbroking

(nautical) The work of a shipbroker, negotiating between shipowners and people wanting to charter shipping.


waterage

(shipping, transport) A fee for transporting goods by water.


yarage

(nautical, archaic, of a ship) The power of moving, or being managed, at sea.


in ballast

(nautical, of a ship) Having only ballast and no cargo as load.


jumboize

jumboize (third-person singular simple present jumboizes, present participle jumboizing, simple past and past participle jumboized)

jumboizes (present singular third-person)
jumboizing (participle present)
jumboized (participle past)
jumboized (past)

The replacement and enlargement of the entire cargo section, commonly called "jumboizing," of one of the smaller American-flag tankers, now under bareboat charter to the Company, was completed in September.

1945, Atlantic Refining Company, Annual Report, The Company

This year the Great Lakes fleet will have four so-called "jumboized" ocean tanks with mid-body sections built in Europe and towed across the Atlantic Ocean and joined to salvaged bow and stern sections.

1953, Minnesota. Legislature. Commission on Taxation of Iron Ore, Report Submitted to the Minnesota Legislature:

Named for the river, the Canisteo was commissioned in 1945 and "jumboized" (increased in size and capacity) in 1967.

2009, Kirk W. House, Around Hornell, Arcadia Publishing, page 114:

(nautical, transitive) To lengthen (a ship) by replacing an existing section with a longer section or inserting an additional section.


sag off

sag off (third-person singular simple present sags off, present participle sagging off, simple past and past participle sagged off)

sags off (present singular third-person)
sagging off (participle present)
sagged off (participle past)
sagged off (past)

The more the backstay is tightened, the less the headstay will sag off to leeward, forming a rigid and more efficient arc along the luff of the genoa while beating to weather.

1982 January, Jerry Cartwright, “Cruising Seamanship”, in Motorboating & Sailing, volume 149, number 2, page 23:

The helmsman allowed her to sag off a little as she rode the wave, and Rennie drew breath to say something — and had to bite his tongue.

The effect of this downwards pull is to eliminate excessive twist and sagging off to leeward at the head of the sail and to allow a little more flow or belly near the luff.

2008, Ian Proctor, Racing Dinghy Maintenance, page 120:

If we missed stays and failed to tack we would sag off to leeward, onto the sandbank.

2015, Ian Nicolson, The Ian Nicolson Trilogy, →ISBN:

(nautical) To move too far leeward when sailing on the wind.


quickwork

en-noun

quickwork (countable and uncountable, plural quickworks)

(nautical, archaic) All of the submerged section of a vessel's planking.

(nautical, archaic) The planking between the spirketing and the clamps.

(nautical, archaic) The short planks between the portholes.


garvey

(nautical) A type of boat which was originally flat-bottomed, reminiscent of a sled, and historically sailed around New Jersey.


thimbled

(nautical, technology) Of a cable or rope, or a piece of machinery or other device: having a thimble (“ring-, thimble-, or tube-shaped component”).


under one's own steam

A reference to the operation of a steam engine: see sense 1.

Now the tug no longer moved under her own steam, nor had it been since coming alongside the wall of the central pier. For all vessels must be towed through the lock basins, and towed not by other craft, but by electric locomotives that run alongside, on top of the concrete walls.

1915, Victor Appleton [pseudonym], “Almost an Accident”, in The Moving Picture Boys at Panama: Or Stirring Adventures along the Grand Canal, New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC, page 106:

By Tuesday evening the track had been cleared to the three snowbound engines, and the following day, under their own steam, they were moved away; the business of relighting their fires and raising steam in such conditions is better imagined than described.

1941 April, “Notes and News: Railwaymen and Snow”, in The Railway Magazine, London: Tothill Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 178:

(nautical, rail transport) Of the movement of a locomotive or a watercraft: by means of the power of its own engines (originally steam engines), rather than pulled or pushed by another vehicle.


narrow sea

(nautical) A body of ocean water such as a channel.


narrow seas

(nautical, law, UK) Those seas (bodies of ocean water) which surround the British Isles, especially the English Channel.


outstand

en-verb

outstand (third-person singular simple present outstands, present participle outstanding, simple past and past participle outstood)

outstands (present singular third-person)
outstanding (participle present)
outstood (participle past)
outstood (past)

From Middle English outstanden, utstanden, equivalent to out- + stand. Cognate with Saterland Frisian uutstounde (“to bear, tolerate”), Dutch uitstaan (“to abide, suffer, dree”), German ausstehen (“to stand, endure, abide”), Swedish utstå (“to suffer, endure, pass through”).

cog

(intransitive, nautical, archaic) To stand out to sea.


sailcraft

en-noun

sailcraft (countable and uncountable, plural sailcraft or sailcrafts)


AUV

autonomous underwater vehicle
w:autonomous underwater vehicle

(nautical, robotics) Initialism of autonomous underwater vehicle.


XO

executive officer
executive officer#English

(military, nautical) Initialism of executive officer.


foretopman

It was a warm night for the latitude; and the Foretopman, whose watch at the time was properly below, was dozing on the uppermost deck whither he had ascended from his hot hammock

1924, Herman Melville, chapter 12, in Billy Budd, London: Constable & Co.:

WHEN Jimmy Fallon showed up on NBC ’s “Late Night” last week without a sidekick, it looked like yet another sign that the Ed McMahon era is over; so many talk show hosts work solo that the second-banana position seems almost as obsolete as the foretopman or the Linotype operator.

2009 March 8, Alessandra Stanley, “The Vanishing Sidekick”, in New York Times:

(nautical) A sailor who controls the masts in the foretop.


change of tack

(nautical) The act of tacking, turning into the wind so the sail moves to the opposite side.


shakings

(nautical) The sweepings from a ship's deck; the refuse of cordage, canvas, etc.


naumachia

naumachia (plural naumachias or naumachiae)

Learned borrowing from Latin naumachia, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ναυμαχία (naumakhía). Compare naumachy.

BEFORE he went to feed with owls and bats
Nebuchadnezzar had an ugly dream,
Worse than an Hus'if's when she thinks her cream
Made a Naumachia for mice and rats.

1816, John Keats, Sonnet - Before he went to feed with owls and bats, Wordsworth Editions, published 1994, page 270:

(historical, nautical, in Ancient Rome) The recreation of a sea battle staged for entertainment.


chain ferry

(nautical) A ferry that is pulled through the water via an attached chain.


dolphin striker

dolphin striker (plural dolphin strikers)

meanwhile some of the sailors, with an imitative flying fish, get to that part of the vessel just under the bowsprit, called “the dolphin striker,” and with a bottle midway to their bait, they suddenly jerk it out of the water, to imitate the flying fish.

1844, William Graeme Rhind, The Creation: A Series of Letters from a Father to His Children:

I ordered the Captain of the forecastle, to run out on the bowsprit with the end of a two inch at once, and throw a running bowline knot over his shoulders, and by-and-by, when he broke adrift from the dolphin striker, we hauled him in by the head; and the same night or next morning, I had a good beefsteak cut off him near his tail, and a capital one it was, too, you would hardly have known it from the regular beef.

1846, Jack's Life at Sea: By an Old Irish Captain of the Head., page 366:

The dolphin striker is slung near the cap; and the sprit-sail gaffs near the rigging by "jaw ropes,” and supported at their ends by lifts from the bowsprit cap.

1857, John McNeill Boyd, A Manual for Naval Cadets, page 173:

An iron band with studs for the martingale and back ropes to be fitted to is frequently used on the dolphin striker.

1865, Sir George Strong Nares, Seamanship, page 71:

(nautical) A near-vertical spar between the bowsprit and martingale


undermasted

en-adj

undermasted (comparative more undermasted, superlative most undermasted)

more undermasted (comparative)
most undermasted (superlative)

(nautical) Having masts smaller than the usual size.


woold

en-verb

woold (third-person singular simple present woolds, present participle woolding, simple past and past participle woolded)

woolds (present singular third-person)
woolding (participle present)
woolded (participle past)
woolded (past)

From Dutch woelde, past participle of woelen.

(nautical) To wind a chain or rope around in order to strengthen (especially a mast or yard).


self-right

self-right (third-person singular simple present self-rights, present participle self-righting, simple past and past participle self-righted)

self-rights (present singular third-person)
self-righting (participle present)
self-righted (participle past)
self-righted (past)

Back-formation from self-righting, equivalent to self- + right.

(chiefly robotics or nautical) To make oneself upright.


sail close to the wind

sail close to the wind (third-person singular simple present sails close to the wind, present participle sailing close to the wind, simple past and past participle sailed close to the wind)

sails close to the wind (present singular third-person)
sailing close to the wind (participle present)
sailed close to the wind (participle past)
sailed close to the wind (past)

Sense 2 (“to behave in a manner on the verge of being dangerous, illegal, or improper”) derives from the fact that to sail an old-fashioned sailing ship close to the direction the wind was blowing from was risky because a small change in the wind direction could fill the sails and push them against the mast, potentially breaking it.

As the Syrene vvas ſeen to fall to leevvard in the afternoon, the ſignal vvas made to her to ſail as cloſe to the vvind as poſſible.

1781, [Mouffle d’Angerville], “Appendix. Secret Expedition, from 1758 to 1759.”, in J. O. Justamond, transl., The Private Life of Lewis XV. […], volume IV, London: […] Charles Dilly, […], →OCLC, page 304:

A vessel sails close to the wind, when her head is just so near the wind as to fill the sails without shaking them.

1846, Arthur Young, James Brisbane, “CLOSE”, in Nautical Dictionary: Containing Explanations of Terms and Phrases used in the Building and Outfit of Sailing Vessels and Steam-ships; in Seamanship, Navigation, and Nautical Astronomy; and in Naval Gunnery: […], Dundee: William Middleton; London: Charles Wilson (late J. W. Norie & Wilson); Hamilton Adams & Co., →OCLC, page 74:

American privateers were beautifully built, and modelled so as to facilitate escape rather than come into close quarters. […] Such a vessel could sail close to the wind or tack suddenly; one pivot gun of long range was carried amidships, and there were plenty of men on board.

1894, Julian Hawthorne, James Schouler, E[lisha] Benjamin Andrews, “Second Administration of James Madison”, in United States from the Discovery of the North American Continent up to the Present Time […] (World’s Best Histories), volume III, New York, N.Y.; London: The Co-operative Publication Society, →OCLC, section II (Period of Fourteenth Congress. March 4, 1815 – March 3, 1817.), page 504:

We scudded blithely over the sea. It was the long-boat we had. She was well-built and sturdy and a good sailer; though sailing close to the wind, it was not strong enough to keel her over too far, besides, to stiffen her, we were all perched to windward.

1949, Fred W. Ellis, “Explorations and Departure”, in Round Cape Horn in Sail, South Croydon, Surrey: The Blue Book Company, →OCLC, page 206:

Because the Sirius had failed to tack, the wind had blown it backwards onto the reef: the result perhaps of an unexpected shift of the wind, a shoreward current, [Philip Gidley] King's failure to warn [John] Hunter about the current and a bold commander who sometimes sailed close to the wind.

2016, Graeme Henderson, “The Loss of HMS Sirius, Escort to the First Fleet, in 1790”, in Swallowed by the Sea: The Story of Australia’s Shipwrecks, Canberra, A.C.T.: NLA Publishing, →ISBN, page 56:

(nautical) To sail in a direction close to that from which the wind is blowing, while still making headway.

kryssiä

to sail in a direction close to that from which the wind is blowing


Jacob's ladder

And this is one of the signs by which you can tell a man-of-war from a merchantman, for in war-ships the catch ratline is on the aftermost shroud instead of on the foremost. In a man-of-war, too, the topgallant-rigging is never rattled down, as a Jacob's ladder leads from the topgallantmast-head down to the crosstrees; but this Jacob's ladder arrangement is found in many clippers.

1891 November 28, W. J. Gordon, “Rigging and Rigs”, in Golden Days for Boys and Girls, volume XIII, number 1:

(nautical) A rope ladder from the ratline to the upper mast.


sambuq

(nautical) A type of dhow (“small Arabian boat”).


LHD

en-noun

LHD (countable and uncountable, plural LHDs)

Coordinate term: LHA

amphibious assault ship
amphibious assault ship#English

(nautical, military, aviation) Initialism of landing, helicopter, dock.: A type of amphibious assault ship that has a dock for handling landing crafts, and a deck for handling helicopters.


lie off

en-verb

lie off (third-person singular simple present lies off, present participle lying off, simple past lay off, past participle lain off)

lies off (present singular third-person)
lying off (participle present)
lay off (past)
lain off (participle past)

Try to lie off the cardinal.

(nautical, transitive) To remain at a safe distance from (another vessel or hazard)


lay on

lay on (third-person singular simple present lays on, present participle laying on, simple past and past participle laid on)

lays on (present singular third-person)
laying on (participle present)
laid on (participle past)
laid on (past)

(nautical) To sail towards or to arrive at (a destination).

(nautical) To vigorously row (an oar) to propel a boat or ship.


yole

(nautical) A Scottish rowing boat that could also use a sail


deadworks

(nautical) The parts of a laden ship that are above water.


frapping

en-noun

frapping (countable and uncountable, plural frappings)

(nautical, usually in the plural) Rope lashed tightly over the rigging or other area.


stokehole

From stoke + hole, after Dutch stookgat.

(nautical) The place in a steamship in which stokers fed the boilers with coal; a stokehold.


unballasted

Then, as if the clouds had discharged their aqueous cargo and rode light as unballasted ships, they lifted in aerial fleets and sailed away, white in a blue sky.

1922, Bertrand W. Sinclair, The Hidden Places:

(shipping) Not loaded or stabilised with ballast.


unreeve

en-verb

unreeve (third-person singular simple present unreeves, present participle unreeving, simple past and past participle unreeved)

unreeves (present singular third-person)
unreeving (participle present)
unreeved (participle past)
unreeved (past)

From Middle English *unreven (attested only in past participle unrevyn) equivalent to un- + reeve.

He could not only splice a broken "fall," and repair the sheaves and friction-rollers in a hoisting-block, but whenever the rigging got tangled aloft he could spring up the derrick like a cat and unreeve the rope in an instant.

But he carried all sail till the rotten main-sheet parted at the boom, and when he came up in the wind to lower the sail the main throat halyard refused to unreeve.

1909, A. W. Dimock, Dick in the Everglades:

(transitive, nautical) To withdraw or take out, as for example a rope from a block.


unstayed

Wingsails are typically mounted on an unstayed spar.


coble

From Middle English coble, from Cumbric coubal (“skiff”) (compare Welsh ceubal).

(nautical) small flat-bottomed fishing boat suitable for launching from a beach, found on the north-east coast of England and in Scotland.


pahi

(historical) A large war canoe of Tahiti.


groundage

en-noun

groundage (countable and uncountable, plural groundages)

For every vessel with salt fish, for groundage eight pence per day

1826, Joseph Chitty, A Treatise on the Game Laws, and on Fisheries:

(nautical) A local tax paid by a ship for the ground or space it occupies while in port.


lightroom

(nautical) A small room from which the magazine of a naval vessel is lighted, being separated from the magazine by heavy glass windows.


rudderhole

(nautical) The hole in the deck through which the rudderpost passes.


undersparred

en-adj

undersparred (comparative more undersparred, superlative most undersparred)

more undersparred (comparative)
most undersparred (superlative)

(nautical) Having spars smaller than the usual dimension.


rombowline

It has probably been destroyed altogether, but Rome is a great place for treasuring rubbish and rombowline, and perhaps the old keyboard still exists, with stacks of wooden and metal pipes and bundles of worm- eaten trackers, all piled up together and forgotten in some corner of the crypt, or in some high belfry room or long-closed attic above the gorgeous ceiling of the Basilica.

1909, F. Marion Crawford, chapter XX, in Stradella: An Old Italian Love Tale, London: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 348:

The port and starboard walls were lined with three-tiered berths so close together that the occupant must enter by assuming a half sitting, half reclining position. In front of each hung a shabby bit of rombowline, dating from antiquity. It is used to keep out the air at night and the light during the day when the sailors sleep.

1929, Viola Irene Cooper, Windjamming to Fiji, New York: A. L. Burt Company, →OCLC, page 114:

(nautical) Old, condemned canvas, rope, etc., unfit for use except in chafing gear.


thalamegos

Borrowed from Ancient Greek θᾰλᾰμηγός (thalamēgós).

bor+

(historical) A state barge fitted with cabins, on the Nile


snotter

(nautical) A rope going over a yardarm, used to bend a tripping line to, in sending down topgallant and royal yards in vessels of war; also, the short line supporting the heel of the sprit in a small boat.


foreganger

From Middle English forganger, forgangere, from Old English *foregangere, from foregangan (“to go before, precede, go in front of, project, excel”), equivalent to fore- + ganger. Cognate with Scots foregangare (“a foregoer”), Dutch voorganger (“a predecessor, progenitor”), German Vorgänger (“a predecessor, precursor”), Swedish föregångare (“a forerunner, precursor, progenitor”).

cog

The foreganger is most commonly formed of white or untarred rope , which is stronger and more flexible than tarred rope , consequently more easily extended when the harpoon is thrown

1820, William Scoresby, The whale-fishery:

(nautical) A short rope grafted on a harpoon, to which a longer line may be attached.


catfall

belay the catfall; pass the stopper ; hook the fish

1810, John Hamilton Moore, The New Practical Navigator:

(nautical) A rope used in hoisting the anchor to the cathead.


koff

Borrowed from Dutch kof (“koff”), Middle Dutch cof (“stable; barn”).

(historical) A type of two-masted Dutch vessel.


forebrace

He noted the effect on the ship of this change; then, as though satisfied, roared out: "Let your forebraces hang, forrard there! Stand by heavin'-lines fore and aft! Stand by to go ahead with that steamer when we have your line!"

1899, Morgan Robertson, Where Angels Fear to Tread:

“The gorilla was halfway up the fore rigging by this time, and the two Dutchmen had reached the foreyard, while the Sou’egian was going higher. One Dutchman laid out to windward, the other to leeward, and I thought of a plan.
“‘Climb aft on the forebrace, each one of you,’ I sang out. ‘If he follows, I’ll let go the brace when you’ve reached the mainmast.’

(nautical) A rope applied to the fore yardarm, to change the position of the foresail.


rudderstock

(nautical) The axle connected to the rudder.


snying

(nautical) A curved plank, placed edgewise, to work in the bows of a vessel.


forehook

(nautical) A piece of timber placed across the stern, to unite the bows and strengthen the fore part of the ship; a breast hook.


double-ender

(nautical) A vessel capable of moving both forwards and backwards, having bow and rudder at each end.


EAB

emergency air breather
emergency air breather#English

(US, military, nautical) Initialism of emergency air breather.


keeler

From Middle English keler, equivalent to keel (noun) + -er.

(nautical) One who works on a barge or keel.


trawlwarp

(nautical) A rope passing through a block, used in managing or dragging a trawlnet.


weatherliness

(nautical) The quality of being weatherly.


dogvane

she had an ugly knack of stopping, and swinging one leg all manner of ways, like a dogvane in a calm.

Nor was any mariner surprised when, after inspecting the compass, and then the dog-vane, and then ascertaining the precise bearing of the odor as nearly as possible, Ahab rapidly ordered the ship’s course to be slightly altered, and the sail to be shortened.

1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick or the Whale:

(nautical) A small vane of bunting, feathers, or other light material, fastened to the end of a short staff and placed on the weather gunwale of a sailing ship to assist the helmsman to judge the direction of the wind.

(obsolete, nautical) A cockade worn on a hat (worn in the British Navy in the 18th and 19th centuries)


weathermost

(nautical) Farthest to the windward side.


CSG

en-noun

CSG (countable and uncountable, plural CSGs)

carrier strike group
carrier strike group#English

(military, nautical, aviation) Abbreviation of carrier strike group.

carrier surface group
carrier surface group#English

(military, nautical, aviation) Abbreviation of carrier surface group.

carrier surface assertion group
carrier surface assertion group#English

(military, nautical, aviation) Abbreviation of carrier surface assertion group.


jears

(nautical, archaic) Collectively, tackles, for hoisting or lowering the yards of a ship.


bluff-bowed

en-adj

bluff-bowed (comparative more bluff-bowed, superlative most bluff-bowed)

more bluff-bowed (comparative)
most bluff-bowed (superlative)

“[...] he thereby may be said to transform himself from a bluff-bowed sluggish galliot into a sharppointed New York pilot-boat."

1851, Herman Melville, chapter 61, in Moby Dick:

(nautical, archaic) Having broad and flat bows.


guess warp

Because it is necessary to guess at the length to be carried in the boat making the attachment to a distant object.

My foot touched land for the first time for ninety days when I leaped from the rail onto the dolphin at the Dock gates, slipped the end of our guess-warp over the bollard, and sang out to them inboard to take in the slack.

1912, Kyrle Bellew, Short Stories, How I Got on the Stage:

(nautical, dated) A rope or hawser by which a vessel is towed or moored.


kevel

From English dialect kevil, cavel (“rod, pole, a large hammer”), from Middle English kevel, *kavel (“a large stonemason's hammer”), from Old Norse kefli, kafli n (“a cylinder, stick, piece of wood”) and Old Norse kefli, kafli m (“a piece cut off, buoy, piece”). Compare Icelandic kefli (“cylinder, a stick, mangle”), and Danish kievle (“a roller”).

cog

(nautical) A strong cleat to which large ropes are belayed.


snape

en-verb

snape (third-person singular simple present snapes, present participle snaping, simple past and past participle snaped)

snapes (present singular third-person)
snaping (participle present)
snaped (participle past)
snaped (past)

Origin obscure. Perhaps from snape, a dialectal variant of sneap (“to nip, bite, pinch”). More at sneap.

It had to be accurately cut and trimmed, and its upper edge scored to suit the snaping of every beam end.

2000, William L. Crothers, The American-built Clipper Ship, 1850-1856, International Marine, page 265:

(nautical, shipbuilding) To bevel the end of a timber to fit against an inclined surface.


kedger

(archaic, nautical) A small anchor; a kedge.


breastfast

(nautical, archaic) A large rope to fasten the midship part of a ship to a wharf or to another vessel.


doggerman

(historical, nautical) A sailor who worked on a dogger (two-masted fishing vessel).


astarboard

(nautical, archaic) Over to the starboard side.


whipstaff

en-noun

whipstaff (plural whipstaffs or whipstaves)

(nautical) A bar, going through the poopdeck, attached orthogonally to the tiller for steering a ship.


waister

The largest division of a ship's company, and the most ignoble, was that of the waisters, the men stationed in the waist, the men " without art or judgment," who hauled aft the fore and main sheets, and kept the decks white.

1905, John Masefield, Sea Life in Nelson's Time, page 129:

(nautical, military, historical) A seaman stationed in the waist of a warship.


fraughtage

/ˈfɹɔːtɪd͡ʒ/

Our fraughtage, sir, I have convey'd aboard; and I have bought the oil, the balsamum and aqua-vitae.

c. 1594 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Comedie of Errors”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]:

c. 1610-1614, William Rowley (attributed), A New Wonder, a Woman Never Vexed
our ships are so near return, as laden on the Downs with such a wealthy fraughtage.


toplight

(nautical) A lantern or light on the top of a vessel.


foredraft

... wherein said foredraft part includes at least a moorage hull part, — Floating offshore structure : U.S. Patent Number 4,519,728, 1985

(nautical) The draft at the fore perpendicular. Also "fore draft".


lorcha

From Portuguese lorcha, of unclear origin; see the Portuguese entry for more.

At the same time, the fact must not be lost sight of, that the primary cause of the war was the affair on the lorcha "Arrow."

1901, Charles S. Leavenworth, The Arrow War with China:

(nautical) A kind of light vessel used on the coast of China, having the hull built on a European model, and the rigging like that of a Chinese junk.


keckle

en-verb

keckle (third-person singular simple present keckles, present participle keckling, simple past and past participle keckled)

keckles (present singular third-person)
keckling (participle present)
keckled (participle past)
keckled (past)

Large vessels should have twelve or fourteen fathoms of service, half of it rounded and the rest plaited and keckled.

1813, Seamanship, Both in Theory and Practice:

(nautical) To wind rope or chains around (a cable etc.) to protect its surface from friction, abrasion, or ice.


eyesplice

(nautical) A splice formed by bending a rope's end back and fastening it into the rope, forming a loop or eye.


harness cask

"Why, it's thirty year and more since I saw you last. Here you are in your house, and me still picking my salt meat out of the harness cask."

1893, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Gloria Scott:

1883, William Clark Russell, "Going Aloft" in Round The Galley Fire, a collection of sketches and tales that originally featured in The Daily Telegraph newspaper
Practical seamanship, in the old sense, is bound to die out, because there is no need to preserve it. It was only the other day that an old skipper assured me that he was acquainted with the mate of a steamer who did not know what a harness-cask was, "and worst of all, sir," cried my friend, "he's not ashamed of his ignorance."

(nautical, archaic) A (usually round) barrel lashed to a vessel's deck and containing salted provisions for daily use.


Indiaman

No place is so propitious to the formation either of close friendships or of deadly enmities as an Indiaman

1841, Thomas Babington Macaulay, Warren Hastings:

Buried treasures are naturally among the problems which have come to Mr. [Sherlock] Holmes. One genuine case was accompanied by a diagram here reproduced. [...] Each Indiaman in those days had its own semaphore code, and it is conjectured that the three marks upon the left are signals from a three-armed semaphore.

1924 September, Arthur Conan Doyle, “Sidelights on Sherlock Holmes”, in Memories and Adventures, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown, and Company, →OCLC, page 110:

(nautical) A large ship that traded between Britain and India on behalf of the East India Company.


timberhead

(nautical) The top end of a timber, rising above the gunwale, and serving for belaying ropes, etc.


headrope

(nautical) The part of a bolt rope that is sewn to the upper edge or head of a sail.

rópa droma

the part of a boltrope that is sewn to the upper edge of a sail


husbandage

(nautical) The commission or compensation allowed to a ship's manager, or "husband".


foothook

From futtock, reinterpreted as foot + hook.


gondolet

From Italian gondoletta, diminutive of gondola.

Then, come to me when daylight sets;
Sweet! then come to me,
When smoothly go our gondolets
O'er the moonlight sea

Thomas Moore, "Oh come to me when the dayligt sets", in National Airs (184)


garookuh

(archaic) A small fishing vessel of the Persian Gulf.


frigatoon

From Italian fregatone. Compare French frégaton and see frigate.

(nautical, historical) A Venetian vessel with a square stern, having only a mainmast, jigger mast, and bowsprit; also a sloop of war ship-rigged.


bowgrace

(nautical, historical) A frame or fender made of rope or junk (old cordage), hung over the sides or bow (front) of a vessel to avoid it getting damaged.


wokou

From Mandarin 倭寇 (wōkòu, “Japanese pirates”).

(historical) Pirates of a mixture of ethnicities who raided the coastlines of China and Korea from the 13th to 16th centuries.


light-handed

en-adj

light-handed (comparative lighter-handed or more light-handed, superlative lightest-handed or most light-handed)

lighter-handed (comparative)
more light-handed (comparative)
lightest-handed (superlative)
most light-handed (superlative)

From Middle English lyghte handyd, from light (adjective) + honded, participle of honden (“to seize, take charge of”), from the noun hond (“hand”). See more at hand.

“We will hold on to the last, while he must begin to take in soon, or the squall will come upon him too fast for a light-handed vessel.”

1836, James Fenimore Cooper, The Water Witch:

If light-handed, or the wind fresh, let go the bowline and ease off the tack, (being careful to let the bowline go before the tack,) and haul up the weather clew.

1841, Richard Henry Dana, The Seaman's Friend, page 57:

Bower anchors should be alike in weight; for the convenience, however, of light-handed crews, it is customary to make a very material difference between them, which is a very grave error

1866, Transactions of the Institution of Naval Architects, page 195:

Being so lighthanded the vessel could not be properly managed and could carry but little sail, consequently her progress was but slow.

1887, The Contributor: Representing the Young Men's and Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Associations of the Latter-day Saints, Volume 8, page 168:

I have therefore ordered Fuller's brigade from Memphis to Big Bear Creek, which leaves me very light-handed here.

1891, S.A. Hurlbut, Congressional Series of United States Public Documents, Volume 2795, page 431:

I looked at the round bows of the sloop, and then at the old sails and the light-handed crew.

2007, Theodore Dwight, Things as They Are, →ISBN, page 64:

(nautical or military) Not having a full complement of workers.


quadragintireme

As to the Quadragintiremes, or vessels usually described as having forty ranks or tiers of oars, we cannot reconcile the report to our understandings, except by supposing them nothing more than galleys fitted with as many oars in each rank.

1799, The Naval Chronicle, volume 1, page 132:

(nautical, historical) A vessel with 40 rows of oars.


bluff-headed

bluff-headed (comparative more bluff-headed, superlative most bluff-headed)

more bluff-headed (comparative)
most bluff-headed (superlative)

(nautical) Built with the stern nearly straight up and down.


gabert

Compare French gabare, Breton kobar, gobar.

In a block or pully, near the head of the mast of a gabert, now lying at the Broomielaw, there is chaffinch's nest

1793, anonymous author, Buckinghamshire Herald:

(Scotland) A lighter, or vessel for inland navigation.


rowport

(nautical) An opening in the side of small warships, near the surface of the water, to facilitate rowing in calm weather.


barkantine

(sailing) Alternative spelling of barquentine


pykar

Borrowed from Bengali পাইকার (paikar), Hindustani پیکار (pekār) / पैकार (paikār), from Classical Persian پای کار (pāy-kār).

There were also smaller dealers, known by the names of Pykars, resident throughout the country at large who made purchases and prepared the opium in their houses from 10 to 50 maunds, but the commodity thus received from the Pykars was never genuine.

1892, Sir George Watt, A Dictionary of the Economic Products of India:

In Dacca before Plassey only 9 dalals and 11 pykars were permitted in the cloth trade. Any other person calling himself a dalal or a pykar was liable to be punished by Nawab's Daroga of Mulmul Khas Kuthee.

1961, Narendra Krishna Sinha, The Economic History of Bengal:

The Council of Revenue wrote to the CCC in 1772 that the Company's pykars were procuring cocoons through debt-bondage and coercion and that 'the riots and chassars are reduced to a state of actual slavery."

1995, Studies in History, volume 11, page 197:

A broker dealing directly with a manufacturer of goods.


dry nurse

To distinguish from a wet nurse, who suckles a baby.

(nautical, slang, archaic) An inferior officer who carries on the duty on board ship, due to the captain's ignorance of seamanship.


dry nurse

en-verb

dry nurse (third-person singular simple present dry nurses, present participle dry nursing, simple past and past participle dry nursed)

dry nurses (present singular third-person)
dry nursing (participle present)
dry nursed (participle past)
dry nursed (past)

(nautical, slang, archaic) Of an inferior officer: to carry on the duty on board ship, due to the captain's ignorance of seamanship.


ploc

(nautical, historical) A mixture of hair and tar for covering the bottom of a ship.


howker

(nautical) A type of two-masted Dutch sailing vessel, weighing between 60 and 200 tons burthen.

(nautical, slang) Obsolete form of hooker (“any antiquated craft”).


clear away

clear away (third-person singular simple present clears away, present participle clearing away, simple past and past participle cleared away)

clears away (present singular third-person)
clearing away (participle present)
cleared away (participle past)
cleared away (past)

The schooner was run into the wind, and while the hands were clearing away the stern boat, Queequeg, stripped to the waist, darted from the side with a long living arc of a leap.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Wheelbarrow”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 68:

"Hiram Jefferson and John Moreton to the pumps!" cried the captain. "Mr. Tomlinson, clear away the long boat and let us see if we may set her right, though I fear that she is past mending."

1893, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “The Last Port”, in The Refugees: A Tale of Two Continents, volume III, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC, part II (The New World), page 42:

Keep the ports closed, but clear away the port guns, and stand by for a broadside. Another two cable lengths and we have them.

1897, Conan Doyle, The Dealings of Captain Sharkey with Stephen Craddock:

(nautical, transitive) To prepare some object for use by removing obstacles, untying or unfastening it.


ground-effect vehicle

en-noun

ground-effect vehicle (plural ground-effect vehicles)

(aviation, nautical) An aircraft that uses aerodynamic ground effect to attain level flight near the surface of water.

ground-effect machine
ground-effect machine#English

(nautical) Synonym of ground-effect machine


storeship

(nautical, military) A vessel used to carry naval stores.

снабдителен кораб

a vessel used to carry naval stores for a fleet, garrison, etc.


muzzler

(nautical) A wind from the intended direction of the vessel.


boxhaul

en-verb

boxhaul (third-person singular simple present boxhauls, present participle boxhauling, simple past and past participle boxhauled)

boxhauls (present singular third-person)
boxhauling (participle present)
boxhauled (participle past)
boxhauled (past)

(nautical, transitive, intransitive) To bring (a square-rigged ship) onto a new tack by hauling back the foresails whilst steering hard round.


monoxylon

From New Latin monoxylon, from Ancient Greek μονόξυλος (monóxulos, “made from a solid trunk”). See mono- and xylo-.

der

A canoe or boat made from a hollowed out tree.


wind-rode

If she is in a situation where she cannot be brought to an anchor, let go her lee anchor, which will swing her wind-rode, and relieve her from the strength of the wind

1822, Thomas Arnold, The American Practical Lunarian:

(nautical) Caused to ride or drive by the wind in opposition to the course of the tide; said of a vessel lying at anchor, with wind and tide opposed to each other.


gallivat

Probably from Portuguese galeota. Compare English galiot, galley.

1812, Alexander Chalmers, The General Biographical Dictionary Volume 18, on Sir William James
At one time when he had near seventy sail under his protection, he was assailed by a large fleet of Angria's frigates and gallivats […]

(nautical) A small armed vessel, with sails and oars, used on the Malabar coast.


forebeam

And herein also her forebeam to which her bowsprit was fastened, cracked clean insunder; and some of her timbers likeways in the hold we found defective.

1634 July 13, Thomas Young, Letter of Captain Thomas Young to Sir Toby Matthew:

Schooner Ketcham returned to Chicago with foretopmast gone and forebeam sprung.

1880, Annual Report of the Chief Signal Officer of the Army to the Secretary of War for the year 1879, page 753:

Turns of shock cord, securing tack to centre of forebeam, stretch as the wind increases. This allows the jib to move up, frees the halyard slightly so the tack and peak move away from forestay.

1975, Bob Ross, Introduction to Yacht Racing, page 111:

The advanced design of new cats makes pitchpoling less likely. The treacherous forebeam is gone, and the new hulls have been engineered stronger to resist twisting under stress.

1977 February, Ben Kocivar, “How to get started in hot-rod sailing”, in Popular Science, volume 210, number 2, page 111:

If using an all-chain system, then also utilise rope with the stretch in the bridle arms and have a 'lazy loop' of chain to act as a catenary between the bridle attachment and the forebeam. The minimum length of anchor line should be five times the height from the forebeam to the bottom at high tide.

2018, Gavin Le Sueur, Multihull Seamanship:

(nautical) A horizontal spar across the bow of some sailing vessels, used to stabilize the hulls of a catamaran, to secure a bowsprit, or to tie down the tack when there is no bowsprit.


counterbrace

en-verb

counterbrace (third-person singular simple present counterbraces, present participle counterbracing, simple past and past participle counterbraced)

counterbraces (present singular third-person)
counterbracing (participle present)
counterbraced (participle past)
counterbraced (past)

To counterbrace the yards is to brace the head yards one way and the after yards another.

(nautical, transitive) To brace in opposite directions.


astay

(nautical) Of an anchor, such that in heaving it, an acute angle is formed between the cable and the surface of the water.


heelpost

(nautical) The post supporting the outer end of a propeller shaft.


blirt

[…] and farther on he asks if the poet's resolve shall be
Struck through with the blirt
Of a goose breath?

1607, Marston, "What You Will", introduction; quoted in 1886, Alden's Cyclopedia of Universal Literature, page 98

[page 49:] The blirt was moving in, windy and wet. Somewhere out around the Forge Town headland, lightning broke over the Amnion and rain began to fall.
[page 122:] Cobbles of the traffic circus before the barbican were dry after the blirt rain, but blood smeared the stones or was draining away into the seams […]

1999, Brian Daley, To Waters' End: Book Four of GammaLAW, Lucia St. Clair Robson, →ISBN:


guest rope

(nautical) The line by which a boat makes fast to the swinging boom.


foretopgallant

(nautical) Designating the mast, sail, yard, etc., above the topmast.


aftward

en-adj

aftward (comparative more aftward, superlative most aftward)

more aftward (comparative)
most aftward (superlative)

(nautical) by, near, at, or towards, the stern


lodesman

From Middle English lodesman, lodesmon, lodysman (“pilot”, literally “lode's or course's man”), alteration of earlier lodeman, from Old English lādmann (“a leader, guide”), equivalent to lode (“way, course”) + -s- + man. Compare to lodemanage.

inh

River and harbor pilotage, in English maritime affairs, is called loadmanage, from loadsman or lodesman, a kind of pilot established for the safe conduct of ships and vessels in and out of harbors, or up and down navigable rivers.

2009, Erastus C. Benedict, The American Admiralty:

For much of the Middle Ages, ships had only three ranks of seamen: master, lodesman or navigator, and mariner.

2011, Anne Crawford, Yorkist Lord: John Howard, Duke of Norfolk, c. 1425 -1485:

Such has always been the importance of preserving the life and cargo carried by ships that pilots (or 'lodesmen') have been employed for centuries as freelance mariners.

2014, Neil Jones, Paul Ridgway, Light Through a Lens:

(historical, nautical) A pilot; navigator.


ropeband

A catch had broken, and the capstan being forced round by the frightful pressure of the chains, the men, caught by the rebound, were struck violently on the head and chest. Freed from their broken rope-bands, the capstan-bars flew in all directions like grape-shot, killing four sailors, and wounding twelve others

1904, Jules-Descartes Férat (translator), Jules Verne (original), Floating City, Chapter 4:

(nautical) A small piece of spun yarn or marline, used to fasten the head of the sail to the spar.