Bearing Direction of an object.
Bear away To put the helm up; i.e., steer further away from the wind or an object.
Binnacle The housing for the mariner’s compass.
Bluff (a) Steep shore; (b) Full-bowed vessel.
Breast line Ropes leading at right angles to the centerline to a dock.
Bring up To stop, as to come to anchor.
Broach When running, to accidentally turn and get broadside on to wind and sea.
Bulkheads Partitions fore and aft or athwartships, forming separate compartments.
Bulwarks A vessel’s topsides that extend above the deck.
Buoy A float with distinguishing name, shape, color or light.
Burgee Pennant (pointed) shaped flag with design indicating the yacht club the vessel’s owner belongs to.
By the head Greater than normal draft forward.
By the lee When running under sail, the wind blows over the same side as the mainsail.
By the stern Greater than normal draft.
CABLE (a) One-tenth nautical mile; (b) Anchor chain.
Capstan A vertical cylindrical machine for veering or hoisting the anchor chain.
Careen To heel a vessel over on one side by tackles to work on her bottom.
Carry way To continue to move through the water.
Carvel Edge-to-edge planking for a vessel’s hull.
Caulk To fill the side or deck seams with oakum or cotton to prevent leaking.
Chainplates Metal strips fastened outside or inside the hull to take the rigging strain.
Chart Datum The tidal datum to which soundings on a chart are referred. It is usually taken to correspond to
low-water elevation of the tide.
Check To slowly stop a vessel’s movement or to slowly ease a rope.
Chine The fore and aft line of the hull where the bilge turns up toward the topsides of the hull.
Claw off Working a vessel to windward off a lee shore.
Cleat A two-pronged device for making ropes fast.
Clew The corner of the sail where the leech meets the foot.
Companion Ladder in a ship.
Composite Construction using more than one material; e.g., a wooden boat with metal floors and frames. y
Con To give orders to the helmsman in narrow waters.
Counter The overhanging portion of a stern.
Course (a) The direction a vessel steers; (b) The squaresail set from a lower yard.
Cradle The frame erected around and under a vessel to support her out of the water.
Glossar
Crown (a) Where the arms of an anchor meet the shank; (b) The knot where the strands of a rope are
interlocked to start a backsplice.
Current A horizontal movement of water. Currents may be classified as tidal and nontidal. Tidal currents
are caused by gravitational interactions between the Sun, Moon, and Earth. Nontidal currents
are the permanent currents in the general circulatory systems of the oceans, and a temporary
currents caused by weather.
Current
lanning
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Difference Difference between the time of slack water (or minimum current) or strength of current in any
locality, and the time of the corresponding phase of the tidal current at a reference station.
DAYLIGHT
Saving Time A time used during the summer in some localities in which clocks are advanced one hour from
the usual standard time.
Dead
reckoning The position found by calculation from course steered and speed through the water.
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