A maritime dictionary

Aback: sailing; when the wind shifts onto the ‘back’ side of a sail (eg. for’d side of a square sail, lee side of a fore/aft sail).

A-cockbill: anchoring; an admiralty anchor hanging from its cat head ready to let go.

Adrift: slang; late, absent.

Ahoy: order; standard hailing cry to attract attention.

All in the wind: sailing; said of a vessel’s sails when going from one tack to the other and the luffs are shaking. Can also be due to poor steering when sailing close to the wind.

Anchor’s aweigh: anchoring; cry indicating that the anchor has broken clear of the bottom.

A-shiver: sailing; a sail that has the wind blowing directly across it, and if anything, is slightly aback.

Avast: order; to stop or pause in any operation.

Back: sailing; to purposefully trim the square sails so that the wind is on their fore side – or with fore/aft sails, so that the weather sheet is working.

Beam ends: sailing; state of a vessel that has listed to such an angle where her deck beams are almost vertical and she is unable to right herself. This may be caused by heavy seas or squalls or by her cargo shifting.

Bear a hand: order; exclamation generally meaning to assist.

Belay: order; meaning stop or to secure a line around a belaying pin.

Billboard: anchoring; steel or iron plate or timber board fitted to receive the flukes of a stocked anchor when it is hoisted and secured. Bitter end: anchoring; inboard end of the anchor cable. To pay out a rope until the bitter end is to pay it out till there is no more to let go.

Black down: rigging; to apply a coating of tar to the rigging in order to preserve it.

Board: order; to haul taut on the course weather tack when close hauling, eg. ‘Board the main tack’.

Bone: sailing; the foam at the stem of a ship caused by her motion through the water. When foam is very heavy the ship is said to have a “bone in her teeth.”

Bowsprit cap: rigging; iron fitting at the end of the bowsprit, with a hoop or ring to take the jib boom.

Box off: sailing; when the ship has come up into the wind due to windshift or poor helming, to purposefully back the headsails and fore mast sails so that the ship’s head bears off with the wind.

Brace in: (brace back) sailing; to brace a yard so that it lies more athwartships.

Brace pendant: rigging; length of chain attached to yardarm to which a yardarm brace block is attached.

Brace to: sailing; in tacking or wearing, to brace a yard around so that the sail is marginally aback, the wind partly striking its forward side.

Brace up: (brace sharp) sailing; to brace a yardarm so that it lies closer to the fore and aft line of a ship.

Bristol fashion: slang; very efficient, neat and seamanlike.

Bucko mate: slang; the brutal mates of American merchant ships of the late 1800s, early 1900s, renowned for driving their crews hard.

Bumpkin: rigging; small boom or outrigger projecting either side of the ship to take the brace blocks.

By the wind: slang; penniless.

Cap: rigging; the fitting that holds an upper mast running through one hole, firmly against the top of a lower mast which fits in the other hole.

Cape Horn fever: slang; a malingerer’s feigned illness in bad weather.

Cat: anchoring; to hoist an anchor by its ring from the hawse up to the cat-head so that it hangs there ready to let go or for fishing it inboard and onto the anchor bed.

Chafing board: rigging; piece of timber positioned to prevent chafing.

Chapelling: sailing; putting the ship’s head through the wind without bracing her yards, through careless steering or a sudden change of wind.

Cheeks: rigging; flat timbers or iron plates bolted either side towards the top of a mast and projected forward to form a bracket to support the heel of an upper mast.

Clear hawse: anchoring; when a ship is lying to two anchors and the cables lead away to their anchors without crossing or fouling.

Clew iron: (spectacles) rigging; fitting consisting of 3 or 4 metal rings used at the clew of a sail to take the sheets, clew lines and other ropes.

Close-hauled: sailing; when the ship is sailing close into the wind – ie. with weather tacks boarded as far forward on the weather side of the ship.

Come up: order; for hands to drop the line they have been holding, fleeting it towards the hand at the pin.

Cross his bows: slang; to interrupt and annoy someone. Cross-trees: rigging; timbers laid athwartships at the top of a mast. Supported by the cheeks and trestle trees, they carry the framework of the top and increase the span of the shrouds.

Crossed hawse: anchoring; condition caused when a vessel lying to two anchors is swung around by wind or tide so that the anchor cables become crossed.

Cut of his jib: slang; the characteristic manners of a crew member.

Donkey’s breakfast: slang; a mess, something very badly performed.

Doubling: rigging; the overlap where two masts join, ie. the top of the lower mast and the bottom of the upper mast.

Drip: slang; a complainer, usually with no just cause.

Ease away: order; slacken a rope or tackle gradually.

Every inch of it: order; to hands hauling on a rope to take up any vestige of slack.

Fid: rigging; square section of wood or iron inserted through a hole in the heel of the topmast and which rests on the trestle tree supporting the mast.

Fish: anchoring; to hoist the flukes of an anchor aft and upwards after it has been catted in preparation to stowing it.

Gooseneck: rigging; the connecting truss between yard to parrel that allows multidirectional movement.

Gunnels under: slang; overloaded with work or with drink (drunk).

Hand-over-hand: order; to hands to haul in continuous and rapid motion, by alternating one hand in front of the other along the rope.

Handsomely: order; to do something carefully and gradually.

Haul taut: order; for hands to take up the slack on a rope.

Haul: order; for hands to begin heaving on a particular rope.

Hauling: sailing; to sail with the wind before the beam.

Heave and hold: order; pull vigorously and hold onto any gain.

Heaving ahead: anchoring; advancing the ship by heaving in on a cable secured to an anchor some distance ahead.

Heel: rigging; the lower end of a mast. The lower mast heel rests on a step, but that of a top mast stands on a fid.

Heel: sailing; when a vessel leans over to port or starboard due to wind pressure.

Hounds band: rigging; metal band round the upper part of a mast to which the shrouds are attached.

Hounds: rigging; projections on either side the head of an upper mast

In irons: sailing; said of a vessel when her head is to the wind and she will not pay off on either tack.

In stays: sailing; situation of a vessel under sail with her head to the wind as she is going about from one tack to the other.

Lay aloft: order; for hands to climb aloft, usually to loose or furl sail.

Lay alow: order; for hands to climb back down, to lower yards or to the deck.

Lay in: order; when working on the yards, to move inwards along the footrope towards the mast.

Lay out: order; when working on the yards, to move outwards towards the yardarms.

Lee ‘fore’ brace: order; to haul on the leeward fore braces to sharpen up the sails and sail closer into the wind. Let go and haul: order; given for the fore yards to be braced around.

Let go: order; cast off a berthing line or other rope, eg. ‘Let go the brails’.

List: sailing; when a vessel leans over to port or starboard due to shifting cargo or ballast.

Long stay: anchoring; when the anchor is well away from the bows and the cable leads away from the hawse angling out towards the anchor.

Luffed: slang; caught or detailed for an unpleasant task.

Made mast: rigging; mast made up of two or more poles slotted together.

Mainsail haul: order; given for the main yards to be braced around.

Make fast: order; to secure a line.

Martingale: (dolphin striker) rigging; short iron spar pointing downwards from the end of the bowsprit, spreading the martingale stays and countering the upward pull by the forestays on the jib boom end.

Mast bands: rigging; metal bands round a mast fitted with lugs to take blocks.

Missing stays: sailing; said of a vessel when it is tacking and fails to complete the manoeuvre, often because of too light a wind.

Money for old rope: slang; very easy job.

Old man: slang; affectionate nickname for the master of a merchant ship irrespective of his age.

On a bowline: sailing; close-hauled and with the leeches as taut as possible.

On the right tack: slang; taking the right approach.

Paddy’s purchase: slang; derogatory term for a rope lead that increases work rather than saves it.

Parrel: rigging; a leather-lined metal collar which slides up and down the mast. It forms part of the truss which attaches a yard to its mast.

Pay off: sailing; said of a ship’s head falls away with the wind when tacking or wearing ship.

Peggy: slang; nickname for a seaman detailed to clean the mess.

Pipe down: slang; keep quiet.

Raise tacks and sheets: order; given when tacking to raise the course clews, thus allowing that yard to be more easily braced around.

Rally on: order; encouragement to heave well and heartily.

Ranging cable: anchoring; laying out an anchor cable in order to examine it for weak links, rust or other defects.

Reach: sailing; to sail with the wind on the beam.

Roundly: order; to carry out an order quickly.

Running: sailing; to sail with the wind abaft the beam.

Sail close to the wind: slang; to take a chance, especially with authority or accepted shipboard standards.

Scandalise: sailing; to deliberately set a ship’s yards in disarray with sails hanging in their gear. It was a traditional way of mourning the dead.

Scope: anchoring; the length of cable run out when a ship rides to anchor.

Scotchman: rigging; piece of leather or wooden batten placed over standing rigging to prevent chafing.

Scuppered: slang; frustrated or defeated. Shackle: (shaykil) anchoring; a standard length of anchor cable – 15 fathoms (or 90 feet). A joining link indicates the end of each “shackle”.

Sharp up: sailing; when the yards are braced as far forward as they will go. The ship is then ‘sharp up’ by the wind.

Sheerpoles: rigging; metal bars lashed horizontally across the shrouds just above the dead eye blocks to prevent twisting.

Sheet home: order; haul on the sheets and fully extend a sail.

Shellback: slang; old sailor who spins wellembroidered yarns of his sea experiences.

Short stay: anchoring; when the anchor is relatively close to the ship and the cable leads downwards towards it.

Shorten sail: sailing; to reduce the sail area of a vessel underway by reefing or furling, or both.

Spreaders: rigging; extensions on each side of the cross-trees to spread the t’gallant and royal backstays.

Stand on: sailing; to continue on course towards the land, or towards any other destination.

Swallow: rigging; the slot cut out of a mast or spar to take a sheave.

Swing: anchoring; movement of a ship from side-to-side at anchor due to wind or tide.

Tail on: order; lend a hand in hauling on a line.

Take in: sailing; to lower or reduce sail.

Three sheets in the wind: slang; drunk.

Tide rode: anchoring; when a ship is swung to her anchor by the tidal current, thus with her head pointing into the tide.

Trend: anchoring; the angle (from the ship’s centre line) at which an anchor cable runs away from the ship

Trestle trees: rigging; two strong pieces of timber place fore and aft, resting on the cheeks at the head of a mast. Those on the lower mast support the cross-trees, top and topmast. Those on the topmast support the cross-trees and t’gallant mast.

Trice up: order; to haul blocks or tackle out of the way and secure them temporarily while performing a particular operation, eg. ‘Trice up the vang tackle’, (while setting the spanker).

Tricks: slang; watches on duty.

Truss: rigging; (“aka goose-neck”) the metal arm that secures the yard to the mast. Course yard is trussed and supported by a chain sling. Lower tops’l is trussed and supported by an iron stay. Raising yards are trussed and supported by halyard tyes.

Up and down: anchoring; condition of the cable when it is vertical and the anchor is directly under the bows of the ship.

Veer: anchoring; to slacken a cable so that it may run out.

Walk away: order; haul on a rope by holding onto it and walking away with it. Walk back: order; walk back towards a pulley or tackle while holding onto its fall thus easing the load.

Weather ‘fore’ brace: order; to haul on the weather fore braces (eg. in order to square up the yards).

Weather anchor: anchoring; in a ship coming in to anchor, the anchor on its weather bow.

Whisker booms: rigging; iron spars which project from the cat heads in order to spread the jib boom rigging.

Whistle up a wind: slang; to indulge in vain hopes of achieving something.

Wind rode: anchoring; when a ship is swung to her anchor by the wind, thus with her head pointing into the wind.

Wrung: rigging; term used to describe a mast bent or strained out of its natural position by badly set up rigging.

Yardarms: rigging; the outer ends of a yard.

(Yard) quarters: rigging; the distance between the middle of a yard and the halfway point out towards the yardarm.