cable-tier
A place in a hold where cables are stored.
canister-shot
or
case-shot
Many small iron balls packed in a cylindrical tin case and fired from a cannon.
capstan
A broad revolving cylinder with a vertical axis used for winding a rope or cable.
caravel-built
Describing a vessel whose outer planks are flush and smooth, as opposed to a clinker-built vessel, whose outer planks overlap.
cartridge
A case made of paper, flannel, or metal that contains the charge of powder for a firearm.
casbah
or
qasbah
A general term for the walled citadel of many North African cities, the Qasbah of Algiers being the most famous.
cathead
or
cat
A horizontal beam at each side of a ship's bow used for raising and carrying an anchor.
catharpings
Small ropes that brace the shrouds of the lower masts.
chains
or
chain-wale
or
channel
A structure projecting horizontally from a ship's sides abreast of the masts, used to widen the basis for the shrouds.
clap on
To add on, as in more sail or more hands on a line.
close-hauled
Sailing with sails hauled in as tight as possible, allowing the vessel to lie as close to the wind as possible.
commodore
A captain appointed as commander in chief of a squadron or station.
companion
An opening in a ship's deck leading below to a cabin via a companion way.
cordage
Cords or ropes, especially those in the rigging of a ship.
corvette
or
corsair
A warship with a flush deck and a single tier of guns.
course
The sail that hangs on the lowest yard of a square-rigged vessel.
crosstrees
A pair of horizontal struts attached to a ship's mast to spread the rigging, especially at the head of a topmast.
cutwater
The forward edge of the stem or prow that divides the water before it reaches the bow.
Â
deadlight
A protective cover fitted over a porthole or window on a ship.
dead reckoning
The process of calculating position at sea by estimating the direction and distance traveled.
dogwatch
Either of two short watches on a ship (1600â1800 hours and 1800â2000 hours).
Â
East Indiaman
A large and heavily armed merchant ship built by the various East India companies. Considered the ultimate sea vessels of their day in comfort and ornamentation.
ensign
The flag carried by a ship to indicate her nationality.
Â
fathom
Six feet in depth or length.
felucca
A small Mediterranean vessel with lateen sails on two masts, used chiefly for coastal trading.
fiferail
A rail around the mainmast of a ship that holds belaying pins.
figgy-dowdy
A pudding with raisins popular in the West Country of England.
flag lieutenant
An officer acting as an aide-de-camp to an admiral.
fo'c'sle
or
forecastle
The forward part of a ship below the deck where the crew was traditionally quartered.
foot-rope
A rope beneath a yard for sailors to stand on while reefing or furling.
furl
To roll up and bind a sail neatly to its yard or boom.
Â
gangway
On deep-waisted ships, a narrow platform from the quarterdeck to the forecastle. Also, a movable bridge linking a ship to the shore.
gig
A light, narrow ship's boat normally used by the commander.
grape
or
grapeshot
Small cast-iron balls, bound together by a canvas bag, that scatter like shotgun pellets when fired.
grapnel
or
grappling hook
A device with iron claws attached to a rope and used for dragging or grasping, such as holding two ships together.
grating
The open woodwork cover for the hatchway.
Â
haik
A large outer wrap worn by people from North Africa.
half-seas over
Drunk.
halyard
A rope or tackle used to raise or lower a sail.
hawser
A large rope used in warping and mooring.
heave to
To halt a ship by setting the sails to counteract each other, a tactic often employed to ride out a storm.
hull-down
Another ship so far away that only her masts and sails are visible above the horizon.
Â
impress
To force to serve in the navy.
Â
jack
The small flag flown from the jack-staff on the bowsprit of a vessel, such as the British Union Jack and Dutch Jack.
jolly-boat
A clinker-built ship's boat, smaller than a cutter, used for small work.
Â
keelhaul
To punish by dragging someone through the water from one side of the boat to the other, under the keel.
Â
langrage
Case-shot with jagged pieces of iron, useful in damaging rigging and sails and killing men on deck.
lateen sail
A triangular sail set on a long yard at a forty-five-degree angle to the mast.
laudanum
An alcoholic solution of opium.
lee
The side of a ship, land mass, or rock that is sheltered from the wind.
leech
The free edges of a sail, such as the vertical edges of a square sail and the aft edge of a fore-and-aft sail.
Levant
Name for the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea between Greece and Egypt.
lighter
A boat or barge used to ferry cargo to and from ships at anchor.
Â
Maghrib
Arabic term referring to the coastal regions of the Barbary States, literally “the west.”
manger
A small triangular area in the bow of a warship in which animals are kept.
muster-book
The official log of a ship's company.
Â
ordnance
Mounted guns, mortars, munitions, and the like.
orlop
The lowest deck on a sailing ship having at least three decks.
Â
parole
Word of honor, especially the pledge made by a prisoner-of-war, agreeing not to try to escape or, if released, to abide by certain conditions.
petty officer
A naval officer with rank corresponding to that of a noncommissioned officer in the army.
pig
An oblong mass of metal, usually iron, often used as ballast in a ship.
polacca
A two- or three-masted merchant vessel of the Levant and the Mediterranean having a lateen sail on the foremast and sometimes on the mizzen.
poop
A short, raised aftermost deck found only on very large sailing ships.
privateer
A privately owned armed ship with a government commission authorizing it to act as a warship.
prize
An enemy vessel and its cargo captured at sea by a warship or a privateer.
purser
An officer responsible for keeping the ship's accounts and issuing food and clothing.
Â
quadrant
An instrument that measures the angle of heavenly bodies for use in navigation.
quarterdeck
That part of a ship's upper deck near the stern, traditionally reserved for the ship's officers.
quay
A dock or landing place usually built of stone.
queue
A plait of hair; a pigtail.
quoin
A wooden wedge with a handle at the thick end used to adjust the elevation of a gun.
Â
ratlines
Small lines fastened horizontally to the shrouds of a vessel for climbing up and down the rigging.
reef
A horizontal portion of a sail that can be rolled or folded up to reduce the amount of canvas exposed to the wind.
rig
The arrangement of a vessel's masts and sails. The two main categories are square-rigged and fore-and-aft rigged.
rode
A rope securing an anchor.
round-shot
Balls of cast iron fired from smooth-bore cannon.
royal
A small sail hoisted above the topgallant sail used in light and favorable winds.
Â
scupper
An opening in a ship's side that allows water to run from the deck into the sea.
sheet
A rope used to extend the sail or to alter its direction. To “sheet home” is to haul in a sheet until the foot of the sail is as straight and as taut as possible.
ship-rigged
Carrying square sails on all three masts.
shipwright
One employed in the construction of ships.
shrouds
A set of ropes forming part of the standing rigging and supporting the mast and topmast.
slops
Ready-made clothing from the ship's stores.
slow-match
A very slow burning fuse used to ignite the charge in a large gun.
stay
Part of the standing rigging, a rope that supports a mast.
staysail
A triangular fore-and-aft sail hoisted upon a stay.
stem
The curved upright bow timber of a vessel.
sternsheets
The rear of an open boat and the seats there.
studdingsail
or
stunsail
or
stuns'l
An extra sail set outside the square sails during a fair wind.
swivel-gun
A small cannon mounted on a swivel so that it can be fired in any direction.
Â
tack
A sailing vessel's course relative to the direction of the wind and the position of her sails; in a “starboard tack,” the wind is coming across the starboard side. Also the corner to which a rope is fastened to secure the sail.
taffrail
The rail at the upper end of a ship's stern.
tampion
A wooden stopper for the muzzle of a gun.
thole pin
or
thole
One of a pair of pegs set in a gunwale of a boat to hold an oar in place.
three sheets to the wind
Very drunk.
top
A platform constructed at the head of each of the lower masts of a ship to extend the topmast shrouds. Also used as a lookout and fighting platform.
topgallant
The third mast, sail, or yard above the deck.
top-hamper
A ship's masts, sails, and rigging.
topsail
The second sail above the deck, set above the course or mainsail.
touchhole
A vent in the breech of a firearm through which the charge is ignited.
tumble-home
The inward inclination of a ship's upper sides that causes the upper deck to be narrower than the lower decks.
Â
waist
The middle part of a ship's upper deck between the quarterdeck and the forecastle.
wardroom
The mess room onboard ship for the commissioned officers and senior warrant officers.
watch
A fixed period of duty on a ship. Watches are four hours in length except for the two two-hour dogwatches.
wherry
A rowboat used to carry passengers.
windward
Facing the wind or on the side facing the wind. Contrast
leeward
.
Â
xebec
A three-masted Arab corsair equipped with lateen sails. Larger xebecs had a square sail on the foremast.
Â
yard
A cylindrical spar slung across a ship's mast from which a sail hangs.
yardarm
The outer extremity of a yard.
About the Author
W
ILLIAM C. HAMMOND is a literary agent and business consultant who lives with his wife and three sons in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A lifelong student of history and a longtime devotee of nautical fiction, he sails whenever possible on Lake Superior and off the coast of New England.
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