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Abeam
At a right angle with the vessels keel. On starboard beam. On port beam.
Alleyway
A narrow passage under a bridge-deck, between cabins under deck.
Along-shore-man
Workingman, not belonging to the ship's crew, employed in loading and discharging
ships.
Amidships
The middle of a vessel, with regard to her length and breadth.
Astern
The vessel was astern of us. To go astern.
Auxiliary-engines
Small machines notably fitted on board of a steamer for the purpose of replacing
hand-power. As a rule they are driven by steam supplied by the main-or donkey-boilers;
in some instances (when fixed on deck) they are worked by hydraulic power.
Barge
A large, usually undecked boat, employed principally in rivers, bays etc., for
bringing cargo alongside a vessel or taking it from thence.
Bark
A three-masted vessel; foremast, mainmast and mizenmast; the two foremasts are
square rigged as in a ship. The after or mizenmast has no yards but only a gaff-sail.
Barkentine
A three-masted vessel; foremast, mainmast and mizenmast; the foremast only is
square rigged, the main and mizenmasts are only fitted with gaff-sails and gaff-topsails.
Before
the mast
A seaman is said to he before the mast, when lodged in the crew's space and
performing the duties of any ordinary sailor, not those of an officer.
Blue
light
A mixture, which when lighted shows a bright blue flame, used on board a ship
for signaling purposes.
Boatswain
An able seaman employed as a non commissioned officer to superintend the men
when at work.
Brig
A two-masted vessel; foremast and mainmast, both square rigged i.e. exactly
as the two foremost masts of a full-rigged ship, or a bark.
Bulkheads
Bulkheads are partitions, by which compartments, rooms etc. in a vessel are
formed, or the hold of a ship divided.
Bull's
eye
A thick round piece of glass inserted in a ships side etc. to let in light.
Capstans
A strong short column of wood or cast metal, fitted on an upper deck, a bridge,
poop, or raised quarterdeck, revolved by hand or steam power, and employed for
various purposes.
Chart
A map giving the shape of the coast and islands with the positions of the harbours,
bays and light-houses etc. the depth of water in fathoms or metres as well as
the kind of the bottom etc.
Charthouse
A small structure of iron, steel or wood on a bridge or weather deck of a steamer
where the charts are kept, and where the master usually stays, when not on duty,
while navigating in narrow waters.
Charter
Party
A contract entered into respectively by the owners of a vessel and charterers.
Classification
The act of granting a class to a vessel by a classification society.
Clipper
Term given to a sharp-bottomed sailing-vessel, especially built for attaining
great speed.
Coal
Bunker
The place where the coal for consumption on board of a steamer is stowed.
Deadlight
Any cutter or shutter fitted to protect the glass of a cabin window, a sidelight
etc. i. e. to prevent the wash of the sea breaking the glasses and entering
an apartment.
Demurrage
The amount to be paid by the charterers to the owner of a ship, for each day's
delay, beyond the lay-days agreed upon; as stipulated in the charter-party,
or in the bill of lading.
Derrick
A spar extending in a diagonal or nearly upright position from an upper deck
or from a mast (a little above the deck) near a hatchway. Cargo, by means of
derrick and winches, is taken out of, or lowered into a vessels hold.
Displacement
The volume of water displaced by a vessel, a boat or any other floating body;
the weight of the water so displaced equaling exactly the total weight of the
object causing its displacement.
Donkey
Donkey engine. Donkey-pump. Steam-pump. Terms applied to an auxiliary engine
for driving winches or in connection with a pump employed for various purposes,
viz, for temporarily replacing a bilge or a feed-pump, for emptying water ballast
tanks, for supplying water for cleaning purposes etc.
Ebb
The reflux and falling of the tide after high water.
Eddy-water
A whirling motion of water caused by the backward motion of a portion of stream.
Fairway
A passage in a river etc. through which a vessel sails, when arriving from sea,
or leaving port towards the sea.
Fathom
Is the term given for a measure of length for ropes etc. and for measuring the
depth of soundings taken; a fathom is six feet English.
Fivemast-bark
A five masted vessel: foremast, mainmast, middlemast, mizzen mast and jiggermast;
the four foremost masts are square rigged, the hind-most mast carries no yards.
Flood
The influx and rising of the tide after low water.
Flush-deck
It is the term given to an upper-deck having neither erections (extending from
side to side) nor a break.
Fore-and
Aft-Schooner
Bermuda Schooner; Common Schooner. A two masted vessel; the lower masts are
generally long and fitted with a short topmast without yards; and they carry
only boom-sails and gafftop-sails.
General
Average
Average which effects both the vessel and the cargo.
Hatchway
A square aperture in a ship's deck, through which cargo is laden and discharged.
Hawse-pipe
A cast iron pipe usually fitted in a hawse hole to prevent the wear by the cables.
Hawser
A rope, manila, hemp or wire, from 90 to 100 fathoms in length, somewhat less
in size than a towrope, but heavier than a warp, and employed for various purposes.
High
latitudes
Term given to degrees of latitude nearer to the poles than the Equator.
High
water
The level of the water reached at the top of the flood tide; immediately before
the ebb.
Holystone
Soft white brick of sandstone, by which with the use of loose sand and water,
a vessels deck is scrubbed clean.
Hopper
Term given to a kind of barge fitted with trapdoors, employed to carry away
the mud, sand etc. raised by a dredger from the bottom of a harbour, river or
dock.
Hulk
The dismantled hull of an old vessel, often in a river employed as a coal-depot,
from whence steamers obtain a supply of fuel.
Indicated
horsepower
The work of the steam in the cylinders, without reference to the loss due to
the resistance of the engine through friction etc.
Jettison
Portions of a vessel's cargo or bunkers thrown over board for the purpose of
lightening, with a view of saving the ship.
Jigger-mast
The hindmost mast on a four mast ship.
Jib
The stay sails landing on the bowsprit.
Kedge-anchor
A small anchor for warping purposes.
Land
breeze
A wind, which in warm climates usually blows from the land, shortly after sunset
until after sunrise next day.
Lashing
A piece of rope by means of which an anchor, a spar etc. is fastened to the
deck etc.
Latitude
The distance of any point of the earth's surface North or South from the Equator
laid out on charts in "Degrees".
Lead
Sounding Lead. A weighty piece of lead of conical shape attached to a line,
and used to ascertain the depth of water, over which a vessel is passing.
Lead
Line
A thin long line, attached to a sounding lead, by means of which the depth of
water is ascertained.
Leeside
The side opposite to the weather side.
Life
buoy
An apparatus generally ring-shaped, consists of cork covered with canvas, thrown
to a man, when accidentally in the water, to support him till further assistance
can be rendered.
Light-ship
Light-vessel. A vessel of special construction, having usually one, two or three
short pole-masts only, from which during the night powerful lights are exhibited,
and in day-times globes or baskets are hoisted; they are moored near dangerous
shoals in the open sea and at the mouths of rivers, for the purpose of warning
vessels of such obstructions.
Lighter
Specially constructed craft of large size, frequently used for the purpose of
lightening a vessel, when grounded. Also employed, for bringing cargo alongside,
or receiving it from ships discharging in rivers, or in a harbour having no
dock or quay accommodation.
Log
The apparatus by means of which the speed of a vessel is ascertained.
Low
water
The lowest level of the water reached just, before the flood sets in.
Mainmast
The second mast from the stem.
Manhole
A round or oval aperture in the top of a double bottom or a water ballast tank;
also in the girders of a double bottom, in a steam-boiler etc. to give access
for the inspection etc. of such reservoirs.
Marlin-spike
A short iron bar pointed at one end and employed in splicing ropes, putting
on seizings and for other similar work.
Mizen-mast
The third mast from the stem of a vessel.
Mooring-anchor
The second anchor employed when mooring a vessel for two anchors.
Nautical
mile
The 60th part of an equatorial degree, equal to about 6080 English feet; therefore
6 nautical miles represents 7 English miles approximately.
Neap
Tide
Is the term given to the lowest tides occurring at the first and last quarters
of the moon, when the moon stands 90 degrees from the sun, so that the sun's
flood, and the moon's ebb come together, as also the moon's flood and the sun's
ebb.
Net-Tonnage
Is the capacity underdeck, available for stowing cargo only, it is exclusive
of engine room, boiler space, coal bunkers, cabins, crew spaces etc.
Nominal
horsepower
Does not represent the real force of an engine. The method of calculating it,
was first employed by James Watt. One "Nominal" horsepower equals about 5 to
6 "Indicated" horsepower.
Oakum
Rope yarns pulled into loose hemp and employed for caulking the seams of wooden
vessels.
Observation
The act of measuring the altitude of the sun, moon or star, or the angular distance
between any two celestial objects, by a sextant or other fitting instrument,
for the purpose of finding the latitude and longitude of a vessel's position
etc.
Offing
A part of the sea at a considerable distance from the shore. A vessel is said
to be in the "Offing" when discernible from the land far away at the sea.
Ordinary
Seaman
One, who has not been long enough at sea to get acquainted with all the work
which may be expected of an able seaman; a middleman acting between seaman and
a boy.
Orlop-Deck
The lowermost one in a ship having four decks.
Pack
ice
Fragments of ice heaped together.
Particular
average
Average, which effects only the vessel, or only the cargo.
Poop
A structure on the extreme after end of a weather deck extending from side to
side of a vessel.
Port
Term given to the grooves or canals cast in the body of the ship for different
purposes (ballast-port, cargo-port, Gangway-port, hawser-port, bulwark-port].
Quadruple-expansion
engine
One, in which steam expands successively in four cylinders.
Quarantine-flag
A square yellow flag to show that a vessel is under quarantine, or that contagious
sickness is on board.
Quarterdeck
The after portion of an upper-deck.
Quartermaster
An able seaman almost exclusively employed for steering a vessel; large steamers
carry usually. a certain number say 4 to 6 men who relieve each other every
hour, or two hours.
Quick
sand
A loose sand into which a vessel sinks by her own weight as soon as the water
retreats from her bottom.
Rail
Flat pieces of wood (about 1/3 their breadth in thickness) or iron bars of rods,
joined endwise and connected to the upper edge of the bulwark plating; or fitted
upon the summits of stanchions surrounding an upper deck, a bridge, poop, or
forecastle-deck.
Ratline
Three stranded cord, of which the ladder like steps in lower rigging, topmast-rigging
etc. are formed.
Register-Tonnage
Is that measured by the customhouse regulations and entered in the ship's register.
Rigging
Term applied to the totality of a vessel's masts, spars etc. with their standing
and running ropes.
Roadsted
An anchoring place in or near the open sea; at some distance from a harbour.
Royal
The uppermost squaresail on each mast.
Schooner;
Topsail-Schooner
A two masted vessel: foremast and mainmast, the foremast is fitted with yards
and square sails; the main or aftermast, is rigged like the after mast in a
brigantine.
Shackle
A link with a movable bolt, by means of which two lengths of chain are joined
or separated.
Shaft
A bar revolving on a support by which motion or power is transmitted to other
parts, or attachments.
Side-Lights
Is the term given to two lanterns exhibited by vessels while underway, viz,
a green one on the starboard side and a red one on the portside.
To sound
To sound the pumps. To sound the tanks. For ascertaining how much water is in
these rooms.
Stevedore
A person, who undertakes the loading and discharging of vessels, either for
a lump sum, or for so much per ton, or other quantity; he engages and pays the
labourers, who carry out the work under his superintendence and responsibility.
Stoke-hold
Place in the boiler room of a steamer, from whence the boilers are fired.
Strop
A piece of rope having the two ends secured to each other; mostly used for fastening
pieces of cargo to the loading or discharging gear.
Supercargo
A person having the confidence of the owner or Proprietor of a vessel's cargo,
of which he is entrusted with the disposal at one or more foreign ports.
Tonnage
Term applied to the cubical contents of a vessel or any of her compartments
or superstructures, 1 ton being estimated at 100 cubic feet English, or the
Continental equivalent of 2.8316 cubic metres.
Trade
winds
Term given to those easterly winds which with few interruptions prevail in the
lower latitudes of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean.
Tramp
A derisive name applied to the common cargo steamers, not engaged in any regular
trade, but said to be here to-day, gone to-morrow, hunting after freight, wherever
obtainable.
True
Course
The course, which a vessel has really sailed or is sailing, i.e. after correction
for leeway, current, and local attraction.
Tunnel
A watertight structure from about 4 to 7 feet in height and somewhat less in
breadth, according to the size of the vessel, fitted at the middle line, in
which the propeller-shaft is placed. It extends from the engine-room-after bulkhead,
to the stuffing box bulkhead.
Turret-Deck
Steamer
A steamer, the frames and side plating of which are, immediately above the loadline,
curved as the rounded gunwale of a poop, and extended in a horizontal direction
nearly 1/4 of the ship's breadth.
Warping
The act of hauling or heaving a vessel by means of warps from one place to another
in a dock, harbour, river etc.
Weather-side
The side against which the wind blows.
White
squall
One comes quite unexpectedly, the only and sudden indication of its approach
being the foam on the water marking its passage.
Windlass
An apparatus usually placed on the fore-end of an upperdeck or on the forecastle-deck,
and employed for heaving up the bow-anchors.
Yards
Heavy spars fastened horizontally to the mast of sailing-vessels for sailing
purpose.
William Shakespeare
