The Bosun´s Mate Glossary of Terms

The Bosun´s Mate dictionary of Nautical Terms has been compiled from many sources and is constantly being augmented and revised in our attempt to capture as much of the rich yet complicated (and often conflicting) maritime termonology as possible.

You will find an extensive list of information about all sorts of nautical items from sailor´s knots to the sailors themselves, and from ships to the weather patterns of the seas they ply.

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Abbreviations Abbreviations and Acronyms (41 terms) CCGA Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary	Actions The things sailors do (8 terms) Skylarking Playing by climbing around in the Rigging. Especially when done as high as possible.
Directions Why say back when you can say aft instead! (20 terms) Leeway 1. The sideways movement of the Boat caused by either wind or Current. 2. To be blown in the direction of the wind	Expressions Common sayings and expressions from maritime lore (149 terms) By the Board 1. To Fall overboard 2. To be broken and/or lost - rendered useless
Food The foods of the sea (2 terms) Scurvy A disease historically common to seaman, caused by lack of Vitamin C the British Navy started to fight it bu adding lime juice to their water - this was the origin of the slan "Limey"	Knots Various knots both functional and ornamental from the nautical to the ornamental and with both historic and present day value. (12 terms) Knot 1. A speed of one Nautical mile per hour. (6076 feet) per hour. 2. A method of making a Line Fast to an object, another Line, itself, or for ornament.
Life aboard Bits and bobs from life aboard ship (5 terms) Heart of Oak A british naval song wirtten by David Garrick that starts: ´Come cheer up, my lads, ´tis to glory we steer, To add something more to this wonderful year´ Set to music by Willian Boyce in 1759 and commerating that same year "the year of vistories" or "the wonderful year" as the song proclaims. This is based on the victories at Lagos, Quiberon Bay, and the capture of Quebec - which all occured in that year during the seven years war 1756-63. It was later a traditional...	Maneuvers Specific sailing maneuvers (33 terms) Luff-up To steer the Boat more into the wind, this could have the effect of causing the sails to flap or Luff.
Navigation The points of sail and seamanship (76 terms) Great circle A Course plotted on the surface of the globe that is the shortest distance between two points	Parts The parts of ships (131 terms) Blade The flat part of an oar or paddle.
People Important people and/or their positions in nautical history (14 terms) Boson Also Boatswain, bos´n, bo´s´n, and bo´sun, all of which are pronounced Bosun. A crew member responsible for keeping the Hull, Rigging and sails in good repair.	Places Key locations of the maritime world (20 terms) Lazarette A storage compartment Below decks in the Stern of a vessel.
Rigging Rigging components and terms (104 terms) Yard A Spar usually fixed horizontally to a Mast that supports a Sail.	Sails Sails, their parts and materials (30 terms) Bermudian sail A triangular fore-and-aft Sail without a Gaff or Yard, set on a Boom on the Aft side of a Mast.
Ships Types of vessels and some famous examples (22 terms) Boat Any waterborne Displacement vessel	Spars The various spars used aboard ship (6 terms) Yard A Spar usually fixed horizontally to a Mast that supports a Sail.
Tools The tools of the trade (27 terms) Camel 1. A hollow iron, steel or wood vessel  that is filled with water and sunk under another vessel by filling it with water. When the water is pumped out, the buoyancy of the Camel lifts the other vessel as well. Usually employed in pairs. At one time these	unsorted terms awaiting clasification (36 terms) none found
Weather Meteorology and its relationship to sailing (7 terms) El Niño A warm inshore Current annually flowing south along the coast of Ecuador. About every seven to ten years it extends down the coast of Peru, where it has a devastating effect in that region and is oftin the cause of unusual weather patterns around the entire eastern Pacific Rim.

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