The Bosunīs Mate Glossary of Terms
The Bosunīs 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 sailorīs knots to the sailors themselves, and from ships to the weather patterns of the seas they ply.
Random terms, by category
|
Abbreviations and Acronyms
(41 terms)
|
The things sailors do
(8 terms)
Hike
To lean out over the side of a smaller sailing vessel to balance it against the force of the wind. In some vessels an apparatus is rigged to assist in leaning our further called a trapeze.
|
|
Why say back when you can say aft instead!
(20 terms)
|
Common sayings and expressions from maritime lore
(149 terms)
|
|
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"
|
Various knots both functional and ornamental from the nautical to the ornamental and with both historic and present day value.
(12 terms)
|
|
Bits and bobs from life aboard ship
(5 terms)
Skylarking
Playing by climbing around in the Rigging. Especially when done as high as possible.
|
Specific sailing maneuvers
(33 terms)
|
|
The points of sail and seamanship
(76 terms)
UTC
In 1970 the Coordinated Universal Time system was devised by an international advisory group of technical experts within the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The ITU felt it was best to designate a single abbreviation for use in all languages in order to minimize confusion. Since unanimous agreement could not be achieved on using either the English word order, CUT, or the French word order, TUC, the acronym UTC was chosen as a compromise. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is a 24 hour astron...
|
The parts of ships
(131 terms)
Bilge
1. The curve of a vesselīs bottom where it merges into the side.
2. The space in a vessel beneath the sole. |
|
Important people and/or their positions in nautical history
(14 terms)
Powder Monkey
A terms used to describe the shipīs boys (typically 7-10) on war ships that would carry gun powder from the magazeen to the gun decks and stand ready to pass pre-measured Charges to the men at the gun.
|
Key locations of the maritime world
(20 terms)
Head
1. The top or foward part of something.
2. The part of a sailing vessel Forward of the foīcīsle and around the beak that was used by the crew (amungst other things) as a lavatory. 3. Any modern day vesselīs toilet - indicating both the bathroom area and the toilet itself. 4. The upper corner of a triangular Sail or top edge of a four sided Sail. |
|
Rigging components and terms
(104 terms)
Hackle
In Rope-making: A process in which fibers are drawn through hackle-boards in order to get them all lying straight prior to spinning into strands suring rope-making.
|
Sails, their parts and materials
(30 terms)
|
|
Types of vessels and some famous examples
(22 terms)
|
The various spars used aboard ship
(6 terms)
|
|
The tools of the trade
(27 terms)
Can hooks
A pair of hooks, flat on one side, that can run freely on a wire or chain sling. The weight of lift prevents unhooking.
|
terms awaiting clasification
(36 terms)
none found |
|
Meteorology and its relationship to sailing
(7 terms)
Force 8
Gale force wind on the Beaufort Wind Scale
|
Total Terms: 539 Total Views: 1511627
