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) GPS Global Positioning System	Actions The things sailors do (8 terms) Luff-up To steer the Boat more into the wind, this could have the effect of causing the sails to flap or Luff.
Directions Why say back when you can say aft instead! (20 terms) Lee 1. Away from the direction from which the wind is blowing. 2. Sheltered from the wind.	Expressions Common sayings and expressions from maritime lore (149 terms) Luff 1. (n) The leading edge of a Sail. 2. (v) The act of a Sail flapping in the wind. 3. (v) To bring the ship's Head closer to the wind.
Food The foods of the sea (2 terms) Sea-pie A favorite dish for the crew of tall ships. It could consist of almost anything, but the propper dish consisted of layers of meat, vegetables, and fish alternating with crusts of bread and/or broken biscuit - affectionately referred to as a Two or Three decker based on the number of layers.	Knots Various knots both functional and ornamental from the nautical to the ornamental and with both historic and present day value. (12 terms) Reef-knot A very common Knot used to Bend two Lines of the same diameter. If used to tie Lines of differing diameter it may slip.
Life aboard Bits and bobs from life aboard ship (5 terms) Q flag All yellow signal flag meaning "My vessel is healthy and I request free passage.	Maneuvers Specific sailing maneuvers (33 terms) Over-haul 1. To slack a tackle and thereby increase the distance apart of the blocks in that tackle by manually running the Rope backwards through the sheaves. 2. The action of passing another vessel. 3. Sometimes used to refer to a refit of a vessel - inspecting and repaiting propulsion and mechanical systems on Board.
Navigation The points of sail and seamanship (76 terms) Nautical mile One minute of Latitude, 1.85 km or 6076 feet - aproximately 1/8 longer than the US statute mile of 5280 feet.	Parts The parts of ships (131 terms) Mooring buoy A Buoy secured to a permanent Anchor sunk deeply into the bottom.
People Important people and/or their positions in nautical history (14 terms) Nippers 1. Short lengths of Rope marled or braded and used when weighing the Anchor to bind the Cable to the Messenger or Viol. The (usually hemp) Cable was too thick to be brought around the capstain directly, and as such would be bound by the Nippers to the messanger which in turn was taken around the capstain. 2. The Boys or men responsible for working the Nippers were also referred to as Nippers themselves 3. Slings used when hoisting yards that were wet and slippery. 4. A lashed hammock wi...	Places Key locations of the maritime world (20 terms) Stern The Back or aftermost end of a vessel.
Rigging Rigging components and terms (104 terms) Lazyjacks Lines from under the Boom to the topping lifts which serve to contain the sails while they are lowered. These are more common on smaller sailing craft designed to be crewed by a single person or only very few people.	Sails Sails, their parts and materials (30 terms) Sheet The Line fastened to any Sail that is used to position it (control the Sail) relative to the wind.
Ships Types of vessels and some famous examples (22 terms) Yacht A sailboat or powerboat used for pleasure; ie: not a working Boat.	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) Bible A large Holystone	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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