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) JRCC Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre	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) Headway The Forward motion of a vessel. The opposite of Sternway	Expressions Common sayings and expressions from maritime lore (149 terms) Becalmed A vessel is said to be Becalmed when there is no wind and the sails hang limp and lifeless.
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) 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) Skylarking Playing by climbing around in the Rigging. Especially when done as high as possible.	Maneuvers Specific sailing maneuvers (33 terms) Bear Up To steer closer to the wind, shore or an object.
Navigation The points of sail and seamanship (76 terms) In Irons A sailboat with its Bow pointed directly into the wind, preventing the sails from filling properly so that the Boat can move.	Parts The parts of ships (131 terms) Anchor Chain A chain attached to the Anchor. The chain acts partially as a weight to keep the strain on the Anchor as horizontal as possible.
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) Lee-shore 1. A shore that wind blows onto; it is best to Stay well off a Lee shore in a storm. 2. Sometimes used as a metaphor in an expression to signify danger.
Rigging Rigging components and terms (104 terms) Running-rigging Lines which run through pulleys and Block and Tackle, that are used to adjust the sails and yards.	Sails Sails, their parts and materials (30 terms) Batten Pockets Pockets in a Sail where battens can be placed to stiffen the Sail.
Ships Types of vessels and some famous examples (22 terms) Schooner A sailing vessel with at least 2 masts, Foremast and Mainmast, with the Mainmast being the taller. The Word derives from the term "schoon/scoon" meaning to move smoothly and quickly.	Spars The various spars used aboard ship (6 terms) Bowsprit A Spar running Forward from the Bow of a vessel. It functions as a horizontal Mast for the spritsail, fore-topmast staysail and, in conjunction with the Jibboom, the Jib.
Tools The tools of the trade (27 terms) Lines 1. Rope used for various purposes Aboard Ship. 2. The design drawings of a vessel, normally consisting of three diagrams: the sheer plan: showing the longitudnal vertical section of the Ship; the body plan: showing the vertical cross sections; and the half-bredth plan: showing the longitudnal transverse section at the deckline. 3. A collective term referring to the design of the Ship "she has good lines"	unsorted terms awaiting clasification (36 terms) none found
Weather Meteorology and its relationship to sailing (7 terms) Fronts Used in meteorology to describe bounderies between hot and cold air masses. This is typically where bad weather is found.

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