Glossary

A

A-LeeL4

Position of the helm when pushed toward the lee side.*Helm's alee!* is the warning cry of a tack — the helm has been put down to the lee side of the boat, which on a tiller-steered vessel pushes the bow up through the wind. The opposite is *a-weather*.

AbaftL4

Toward the stern; behind.From Old English 'on bæftan' — 'on the back of.' Used in phrases like 'abaft the beam' (behind the widest point of the ship) to give precise relative directions.

AbeamL3

At a right angle to the centerline of the vessel.Something 'on the beam' or 'abeam' is 90 degrees off the ship's heading. The beam is the widest part of the vessel, and bearings are given relative to it — 'broad on the port bow,' 'abeam to starboard,' and so on.

Able SeamanL2

Experienced sailor qualified for all standard duties.Abbreviated AB. An able-bodied seaman could hand, reef, and steer — meaning he could work sails, shorten them for heavy weather, and take a turn at the helm.

AftL1

Toward the stern.From Old English 'æftan' — 'behind.' The after part of the ship is where officers traditionally berthed, giving us 'aftercastle' and the idiom that officers live 'aft' while crew live 'forward.'

All HandsL2

The entire crew is called.'All hands on deck!' means every member of the crew, no exceptions — called for emergencies, heavy weather, entering harbor, or battle.

AmidshipsL2

Middle of the vessel.The midpoint along a ship's length. A helm order of 'amidships' means to center the rudder. The term dates to the 17th century and survives unchanged in modern naval usage.

AnchorL1

Heavy device for holding a vessel in place.From Greek *ankyra* (hook).

Anchor HitchL3

A knot for bending a rope rode to an anchor's ring.Also called a *fisherman's bend*. Two round turns through the anchor ring, then a half hitch around the standing part inside the turns, finished with a half hitch around the standing part outside.

ApronL5

Interior reinforcement behind the stem.The apron is the internal reinforcement running up the inside of the stem (the forward edge of the bow). It gives the stem massive longitudinal strength and provides the landing for the hood ends of the planking.

ArticlesL4

Contract between a merchant crew and master.Merchant sailors 'signed articles' before each voyage — specifying wages, duration, destination, and conditions. 'Ship's articles' governed the voyage legally.

AthwartshipsL3

From one side of the vessel to the other.A compound of 'athwart' (across) and 'ships.' Anything perpendicular to the fore-and-aft line is athwartships — a thwart in a rowboat is the seat running side to side, same root.

AvastL2

Stop; cease an action.A command meaning "stop!" or "hold!" — usually about a specific action: *avast heaving*, *avast hauling*. Cried by the bosun or officer to stop work that's gone far enough.

B

BackingL3

A wind shift counter-clockwise (in the northern hemisphere).The wind direction is rotating to the left (west → south → east, looking down from above, in the northern hemisphere). Generally indicates worsening weather as a low approaches.

BackstaffL4

Instrument measuring solar altitude by shadow.John Davis's 1594 invention.

BarqueL4

Three- or four-masted vessel, square-rigged on all but the aftermost mast.Defined by rig rather than mast count: square sails on all masts except the aftermost, which is fore-and-aft.

BeakheadL5

Platform forward of the forecastle.On 17th- and early 18th-century ships, the beakhead was an exposed platform forward of the forecastle, beneath the bowsprit. It carried the figurehead and served as the crew's head (toilet).

Beam ReachL2

Sailing with the wind directly abeam.The fastest point of sail for many boats. With the wind at 90° to the boat's heading, sails are eased to about half-out, the boat is upright, and apparent wind is roughly equal to the boat's speed plus the true wind.

Bear AwayL2

Turn the boat away from the wind.Also *bear off* or *fall off*. The opposite of *heading up*. Used as both a maneuver and a steering command.

BearingL2

Direction to an object from the observer.Distinct from 'heading' (the direction the vessel is pointing) and 'course' (the direction being made good).

Beaufort ScaleL3

Wind force from zero to twelve.Devised by Commander (later Rear Admiral) Francis Beaufort in 1805 aboard HMS Woolwich.

BelayL3

Secure a line, or cancel an order.To 'belay' a line is to make it fast — typically to a belaying pin or cleat. 'Belay that!' as a general order means stop what you're doing, cancel the last order.

Belaying PinL4

Removable pin used to secure a running line.Rows of belaying pins slotted through the pin rail, one for each line in the running rigging. A sailor needed to know in the pitch dark which pin held which line — an incredible feat of memory.

Bermudan / marconiL2

The triangular mainsail that replaced the gaff. 'Marconi' because the early tall stayed rigs looked like radio masts.

BerthL2

A place to tie up, or a place to sleep.Does double duty: a dock berth is where a vessel is secured, and a sleeping berth is a sailor's bunk.

BilgeL2

Lowest interior part of a hull.From the same root as 'bulge.' Water always finds its way into a wooden hull — through seams, stuffing boxes, the deck — and collects in the bilge, where it's pumped out.

Billiken TrophyL4

The Master Mariners Regatta's prize for gaff-rigged vessels.Yankee won the Billiken with the fastest elapsed time among gaff-rigged vessels at the 2005 Master Mariners Regatta — a perfect "Yankee Day" of flood tide and 20-25 knots of breeze.

BinnacleL4

Housing for a ship's compass.From Latin 'habitaculum' (little dwelling), via Spanish 'bitácora.' The binnacle is the pedestal — often beautifully crafted — that holds the steering compass near the helm.

BlockL2

A pulley used to redirect or mechanically advantage a line.A casing holding one or more sheaves (wheels) over which a line runs. A single block changes direction; multiple blocks with the same line rove between them (a *tackle*) gain mechanical advantage.

Blue PeterL4

Flag signaling that a ship will sail.Flag 'P' in the international signal code — a blue flag with a white rectangle. Hoisted when a ship was ready to sail, calling all hands aboard and warning others she was departing.

Bonaventure MizzenL5

A fourth mast carrying a lateen sail.On the rare four-masted carracks and great ships of the 16th and early 17th centuries, the bonaventure mizzen was a fourth, smallest mast set still further aft than the regular mizzen.

BoomL2

Horizontal spar along the foot of a fore-and-aft sail.From the Dutch 'boom,' meaning tree or pole. The mainsail boom is the spar running aft from the mast along the foot of the sail.

Boom VangL3

A line or strut pulling the boom downward.Also called a *kicker*. Pulls down on the boom (often at about 1/3 along its length) to flatten the mainsail and keep the boom from rising on off-wind points of sail.

BoomsL5

Floating barriers protecting a harbor.Two distinct senses. (1) Floating barriers — chains, logs, or floating structures — drawn across a harbor mouth to keep enemy ships out. Breaking the boom was a standard attack tactic.

BosunL2

Petty officer in charge of deck and rigging.The senior warrant officer in charge of the deck and rigging — sails, ropes, anchors, cables, and the boatswain's mates. "Bosun" is the standard sailors' pronunciation of *boatswain*.

BowL1

The forward part of a vessel.From Old Norse 'bógr' (shoulder). The bow is where the ship cuts the water, shaped to either slice through (fine bow) or push over (full bow) depending on design philosophy.

Bow LineL1

A line from the bow used to secure to a dock or piling.Not to be confused with the *bowline* knot (pronounced "BOH-lin") — the bow line (two words) is just a docking line from the boat's bow to a cleat or piling ashore.

BowlineL3

A knot forming a fixed loop.A knot forming a fixed, non-slipping loop in the end of a line. Called "the king of knots" for its strength, its resistance to jamming, and its ease of untying even after heavy load.

BowlinesL4

Lines pulling a square sail's weather leech forward when sailing close-hauled.When a square-rigged ship sails close to the wind, *bowlines* are bent to bridles on the leech of each square sail and led forward to keep the weather edge of the sail tight and steady — preventing it from collapsing or shaking.

BowspritL2

Spar projecting forward from the bow.From Middle Low German 'bōchsprēt' — 'bow-pole.' The bowsprit extends the base of the foresails well forward of the hull, enormously improving balance and upwind performance.

BracesL4

Lines that pivot a yard horizontally.The braces lead from each yardarm down to a point on the deck (often at the opposite rail), letting the crew pivot the yard to catch the wind at the desired angle.

BrigantineL4

Two-masted vessel with a square-rigged foremast.The brigantine is intermediate between a brig (fully square-rigged) and a schooner (fully fore-and-aft).

BroachL3

An uncontrolled turn sideways while running downwind.Running downwind in heavy weather, a wave catches the stern, the rudder loses bite, and the boat turns broadside to the wind and sea — often pinned over by the sails and shipping water over the lee rail.

Broad ReachL2

Sailing with the wind on the quarter, behind the beam.Wind comes from roughly 120–150° off the bow. Sails are eased well out, the boat rolls slightly, and it's a comfortable cruising point of sail.

BroadsideL2

Simultaneous firing of one side's guns.Also a measurement — 'weight of broadside' was the total shot weight a ship could fire in one discharge, a key measure of firepower. A first-rate's broadside could weigh over 1,000 pounds.

BulkheadL2

An interior wall dividing the hull into compartments.Stiffens the hull and divides it into watertight or partial compartments. *Collision bulkheads* near the bow are watertight, designed to keep the boat afloat if the bow is stove in.

BumboatL5

A small boat selling goods to ships at anchor.A small boat — usually rowed — that brought provisions, fresh fruit, tobacco, and assorted small goods out to ships at anchor.

BuntL5

The middle of a square sail.When furling a square sail, sailors lie along the yard and bundle the sail up — the middle portion that ends up bunched on top of the yard is the 'bunt.' The 'bunt line' is used to haul up the bunt.

BuoyL2

A floating marker for navigation or mooring.Pronounced "BOO-ee" in American usage, "BOY" in British.

BuoyancyL3

The upward force that floats a vessel.Archimedes' principle: a floating body displaces a weight of water equal to its own.

BurgeeL3

A yacht club identification flag.Usually triangular or swallow-tailed. A yacht flies her club's burgee to identify her affiliation, traditionally at the masthead.

C

CabinL1

An enclosed space below or above deck for living.Originally the captain's enclosed quarters on a square-rigger, set aft under the poop.

Cam CleatL3

A spring-loaded cleat that grips a line with two toothed jaws.Push the line down between two spring-loaded toothed cams; pull up to release. Fast to set, fast to free, holds firmly on moderate loads. Standard for jib sheets and control lines on dinghies and small boats.

CapstanL3

Vertical rotating drum for hauling heavy loads.The capstan was the big rotating drum around which the anchor cable was turned. Sailors walked around it pushing capstan bars, singing 'capstan shanties' to coordinate their steps.

CareeningL4

Heeling a ship ashore to clean her bottom.Before dry docks, careening was essential. You'd run the ship into a sheltered beach, heel her over with lines led to shore, and expose the bottom for scraping off barnacles, checking seams, and sheathing repairs.

CarrackL5

Large three- or four-masted ship of the late medieval period.The carrack was Europe's oceangoing workhorse from the 15th into the 16th century — Columbus's Santa María was one. High fore- and aftercastles, square sails on the fore and main, and a lateen on the mizzen.

CarvelL3

Planking laid edge to edge over frames, producing a smooth hull. The standard for most yachts in this atlas.

Cat-o'-Nine-TailsL3

A multi-corded knotted ship's punishment whip.A whip with nine knotted cords on a thick rope handle, kept in a red baize bag (whence "letting the cat out of the bag"). Smyth specifies nine cords of about half a yard long, three knots on each.

CatharpinL5

Short rope bracing the lower shrouds inward.Also 'cat-harping.' These were small lines that pulled the lower shrouds inward near the top, tightening the standing rigging and allowing the yards to be braced sharper when sailing close to the wind.

CatspawL4

A light ripple of wind on the water.A particular twisting hitch made in the bight of a rope, producing two side-by-side bights for a tackle hook to engage simultaneously — both bights carry the load symmetrically.

CaulkingL3

Sealing hull seams with oakum and pitch.Seams between hull planks were filled with 'oakum' (unpicked tarred rope fibers), hammered in with a caulking iron and wooden mallet, then sealed with hot pitch.

Chain ShotL4

Two cannonballs joined by a chain.When fired, the chain stretched and the joined balls tumbled through the rigging, cutting shrouds, stays, and yards.

ChainplatesL4

Iron hull fittings that anchor the shrouds.The chainplates are where the standing rigging meets the hull — long iron straps bolted through the hull's side, usually linked to the shroud deadeyes by short lengths of chain (hence the name).

ChannelsL5

Platforms spreading the shrouds outboard.Also 'chains' or 'chain-wales.' On a 17th- or 18th-century ship, the channels are the broad platforms projecting outboard at the level of the gun deck — they spread the shrouds wider from the mast, improving the angle of support.

ChipsL5

Nickname for the ship's carpenter.Every ship's carpenter, in Royal Navy tradition, was 'Chips.' Similarly, every sailmaker was 'Sails,' every bosun 'Bose,' every cook 'Cookie' or 'Slushy.' These functional nicknames could follow a man between ships.

ChronometerL3

A precise marine timepiece.John Harrison's invention in the 18th century finally solved the longitude problem. Before accurate timekeeping at sea, sailors could find latitude but not longitude — leading to countless shipwrecks.

CleatL1

Fitting for securing a line.A fitting for securing a line.

Clerk of the ChequeL5

Dockyard official who mustered crews and paid wages.In the 17th- and 18th-century Royal Navy, the Clerk of the Cheque at each dockyard kept the muster books — verifying that sailors were actually aboard their ships before authorizing pay.

ClewL3

Lower aft corner of a sail.Where the sheet attaches. The word shares a root with 'clue' — originally a ball of thread. A 'clew line' on a square-rigger is used to gather up the clew when taking in sail.

Clew GarnetL5

A purchase for hauling up a course's lower corner.On the lowest square sails (courses), 'clew garnets' hauled up the lower corners (clews) when furling. The clew garnet was stronger than ordinary clew lines because the courses were the heaviest sails.

ClipperL2

Fast narrow-hulled merchant ship of the 19th century.Named for their ability to 'clip' along at tremendous speeds, these vessels carried tea from China, gold-rush passengers to California, and wool from Australia. The Cutty Sark and Flying Cloud are legends.

Close ReachL2

A point of sail between close-hauled and beam reach.The boat is sailing toward the wind but not as tight as close-hauled — roughly 60° off the true wind.

Close-HauledL2

Sailing as close to the wind as the rig allows.The sails are trimmed flat, the boat heels, and progress is mostly forward with some leeway.

Clove HitchL3

A two-turn binding knot for securing to a post.Fast and simple — two wraps around a post with the working end tucked under the second wrap. Can slip under varying load, so not ideal for critical jobs, but indispensable for temporarily belaying to a rail or pile.

CockpitL1

The well in the after deck where the helm is worked.Originally a small recessed deck space on warships where the wounded were brought during battle (the *orlop cockpit*).

CogL5

Medieval single-masted northern European merchant vessel.The cog was the backbone of the Hanseatic League's commercial empire from the 12th through 15th centuries.

Cold-mouldedL3

Multiple thin layers of wood veneer laid at angles and glued into a monocoque shell. A postwar technique that let wood compete with fibreglass on weight and stiffness.

CollierL4

Merchant ship carrying coal.The 'Whitby cat' colliers of the northeast English coast were flat-bottomed, strong, and capacious — built to lie aground safely when the tide went out in shallow ports.

CooperL3

Barrel maker aboard ship.Aboard a long-voyage ship, barrels were everything — water, provisions, powder. A cooper kept them tight and repaired the staves when they dried out.

CoursesL4

The lowest square sails on fore and main.The heaviest and largest of a ship's square sails. The foresail and mainsail, when called courses, refer specifically to these lowest square sails.

CoxswainL3

The sailor in charge of a small boat.Pronounced 'COX-un.' From 'cock' (a small boat) plus 'swain' (servant). Originally the sailor in charge of the ship's cockboat — the captain's personal tender.

CrimpL5

A person who supplies sailors by fraud.In the brutal 19th-century shipping world, crimps ran boarding houses where sailors were drugged, cheated, and delivered aboard outbound vessels — often entirely against their will. 'Shanghaiing' was the crimp's trade.

CrossjackL5

Square sail on the mizzen's lower yard.Pronounced 'CRO-jick.' On full-rigged ships the mizzen's lower yard was called the crossjack yard, and the sail hung from it was the crossjack.

CrowfootL5

A fan of lines spreading an awning's load.A fan of small lines, often passing through a euphroe, that spreads the load of an awning or a topsail's foot so it doesn't flap or sag. The lines radiate like a crow's footprint — hence the name.

CutterL2

A single-masted vessel with a running bowsprit and two or more headsails.In its strict traditional sense, a cutter was defined by its *running bowsprit* — a bowsprit that could be retracted in along the deck — and by jibs that hoisted by halyards alone, with no jibstay.

D

DanforthL3

A lightweight stockless anchor with broad flat flukes.Designed by Richard Danforth in 1939 for landing craft. The flat hinged flukes bury deep in sand and mud, giving excellent holding power for the weight. The trade-off: poor performance on rock, grass, or hard bottom.

DavitL3

A small crane for hoisting a boat or anchor off the deck.A pair of davits at the stern or amidships lifts the dinghy out of the water for stowage; older ship's davits over the rail held the ship's boats. The name may derive from *David*, an old generic name for any handy tool.

Davy Jones's LockerL2

The bottom of the sea.The euphemism for the deep. 'Davy Jones' may be a corruption of 'Duppy Jonah' (a Caribbean word for ghost) or simply a generic sailor's boogeyman. To go to 'Davy Jones's locker' is to drown and be lost.

Dead ReckoningL2

Navigating by tracking course and speed.Navigating by known speed, course, time elapsed, and last known position — without celestial sights or landmarks.

DeadeyeL4

Round wooden block used to tension shrouds.Named for the three holes that resemble a skull's empty eye sockets. Deadeyes are paired — one fixed above and one below — with a lanyard laced through the holes. Tightening the lanyard tensions the shroud.

DeadwoodL4

Solid timber filler at bow and stern.At the extreme ends of a ship — forward and aft — the hull narrows so much that there's little shape to plank around. Solid timber 'deadwood' fills these areas, providing structure for the stem and sternpost assemblies.

Development classL3

A class with limits rather than a single set of plans, so boats can evolve within a box. The Farallone Clippers reorganised as one in the mid-1950s.

DinghyL1

A small open boat carried or towed by a larger vessel.Originally from the Hindi *dingi*, a small boat used on Indian rivers. Modern usage: the small inflatable or hard tender used for getting from anchored boat to shore.

Displacement / light displacementL2

How much water the hull displaces — effectively its weight. The central argument of twentieth-century yacht design was whether lighter is faster. Lapworth, Lee and the West Coast said yes; the East Coast establishment took longer to agree.

DockL1

A structure where vessels are tied up alongside.In American usage, *dock* is the structure (what the British call a *jetty* or *pier*). British usage reserves *dock* for an enclosed basin holding water at a steady level, regardless of tide.

DogsL5

The two short watches in the evening.Two unrelated technical senses. (1) Iron clamps that bite onto a moving object when load comes on — used to grip a rope or chain in motion.

DoldrumsL2

Equatorial zone of calms and variable winds.A belt of calms and light, variable winds along the equator — the *intertropical convergence zone*, where the trade winds from north and south meet and lift. Sailing ships could lie there for weeks.

Dolphin StrikerL4

Short downward spar below the bowsprit.Also called the 'martingale boom.' This downward-pointing spar gives the martingale stay leverage, pulling the jibboom downward against the lift of the flying jib.

Double-enderL2

A hull pointed at both ends. Associated with Colin Archer, the Danish spidsgatter, the Tahiti ketch and the Norwegian rescue boats — types built for following seas.

DraftL2

The depth of water a vessel needs to float.Measured from the waterline to the deepest point of the keel. Yankee draws 5 feet 10 inches. Tide tables, harbor charts, and bar crossings all depend on knowing your draft to the inch.

DragL2

When the anchor loses its hold and slips across the bottom.The skipper's nightmare in a crowded anchorage. Wind or current overcomes the anchor's hold and the boat slowly slides downwind.

DriverL5

The aftermost gaff sail on a square-rigger.Originally, the driver was a square auxiliary sail set on a yard atop the spanker boom, used when running before the wind — cut like a studdingsail, extending the spanker.

E

EaseL2

To let out a sheet or line slowly.The opposite of *trim*. *Ease the main!* — let the mainsheet out a bit. Done in a controlled way, often inch by inch, to find the right sail shape for the wind.

EbbL2

The falling tide; current flowing seaward.When the tide is falling, water flows out of bays and harbors toward the open sea. The opposite is *flood*. *Slack ebb* and *slack flood* mark the brief moments of no current.

EnsignL2

A flag of national identity.The national flag of a ship, traditionally flown at the stern when underway.

EuphroeL5

A long block for spreading a crowfoot.Pronounced 'YOO-fro.' A long narrow block pierced with a row of holes — used with a 'crowfoot' of small lines fanning out from a single point to keep awnings, sails, or tarpaulins evenly spread.

F

FairleadL3

A fitting that guides a line in the right direction.Anywhere a line needs to turn — through a bulwark, around a mast, to a winch — a fairlead keeps it from chafing or jumping its track.

FathomL2

A unit of depth equal to six feet.From Old English 'fæðm' — the span of outstretched arms. Since a man's armspan is roughly his height, and six feet is a convenient approximation, the fathom became standard for measuring depth.

FenderL1

A cushion hung over the side to prevent damage.Modern fenders are inflated cylinders of tough rubber or PVC, hung over the rail with short lines. Traditional fenders were rope-woven mats or coiled lines stuffed with cordage.

FetchL3

The distance the wind has blown over water to a point.Wave height depends on three things: wind strength, wind duration, and fetch. A 25-knot wind across a small lake builds barely a chop; the same wind across the open Pacific can build twenty-foot seas.

FidL4

A pin securing a topmast in position.Two senses, both essential. Most often *fid* means a tapered conical pin of hard wood (10 inches or smaller) used to separate the strands of a rope while splicing — a sailmaker's and rigger's working tool.

Figure-EightL1

A stopper knot tied in the end of a line.Tied at the bitter end of a sheet or halyard to keep it from running through a block or fairlead. The knot forms a figure of eight, jams against the block, and is easy to untie even after a heavy strain.

FigureheadL2

Carved figure at the bow of a ship.Originally religious or totemic — eyes to see the way, animals to give the ship their nature.

FishL5

Timber bound on to repair a cracked spar.When a mast or yard was 'sprung' (cracked), it could be repaired by 'fishing' it — binding on reinforcing timbers (fishes) along the damaged area, then wrapping them tightly with rope or iron bands.

FloodL2

The rising tide; current flowing inland from the sea.When the tide is rising, water flows in from the open ocean toward bays and rivers. The opposite is *ebb*.

FluytL5

Dutch merchant ship with a capacious hull.Pronounced 'FLOYT.' The fluyt (or flute) was the Dutch Republic's commercial secret weapon — simple to build, cheap to man, and enormously capacious.

Flying SignalsL5

Communicating by hoisted flag combinations.The great achievement of Sir Home Popham's 1800 code — later replaced by more sophisticated systems — was allowing ships to communicate complex messages via numbered flag combinations.

ForecastleL3

Forward upper deck area or crew quarters.Pronounced "FOKE-s'l." The short raised deck or compartment at the bow.

ForedeckL2

The deck forward of the mast or cabin.Where the anchor work happens, where the headsails go up and down, where the spinnaker is gybed on a downwind leg.

Forenoon WatchL5

Eight in the morning until noon.The daytime watches had traditional names: morning watch (4–8 AM), forenoon watch (8–noon), afternoon watch (noon–4 PM).

ForwardL1

Toward the bow.Pronounced 'FOR-ard' by sailors. The bow is the forward end; to go 'forrard' is to move toward the front of the ship. Paired with 'aft' for the opposite direction.

Fractional vs mastheadL3

Whether the forestay lands partway up the mast or at the top. The Farallone Clippers converted from fractional to masthead in the 1960s — a change big enough that the class had to formally adopt it.

FrigateL3

Fast three-masted warship with one gun deck.Frigates were the cruisers of the age of sail — fast enough to catch merchantmen, tough enough to fight, but not heavy enough to stand in the line of battle. USS Constitution is the most famous surviving example.

FuttockL5

A curved timber forming part of a frame.A ship's frame wasn't shaped from a single timber — it was built up from multiple pieces: floor timbers near the keel, then futtocks above them forming the ribs' curve up to the deck.

Futtock PlateL5

Iron strap at the masthead linking the rigging.Where futtock shrouds meet topmast shrouds at the top (platform), they connect through iron futtock plates — small plates pierced for the deadeyes or chain plates of both sets of rigging.

Futtock ShroudsL5

Short rigging from the lower mast cap to the topmast.Futtocks are the curved timbers of a ship's frame, and futtock shrouds share the name because they similarly bridge a transition.

G

GaffL3

Upper spar of a four-sided fore-and-aft sail.A gaff is the angled spar running up from the mast, holding the top of a four-sided fore-and-aft sail.

Gaff rigL2

A four-sided mainsail with a spar — the gaff — along its head. The dominant rig before about 1920 and the reason 'gaffer' means a traditional boat.

GaleL1

Wind of Beaufort force 8, around 34–40 knots.On the Beaufort scale, a gale is force 8 (34–40 knots), with *strong gale* at 9, *storm* at 10, *violent storm* at 11, and *hurricane* at 12. Crests break and white foam blows in well-marked streaks.

GalleonL2

Multi-decked sailing ship of the 16th–18th centuries.Originally a 16th-century warship type carrying three or four batteries of cannon — the workhorse of the Spanish and Portuguese fleets that crossed to the New World and the Indies.

GalleriesL5

Carved stern balconies of a large warship.The great 'stern galleries' of a three-decker ship-of-the-line were ornate carved balconies running across and around the stern — the admiral's and captain's private outdoor space.

GalleyL1

A ship's kitchen.Confusingly shares a name with a type of oared warship. The kitchen-galley comes from Greek 'galera' via medieval Latin — the kitchen on Mediterranean galleys gave the word its modern shipboard sense.

GalliotL5

Shallow-draft coastal trading vessel.Dutch and North German galliots — round-bowed, round-sterned, shallow-drafted — were the workhorses of coastal and river trade from the 17th to 19th centuries.

GangwayL2

A movable ramp or passage onto a ship.On a square-rigger, a *gangway* was a section of the bulwarks lowered to allow access onto the ship; on smaller boats, the term covers the boarding ramp itself. *Gangway!* as a shouted command means clear a path.

Garboard StrakeL5

First plank next to the keel.The most vulnerable plank on a wooden ship — subject to constant stress where it meets the keel, and prone to leaking in aging vessels. Caulking the garboard seams was perpetual work.

GenoaL3

A large overlapping jib.Named for the Italian port city where it was popularized in the 1920s. A genoa — 'genny' to sailors — extends well aft of the mast, providing enormous drive on upwind points of sail.

GibeL3

Turning the stern through the wind.Also spelled 'jibe' or 'gybe.' Opposite of tacking. A jibe turns the stern across the wind rather than the bow, which can be violent if done uncontrolled — the boom can swing across the cockpit with tremendous force.

Golden Gate Wooden Boat FoundationL2

The organization stewarding Yankee for her 120th anniversary in 2026.Formed to carry Yankee into her next chapter, the Foundation operates as a program of the West Coast Seafaring Society.

Grape ShotL3

A cluster of small iron balls.At close range, a cannon could fire 'grape' — a canvas bag of small iron balls that scattered like a giant shotgun blast. Devastating against massed personnel on an enemy deck. Canister was similar but used a metal case.

GrogL3

Watered-down rum.In 1740, Admiral Edward Vernon ordered rum rations to be watered down.

Grog TubL5

Tub for mixing the daily rum ration.Each day at noon the purser's steward mixed rum with water in the grog tub (often painted with the motto 'The King, God Bless Him'), and the crew lined up for their issue. The ritual was one of the day's high points.

GunwaleL2

The upper edge of a vessel's side.Pronounced 'GUN-ul.' Originally 'gun-wale' — the wale (strengthening plank) that supported the guns. Over time the term came to mean the top rail along the hull side, whether armed or not.

GustL1

A sudden short increase in wind speed.Briefer than a squall (seconds, not minutes), gusts are normal even on a steady day — they're the irregular roughness in any wind.

H

Half HitchL1

A single turn of a line around an object, secured to itself.The simplest hitch and the building block for many more — a single round turn locked back through itself. Alone it's slippery and unsafe under load.

Half modelL3

A carved wooden model of one side of a hull, historically the way a designer developed and communicated a shape before drawings became standard.

HalyardL2

Line that raises a sail or spar.A contraction of 'haul yard' — the original meaning was literally the line used to haul a yard (horizontal spar) up the mast. The word survives unchanged even as the sails and spars they hoist have evolved dramatically.

HammocksL1

Slung canvas sleeping beds.From the Taino word 'hamaca,' brought to Europe by Columbus.

Harbor ViewL4

The San Francisco waterfront district where Yankee was built, now the Marina.Adjacent to the Presidio, Harbor View was a stretch of tidal flats where Frank Stone ran his yard from 1899. In 1912 the land was reclaimed and filled to host the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.

HawseholeL4

Opening in the bow for the anchor cable.'Hawse' is from Old Norse 'háls' (neck), and the hawseholes are the ship's neck where the anchor cables run out.

HawsepiecesL5

Heavy bow timbers pierced for anchor cables.The hawse — the bow area where anchor cables run — had to be immensely strong. The hawsepieces were massive timbers built into the bow framing, pierced by the hawseholes for the cables.

HeadL2

The ship's toilet.Crew used the 'head' of the ship — at the bow, where the beakhead projected ahead of the forecastle — to relieve themselves, since the wind and spray carried waste away cleanly.

Head UpL2

Turn the boat closer toward the wind.The opposite of *bearing away*. To head up, the helmsman moves the tiller away from the wind (or the wheel toward the wind), and the boat turns toward a finer point of sail.

Heave ToL3

Stop forward motion using sail trim.A crucial heavy-weather technique. By backing the jib against the mainsail and lashing the helm, you can park a sailing vessel more or less in place — she'll drift slowly to leeward but won't charge forward.

HelmL1

The wheel or tiller that steers the boat.Whoever is steering is *at the helm*. The order *helm's alee!* warns the crew that the helm has been put to leeward — the boat is tacking.

HogsheadL3

A large cask of roughly 63 gallons.A standard provision cask. Hogsheads of rum, wine, beer, or water were stowed in the hold. The size varied a bit by commodity and region but was roughly 63 gallons for wine, more for beer.

HoldL2

The interior space of a ship below the lower deck.On a cargo vessel, the hold is where cargo is stowed. On a square-rigger, the hold ran the length of the ship below the orlop, packed with water casks, salt provisions, powder, and ballast.

HolystoneL4

Sandstone block used to scrub wooden decks.A block of soft sandstone used to scour the deck, worked in circles with sand and seawater. The decks of a man-of-war were holystoned at dawn every day.

Horse LatitudesL4

Subtropical zones of light and variable winds.A belt of calms around 30° latitude, north and south, on the poleward side of the trade winds. Ships could lie becalmed for weeks.

HoyL5

Small single-masted harbor vessel.A small, single-masted coasting vessel of the English Channel and the Thames, used to carry passengers, parcels, and small cargo between ports. By the 19th century the type had largely been replaced by steam and rail.

HulkL4

An old vessel stripped of rigging.When a ship's working life was over but her hull still sound, she might be reduced to a hulk — masts removed, used for storage, as a receiving ship, or as a floating prison.

I

IdlerL4

A specialist exempt from standing watches.A sailor who *didn't stand a night watch*.

In IronsL2

Stuck head-to-wind, unable to fall off either side.A boat caught directly into the wind with no forward motion — the sails luff, the rudder loses bite, and steering goes dead until the boat drifts back enough for the rudder to work again. Common when a tack is botched.

International RuleL4

Ratified in Paris in 1907 and still in use, this produced the Metre classes — 6-, 8-, 12- and 15-Metre. The number is a rating, not a length.

J

Jam CleatL3

A cleat that holds a line by wedging it into a V-shaped slot.The line is led into a tapered V; pulled into the narrow end, it wedges and holds. Lift the line up out of the slot to release. Simpler and cheaper than a cam cleat, but harder on the line and a touch slower to release.

Jessica CupL3

St. Francis Yacht Club's classic-yacht regatta, run each fall.The Jessica Cup has been on the St. Francis Yacht Club calendar since 1990, featuring classic wooden yachts. The trophy itself was donated by the New York Yacht Club in 1984.

JibL1

Triangular sail forward of the foremast.The jib's name origin is uncertain — possibly from Dutch *gijben/gijpen* (to swing suddenly, as a sail does when going across the wind), possibly from *gibb*, the original 17th-century spelling.

JibboomL4

A spar extending the bowsprit forward.The bowsprit alone wasn't long enough on a large ship — so the jibboom extended it further forward, carrying the tack of the outer jib.

Jolly RogerL2

The traditional pirate flag.The origin of the name is murky. 'Jolly' may be from 'joli' (French, pretty); 'Roger' from 'Old Roger' (a slang for the Devil) or from the red flag called the 'jolie rouge' (pretty red) that preceded the black flag.

Jury RigL3

A temporary rig improvised after a dismasting or breakdown.When the mast goes overboard, you cut away the wreckage and rig what you can — boom, spinnaker pole, bits of broken spar — into a jury mast and a small jury sail. From there, you sail or limp into port.

K

K-103L3

Yankee's sail number, displayed on her mainsail.Yankee carries K-103 on her mainsail — a permanent mark of her registration and a quick way for race officials and spectators to identify her on the water.

KedgeL4

Small anchor used for warping the ship.To 'kedge off' is a beautiful old technique — you row the kedge anchor out in the longboat, drop it, and then haul the ship toward it with the capstan. Useful for getting out of tight anchorages, off shoals, or in calms.

KeelL1

Central structural member along the hull's bottom.The backbone of the ship. In traditional construction, the keel is the first timber laid — 'laying the keel' marks a vessel's birth.

KeelsonL4

Internal reinforcement atop the keel.Pronounced 'KEEL-sun.' The keelson lies directly on top of the floor timbers, running the length of the ship, bolted down through them and into the keel. It enormously strengthens the ship's spine.

KetchL3

Two masts; mizzen forward of the rudder post.Often confused with a yawl. The distinction is the mizzen's position: a ketch has its mizzen forward of the rudder post, while a yawl's is abaft it.

Kissing the Gunner's DaughterL5

Being caned while bent over a cannon.When boys were punished aboard ship, they were bent over a cannon and caned — 'kissing the gunner's daughter.' Adult sailors were flogged at the gratings; boys were caned at the gun. The euphemism was grim sailor humor.

KneeL4

A curved timber bracing two parts at an angle.Shipbuilders prized naturally curved timber — where a tree's grain followed a curve, a 'grown knee' could be shaped into an extremely strong angled brace.

KnotL1

One nautical mile per hour.A unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour. The name comes from a piece of working ship's gear: the *log-line*, a long line streamed astern with a triangular wooden float ("the chip") to drag in the water.

L

LandlubberL2

A person unfamiliar with the sea.A sailor's name for anyone unfamiliar with the sea, clumsy aboard ship, or generally out of his element afloat.

LandsmanL4

A sailor new to the sea.The lowest rating on board. A landsman hadn't yet learned enough to be rated as an ordinary seaman, let alone an able seaman. Landsmen did the heaviest, simplest work — pumping, scrubbing, hauling.

LangrelL5

Scrap metal fired to shred rigging.Also 'langridge' or 'langrage.' Bundled scrap metal — nails, bolts, chain fragments — fired at enemy rigging and sails to shred them. Less respectable than chain shot or grape shot, but very effective.

Lapstrake / clinkerL3

Planking where each plank overlaps the one below. Lighter and stiffer than carvel for small boats; Scandinavian in origin and used in the early Folkboats.

LarboardL4

The older name for port side.'Larboard' was the original term for the left side of the ship — probably from 'lade-board,' the side on which cargo was loaded (away from the steering oar on the starboard).

LateenL4

A triangular sail on a long angled yard.The lateen rig is ancient — Arab dhows have carried it for over a millennium, and it spread across the Mediterranean long before the age of exploration.

Lateen MizzenL5

A triangular mizzen on an angled yard.Into the 17th century, most European ships carried a lateen sail on the mizzen — a holdover from Mediterranean practice.

LaylineL3

The course on which a boat can just fetch a windward mark.Sailing upwind in a race, the layline is the bearing to the windward mark on which a single tack will exactly reach it.

Lazy JacksL3

Lines that funnel a lowered mainsail down onto the boom.A V or net of light lines running from the topping lift down to the boom at several points along its length. When the main is lowered, the sail folds into the V instead of cascading onto the deck.

Lee ShoreL3

A coast the wind is driving the vessel onto.The ultimate hazard for a sailing ship. If your vessel is disabled or underpowered on a lee shore, the wind is pushing you onto the rocks with no way to claw off.

LeewardL2

Downwind; the sheltered direction.Pronounced 'LOO-ard' in traditional usage.

LeewayL3

Sideways drift caused by wind pressure on the hull and rig.A boat sailing close to the wind doesn't move exactly along her heading — the wind pushes her sideways too.

LiftsL4

Lines supporting a yard from above.Lifts support the weight of the yards when the sail isn't set. They run from high on the mast down to each end (arm) of the yard, keeping it level. 'Topping lifts' on modern booms do the same job.

LineL1

The general nautical word for a rope put to a particular use.Almost all rope on a boat becomes a *line* once it has a job — bow line, stern line, sheet, halyard, downhaul.

Lipton CupL4

A trophy connected to the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition, won by Yankee.The San Francisco Lipton Cup was raced for in connection with the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition.

Loblolly BoyL5

Assistant to the ship's surgeon."Loblolly" was a gruel — fed to the sick — and the boy was the surgeon's assistant who carried it. He summoned the sick, attended on them, and ran errands for the ship's surgeon.

LoftingL2

Redrawing a design full-size on a loft floor to fair the lines and take off patterns. The step between a drawing and a boat.

LogL2

Device trailed astern to measure speed.The 'chip log' was a wedge of wood attached to a knotted line, thrown astern.

Lubber's HoleL4

Opening through the top avoiding the futtock shrouds.Going aloft, a sailor climbed the lower shrouds to the 'top' — a platform at the masthead.

LuffL2

The forward edge of a sail (or, to point too high).As a noun: the leading vertical edge of a fore-and-aft sail (the bolt-rope side fastened to the mast or stay).

LullL1

A momentary drop in wind speed.The opposite of a gust. The wind eases for a few seconds to a minute, the boat slows and rounds up.

M

MainsailL1

The principal sail on the mainmast.Pronounced 'mains'l' by sailors — the dropped syllable is a giveaway of traditional usage. On a sloop it hangs behind the mast; on a square-rigger it's the large square sail on the mainmast's lower yard.

Man OverboardL1

Someone has fallen into the water.Every sailor's nightmare. The call brings instant, coordinated action — pointing, throwing floatation, launching a boat, maneuvering the ship.

Mariner's CompassL3

The classic 32-point magnetic navigation instrument.The traditional compass card was divided into 32 points (each 11.25°), named in a particular order: north, north by east, north-northeast, northeast by north, northeast, and so on.

MarlinespikeL4

A pointed tool for splicing rope.Also 'marlinspike' or 'marlin spike.' A tapered steel or wooden spike, essential for rope work — opening the lay of a rope to tuck strands during splicing.

MartingaleL4

Stay from the jibboom to the dolphin striker.The martingale (or 'martingale stay') holds the jibboom down against the upward pull of the headsails. It runs from the jibboom to the dolphin striker — a short vertical spar projecting downward from the bowsprit.

MasterL4

Warrant officer responsible for navigation.In the Royal Navy, a senior warrant officer responsible for navigation, sailing the ship, and cargo stowage.

Master Mariners RegattaL3

The Bay Area's oldest classic-yacht race, held each Memorial Day weekend.Originally established in 1867 and revived in 1965, the Master Mariners is the West Coast's most prestigious event for traditional sailing craft, attracting eighty to a hundred wooden vessels in over a dozen classes.

MatrossL5

A gunner's assistant in naval artillery.A matross was a second-class gunner, assigned to assist the trained gunners at each piece — bringing powder, ramming charges, running out the gun. The rank existed in land artillery as well as naval service.

MessL2

A group of sailors who ate together.Below decks, sailors organized themselves into messes — groups of usually six to eight men who drew their rations together, cooked together (or had their food cooked together), and ate together.

Middle WatchL4

Midnight to four in the morning.Also called 'graveyard watch.' The most miserable of the day — cold, dark, exhausting, at the lowest ebb of human energy.

MizzenL2

The aftermost (and shorter) mast on a vessel with two or more masts.From Italian *mezzana*, meaning "middle" — a curious survival, since on a three-masted ship the mizzen is now the aftermost mast.

Monkey's FistL4

A weighted knot at the end of a heaving line.A beautiful round knot resembling a clenched fist, sometimes with a weight inside. Tied onto the end of a heaving line (a light line thrown to catch a heavier one), it gives the line enough mass to throw a good distance.

Monterey clipperL3

The motorised descendant of the San Francisco felucca, developed by Italian-American fishermen from about 1925.

MoonrakerL4

A small square sail above the skysail.Also called a 'moonsail.' The highest of the extreme high-flying sails on a late clipper ship — above royal, above skysail, and only set in the lightest airs.

MoorL2

Secure a vessel to a fixed point.From Middle Dutch 'maren.' Mooring can be to a dock, a buoy, or even to two anchors set in opposite directions. 'Moored bow and stern' means secured so the vessel can't swing — useful in crowded anchorages.

MooringL1

A permanent anchor and pickup buoy for tying a boat to.A *mooring* is a permanent ground tackle (typically a mushroom or heavy block) connected by a chain to a floating buoy on the surface. A boat picks up the mooring pendant from the buoy and secures it to a bow cleat.

Mushroom AnchorL3

A heavy bell-shaped anchor used for permanent moorings.Shaped like an inverted mushroom (or umbrella) and used to set permanent moorings in soft bottoms. The wide cap sinks into mud over weeks, eventually buried deep enough that it would take a tractor to break it loose.

N

Nautical MileL1

One minute of latitude on the Earth's surface.The nautical mile is based on the geometry of the Earth — one minute of arc along a meridian. Since latitude lines are marked on every chart, a navigator can step off distance with dividers against the latitude scale.

Neap TideL3

A tide of unusually small range, around the half moon.Twice a month, around the first and third quarter moons, the sun and moon pull at right angles to each other and partly cancel. High water is lower than usual, low water higher, and the tidal range is at its minimum.

NocturnalL5

Instrument for telling time by the stars.The nocturnal was a clever circular instrument: align it with Polaris and rotate an inner disc to match a pointer to a major star (usually a Great Bear pointer), and read the time off a scale.

O

OakumL4

Fibers picked from old tarred rope.'Picking oakum' was a notorious prison and workhouse task — tedious, finger-destroying work of unpicking old rope into its fibers. The resulting oakum was then sold to dockyards for caulking.

One-designL1

A class in which all boats are built to the same plans so that racing tests crews rather than chequebooks. The Bird, the Bear, the Mercury and the El Toro are the Bay's canonical examples.

Orlop DeckL5

The lowest interior level, below the waterline.From Dutch 'overloop' — 'running over,' meaning the deck that runs over (covers) the hold. The orlop housed stores, the cable tiers, and the cockpit (where wounded were brought during battle).

OuthaulL3

A line that pulls the clew of a sail aft along the boom.Adjusts the foot tension of a mainsail. Tight outhaul flattens the bottom of the sail (good for heavy wind); eased outhaul puts more belly in (good for light air and reaching).

OverhangL2

The parts of the hull forward and aft that extend beyond the waterline. Rating rules that measured waterline length rather than overall length produced enormous overhangs — the reason Metre boats and J-Class yachts look the way they do.

P

ParcellingL5

Wrapping tarred canvas around rope.Between worming and serving came parcelling — wrapping the rope with narrow strips of tarred canvas, laid overlapping like bandages, working against the lay.

ParrelL5

Ring that holds a yard to its mast.Also 'parrall' or 'parral.' Without a parrel, a yard couldn't be hoisted up and down the mast.

PartnersL5

Deck framing around a mast opening.Where a mast passes through a deck, the opening is strongly framed with 'mast partners' — heavy beams arranged around the hole to spread the mast's stress into the deck and hull.

PennantL3

A long narrow tapering flag.A long, narrow, tapering flag — distinct from a square flag in shape and function.

PilotL2

A local expert who guides ships into and out of harbor.Pilots board incoming ships outside the harbor (often from a pilot boat that ranges out to meet them) and conn the ship through local hazards to the dock.

PinkL5

Small vessel with a narrow overhanging stern.A 'pink' or 'pinky' was a small fore-and-aft-rigged vessel with a distinctive sharp, overhanging stern. Common in Northern European and American waters from the 17th into the 19th century.

PinnaceL5

A small vessel serving as tender or scout.In the early modern period, a small two- or three-masted schooner-rigged vessel used as scout or tender to a larger ship.

Pipe DownL2

Order silence or dismiss the crew below.The bosun's call — a small whistle — signaled various orders, one of which was 'pipe down,' meaning crew dismissed below for the night. Naturally it was also the last call for silence.

Plow AnchorL3

An anchor shaped like a single hinged plowshare.Invented in 1933 by mathematician Geoffrey Taylor. The CQR ("secure") was the original; the Delta and Rocna are modern descendants. The plow buries itself deep as it drags, setting well in most bottoms.

Poop DeckL3

The raised deck at the stern.From Latin 'puppis' (stern) — nothing scatological about it, despite what schoolchildren suspect. The poop deck is the highest aft deck, often housing the captain's cabin below.

PoopedL4

Struck from astern by a following wave.When a following sea breaks over the poop deck (stern), it's dangerous — the wave can fill the cockpit, sweep sailors overboard, or even pitchpole the vessel. Being 'pooped' in a gale is a serious matter.

PortL1

The left side of a vessel.Originally called 'larboard,' but that sounded too much like 'starboard' to shout reliably in a gale.

Port TackL2

Sailing with the wind coming over the port side.When the wind crosses the boat from the port side, the boat is on port tack — the mainsail is out to starboard, the boom on the starboard side. The opposite is *starboard tack*.

Powder MagazineL3

Secure room for storing gunpowder.The magazine was the most dangerous place on the ship — deep below the waterline, lined with copper to prevent sparks, accessible only through a 'light-room' where lanterns shone through glass.

Powder MonkeyL3

Boy who carried gunpowder to the cannons.The boys, often very young, who ran cartridges of black powder from the magazines deep in the ship up to the gun decks during battle. They were small and fast (the magazine passages were tight) and considered expendable.

PramL2

A small boat with a transom at both ends. The El Toro is an eight-foot pram.

Press GangL3

Party authorized to force men into service.A party of seamen, commanded by a lieutenant, who were empowered to forcibly take seafaring men into the Royal Navy in time of war.

Pressed ManL4

Sailor forced into naval service.The press gang legally empowered the Royal Navy to seize men — particularly merchant seamen and watermen — and force them into service. Pressed men often served years without touching shore.

Private SignalL5

Code identifying a ship as friendly.Before universal signal codes, fleets used private signals — codes known only to friendly ships — to identify themselves when meeting at sea. A ship that couldn't answer the private signal was presumed hostile.

PurchaseL3

Mechanical advantage from a block and tackle.A 'purchase' in this sense is what a tackle provides — mechanical advantage for lifting or pulling. A single block gives no mechanical advantage, just changes direction; each additional sheave adds purchase.

PurserL3

Officer in charge of finances and supplies.A warrant officer responsible for provisions, slops (clothing), tobacco, and ship's accounts.

PusserL5

Slang for the purser.The purser handled ship's stores and pay, and sailors universally suspected him of cheating.

Q

QuadrantL3

Early altitude instrument using a 90-degree arc.The quadrant (one-quarter of a circle, 90°) was the sextant's ancestor. Mariners' quadrants, Davis quadrants, and the backstaff allowed altitude measurements with varying accuracy.

QuarterdeckL3

The aft upper deck, officers' territory.In strict use, the part of the upper deck *abaft the mainmast* — not merely the after deck. This was officers' territory.

QuayL2

A solid stone or concrete wharf along a harbor.Pronounced "key." A solid stone- or concrete-built waterfront where vessels lie alongside. Unlike a pier or jetty (which projects out into the water), a quay runs parallel to the shore as part of the harbor wall.

QuoinL5

Wedge adjusting a gun's elevation.Pronounced 'COIN.' A wedge slipped under the breech of a gun, adjusting its elevation — in or out for higher or lower. Gun elevation was set by the captain of the gun using the quoin and his eye.

R

Raking FireL4

Firing along an enemy's length.Because cannonballs traveled the length of the enemy ship, raking fire was devastating — each shot could kill men down an entire gundeck.

RatingL4

Classification of warships by size and gun count (or, of a sailor, by station).Ships were rated by their establishment of guns: a *first rate* carried 100 or more, three gun decks, complement around 850; a *second rate* 90–98; a *third rate* 64–80, the workhorse of the line of battle; *fourth, fifth, and sixth rates* progressively smaller.

RatlinesL3

Ladder rungs across the shrouds.Pronounced 'RAT-lins.' These are the rungs sailors climbed to go aloft — lashed across the shrouds in traditional rigs.

Ready AboutL2

The warning that the boat is about to tack.The skipper's preparatory order before a tack: *Ready about!* — crew get to stations, check sheets, prepare to release and trim.

RedningsskøyteL5

The Norwegian sea-rescue cutter type Colin Archer developed from 1893 — the ancestor of most heavy-displacement double-ended cruisers.

Reef KnotL3

A binding knot for two lines of equal thickness.Also called the square knot. 'Right over left, left over right' — getting it wrong produces a granny knot that slips.

Rhumb LineL4

A path of constant compass bearing across a chart.A rhumb line crosses every meridian at the same angle — convenient for steering, because you hold one compass heading the whole way. But it's not the shortest route on a sphere; that's the great circle.

Rhumbline ChartL5

A Mercator chart where constant-bearing tracks plot straight.Mercator's 1569 projection made rhumb lines — lines of constant compass bearing — appear straight. This was navigationally revolutionary: a navigator could lay a ruler on the chart, read a bearing, and steer it.

RingtailL5

A studdingsail abaft the spanker.When running downwind in light airs, clippers and packets set the ringtail on a boom extending abaft the spanker — essentially an aftward studdingsail, extending sail area to the very back of the ship.

RoadsteadL4

A sheltered offshore anchorage.A 'road' in the old nautical sense is an anchorage open to the sea but sheltered enough for vessels to lie safely. 'The Roads' at major ports was where ships waited for a berth, for a pilot, or for orders.

RodeL3

Line or chain connecting vessel to anchor.From Old English 'rād' — a journey or road. The anchor rode is the boat's road down to the seabed, so to speak.

Rolling HitchL3

A knot for tying a line to a rope or spar under lengthwise load.When a line needs to grip another line or a spar lengthwise — for example, taking a strain off a jammed sheet to free it — the rolling hitch holds.

RoveL5

Past tense of 'reeve'; threaded a line.'To reeve' a line (rove in past tense, reeved in modern usage) means to thread it through a block or sheave. Setting up a tackle requires reeving its lines correctly.

RoyalL4

A square sail above the topgallant.On a fully rigged ship, sails climb in this order from deck up: course, topsail (sometimes split), topgallant, royal, and sometimes skysail above that.

RunningL2

Sailing dead before the wind.The wind is directly astern, sheets are eased all the way out, and the boat sails downwind.

Running RiggingL3

Lines that raise, lower, and trim sails.Distinguished from 'standing rigging' (the fixed support lines). Running rigging includes halyards, sheets, braces, clew lines, buntlines, leechlines — everything that moves in normal sail handling.

S

Sailing MasterL4

Officer in charge of navigation and handling under sail.A senior warrant officer responsible for navigation, ship-handling, and the stowage of stores. In the Royal Navy the rank was simply *Master*; the US Navy established *Sailing Master* as a parallel rating in 1797.

Salt HorseL5

Brine-cured beef carried for long voyages.Salted beef — 'salt horse,' 'salt junk,' or 'junk' — was the long-voyage protein. Barrelled in brine, it kept for years but became progressively harder, drier, and saltier.

SchoonerL2

Fore-and-aft rigged vessel with two or more masts.A fore-and-aft rigged vessel with two or more masts.

ScopeL2

The ratio of anchor rode let out to water depth.A 7-to-1 scope (rode length seven times the depth) is the traditional rule of thumb for secure overnight anchoring on rope rode; 5-to-1 may do for a brief lunch stop on chain.

ScowL3

A flat-bottomed vessel with blunt ends.Plain, practical, and unloved. Scows carried sand, garbage, cargo — any heavy load in shallow water. The name comes from Dutch 'schouw,' also a flat-bottomed boat.

Scow schoonerL2

The San Francisco Bay cargo type: flat-bottomed, shallow, square-ended, able to sit on the mud at low tide. More than 250 worked the Bay by 1880.

ScrimshawL3

Carved decoration on whale bone or teeth.The art of American whalemen, who turned long voyages into elaborate carvings on sperm whale teeth, walrus tusks, and baleen. Sailors used ink or lampblack to darken the incised lines.

ScuppersL3

Drainage openings in the bulwarks.From Middle Dutch 'schoep' (a scoop). When a wave breaks aboard, water runs across the deck and out through the scuppers, keeping the vessel from becoming waterlogged.

ScuttleL4

A small hatch in a deck or hull.From Spanish 'escotilla' (hatchway). To 'scuttle' a ship — as a verb — means to deliberately sink her by opening the scuttles (or knocking holes in her hull).

ScuttlebuttL3

Gossip, or the cask it was drawn from.The scuttlebutt was the cask of drinking water kept on deck for the crew — 'scuttle' (opening) plus 'butt' (cask). Sailors gathered around it to drink, and naturally to gossip.

Serving MalletL5

Tool for binding small line tightly around rope.To protect rope from chafe, it was 'wormed, parcelled, and served' — the lay was filled with spun yarn (wormed), wrapped with tarred canvas (parcelled), then bound with small tarred line (served).

SextantL2

Instrument for measuring celestial angles.The sextant's arc is one-sixth of a circle (60 degrees) — hence the name. Measuring the sun's altitude at noon gives latitude; measuring stars at twilight with accurate time gives position.

Sheer / sheerlineL2

The curve of a boat's deck edge seen from the side. It is the first thing the eye reads and the hardest thing to draw well. A 'sweet sheer' is the highest compliment in the vocabulary.

SheetL2

Line that controls a sail's angle to the wind.The line that controls a sail's trim — pulling its lower aft corner (the clew) in or out to set its angle to the wind.

Sheet BendL3

A knot for joining two lines of unequal thickness.The most reliable knot for joining two ropes of different diameters — secure under load, easy to release once slack. The thicker rope forms a bight; the thinner rope is tucked through it and locked.

ShellbackL4

A sailor who has crossed the equator.A treasured title, conferred at the 'crossing the line' ceremony when a ship crosses the equator.

Ship's BiscuitL3

Hard dry bread used on long voyages.Also called 'hardtack.' Twice-baked to drive out all moisture, ship's biscuit would theoretically keep for years — but over a long voyage it was invariably infested with weevils, which sailors tapped out before eating.

Ship-of-the-LineL3

A warship heavy enough for the formal battle column.From the 17th century onward, naval battle tactics centered on the 'line of battle' — warships in single file, exchanging broadsides with an enemy line.

ShroudL2

Rigging supporting a mast from the sides.From Old English 'scrud' — clothing or covering. Shrouds 'clothe' the mast, giving sideways support. They're tensioned at the deck by deadeyes and lanyards in traditional rigs, or by turnbuckles in modern ones.

SkysailL4

A small square sail above the royal.A small, light square sail set above the royal — high on the topgallant mast. Skysails were standard in the clipper-ship era for light winds; some extreme clippers carried *moonrakers* above the skysails.

Slack WaterL2

The brief period at high or low tide when the current stops.Between the flood and the ebb (or vice versa), tidal current briefly goes to zero. Maybe 10–30 minutes long depending on the location.

SloopL2

Single-masted vessel with one headsail.In modern usage, a single-masted vessel with a single headsail, fore-and-aft rigged. The Bay's Bear Boats are a classic sloop configuration.

SlopsL5

Ready-made clothing sold from ship's stores.Sailors didn't always bring adequate clothing aboard, and long voyages wore everything out. 'Slop clothes' — standardized trousers, shirts, jackets — were sold from ship's stores against wages.

SlushL4

Grease skimmed from the cooking pots.Traditionally, the cook kept the fat skimmed from the ship's coppers — 'slush' — and sold it at the end of the voyage for his own profit. This was his 'slush fund,' a cash reserve accumulated from a perk of office.

SmackL3

Traditional English or American fishing or coasting vessel, cutter- or ketch-rigged.A workhorse coastal type. Smacks could be cutter-rigged (with a single mast and running bowsprit) or ketch-rigged (especially the larger Brixham and Lowestoft smacks from the 1860s onward).

SnotterL5

Rope holding a sprit's heel to its mast.A short loop of rope (or, later, a metal fitting) attaching the heel of a sprit, gaff, or boom to the mast.

SnowL5

Brig-like ship with an auxiliary trysail mast.A snow was rigged like a brig — two masts, square sails — but carried a small trysail mast stepped close abaft the mainmast, carrying a gaff trysail.

SoundL3

To measure the depth of water with a line or instrument.The traditional sounding lead was a weighted line marked at intervals (the *deep sea lead* for offshore work, the *hand lead* for harbor).

SpankerL4

Fore-and-aft sail on the aftermost mast.The aftermost fore-and-aft sail on a square-rigger or barque, gaff-rigged with a boom along its foot. *Spanker* and *driver* are interchangeable names for the same sail (Smyth has them as synonyms).

SpidsgatterL4

Danish double-ended racing and cruising boats built to a sail-area rule that restricted materials to Scandinavian timber to keep them affordable.

SpinnakerL2

A balloon-shaped sail flown downwind.The origin story goes that a yacht named 'Sphinx' flew a distinctive large downwind sail in the 1860s, and 'Sphinx's acre' got slurred into 'spinnaker.' Whether true or apocryphal, the name stuck.

SpliceL3

Join rope by interweaving strands.Not a knot — a permanent structural joint. Eye splice (a loop in the end), short splice (joining two lines), long splice (stronger and smoother for running through blocks), back splice (finishing an end).

Splice the Main BraceL4

Issue an extra ration of grog.The main brace was a critical piece of rigging, and repairing it was dangerous, skilled work — rewarded with an extra tot. The phrase became a euphemism for any celebratory drink ration.

Spring LineL2

A dock line running fore and aft to stop the boat surging.The unsung hero of secure docking. A *forward spring* runs aft from the bow to a piling near the stern; a *back spring* (or *after spring*) runs the other way.

Spring TideL3

An especially high (and low) tide near the new or full moon.Nothing to do with the spring season — *spring* here is from the older sense of *welling up*.

Sprit TopsailL5

Square sail on a mast atop the bowsprit.Even more archaic than the spritsail beneath it. The sprit topmast was a short vertical mast stepped at the end of the bowsprit, carrying its own small square sail above.

SpritsailL5

A square sail set below the bowsprit.Pronounced 'SPRIT-sul.' Before jibs became universal, the spritsail hung from a yard slung beneath the bowsprit — an awkward sail that frequently drove the bow down in heavy seas.

SquallL2

A brief, intense burst of wind, often with rain.Short and sharp — minutes to an hour, with sudden wind shifts and often a downpour. Visible on the water as a darker patch (the cat's-paws of stronger wind) approaching from upwind.

Square KnotL1

Another name for the reef knot — a binding knot.Same knot as the reef knot. Excellent for binding things together (sails to booms via reef points, packages, bandages), unreliable for joining two ropes under tension because it can capsize and slip.

Standing RiggingL3

Fixed rigging supporting the masts.Stays, shrouds, backstays — the permanent network of support lines that keeps the masts vertical and spars in place. Tarred against weather (hence 'black and tarry' ropes) and tensioned through deadeyes and lanyards.

StarboardL1

The right-hand side of a vessel when facing forward.From the Old English 'stēorbord' — literally 'steer-board.' Before the invention of the stern-mounted rudder, Norse and Anglo-Saxon vessels were steered with a large oar hung over the right side of the ship.

Starboard TackL2

Sailing with the wind coming over the starboard side.Wind crosses the boat from starboard, mainsail is out to port. Under colregs and racing rules, a starboard-tack boat has right of way over a port-tack boat.

StartingL5

Striking sailors informally to hurry their work.Beyond formal punishment, bosun's mates would 'start' slow-moving sailors with a rope's end or a rattan cane — an informal, constant encouragement to speed. Officially frowned on in some eras, tacitly approved in others.

StayL2

Rigging supporting a mast fore-and-aft.Stays run fore and aft; shrouds run athwartships. Together they form the 'standing rigging' — the permanent web of support that keeps masts vertical.

StaysL4

The condition of a sailing vessel head-to-wind during a tack.*In stays* means head-to-wind during a tack — the dead moment when the bow crosses the wind and the sails luff before refilling on the new tack.

StaysailL3

A fore-and-aft sail set on a stay.Pronounced 'stays'l.' Stays are the fixed lines that support masts from forward, and a staysail hanks onto one of them. They sit between the masts or forward of the foremost mast and are invaluable for sailing upwind.

Steam-bent frameL3

A rib softened with steam and bent into place. Cheaper and lighter than sawn frames; the Farallone Clippers are Philippine mahogany over steam-bent oak.

StepL4

The socket in which a mast is fitted.'Stepping the mast' means setting its foot into the step — a reinforced socket built onto the keelson.

SternL1

The aft end of a vessel.From Old Norse 'stjórn' (steering), since the rudder hangs here. Sterns come in many shapes — transom, counter, canoe — and the choice affects handling, cabin space, and aesthetics.

Stern LineL1

A docking line led from the stern to a piling or cleat ashore.Together with the bow line, the stern line keeps the boat against the dock fore and aft. Without spring lines, the boat would still surge with wind and wake — which is why spring lines are added.

Stone Boat YardL3

The San Francisco yard at Harbor View where Yankee was built.Founded by William Frank Stone in 1899 on the tidal flats at Harbor View — adjacent to the Presidio.

StrakeL4

A continuous line of hull planking.Ships are planked in strakes — continuous lines of planking from bow to stern. The 'garboard strake' is the first strake next to the keel. The 'sheer strake' is the topmost strake at deck level.

Striking the ColoursL3

Surrendering by hauling down the flag.A ship surrendered by hauling down her ensign — 'striking her colours.' Continuing to fight with the flag struck was considered a serious breach of the law of war.

StuddingsailL5

A sail extended outboard of a square sail on booms.Pronounced 'stuns'l' — another great example of sailor contraction. Studdingsails extended beyond the regular yards on booms, adding sail area for light-wind downwind runs.

SupercargoL4

Owner's representative managing the cargo.From Spanish 'sobrecargo' — 'over-cargo.' On merchant voyages, the supercargo managed the buying and selling of goods in foreign ports, while the captain handled the ship.

T

TackL2

Lower forward corner of a sail.Does double duty. As a noun, it's the lower forward corner of a sail (where the 'tack line' attaches).

TaffrailL3

The rail at the stern.From the Dutch 'tafereel' (a panel or carved tablet). In the age of sail, the taffrail was often elaborately carved with decorative work — the wealthier the ship, the grander the carving.

TenderL2

A small boat used to ferry crew and gear from ship to shore.Synonymous with *dinghy* in modern recreational use. In naval and commercial usage, a *tender* can also be a larger support vessel (the destroyer tender, the cable tender).

TompionL5

Plug keeping seawater out of a gun.Pronounced 'TOMP-yun.' When guns weren't in action, tompions — wooden plugs, often decoratively carved — sealed the muzzles against seawater and spray. Before firing, the tompion was knocked out.

TopgallantL4

Square sail above the topsail.Pronounced 't'gallant' or 'tuh-GAL-uhnt.' Above the course (lower sail), above the topsail, below the royal.

TopmenL4

Able seamen who worked in the upper rigging.The elite of the crew. Topmen — 'foretopmen,' 'maintopmen,' 'mizzentopmen' — worked aloft on the topsails, topgallants, and royals. Young, agile, and fearless, they took enormous pride in their skill.

Topping LiftL3

A line from the masthead that holds up the boom when the sail is lowered.Without a topping lift the boom would crash to the deck whenever the mainsail comes down. Often a fixed length of wire from masthead to boom end; modern boats may use a rigid boom vang that does the same job.

TopsailL2

A sail set above the lowest sail on a mast.Pronounced 'tops'l.' On a square-rigger, topsails sit above the courses (lowest sails) and were often divided into upper and lower topsails to make them manageable by smaller crews.

Trade WindsL2

Steady tropical easterlies.Not named for trade (commerce), though they enabled it. The older meaning of 'trade' is 'track' or 'regular path' — these are the winds that blow a steady course.

TransomL2

The flat stern surface.From Latin 'transtrum' (crossbeam). Not all sterns have transoms — canoe and cruiser sterns don't. But traditional sterns do, and they're often where the ship's name and home port are lettered.

Transom KneeL5

Internal bracing knee tying the after framing to the stern.The transom (the flat stern structure) was supported inside by a large transom knee — a strong angled timber tying the transom to the sternpost and the deck.

TravelerL3

A track-and-car that moves a sheet's attachment point across the deck.Most commonly seen as the *mainsheet traveler* — a transverse track in the cockpit with a sliding car that holds the mainsheet block.

TravellerL3

A ring or fitting that slides along a spar.A traveller slides along a bar or track, typically carrying the sheet of a sail. On sailing warships, the 'traveller' on the jibboom was a large iron ring that could be hauled out to the end for setting the flying jib.

Traverse BoardL5

Pegboard recording courses and speeds.Before continuous written logs, the helmsman kept track of courses sailed and speeds by inserting pegs into holes in the traverse board. At the end of the watch, the data was transcribed into the log.

TrimL2

To adjust a sail's set or angle to the wind.*Trim the sheets* is the constant command of a working crew — sails need micro-adjustment for every change in wind angle, strength, and point of sail.

TrunnelL5

A wooden peg fastening ship timbers.Short for 'tree-nail.' Wooden pegs (usually oak) driven through planking and frames to fasten them — cheaper and less corrosive than iron bolts, and they could expand when wet to make watertight joints.

TrussL5

Fitting holding a lower yard to the mast.The lower yards of a square-rigged ship were enormous — the main yard on a first-rate ship-of-the-line could be over 100 feet long.

TrysailL4

A small, strong fore-and-aft sail used in heavy weather.When it's blowing a gale, you don't want to be fighting with a full mainsail.

TumblehomeL3

The inward curve of the topsides above the waterline, so the deck is narrower than the widest part of the hull. Characteristic of nineteenth-century yachts and workboats.

Two Half HitchesL2

A pair of half hitches forming a reliable hitch.Two half hitches in succession, tied around an object. Holds reliably under steady load, releases easily once slack. The everyday knot for tying a dinghy painter to a piling, securing a fender, or hanging gear.

U

UnderwayL3

Not made fast or aground — moving (or able to move).Originally *under weigh* — from *weigh the anchor*, to lift it free.

Universal RuleL4

Nathanael Herreshoff's 1902 rating formula, which produced the lettered classes — including the J-Class — and governed America's Cup racing from 1914 to 1937.

V

VeeringL3

A wind shift clockwise (in the northern hemisphere).The wind direction is rotating to the right — counter-clockwise in the southern hemisphere. Generally a sign of a passing front and improving weather (a backing wind tends to indicate a worsening one).

W

WaisterL5

An unskilled sailor working in the ship's waist.The 'waist' of a warship was between the forecastle and quarterdeck — the lowest part of the upper deck. Waisters were the unskilled landsmen and less able seamen, given heavy pulling and hauling but not aloft work.

WakeL1

The disturbed water left behind a moving vessel.From Old Norse *vök* — an opening or channel in ice. Now used for the rippled trail astern of any moving boat. A clean wake (no eddies or kinks) is the helmsman's signal that the boat is tracking straight.

WalesL5

Thick strakes running the length of the hull.Wales are the heavy strakes (planks) that run along the hull's exterior, providing longitudinal strength. The 'main wale' runs at the gun deck level.

Warrant OfficerL3

A senior shipboard specialist holding Admiralty office.Between the commissioned officers (lieutenants and above) and the common crew stood the warrant officers — master, boatswain, gunner, carpenter, purser, surgeon.

Watch and WatchL4

Alternating four hours on, four off.The standard watch system on most sailing ships. The crew was divided into two watches — starboard and larboard — each standing alternate four-hour periods on duty.

Water SailL5

A very low sail nearly touching the sea.The absolute bottom of the sail plan. In dead-calm downwind running, clippers would set water sails beneath the lower booms — so low the sails might actually drag in the water on a roll.

Weigh AnchorL2

Raise the anchor before getting under way.'Weigh' here is the old sense of 'to lift' (same root as in 'overweigh'). Nothing to do with weighing on a scale.

WharfL1

A structure along a waterfront where vessels lie alongside.Wharves often run perpendicular to the shore (out into the water), where quays parallel it — but usage varies and the words overlap.

WheelL1

The circular steering control on larger boats.Replaces the tiller on most boats above about 30 feet, because tiller leverage becomes impractical for the rudder size and force needed.

WhippingL4

Binding a rope's end to prevent fraying.Traditional whipping — small-stuff wrapped tightly around a rope's end — keeps the strands from coming undone.

William Frank StoneL2

The San Francisco boat builder who designed and built Yankee.Frank Stone, born around 1868, learned the trade from his father William Isaac Stone, an English-born Gold Rush-era shipwright.

WinchL2

A drum used to pull on a sheet or halyard under load.The mechanical multiplier of modern sailing. Take a few turns around the drum, then crank the handle: the gearing amplifies your strength many times over.

WindlassL3

Horizontal winch for hauling heavy loads.The windlass is the horizontal counterpart to the capstan — same function, different orientation. Smaller vessels used windlasses because they took less deck space.

WindwardL2

Upwind; the direction from which the wind blows.Being 'to windward' of something means you're upwind of it — a tactically superior position in the age of sail, since you could bear down on an enemy at will.

WormingL5

Filling the grooves of rope with fine line.The first stage of rope protection. Small line was laid into the 'cuntline' (the spiral groove between strands), filling it smooth and round. 'Worming' made the rope smooth enough for parcelling to lie evenly.

X

XebecL5

A lateen-rigged Mediterranean corsair.A small three-masted Mediterranean vessel, distinguished by an unusually projecting bow and overhanging stern, narrow floor (for speed), and great breadth (to carry a press of sail). Typically used as a corsair.

Y

YankeeL1

A 1906 gaff schooner built by William Frank Stone, still sailing San Francisco Bay.Launched at the Stone Boat Yard in San Francisco on the morning of April 18, 1906 — the same day the great earthquake struck.

YardarmL3

The outer end of a yard.In the age of sail, sailors sometimes hanged condemned men from the yardarm — the extreme ends of the square-sail yards — in a grim public execution.

YawL3

The boat's tendency to swing left and right of its heading.One of the three rotational axes of a boat at sea: *pitch* (bow up and down), *roll* (side to side), and *yaw* (swinging the bow left and right).

YawlL3

Two masts; small mizzen abaft the rudder post.The word comes from Dutch *jol* (or Middle Low German *jolle*), originally a small Jutland boat — the same root gave French *yole* and Italian *jolo*.

Yellow JackL4

A quarantine flag.Both yellow fever and the plain yellow quarantine flag were called *yellow jack* by sailors (a "jack" being any flag). The names of the disease and the flag became intertwined in 18th- and 19th-century usage.

Wooden Boat Atlas v3.0 · built 30 July 2026 · a project of the Golden Gate Wooden Boat Foundation · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · open data · corrections