Abeam: Said of an object that is in a line at right angles from the centre of a vessel's side.

About: The act of a vessel going from one tack to the other, when working to windward.

Abreast: Beam and beam; abeam. Two ships are said to be abreast when alongside of each other.

A-lee: The situation of the tiller or helm when it is put down or to leeward, when going about, or luffing.

All in the wind: When a vessel's sails are shaking from sailing too near the wind.

A-weather: The opposite of a-lee. The helm is a-weather when "put up" in the direction of the wind to bear away for "gybing," "wearing," or merely to alter course and keep a point or so more off the wind.

To back a sail: To bring the sail round so that the wind comes on its other side.

Backstays: Large ropes used to support the masts. They come aft either side of the ship from the masthead.

Balloon foresail or fore staysail: An enormous sail set on the forestay of cutters and schooners, and used for close-hauled sailing in light weather.

Balloon-jib: An enormous jib made of light canvas carried by fore-and-aft rigged craft; the foot extends from the bowsprit end to the fore-rigging. It is used when sailing from one to eight or nine points free.

Balloon-Topsail: A square-headed gaff topsail of very large proportions, set with a yard and a jack-yard at clew; to the latter the sheet is bent.

Battens: Strips of wood let into the mast to prevent its wearing. Strips of wood put round hatches over tarpaulins to keep the latter down. A batten of wood is also used for several purposes on a vessel's rigging. A thin splint of wood used by naval architects for making curved lines.

Beam: The breadth of a ship. The midship side of a ship. Abaft the beam is behind the centre of the ship's side, and forward of the beam is in front of that centre. See also "Abeam."

Bear away: To put the helm up and cause the vessel's head to go off the wind.

Beating to windward: Making for a point to windward by short tacks.

Belay: To make a rope fast to a pin or cavel, without hitching or seizing. "Belay there!" Stop hauling, and make fast.

Bend: To attach a sail to a yard. To bend a cable is to attach it to an anchor. A knot by which two ropes are fastened together.

Bight: The loop of a rope when doubled.

Bilge-pieces: Placed on a vessel's side to support her when grounding.

Blanketing: A slang term, used when one vessel covers or becalms another with her sails.

Board: The distance a vessel traverses before tacking when working to windward. To make a "sternboard" is to make way by the stern, as a vessel will often do in a tideway or when in irons. To go "by the board" is said of a mast when it is carried away.

Bobstay: A rope or chair with tackle and double blocks attached to the bowsprit end and stem of a vessel, and used to keep the bowsprit down when the jib is set.

Boom: The spar that extends the foot of fore-and-aft sails.

Bowline: A rope used to stretch taut the after leech of a sail when on a wind. A vessel is said to be on a bowline when close hauled.

Bowsprit: A spar that extends from the bows of a vessel. A "running" bowsprit is such as a cutter has, and is horizontal, and can be reefed at pleasure.

Brace: A rope by which a yard is worked.

Break off: A vessel when close-hauled is said to break off when the wind comes more ahead.

Bridle: Two or more ropes extending from the leech of a sail to which the bowline is attached.

Cable length: 100 fathoms, or 200 yards. A cable length denoted on a chart is 607·5 feet.

To Check-sheets: To ease them off.

Claw: To beat to windward off a lee-shore, or generally to beat to windward when such is difficult on account of heavy weather.

Cleat: A piece of wood used to belay ropes to.

Clew: The after lower corner of a fore-and-aft sail.

Clew-line: A line used to hoist up the lower corners of a sail.

Close-hauled: When a vessel's sheets are hauled so flat that she sails as near the wind as possible. A schooner yacht will sail 4½ points off the wind, and a cutter about 4¼.

Coamings: Pieces of timber forming a frame on the deck round a hatchway or skylight.

Crank: Said of a vessel when she will not stand up well to her canvas. A narrow and deep vessel is sure to be "crank."

Cross sea: A sea or swell caused by a wind different from that blowing at the time the cross sea is running.

Cross-trees: Pieces of timber supported by the trestle-trees, used to spread the topmast rigging.

Crutch: Forked pieces of timber or iron fixed into a socket of the taffrail, and used to support the boom when the mainsail is stowed.

Cuddy: A cabin under the deck, put in the fore-part of small boats.

Davits: Iron stanchions or pieces of timber fixed on a vessel's side or stern, to carry boats, they being hoisted to the davits by tackles.

Earings: Small ropes used to fasten the upper corners of sails to the yards.

Ease off, or Ease away: To slacken out the fall of a tackle, sheet, or any rope that is belayed.

Ease the helm: To put the helm down when close-hauled, so that a vessel's head may enter a sea fairly. Generally to put the helm more amidships when it has been put either to port or starboard.

Eyelet-hole: Holes in a sail through which a lacing is passed or reef nettles rove.

Fair: Said of a wind which a vessel has when she can lay her course a point or any number of points free.

Fetch: To arrive at a point when sailing to windward by weathering it.

Fly up in the wind: Said of a vessel when she comes up suddenly head to wind, by reason of her griping or through the bad steering of the helmsman.

Foot: The lower part of a sail or mast.

Fore-and-aft sails: Sails that are set on gaffs and stays, and not on yards.

Fore-reach: When close-hauled to sail ahead of another vessel. To fore-reach to windward is to sail ahead of a vessel and yet to windward of her at the same time.

Free-wind: When a vessel has the wind so as not to be close-hauled. When the wind comes abeam or on the quarter, a vessel is said to be going large. A fair wind may mean free, large, or any wind that blows between 1-2 points of the compass from the point on which the vessel would be close-hauled.

Gaskets: Ropes used to secure sails to their yards or booms when furled or stowed.

Goose-winged: Said of a schooner whose mainsail and foresail are extended on opposite sides as she runs before the wind.

Guy: A rope used to prevent a boom swinging aboard either fore or aft. In running before the wind a guy is often attached to the main boom of a schooner to prevent a sudden gybe.

Gybe: When running before the wind, to bring the wind on the other side by putting up the helm, and thereby cause the sails to fall over.

Halyards: The ropes used to hoist sails, yards, etc.

Hatches: Openings in the decks.

Haul aft a sheet: To haul a sail flatter or at a less angle to the wind.

Haul her wind: Said of a vessel going free, when she comes up closer to the wind and flattens her sheets.

Helm: Generally applied to the tiller, but properly it means the whole apparatus for steering.

Housed: The situation of a topmast that has been lowered.

In irons: A vessel is said to be in irons when in going about she comes up head to wind, and will not fill off one way or the other.

Jack-stay: A stay along a mast or yard to which a sail is bent.

Jack-yard: A small yard used to extend the foot of a fore-and-aft balloon topsail that extends beyond the end of the gaff.

Jaws: The part of a gaff or boom which encircles the mast.

Jib: A triangular sail set on a stay in square-rigged ships, and then called a standing jib.

Jib-boom: A spar that extends beyond the bowsprit. A flying jib-boom is another spar that extends beyond the jib-boom.

Jib-foresail: The fore-staysail of fore-and-aft schooners.

Jib-purchase: A tackle used for setting up a jib.

Jib-topsail: A triangular sail set on the fore-topmast stay of fore-and-aft vessels.

Jib-traveller: The travelling ring that encircles the bowsprit to which the tack of a jib is secured and hauled out on the bowsprit or jib-boom, as the case may be.

Larboard: Port. (Obsolete.)

Large: A vessel is said to be going large when she has the wind three or four points free.

Leech: The outer edge of a sail.

Luff: To sail closer to the wind.

Lug-sail: A sail set on a yard, as generally used in small boats.

Main-boom: The spar that extends the foot of the mainsail of a fore-and-aft craft.

Mainsheet: The sheet of a mainsail.

Martingale: A short spar under the bowsprit, used to give more spread to the stays that set the bowsprit or jib-boom down.

Nautical mile: 2025·2 yards: thus 13 knots or nautical miles are nearly equal to 15 statute miles.

Nautical day: From noon till noon, 24 hours.

Nothing off: Said to a helmsman when he has to keep a vessel as close to wind as practicable.

Off-and-on: Working along a shore by standing off, and then on, by short boards.

Painter: A rope attached to the bows of a boat, used to make her fast to a landing-place, etc.

Preventer stays: Additional ropes set up taut to prevent spars carrying away when a vessel is under a press of canvas.

Reef-points: Short pieces of rope by which the foot of a sail is secured when a reef is rolled up, or, as the nautical term has it, hauled down.

Reef-tackles: The tackles by which the reef-pendants are hauled down.

Schooner: A fore-and-aft rigged craft with two masts. Sometimes schooners carry square topsails, and then are distinguished by being called "square-topsail schooners."

Spinnaker: A modern adaptation of a jib-shaped sail, often seen set from the top masthead and boomed out from the mast. It is made of light canvas, and hoists to the topmast-head, and is boomed out from the mast. Some cutters carry enormous spinnakers, containing in one sail nearly as much canvas as is spread in mainsail and topsail. A spinnaker is a very handy sail, and preferable to a squaresail in light weather.

Steady!: An order after the helm has been put to port or starboard, to put it no farther in either direction, but bring it back amidships. When the wind is fair, an order given to a steersman to "Steady!" is to keep the helm as it is.

Tack: The lower weather corner of a sail.

To tack: To go about from one tack to the other.

Tackle: A purchase composed of blocks and a rope, for multiplying power.

Tail block: A tackle consisting of two blocks, to one of which is attached a length of rope for fastening to any object at pleasure.

Taunt: Tall.

Taut: Tight.

Thwart: Athwart; across. The seat of a boat.

Tiller: The bar of wood or iron by which the rudder is worked.

Toggle: A pin placed through the bight or eye of a rope to secure it round a stay, mast, etc.

Top a boom: To raise one end of it by hoisting on the topping-lifts.

Topmast: The next mast to the lower mast; in ships, the topmast is succeeded by top-gallant mast and royal mast.

Wear: To come round with the wind until it blows on the opposite side. In tacking, a vessel is turned round against the wind.

Yaw: A vessel is said to yaw when in running she flies off her course.

Yawl: A vessel rigged like a cutter, with the addition of a short mizzen-mast.