A list of sailing terminology.
A detailed list of sailing terminology for the soon-to-be captain.
Behind; as in: The stern is abaft the beam.
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At a right angle to the boat; as in: That buoy lies abeam of us.
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On the boat; as in: If we go aboard the boat now we will be able to leave soon.
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No power, unsecured; as in: Without wind and no engine we would be adrift.
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Floating, as in: Our life jackets will keep us afloat.
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Direction; as in: Go aft to the stern of the boat.
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(not to be confused with grounding at anchor). Stuck on the bottom; as in: That boat seems to have run aground.
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In front of the boat; as in: Our destination lies ahead.
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A buoy, channel marker, or light meant to guide navigation; as in: Be sure to look for any aid to navigation to help guide us into the harbor.
An online reference is here: http://www.uscgboating.org/ATON/index.html
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Up in the rigging; as in: Our radar reflectors are aloft.
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Forming discernable globs, may appear in layers; as in: Altocumulus clouds usually promise rain soon.
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In the middle of the boat; as in: You will find the galley amidships.
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A device, usually deployed from the bow, used to secure the boat to the bottom; as in: The use of more than one anchor will limit swing room.
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A white light that shines so it is visible from all around the vessel required when anchored or moored between sunset and sunrise. The best place for this light is usually at the top of the highest mast; as in: Once successfully anchored we turn on the anchor light.
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Observations taken over a period of time to determine whether the anchor is holding; as in: During heavy weather it might be a good idea to set an anchor watch.
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The wind that is felt on the boat; as in: The apparent wind has dropped since we went from a beam reach to a broad reach.
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Behind the stern of the boat; as in: The competition has fallen astern.
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Running across the boat from side to side, at a right angle to the centerline; as in: The transom runs athwartships.
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Self steering with no need for a helmsperson; as in: With the autopilot engaged and a proper lookout posted, no one needs to stay at the helm.
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A small engine (outboard or inboard, gasoline or diesel) used to power a sailing vessel when not under sail; as in: when we come into the anchorage we’ll start the auxiliary engine, head into the wind, furl our sails, then proceed to anchor.
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Anchor being lifted off the bottom, weighing anchor; as in: Anchors aweigh my boys!
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A sail that is trimmed to windward; as in: Sometimes we need to back the jib to help us tack. Can also refer to the wind moving counterclockwise; as in: The wind is backing.
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A stay (usually cable or rod) that runs from near or at the top
of the mast to the stern of the boat; as in: Your backstay seems to be tensioned properly.
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When a forward sail blocks the wind from an after sail; as in: The jib is producing a backwind affecting the main.
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Anchoring by setting two anchors, one fore and one aft; as in: A bahamian moor will limit the amount of swing room while at anchor.
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To remove water from a boat; as in: Let’s bail the dinghy to get the water out.
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To create a happy medium between weather and lee helm; as in: The helm seems to have perfect balance.
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Weight in the keel to keep the boat upright; as in: Ballast can be lead or iron.
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An opening bridge as opposed to a fixed bridge; as in: We can make it through that bascule bridge as long as we get an opening.
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A rod or strip used to stiffen the leech of a sail; as in: Some mainsails have at least one batten that runs from leech to luff.
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Prepare for heavy weather; as in: Batten down the hatches.
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The opening into which the batten fits; as in: A batten pocket will have some means of closure at one of its ends.
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The widest part of the boat; as in: The boat’s length is 50 feet and her beam is 14 feet.
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Point of sail with wind coming over the beam; as in: Fall off to a beam reach from a close reach.
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To turn away from the wind; as in: Please bear away to a beam reach from a close reach.
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The bearing to an object from the boat expressed in degrees; as in: The bearing to the lighthouse is 180° magnetic.
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Sailing close hauled; as in: A beat to weather (the wind).
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Underneath the deck; as in: I’m going below to fix drinks.
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- Where people sleep on a boat; as in: I’m going to my berth.
A boat’s slip at the dock; as in: The local marina has a berth for our boat.
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That part of a line between its ends or a loop; as in: Tie a bowline on a
bight.
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The lowest, deepest part of a boat; as in: Checking the bilge is part of our daily routine.
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- An Island in The Bahamas.
A collapsible canvas top to shield the cockpit from sun; as in: In the strong sun of the tropics all were glad to have the bimini up.
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A support for a compass; as in: If you place metal objects close to the binnacle you may cause deviation in the compass.
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The end of a line; as in: Hold onto the bitter end so we don’t lose the line.
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To stop the wind from filling a sail; as in: The jib is forming a blanket to the main.
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A device used to change the angle of a line, a pulley; as in: Lead the line through the block then back to the winch.
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To go on a boat; as in: Let’s board the boat now.
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Pole with a hook to lift and handle line; as in: Use the boat hook to grab the line.
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When two power boats cross the boat on the right is the stand-on vessel; as in: As we enter the harbor with our engine engaged we will watch carefully for any boat on the right.
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The rope that is in the luff of a sail to strengthen it; as in: To put on the mainsail guide the bolt rope through the slot in the mast.
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A spar that supports the foot of the mainsail; as in: The reef lines and outhaul may be fed through the boom.
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A device running athwartships aft of the mast to support the boom when the sail is not set; as in: Most modern boats use a topping lift to support the boom rather than a boom gallows.
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A device to hold the boom down; as in: Use the boom vang to prevent the boom from rising up while on a run.
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A lightweight, secure seat used for going aloft; as in: While at the dock we’ll go up the mast using the bosun’s chair to replace the faulty anchor light.
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The forward part of a boat also called ‘the pointy end’; as in: Go to the bow to drop the anchor.
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Guardrail and support at the bow for the lifelines; as in: The lifelines
attach to the bow pulpit with special fittings.
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A dock line used to secure the bow from sideways motion; as in: After arriving in our slip we tied the port bow line onto the piling.
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(Pronounced “boh-lin”) type of knot used to create a temporary, non-
slipping loop in the end of a line; as in: Tie a bowline on the dock line and drop it over the piling.
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A type of knot used to create a temporary, non-slipping double loop anywhere on a line; as in: Since we are without a bosun’s chair we’ll tie a bowline on a bight to go aloft.
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A dock line that runs at a right angle to the centerline of the boat; as in: We’ll bring the boat closer to the dock with a breast line for easier boarding.
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The deck that joins the hulls on a catamaran; as in: Standing on the bridgedeck gives a great view.
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A line used to distribute the load from a tow or an anchor to two points on the boat; as in: When we anchor a catamaran we always set up a bridle.
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Point of sail with the wind coming over the boat’s quarter; as in: Fall off from a beam reach to a broad reach.
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A type of claw anchor; as in: The Bruce anchor is very popular.
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A support below deck to strengthen the boat; as in: That bulkhead is made of wood.
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A bed in a boat, can also be called a berth; as in: Time to go to my bunk.
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A floating aid to navigation; as in: Leave the red buoy to starboard while returning.
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Sailing on a run with the wind coming over the same side of the boat as the boom is on; as in: Watch out for an accidental jibe when sailing by the lee.
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A room in a boat; as in: Time to go down to my cabin.
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No wind blowing; as in: The wind has become calm.
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The sails of a boat; as in: Your canvas looks bristol.
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A metal plate, located near the stern, stating its carrying capacity and maximum size of outboard engine; as in: The capacity plate on the transom of the dinghy allows for up to six adults and a 15 horsepower engine.
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Turned over in the water; as in: It is very difficult to capsize most boats.
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North, south, east, and west; as in: Our compass has the cardinal points
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Letting go of a line; as in: Cast off and get underway.
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A type of boat with no jib; as in: He chose a cat rig for the simplicity of it.
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A multihull having two hulls; as in: Her catamaran sailed fast and comfortable.
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(Pronounced “key”) small, low island ; as in: Marina Cay is a popular stopover while in the BVI’s.
center of effort. The point in the sail plan that is the balance of all wind forces; as in: She moved the center of effort forward to ease weatherhelm.
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The point on the hull where all hydrodynamic forces are in balance; as in: The boat turns about its center of lateral resistance.
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A board or appendage that is retractable in the hull or keel; as in: He raised the centerboard before coming ashore.
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A line running down the middle of the boat bisecting the bow and stern; as in: The beam of the boat lies perpendicular to its centerline.
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Wearing away of a line or sail due to friction; as in: Don’t let the anchor line chafe on the bow.
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Metal strap or fitting on the hull where stays are attached; as in: Our chain plate is bolted to the hull.
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A navigable waterway often marked with aids to navigation; as in: Stay in the channel and you’ll be safe.
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A nautical map; as in: Read the chart carefully to determine the proper route.
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The official U.S. book that defines all symbols, abbreviations, and terms used on U.S. nautical charts; as in: Check out chart #1 to find out what that squiggly line on the chart means.
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The reference level for depths listed on a chart; as in: The chart datum on many charts is the average of the low tides meaning, for example, when a depth of 6 feet is given that is the depth of water at that point at the average low tide, so most of the time there will actually be a greater depth.
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Renting a boat; as in: Let’s charter a catamaran in the BVI’s.
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Fairlead for dock or anchor lines; as in: Lead the dock line through the chock to prevent chafe.
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Waves that are short but steep; as in: On blustery days like this there’s a lot of chop on the water.
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To take a trip around something; as in: Circumnavigation of the world has been accomplished by many sailors.
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Wispy clouds lying in sheets, may cover the entire sky and produce halo effects; as in: Cirrostratus clouds often foretell a storm.
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High altitude, wispy and unsubstantial; as in: Those cirrus clouds may or may not be the harbinger of weather to come.
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A metal (usually) object around which a line can be fastened; as in: He ran the dock line from a cleat on the boat to a piling.
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A type of knot; as in: She tied the dock line to the cleat with a proper cleat hitch.
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The after lower corner of a sail; as in: The outhaul is attached to the clew of the mainsail.
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A point of sail, sailing as close to the wind as possible, also known as beating; as in: Sailing close hauled can be challenging.
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A point sail between close hauled and a beam reach; as in: Returning to the crew overboard, she sailed the boat on a close reach.
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A type of knot; as in: He tied the fenders to the lifelines using a clove hitch.
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Near the shore; as in: In coastal sailing we don’t go out of sight of land.
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An area inset in the deck where the boat is steered; as in: We gathered in the cockpit and took turns at the helm.
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typically the largest locker on deck usually located under cockpit seating; as in: We store the life jackets in our cockpit locker along with the flares.
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See ‘signal flags’.
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A neat arrangement of line which can be stowed; as in: She made a coil of the line and put it away.
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The International Navigation Rules; as in: If you know the COLREGS you will be a better sailor.
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The entryway that leads from the cockpit to the cabin; as in: He went down the companionway to go to the galley.
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A device containing a magnet that will align itself with the magnetic field of the earth indicating direction; as in: Read the compass carefully to determine your heading.
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A flat disk in the compass marked in degrees around which the compass needle rotates; as in: The compass card has marks for each 5 degree increment.
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A duplicate of the compass card found on nautical charts; as in: Use the compass rose to draw our ship’s course.
conch. (Pronounced “konk”) a brightly colored univalve mollusk; as in: Whenever we go to The Bahamas we always order conch fritters and cracked conch.
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A small pin (usually stainless steel) to help secure fittings; as in: It is good to check all cotter pins at the beginning of the season.
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The heading or compass direction that is steered; as in: The course to steer is 190° magnetic.
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All who participate in the handling of the boat; as in: The crew did a great job bringing the boat to the dock.
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An eye in the sail that is reinforced with a metal ring; as in: That cringle represents the first reef tack.
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Any of the beams that join the two hulls of a catamaran; as in: The cross beam creates structural strength and is often made from extruded, anodized aluminum.
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Two or more days spent underway on a boat; as in: Our cruise through The Bahamas lasted a week.
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A boat used mostly for cruising rather than racing; as in: That sailboat looks like a fine cruising boat.
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The thunderstorm cloud, tall with a dark bottom; as in: We will try to avoid those cumulonimbus clouds on the horizon.
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Puffy cotton balls, harbinger of good weather; as in: Those cumulus clouds tell me we have at least two days of good weather.
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A line used to put tension in the luff of a sail; as in: Tighten the cunningham to bring the draft forward in the mainsail.
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The horizontal movement of water usually caused by tides or wind; as in: Compensation for the current is necessary when sailing in many coastal areas.
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A boat built to the specifications of one particular customer; as in: He ordered a custom boat to suit his needs.
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A type of sailboat with one mast and two sails forward; as in: Many cruising boats are cutter rigged.
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A centerboard, not hinged but going straight up and down; as in: The daggerboard was lowered through its slot.
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A bearing that is plotted to a hazard or an object nearby a hazard; as in: Our navigator plotted the danger bearing to the rocky shoal and, since the hazard lay to port, said to the helmsperson “Do not allow the rock to bear more than 135°”.
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Red light shining out to mark a dangerous area of water; as in: We could see the danger sector from a distance and avoided that area.
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A boat used for short day sails and without a cabin; as in: We had a lot of fun in our daysailor last summer.
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Exactly; as in: She steered the boat dead ahead.
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Also known as ded. reckoning and DR. Calculating the course of a boat from only the heading, speed, and time; as in: They kept up their dead reckoning until they could fix their position.
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The surface covering the hull of a boat; as in: Standing on deck is a good way to catch some sun.
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This is a point of sail just below a beam reach (about 20° below) or about 110° relative to the bow and used in the deep beam man overboard recovery technique: as in: When one of the crew fell overboard we immediately turned to a deep beam reach.
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To decrease the power of the sails allowing the boat to heel less; as in: Depower the sails to decrease weatherhelm and heel.
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A device that measures the depth of the water; as in: Reading the depth sounder carefully we can avoid running aground.
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Error in the compass caused by undue magnetic influences; as in: The can of peanuts set down next to the compass caused a deviation of some 20 degrees.
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The temperature at which air is fully saturated, the temperature at which dew starts to form; as in: When the temperature drops to the dew point fog is possible.
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Small, lightweight boat; as in: After anchoring we went ashore in the dinghy.
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The weight of water a boat displaces, her weight; as in: That boat has a displacement of 12 tons.
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A heavier boat that does not plane, moving through the water it displaces water; as in: A displacement hull will not be as fast as a planing hull.
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Indicators signifying a vessel is in danger, a request for assistance; as in: Internationally recognized distress signals offer a wide range of options depending on what the situation is. For instance; if you are in distress in the ocean you might release orange smoke or dye marker so a plane could spot you, if your vessel is on fire then those flames will act as a distress signal, or if you are foundering at night you might send up parachute flares.
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A float or pier where a boat can tie up to; as in: The crew did a fine job bringing the boat into the dock.
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A line used to attach a boat to a dock; as in: A good dock line is usually made of nylon to provide stretch.
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A spray shield that protects the cockpit; as in: All were happy the boat came equipped with a dodger when the wind and waves came up.
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Cables underneath a multihull that help support the structure; as in: The dolphin striker is often hidden away on catamarans.
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To lower a sail; as in: Coming into the anchorage we douse and cover the mainsail.
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Used to place tension in the luff of a sail; as in: Applying tension to the downhaul changes the shape of the mainsail.
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The direction in which the wind is traveling; as in: Since our destination is downwind we’ll only fly the spinnaker.
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- The depth of the boat underwater; as in: This boat has a 6 foot draft.
The amount of curve or fullness in a sail; as in: Moving the draft forward will reduce our weather helm.
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The anchor moving along the bottom; as in: We took care to set the anchor so that it would not drag.
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The velocity of a current usually measured in knots; as in: The drift of this current is 2 knots.
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To let out a line, to decrease tension; as in: When falling off we ease the sheets.
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When the tide goes out; as in: We should leave before the ebb tide.
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Corrosive action caused by electrical current flowing between
dissimilar metals; as in: Without sacrificial zinc anodes electrolysis can cause great damage on boats.
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A small tiller that fits into the top of the rudder post which can be used to steer the boat if main equipment fails.
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To reverse a line; as in: When we end for end the main sheet we will increase it’s life span.
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A position that is estimated from the DR and one other indicator of position; as in: After taking a bearing she placed a small square on the chart to indicate the estimated position.
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Loop, often in the end of a line; as in: The sewn in eye in the dock line is very handy.
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Exactly where the wind is coming from; as in: We tack the boat by putting the bow through the eye of the wind.
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Without obstruction or sharp corners; as in: That boat has a fair transition from the deck to the cockpit.
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A lead with a minimum of friction to reduce chafe; as in: The line is led from the block to winch through a fairlead.
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The central part of a channel; as in: The boat in the fairway is avoiding the shoal.
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Making large loops of line to avoid kinks; as in: We will fake the main halyard before dropping the mainsail.
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To turn away from the wind; as in: Going from a beam reach to a broad reach we fall off.
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Specific items to be carried on board vessels
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To push away; as in: We may need to fend off as we back our boat into the slip.
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Bumper placed outside the hull to prevent damage at a dock; as in: We tied the fender to the lifeline using a clove hitch.
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Distance to the windward shore; as in: A larger body of water has more fetch than a smaller one.
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A type of knot, also called a stopper knot; as in: Tying a figure eight at the end of a line prevents it from running out through the block.
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A wire that has come unattached and sticks out of a cable, can cause cuts and abrasion; as in: Check the cables frequently for fish hooks.
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A position known with some certainty; as in: We fix our position when two or more bearings cross.
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The proper display of flags; as in: Flag etiquette dictates that the vessel’s national flag is flown from the stern while courtesy flags and flags displaying a meaning (i.e. the quarantine flag) are flown from the starboard spreader.
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Generic name for a multi-hull’s ama or hull; as in: A trimaran has 3 floats; 2 amas and a hull.
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An itinerary for the boat to be filed with friends or family; as in: Before they left on their voyage to Hawaii they filed a float plan with their family members.
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The incoming tide; as in: We will wait for the flood tide before returning.
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Winds that are light and variable; as in: With these fluky winds sailing is not an option.
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A cloud at ground level formed when the temperature drops to the dew point creating tiny particles of moisture suspended in the air. Two major types that affect mariners are radiation and advection fog; as in: Radiation fog usually persists for short periods forming on clear, cool nights when the surface boundary layer drops to its dew point. And, advection fog forms when warm moist air blows across a body of cooler water which lowers the temperature of the moist air to the dew point and can last for days even with the wind blowing.
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Waves coming from behind; as in: Going downwind we will encounter following seas.
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- The bottom edge of a sail; as in: We can tension the foot of the mainsail with the outhaul.
To sail slightly lower than close hauled; as in: If we foot after tacking we will build up good boat speed.
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Any sail that is forward of the mast; as in: This boat is designed to use one foresail.
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A stay running from the bow to the upper mast upon which can be fastened a foresail; as in: The forestay attaches to the bow with a stem fitting.
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The area defined by the mast, deck, and forestay; as in: A larger foretriangle means that a larger jib can be carried.
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Toward the bow; as in: Go forward to throw the bow line.
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- Tangled;
A description of the bottom; as in: Do not anchor in any area with a foul bottom.
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Clothing appropriate for heavy weather conditions; as in: With the storm coming put on your foul weather gear.
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A rig where the forestay (headstay) terminates below the top of the mast; as in: A racing boat is usually a fractional rig.
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The height of the deck above the water; as in: A boat with a lot of freeboard is a dry boat.
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The leading edge of a high or low pressure system; as in: As the cold front comes through the winds usually veer, or move clockwise.
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All sails are set; as in: Under 15 knots of wind we often go under full sail.
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A solid deck joining the ama and hull on a trimaran; as in: That trimaran has a full wing deck.
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To neatly put away a sail while still attached to the spars; as in: We furl the sails as we approach our destination.
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A rig that uses a spar to raise the top edge of a four edge sail; as in: A gaff rig boat is pretty but lots of work.
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The kitchen on a boat; as in: We do most of our cooking in the galley.
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Term used to describe the layout on a catamaran where the galley placed on the lower level along with the cabins; as in: They preferred to have the galley down because it allowed for a larger salon on the upper level.
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Term used to describe the layout on a catamaran where the galley is placed on the upper level along with the salon; as in: She wanted to the galley up because it allows for more interaction when meals are prepared.
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Equipment on a boat; as in: A neat boat has all its gear stowed.
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A large foresail whose clew extends beyond the foretriangle (mast); as in: In lighter air we always use our genoa.
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Swinging supports that allow a stove to stay level in seas; as in: We were glad to have a gimbal support on our stove as we crossed the Gulf Stream.
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The vessel that must keep out of the way of another vessel; as in: The port tack boat is the give way vessel when meeting a starboard tack boat.
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The fitting that attaches the boom to the mast; as in: We tack the mainsail on close to the gooseneck.
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A small snap ring sewn into canvas; as in: The dodger has more than one grommet to secure it.
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The anchor and anchor rode; as in: For ground tackle my boat uses a plow anchor with all chain rode.
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When the tide goes out leaving a boat aground while anchored, not to be confused with running aground; as in: We should have checked the tide tables to prevent our grounding at anchor.
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A metal fitting on the transom of a small boat used to attach the rudder; as in: The pintle fits into the gudgeon.
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The rail that sticks up at the edge of the deck; as in: Walking on deck feels more secure if there is a gunwale.
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A puff of strong wind; as in: Sailing is more challenging in gusty winds.
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A line that raises a sail; as in: We get under sail by raising the main halyard.
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A compass used to take bearings by holding it in your hand; as in: We can fix our position by taking bearings with the handbearing compass.
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A fitting used to attach the foresail to forestay; as in: We hank on the foresail before raising it.
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A command issued as the steerer turns the helm to tack the boat; as in: Ready about…Hard a-lee.
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Turning the helm as far as possible; as in: The wheel is hard over but with no way on we aren’t turning.
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An operable opening in the deck; as in: Once we anchor we can open the hatch.
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To take a boat out of water; as in: Every year we haul out our boat and put her in dry dock.
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- The top corner of a triangular sail; as in: We attach the halyard to the head of the sail.
- The bathroom on a boat; as in: Many boats have more than one head.
- The front of the boat, the bow area, the stem; as in: Going to the head of the boat provides an excellent view.
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Or head down, to change course by turning away from the wind; as in: Head off to fill the sails with air.
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Pointing the boat directly into the eye of the wind, in-irons; as in: When the boat is head to wind it is easy to trim the mainsheet.
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To turn towards the wind; as in: Head up to luff the sails.
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A shift in the wind causing a turn away from the wind; as in: When we get a header it may be time to tack.
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The course to steer; as in: Change heading to 090°.
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A foresail; as in: A sloop has one headsail while a cutter has two headsails.
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Also called forestay, a cable that runs from the bow to the upper part of the mast; as in: Our headsail attaches to the headstay.
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To throw; as in: Heave the line to the other boat.
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A technique to nearly stop the boat’s motion while under sail; as in: As we heave to the foresail will be backed to windward.
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Strong wind and large waves; as in: Our boat does very well in heavy weather.
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The angle the boat sails at; as in: Stronger wind creates more heel.
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The tiller or wheel; as in: Turn the helm to change heading.
helmsman or helmsperson, steerer. The person who is steering the boat; as in: As we got to the channel the helmsman guided us into the marina.
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To sail high is to sail closer to the wind than is optimal; as in: Sailing high slows us down.
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To lean out over the rail; as in: The crew will hike out to reduce the heel of the boat.
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The type of bottom in an anchorage; as in: This anchorage has good holding ground.
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The underbody of a boat; as in: This hull is solid fiberglass.
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The theoretical highest speed for a displacement hull boat; as in: We use the square root of the water line length to help determine the boat’s hull speed.
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Head to wind and not moving through the water; as in: Catamarans are
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Inside the boat; as in: We have an inboard diesel engine.
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A device that must be inflated such as a life jacket, life raft, or dinghy; as in: Some life jackets can be inflated with air or automatically with CO2 cartridges.
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A line or strap on deck running fore and aft upon which safety harnesses can be tethered; as in: In heavy weather we rig a jackline on our boats.
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A foresail (headsail) that fits inside the foretriangle (not extending beyond the mast); as in: As we approach our anchorage we will furl the jib.
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A line that controls the jib; as in: Trim the jib sheet according to the telltales.
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To turn the stern of the boat through the eye of the wind; as in: To jibe under control we first trim the mainsheet.
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A command issued while jibing just prior to the boom swinging across the centerline; as in: Ready to jibe…Jibe-ho.
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Improvised replacement for gear especially when dismasted; as in: After the mast came down we set up a jury rig to continue on our way.
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Using an anchor to pull the boat into deeper water; as in: If we run aground we might be able to kedge off.
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An extension of the hull that goes deeper into the water and provides stability from heel and sideways resistance to wind; as in: A well designed keel can provide lift to windward.
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A type of boat with two masts the second of which is lower and is stepped forward of the rudder post; as in: The ketch design provides a wide variety of possible sail combinations.
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When the heel of the boat approaches 90°; as in: Most sailors will never experience a knockdown.
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- Used to fasten a line to itself or another object; as in: A useful knot onboard is the simple clove hitch.
One nautical mile per hour; as in: The knot meter gives us our speed through the water.
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A breeze that blows from land to the water; as in: In the evening we might catch a land breeze.
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An easily visible object; as in: The lighthouse makes a handy landmark.
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A short line; as in: Some shackles have a lanyard for an easy grip to open them.
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Tie down; as in: We lash the dinghy to the foredeck.
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Angular distance in degrees north or south of the earth’s equator; as in: The north pole is at 90° north latitude.
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- Moving a boat from land to water;
A small boat to take people from shore to moored boats and vice versa; as in: We sounded our horn to let the launch know we wanted to go ashore.
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Usually, the aftermost locker on deck; as in: The starboard lazarette holds the propane tanks.
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A bag on top of the boom to cover the mainsail when it is lowered and can be zipped up to fully protect the mainsail; as in: The lazy bag is truly a blessing for the lazy sailor.
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Lines running between the boom and mast that prevent the mainsail from falling on deck as it is lowered; as in: Lazy jacks work very well just be sure the mainsail is in the eye of the wind as it is raised or the battens may catch on one of the lazy jack lines.
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(Pronounced “leed”) the path of a line; as in: Be sure the lead for the anchor line is fair.
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(Pronounced “led line”) a line with a weight attached to take soundings i.e. read the depth of the water; as in: When anchored we can use a lead line to check the offset of our depth sounder.
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(Pronounced “lee” and “loo-ward”). Downwind; as in: That boat is in our lee or, that boat is leeward of us.
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The tendency of a boat to turn down wind; as in: With only a foresail
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A nearby shore that is downwind from us; as in: A lee shore can pose a hazard for us.
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The back edge of a sail; as in: If the leech is flopping tighten the leech line just until it stops.
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A small adjustable line running inside the leech; as in: Ease the leech line in light air to prevent cupping.
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When two boats are on the same tack the windward boat shall keep
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A storm tactic whereby no sail is set; as in: We tried to lie ahull but found the motion not to our liking.
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Also PFD, used to keep a person afloat; as in: If you need a life jacket it should be easily accessible.
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A smaller boat used in emergencies usually inflatable; as in: Be sure everyone knows how to launch the life raft.
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A wire or cable that runs along the outside of the deck supported by stanchions to help restrain passengers; as in: All lifelines should be checked frequently for corrosion, loose fittings, and fish hooks.
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Opposite of header, a wind shift allowing the helmsperson to steer closer to the desired course; as in: If we get a lift we may not need to tack.
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- An aid to navigation that is illuminated; as in: The geographic range of that light is shorter than its range of visibility.
A navigation light on the boat; as in: After anchoring we will turn on the anchor light.
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A type of anchor with large, flat flukes; as in: We lowered the lightweight anchor into a beautiful sand bottom.
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Rope or cordage that has come onboard; as in: We carry extra line onboard because we know we’ll need it sometime. This line may go on to other, more specific, uses such as rode, sheets, halyards, or dock lines.
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When a boat heels with no outside forces being applied; as in: The boat at the dock had a prominent list.
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First hand familiarity with a body of water that goes beyond what may be found on a nautical chart; as in: When arriving at a small, unknown harbor they hailed a local fishing vessel for local knowledge on how to negotiate the channel.
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The angular distance in degrees east or west of the prime meridian running through Greenwich England; as in: The longitude of the International Date Line is both 180° east and west.
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A post in a compass allowing the compass to be read from the side; as in: If you use the lubber’s line that is at 45° then compensate that much for the course.
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- The leading edge of a sail; as in: We have telltales just behind the luff of our headsail.
The flapping of a sail; as in: We can prevent luff in the sail by properly reading the telltales and adjusting course.
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Also, under bare poles. No sails set; as in: Lying ahull is sometimes used as a storm tactic.
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Relating to the magnetic poles rather than the true north and south poles; as in: Did you know that variation is the difference in degrees between true north and magnetic north?
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The main hull (or center) hull on a trimaran; as in: The main hull is where we live and the outer hulls or amas are for storage.
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The tallest mast; as in: On a ketch the mizzen mast is always shorter than the mainmast.
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The main sail of a boat often the largest sail and raised on the mainmast; as in: Leaving the anchorage the first sail we set is the mainsail.
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A single line used to control the main; as in: Trim the mainsheet as we head up into the wind.
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Also crew overboard or person in the water. When someone onboard has accidentally fallen into the water; as in: It is best to practice man overboard drills before you really need them.
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A floating pole with a flag on top for greater visibility, to be thrown into the water as soon as someone has gone over; as in: The flag on the man overboard pole is diagonal yellow/orange, the signal flag for “O” (Oscar) carrying the meaning “man overboard”.
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An arrangement of docks providing spaces for boats to tie up; as in: Call ahead to the marina on the VHF to see if they have a slip available for us.
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A pointed tool used to untie knots or pry apart various things; as in: Using a marlinspike can assist in untying a bowline.
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A pole made from wood, aluminum, or carbon fiber from which a sail is set; as in: The mast on most boats have stays to hold them upright.
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A device used to indicate wind direction; as in: Watch the masthead fly to know where the wind is coming from.
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A white light shinning forward through an arc of 225° indicating a vessel is under mechanical propulsion. The light may be located at the top of a short mast on a powerboat but is located about 2/3 of the way up the forward mast on a sailboat; as in: Turn on the masthead light when under power at night.
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Means of tying up to a dock with an anchor or mooring set further out; as in: After anchoring our vessel just off the dock we ran stern lines ashore in the dinghy to achieve our first Mediterranean mooring.
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When two power vessels meet head-on they should each turn to starboard; as in: Meeting head-on with another vessel, as we power into the harbor, we’ll turn to starboard.
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Longitude; as in: Did you know the prime meridian passes through Greenwich England and is opposite the International Date Line?
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The aftermost sail on a ketch or yawl carried on the mizzen mast; as in: We set the mizzen along with the main to create a full sail plan.
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A boat with a single hull; as in: A monohull will heel more than a multihull.
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A permanent anchor with a floating buoy to tie up to; as in: Most of the time we can easily leave the mooring by sailing off.
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A boat with two or three hulls; as in: The multihull is becoming more popular.
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A compartment on a catamaran created by a structural component; as in: We can stow anchor lines in the nacelle.
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One minute of latitude or about 1.15 statute miles; as in: A nautical mile is easy to measure by referring to the latitude on a nautical chart.
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Both the international (COLREGS) rules and the U.S. inland rules; as in: A knowledge of the Navigation Rules will make anyone a better mariner. The full online version can be found here: http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/mwv/navrules/rotr_online.htm
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Tides that occur during quarter phases of the moon and not as strong as spring tides; as in: The neap tide happens when the moon and sun are not aligned.
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The area into the wind where it is not possible to sail; as in: If our destination lies upwind we must tack to get there as going straight to it puts us in the no go zone.
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Sailing downwind; as in: On a broad reach or run we are sailing off the wind.
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Out of sight of land; as in: Sailing to The Bahamas we will be offshore.
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On a boat; as in: On board we have enough provisions to last a week.
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Sailing into the wind; as in: On a close reach or beating we are on the wind.
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A single design from which many boats are made; as in: The Lightening is a popular one design race boat.
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Having the deck on a trimaran completely open; as in: Smaller trimarans with folding amas often have an open wing deck arrangement.
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- Outside the hull;
Removable engine mounted at the transom; as in: Our dinghy has an eight horsepower outboard.
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A sail control that attaches to the clew and allows tensioning of the foot; as in: In light air we ease the outhaul.
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When the bow and or stern extend beyond the waterline; as in: Many older boats have a lot of overhang.
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Too much power in the sails producing excessive heel and difficult steering; as in: When the wind speeds up we depower the sails to prevent being overpowered.
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When a wrap of line runs over another wrap on a winch; as in: Good winch technique will prevent an override.
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To come up from behind; as in: When we overtake another vessel we must keep out of her way.
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When one vessel overtakes another she is the give-way vessel and must keep out of the way of the boat being overtaken; as in: A sailboat in an overtaking situation with a slow power boat must keep out of the power boat’s way.
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A metal or plastic eye fastened on deck through which a line runs; as in: That padeye provides a convenient means to help guide the reef line.
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The line attached to the bow of a dinghy; as in: We tow the dinghy using its painter.
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Latitude; as in: The 45th parallel lies half way between the equator and the north pole.
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A deck on a trimaran, joining the ama and hull, that has an open area; as in: Many trimarans have a partial wing deck.
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The opening in the deck for a keel stepped mast; as in: When we pulled the mast we were careful to cover the partners to prevent rain damage.
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To ease; as in: Pay out enough line so there will be some slack.
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A device used to take bearings relative to the boat and, along with other information, can determine the deviation of the ship’s compass on a particular heading; as in: Using the pelorus we find the lighthouse bears 120° off the starboard bow.
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Personal Flotation Device; as in: Always know where your PFD is located.
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An area suspended by posts that sticks out from shore; as in: The fishing pier over there would not be a good place to tie up.
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The art of navigating in coastal waters; as in: Piloting a boat into an unknown harbor takes some knowledge and skill.
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Sailing too close to the wind; as in: If you sail any higher you will pinch and luff the sails.
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A metal fitting on the rudder of a small boat used to attach the rudder to the transom; as in: The pintle fits into the gudgeon.
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To turn upside down in the water with the stern coming over; as in: It takes very heavy, breaking seas to create a possible pitchpole.
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To skip along the water; as in: That speed boat is up on a plane.
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A hull which can get up on a plane; as in: Most cruising sailboats do not have a planing hull.
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Drawing a boat’s course on a nautical chart; as in: We plot our course before we set out.
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A type of anchor that looks like a farmer’s plow; as in: Many cruising boats will carry a plow anchor.
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Close hauled (beating), close reach, beam reach, broad reach, and run; as in: Sailing a full circle we will cover all the points of sail.
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- Left side when looking forward;
- A window in the side of the boat;
Where ships come in to dock; as in: When navigating into a port take caution in the channels.
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A sailboat is on port tack when the mainsail is on the starboard side (the wind will usually, but not always, be on her port side); as in: When we’re on a port tack we must give way to starboard tack vessels.
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A line or other device that prevents an accidental jibe; as in: When running in waves and wind we usually rig a preventer.
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An area of water that remains relatively calm because it is surrounded by land and/or reefs; as in: We enjoy sailing on Biscayne Bay because it is protected water.
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A metal railing at the stern and/or bow that serves as an anchor point for the lifelines; as in: The pulpit is strong enough to support lifelines but not strong enough for dock lines.
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The area between the beam and stern; as in: We have a vessel overtaking us off our port quarter.
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(Pronounced “key”) a dock or landing place running along a body of water; as in: Mediterranean (Med.) mooring is a good way to tie up to a quay.
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A competition between boats; as in: Boats in a race do not have special privileges over boats passing by but common courtesy should prevail.
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A means of sending out and receiving radio waves to detect objects in the distance that may be obscured by weather or darkness; as in: Radar is very useful in areas prone to fog.
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A device to reflect radar waves back to their source so that a boat shows up more prominently on the radar screen; as in: Because wet sails may interfere with the radar beam boaters should consider using a permanently mounted radar reflector on each side of the mast.
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The fore or aft tilt of the mast; as in: If we rake the mast forward we will reduce weather helm.
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- The difference between high and low tide;
- The extent of a light’s visibility;
When two objects line up, also called a transit, that may indicate a channel; as in: We will know to turn into the channel when the range markers line up.
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A command issued prior to tacking; as in: Ready about…Tacking.
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- To decrease sail area; as in: We put in a reef before the storm hit.
A shoal area; as in: Follow the channel markers carefully to avoid the reef.
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A type of knot also called a square knot; as in: We can tie two ends of a line together with a reef knot.
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The shortest distance between two points; as in: We will reach our destination quickest if we can sail the rhumb line.
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- The mast, boom, stays, and sails; as in: Many modern boats are a sloop rig.
To prepare a boat for sailing; as in: As soon as we rig the boat we’ll be able to sail.
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Standing rigging is the cables and stays that support the mast while running rigging is the control lines; as in: Common running rigging is composed of sheets, reef lines, halyards, and outhaul.
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The first boat anchoring sets the anchoring style for all following boats especially in small anchorages or ones with strong tidal currents; as in: Coming into an anchorage we observe the anchoring style of other boats understanding the rights of the first boat anchoring.
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That vessel which has the legal authority to stay on her course according to the Navigation Rules; as in: The stand on vessel has the right of way.
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- A small to large brown bug that invades many boats;
The convex area of a sail on its leech; as in: Catamarans have a larger roach than monohulls.
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The anchor line including chain; as in: Anchor rode can consist of all chain or chain and line.
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Furling a sail by rolling it up; as in: Many boats have a roller furling headsail.
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Reefing a sail by rolling it up; as in: Roller reefing comes in a wide variety of applications and can be combined with roller furling.
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A type of knot used to take the strain off another line, chain, or object; as in: To hook up our snubber we use a rolling hitch.
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A line consisting of tightly twisted or woven fibers. Onboard one of the few items termed rope is the boltrope that helps support the leading edge of the mainsail. When rope comes onboard it is usually referred to as line and then may go on to other, more specific meanings such as sheets, rode, or halyards. As in: At the marine store I’ll get some rope to use as dock lines on the boat.
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A type of knot that constricts with more tension in the line; as in: A round turn and two half hitches can be used to tie the spring line to the piling.
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An underwater appendage that controls the direction of the boat; as in: When the helmsperson turns the wheel to starboard the rudder turns to starboard followed by the boat’s bow turning to starboard.
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A round shaft leading from the rudder and connected to the helm; as in: Turning the wheel turns the rudder post thus turning the rudder.
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The Navigation Rules; as in: Following the rules of the road we turn on the proper lights at sunset.
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A point of sail; as in: Falling off from a broad reach we will be running.
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The lights a boat shows at night; as in: At sunset we turn on our running lights when underway.
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All the lines that control any part of the sails; as in: We check our running rigging for wear on a regular basis.
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A harness worn by crew and hooked onto the boat to prevent crew overboard; as in: The safety harness comes with a tether that can be snapped onto the jackline.
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The net in the bow area of a catamaran sometimes called the trampoline; as in: The safety net provides a secure area for sunbathers.
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A short line or strap used to secure a furled sail; as in: We can wrap the sail tie around the sail then tie the two ends together with a square knot.
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The large social gathering area below deck on a boat; as in: We’ll have dinner in the saloon tonight due to the inclimate weather in the cockpit.
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See “by the lee”.
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A boat with two or more masts, the forward of which is the same height or shorter than the after; as in: When the schooner tied up she was the object of much attention.
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The ratio of anchor rode paid out to the depth of the water plus the height of the deck above water; as in: Many recommend a scope of 7:1 for secure overnight anchoring.
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To move forward in a boat by swinging the rudder back and forth; as in: If you scull a small boat you may be able to free her from the bottom.
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A drain in the deck or cockpit; as in: The center cockpit boat uses a scupper at each corner to drain the cockpit.
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A breeze that comes from the water to the land; as in: The afternoon
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The distance between the boat and shore; as in: It is good to have enough sea room for safe sailing in any conditions.
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A valve to shut off flow from a through-hull fitting; as in: It is good to exercise the seacocks once in a while to prevent seizing.
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A boat that is comfortable in rough seas; as in: Usually, the larger the boat the more seakindly she is.
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On a catamaran, the reinforcing structure above the beam at the bow; as in: The seagull striker adds considerable strength to the boat.
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Ability to do well in heavy seas and weather; A larger vessel is not necessarily more seaworthy.
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To fasten to a dock or cleat; as in: There are many knots we can use to secure the dock line to the piling.
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A cockpit that drains by itself; as in: Larger boats have self-bailing cockpits.
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The direction in which a current is traveling; as in: If the set of the current is north our boat will be carried in that direction.
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A metal device that secures a line to another object; as in: The outhaul is attached to the clew of the mainsail with a shackle.
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(Pronounced “shiv”) The round turning part in a pulley or block; as in: A yearly inspection of each sheave is a good idea.
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The concave curve of the rail and deck; as in: Many boats have an attractive sheer.
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A control line for a sail; as in: The jib sheet pulls the sail aft and down.
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A type of knot used to tie together two lines of unequal diameter; as in: We can join the smaller dock line to the larger one using a sheet bend.
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A large vessel; as in: The rights of way are largely the same for a ship as for a smaller boat.
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A shallow area of rock or coral; as in: Paying attention to the aids to navigation will prevent running into the shoal.
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To reef or put on smaller sails; as in: Before the storm comes is a good time to shorten sail.
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A small crew; as in: Some boats have circumnavigated the globe shorthanded.
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A wire or cable holding up the mast athwartships (side to side); as in: Each shroud on this boat is made from stainless cable.
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Flags used to indicate either a letter, number, or representing a meaning; as in: Each of the signal flags carries a different meaning for instance, A (Alpha) is the international flag that means diver down and is blue and white with a swallowtail.
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A boat of the same design; as in: Boats of the same make and model are sister ships.
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A small appendage on the hull near the stern; as in: The rudder is skeg mounted on that boat.
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The one who is in charge; as in: The skipper may or may not be the one who steers the boat.
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A berth in a marina for a boat; as in: We called the marina ahead of time to get our slip assignment.
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A boat with one mast and one foresail; as in: Many modern boats are sloop rigged.
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A fitting on the luff or foot of a sail that allows it to attach to the mast or boom by fitting into a slot; as in: Before we can raise the main we will have to bend it on by putting the sail slugs into the mast slot.
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A shackle that can be easily moved by snapping open or shut; as in: A safety harness may have a snap shackle at the end of its tether so a person can easily and safely move about the deck.
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Wrapping a line once or part way around a cleat or winch to take most of the load off but still be able to control the line by hand; as in: When we are adjusting the position of the boat as we come into our slip we snub the spring line until she is positioned correctly.
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A line, usually nylon, that takes the strain off the anchor chain and acts as a shock absorber; as in: We always use a snubber with all chain anchor rode.
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The cabin floor; as in: The sole on this boat is teak and holly.
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To take depth readings (the depth of the bottom); as in: We can sound the bottom using a lead line; and, going out into the ocean we reach a point where we are off soundings.
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An indication or warning given by the boat’s whistle (horn); as in: A sound signal of five short blasts warns of danger or confusion as to the other vessel’s intent, one prolonged blast is the sound signal given every two minutes by a power vessel in restricted visibility (fog), one prolonged followed by two short blasts every two minutes is the sound signal given by a sailing vessel in restricted visibility (fog). The Inland Rules require power boats to exchange sound signals as they approach each other but sailing vessels do not exchange such signals.
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A long cylindrical object made of wood or metal such as the mast, boom, or gaff; can also apply to a buoy; as in: Every spar on a boat carries an important function.
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Velocity over the bottom regardless of current; as in: Her speed made good was five knots.
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The speed of the boat going through the water which itself may be moving due to current; as in: Crossing the Gulf Stream, her speed through the water was greater than her speed made good.
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A large colorful balloon shaped sail; as in: When the racing boats rounded the windward mark they set their spinnakers to the delight of all spectators.
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To create a bond between two lines or an eye in the end of a line by weaving the strands together; as in: That’s a mighty nice looking eye splice you have there.
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A horizontal support for the stays that sticks out from the mast; as in: The spreader holds the shroud out thus increasing the strength of the rig.
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A dock line, usually used in combination, to prevent fore and aft motion of the boat; as in: We can secure the forward running spring line to the midship cleat.
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The tide at the new and full moon which is higher than the neap tides; as in: The spring tide is caused when the moon and sun pull together.
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A type of knot used to tie together two lines of equal diameter also called a reef knot; as in: We can tie the two ends of this line together with a square knot.
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Single sideband radio; as in: On good nights we talk around the world on the SSB.
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Not heeling; as in: This catamaran has greater stability than a monohull of the same length.
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A graph showing the stability of a boat at various angles; as in: The stability curve for a catamaran is very different than that for a monohull.
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A vertical metal support along the outside of the deck for the lifelines; as in: A stanchion may be bent if it hits a piling during docking.
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The vessel that has the right of way according to the rules of the road; as in: A starboard tack boat is the stand on vessel when crossing the path of a port tack boat.
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All wires or cables that hold up the mast; as in: Most standing rigging is strong enough to take very large forces produced by the sails in heavy winds.
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The right side facing forward; as in: Leave the red buoys to starboard when returning.
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When the mainsail is carried on the port side (the wind will usually, but not always, be on her starboard); as in: When two boats approach each other on starboard tack the windward boat keeps out of the way of the leeward boat.
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A wire or cable supporting the mast, also see: “headstay” and “backstay”; as in: A yearly inspection of each stay is a very good idea.
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A second jib which is tacked behind the first one as in: A cutter rig has a staysail.
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To guide the boat with the rudder; as in: You steer a very good course.
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Having enough speed through the water to steer the boat; as in: We usually need about two knots to have sufficient steerageway.
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The forward part of the bow; as in: She’s a solid little boat from stem to stern.
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The fitting at the bow upon which is fastened the headstay; as in: The stem fitting does for the headstay what the chainplates do for the shrouds.
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To install a mast. Can be stepped on deck or on the keel; as in: One part of commissioning a new vessel is to step the mast.
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The aftermost part of a vessel; as in: While underway we may tie the dinghy to the stern.
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A dock line that secures the stern from sideways motion; as in: Before we can leave our slip we must remove the stern line.
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Guardrail and support for the lifelines at the stern of the boat; as in: We can attach our BBQ to the stern pulpit.
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Moving backwards through the water; as in: Once we gather enough sternway we will be able to steer in reverse.
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A boat not easily heeled; as in: This boat seems stiff not tender.
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To put something away on a boat; as in: We properly stow our gear so we will know where it is when needed.
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A jib that is smaller and stronger than the working jib; as in: Before the heavy weather hits we’ll set the storm jib.
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Dark, big puffy balls; as in: Stratocumulus clouds foretell bad weather.
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To glide down the face of a wave; as in: Our boat speed doubles as we surf down these waves.
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Long period waves usually generated by a storm many miles away; as in: The waves are coming from the east but the swell is from the north.
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- To change tacks by putting the bow through the eye of the wind; as in: We tack the boat with enough speed to carry us through.
- The side of the boat opposite the side the boom is on; as in: Since the boom is on the starboard side then we are on port tack.
The forward lower corner of a sail; as in: We fasten the tack of the jib near the bow.
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Pulling on a line after the winch; as in: With self-tailing winches on our boat the crew does not need to tail the lines.
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A metal fitting on the mast to which shrouds are attached; as in: We give our rig, including each tang, a thorough yearly inspection.
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A fine string or ribbon which may be located on a sail or in the rigging to help determine wind direction and proper sail trim; as in: Reading the telltale on the starboard shroud it looks like we’re on a beam reach.
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- Easy to heel; as in: This boat seems tender not stiff.
A small boat used to ferry crew to and from a larger vessel; as in: Our ship’s tender is fast and comfortable.
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A ring inside an eye splice that protects the line from chafe; as in: A mooring pendant often has a metal or plastic thimble through which we can run our mooring lines.
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Two shrouds and a headstay support the mast with no backstay; as in: Many catamarans have a three point rig.
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A metal or plastic device providing a secure hole in the boat through which fluids can flow; as in: Inside of every below waterline through-hull fitting is a seacock to shut off the flow of water if needed
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The current (or flow of water) in channels that is associated with the ebb and flow of the tide. ‘Tide and Current Tables’ is published by NOAA and is also available online; as in: Consult the Tide and Current Tables before leaving dock so there will be no surprises ahead.
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The difference, in units of measurement, between mean (average) high tide and mean low tide. This can be found in a number of places from tide and current tables to the chart itself. Pay particular attention to the unit of measurement; as in: Since we have a large tidal range we will need correspondingly long dock lines to compensate.
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The combined action of the sun and moon on large bodies of water causing them to raise and lower; as in: When the tide is high many ships will leave the port.
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An appendage increasing leverage on the rudder to steer the boat; as in: You must push the tiller the opposite way you want the bow to move.
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A metal fitting that allows sideways movement in standing rigging without losing tension; as in: The modern toggle usually never needs servicing.
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A line that runs from the end of the boom to hold it up when the sail is not set; as in: If the boom is too low after we furl the main we’ll need to raise the topping lift.
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The outer, upper sides of the hull; as in: Painting the topsides will make them bright and shinning.
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A boat that is easily towed on a trailer; as in: A trailerable boat usually has no fixed keel.
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When two objects line up, also called a transit, that may indicate a channel; as in: We will know to turn into the channel when the transit range markers line up.
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The athwartships surface located at the very stern; as in: The outboard engine mounts on the dinghy’s transom.
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An athwartships track upon which is mounted a block for the mainsheet thus allowing side to side adjustment; as in: Dropping the traveler to leeward is one way to reduce weather helm.
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- To pull in or tension a line; as in: Trim the jib sheet to reduce the luffing.
The setting of a sail; as in: Adjust the sheets to get proper trim in the sails.
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A boat with three hulls; as in: The outer hulls on a trimaran are called amas.
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A type of knot used like a block and tackle to increase the amount of tension in a line; as in: When we lash the dinghy on deck we’ll use a trucker’s hitch to make it more secure.
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Relating to the true north and south poles rather than the magnetic poles; as in: Did you know that variation is the difference in degrees between true north and magnetic north?
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The wind speed and direction the boat would feel if it were at rest; as in: When we head up from a beam reach to a close reach the apparent wind increases while the true wind remains the same.
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To adjust the standing rigging; as in: We had the rigger come down to tune our boat.
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A fitting used in standing rigging to adjust its tension; as in: The rigger tuned our mast by adjusting the tension at the turnbuckle.
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The distance, from a straight line, the leech of a sail falls off to leeward; as in: We adjust the twist in the mainsail with the mainsheet.
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Also, lying ahull. No sails set; as in: Under bare poles is a storm tactic.
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With the engine on and engaged whether or not sails are set; as in: If we are under power then we are considered a power boat by the rules of the road.
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Moving through the water; as in: Let’s cast off the lines and get underway.
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Towards the direction from which the wind is blowing; as in: Our destination lies upwind of us.
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United States Coast Guard; as in: The USCG provides a wide variety of resources for mariners.
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the most forward cabin in a monohull, so called because the bow forms a V.
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apparatus for boom adjustment; as in: Tighten the vang on a run to keep the boom from rising.
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The difference in degrees between magnetic and true; as in: Variation is caused by the magnetic north pole being out of alignment with the true north pole.
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The wind shifting clockwise; as in: The wind will often veer with the passage of a cold front.
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Any boat or ship: as in: A sea-going vessel may come in all shapes and sizes.
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Very high frequency radio used onboard to call other boats and stations; as in: Call the marina on VHF channel 16 then switch to a working channel.
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A passage of some duration; as in: Our voyage from Florida to the Virgin Islands lasted several days.
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The wave(s) caused by the motion of the boat through water; as in: Each boat is responsible for any damage its wake might cause.
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A plastic or wooden slat used to board up a companionway; as in: Drop the washboard in when we leave the boat to close her up.
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Those crew on deck and responsible for the safe operation of the boat; as in: When you are part of the night watch be sure to carry a flashlight with you.
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Where the water’s surface meets the hull; as in: We painted our waterline blue to provide more eye appeal.
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Motion through the water; as in: We must reduce our way before coming into the dock.
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- Conditions in the atmosphere; as in: Looks like we’ll get some weather today.
Upwind; as in: As we make our way to weather conditions may improve.
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The tendency of a boat to turn into the wind, to head up; as in: There are many ways to reduce weather helm.
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A circular device, often with spokes, used to steer the boat; as in: Grab the wheel while I go below to make lunch.
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A mechanical device to increase the tension in a line consisting of a geared drum and handle; as in: A winch is essential for providing enough tension in sheets and halyards on most boats.
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Surface exposed to the wind providing resistance; as in: The crow’s nest on that boat creates weight aloft and windage.
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Winch for the anchor rode; as in: Many modern boats have an electric windlass with a remote control.
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Towards the wind, upwind; as in: If our destination is to windward we may have to tack to get there.
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The boat that is further upwind; as in: When two boats are on the same tack the windward boat shall keep out of the way of the leeward boat.
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The deck on a trimaran that joins the ama to the hull; as in: The wing deck may often be a wet place.
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A pleasure boat over 33 feet in length; as in: She seems to be a well-found yacht.
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A club organized for the enjoyment of sailing; as in: The local yacht club features many races and get-togethers throughout the summer.
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A boat with two masts the second of which is shorter and stepped aft of the rudder post; as in: The yawl was popular before the 1960’s.
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Please make a PR if you want to add/edit a sailing vocabulary term! All PRs are very welcome.