Nautical Terms Defined

Nautical Terms

Ahoy
The first in a series of four letter words commonly exchanged by skippers as their boats approach one another.

Bar
Long, low-lying navigational hazard, usually awash, found at river mouths and harbor entrances, where it is composed of sand or mud, and ashore, where it is made of mahogany or some other dark wood. Sailors can be found in large numbers around both.

Boom
A laterally mounted spar to which a sail is fastened, used during jibing to shift crewmembers to a fixed, horizontal position.

Bulkhead
Discomfort suffered by sailors who drink too much.

Cabin
A cramped, closet-like compartment below decks where crewmembers may be stored – on their sides if large or on end if small – until needed.

Calm
Sea condition characterized by the simultaneous disappearance of the wind and the last cold beer.

Channel
Narrow stretch of deep or dredged waterway, bordered by buoys or markers, that separates two or more grounded boats.

Current
A tidal flow that carries a boat away from its desired destination or toward a hazard.

Fitting Out
Series of maintenance tasks performed on boats ashore during good weather weekends in spring and summer months to make them ready for winter storage.

Flipper
Rubber swimming aid worn on the feet. Usually available in two sizes, 3 and 17.

Flotsam
Anything floating in the water from which there is no response when offered a cocktail.

Fluke
The portion of an anchor that digs securely into the bottom. Also, any occasion when this happens on the first try.

Galley
Ancient: Aspect of seafaring associated with slavery.
Modern: Aspect of seafaring associated with slavery.

Gear
Generic term for any pieces of boating equipment that can be forgotten in the back-seat or trunk of a car, left behind on a dock, soaked in the bottom of a dinghy or lost over the side of the boat.

Gimbals
Movable mountings often found on shipboard lamps, compasses, etc., which provide dieting passengers an opportunity to observe the true motions of the ship in relation to them, and thus prevent any recently ingested food from remaining in their digestive systems long enough to be converted into unwanted calories.

Grounding
Embarrassing situation in which a sailor returns to shore without leaving his boat.

Hatch
An opening in a deck leading to the cabin below, with a cover designed to let water in while keeping fresh air out.

Hull speed
The maximum theoretical velocity of a given boat through the water; calculated as 1.5 times the square root of its waterline length in feet, divided by the distance to port in miles, minus the time in hours till sunset, cubed.

Jibe
Course change which causes the boom to sweep rapidly across the cockpit; also, frequent type of comment made by observers of this maneuver.

Lanyard
A light line attached to a small article so that it can be secured somewhere well out of reach.

Leeward
The direction in which objects, liquids and other matter may be thrown without risk of re-encountering them in the immediate future.

Life jacket
Any personal floatation device that will keep an individual who has fallen off a vessel above water long enough to be run over by it or another rescue craft.

Mizzen
The shorter aft mast on a yawl or ketch. Any mast that is no longer there.

Moon
Earth’s natural satellite. During periods when it displays a vivid blue color, sailing conditions are generally favorable.

Motor-sailer
A hybrid boat that combines the simplicity and reliability of sail power with the calm and serenity of a throbbing engine.

Ocean racing
Demanding form of sailing practiced by sportsmen whose idea of a good time is standing under an ice cold shower, fully clothed, while re-examining their last meal.

Passage
Basically, a voyage from point A to point B, interrupted by unexpected landfalls or stopovers at point K, point Q, and point Z.

Pilotage
The art of getting lost in sight of land, as opposed to the distinct and more complex science of navigation, used to get lost in offshore waters.

Port
1. Left on a boat.
2. A place you wish you never left on a boat.

Propeller
Underwater winch designed to wind up, at high speeds, any lines left hanging over the stern.

Regatta
Organized sailing competition that pits yours against your opponents’ luck.

Sailing
The fine art of getting wet and becoming ill, while slowly going nowhere at great expense.

Satellite Navigation
Sophisticated electronic location method that enables sailors to instantly determine the exact latitude and longitude, within just a few feet, anywhere on the surface of the earth, of whatever it is they just ran aground on.

Single-handed sailing
The only situation in which the skipper does not immediately blame the crew for every single thing that goes wrong.

Spinnaker
Large colorful balloon-shaped sail, used in powerful downwind sailing. Collapses at the sides to make control difficult and when lowered, stores neatly into the galley and main cabin and heads, all at the same time.

Tides
The rise and fall of ocean waters. There are two tides of interest to mariners: the ebb tide sailors encounter as they attempt to enter port, and the flood tide they experience as they try to leave.

Yardarm
Horizontal spar mounted in such a way that when viewed from the cockpit, the sun is always over it.

Nautical Terms

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