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Word
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Definition
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| abaft
| toward or at the stern of a ship; further aft
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| affreightment
| hiring of a vessel
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| afterdeck
| deck behind a ship's bridge
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| afterguard
| men who work the aft sails on the quarterdeck and poop deck
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| ahull
| with sails furled and helm lashed to the lee-side
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| amidships
| midway between the bow and stern of a ship
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| astern
| at the stern of a ship
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| backstay
| stay extending from ship's mastheads to the side of the ship
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| ballaster
| one who supplies ships with ballast
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| bargemaster
| owner of a barge
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| bee
| hardwood on either side of bowsprit through which forestays are reeved
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| belay
| to secure a rope by winding on a pin or cleat
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| bilge
| lower point of inner hull of a ship
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| binnacle
| case in which a ship's compass is kept
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| bitts
| posts mounted on a ship for fastening ropes
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| bluepeter
| blue flag with white square in centre used as ship's signal
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| boatswain
| ship's crewmember in charge of equipment and maintenance
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| bobstay
| rope used on ships to steady the bowsprit
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| bollard
| short post on a wharf or ship to which ropes are tied
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| boltrope
| strong rope stitched to edges of a sail
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| bosun
| boatswain
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| bottomry
| using the ship as collateral to finance a sea voyage
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| bow
| front of a ship
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| bower
| anchor carried at bow of a ship
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| bowline
| rope used to keep weather edge of a sail taut
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| bowsprit
| spar that extends at bows of a ship
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| brails
| ropes on edge of sail for hauling up
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| bream
| to clean a ship's bottom by burning off seaweed
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| bulwark
| the side of a ship above the deck
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| bumpkin
| spar projecting from stern of ship
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| bunt
| middle of sail, fish-net or cloth when slack
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| buntline
| rope attached to middle of square sail to haul it up to the yard
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| burgee
| small ship's flag used for identification or signalling
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| cable
| heavy rope or chain for mooring a ship
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| cabotage
| shipping and sailing between points in the same country
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| camber
| slight arch or convexity to a beam or deck of a ship
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| capstan
| upright device for winding in heavy ropes or cables
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| careen
| to turn a ship on its side in order to clean or repair it
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| cathead
| projection near the bow of a ship to which anchor is secured
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| chine
| the intersection of the middle and sides of a boat
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| chock
| metal casting with curved arms for passing ropes for mooring ship
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| clew
| corner of sail with hole to attach ropes
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| coaming
| raised edge around ship's hatches to keep water out
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| cocket
| official shipping seal; customs clearance form
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| cofferdam
| narrow vacant space between two bulkheads of a ship
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| cog
| single-masted, square-sailed ship with raised stern
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| companionway
| stairs from upper deck of ship to lower deck
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| cordage
| ropes in the rigging of a ship
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| cringle
| loop at corner of sail to which a line is attached
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| crosstrees
| horizontal crosspieces at a masthead used to support ship's mast
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| davit
| device for hoisting and lowering a boat
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| deadeye
| rounded wooden block with hole used to set up ship's stays
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| deadwood
| timbers built into ends of ship when too narrow to permit framing
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| demurrage
| delay of vessel's departure or loading with cargo
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| dodger
| shield against rain or spray on a ship's bridge
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| dogwatch
| a short, evening period of watch duty on a ship
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| downhaul
| rope for holding down or hauling down a sail or spar
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| dromond
| large single-sailed ship powered by rowers
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| dyogram
| ship's chart indicating compass deflection due to ship's iron
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| earing
| line for fastening corner of a sail to the gaff or yard
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| ensign
| large naval flag
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| escutcheon
| part of ship's stern where name is displayed
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| fairlead
| ring through which rope is led to change its direction without friction
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| fardage
| wood placed in bottom of ship to keep cargo dry
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| fiddley
| iron framework around hatchway opening
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| figurehead
| ornament or (usually female) bust attached to the bow of a ship
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| flagstaff
| flag pole at stern of a ship
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| fluke
| part of an anchor that fastens in the ground
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| forebitt
| post for fastening cables at a ship's foremast
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| forecabin
| cabin in fore part of ship
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| forecastle
| short raised deck at fore end of ship; fore of ship under main deck
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| forefoot
| foremost end of ship's keel
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| foremast
| mast nearest the bow of a ship
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| foresail
| lowest sail set on the foremast of square-rigged ship
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| forestay
| stay leading from the foremast to the bow of a ship
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| frap
| to draw a sail tight with ropes or cables
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| freeboard
| distance between waterline and main deck of a ship
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| futtock
| rib of a ship
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| gaff
| spar on which head of fore-and-aft sail is extended
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| gaff-topsail
| triangular topsail with its foot extended upon the gaff
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| gangway
| either of the sides of the upper deck of a ship
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| garboard
| plank on a ship’s bottom next to the keel
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| genoa
| large jib that overlaps the mainsail
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| grapnel
| small anchor used for dragging or grappling
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| groundage
| a charge on a ship in port
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| gudgeon
| metal socket into which the pintle of a boat's rudder fits
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| gunnage
| number of guns carried on a warship
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| gunwale
| upper edge of the side of a ship
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| gybe
| to swing a sail from one side to another
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| halyard
| rope or tackle for hoisting and lowering sails
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| hank
| series of rings or clips for attaching a jib or staysail to a stay
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| hawse
| distance between ship's bow and its anchor
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| hawsehole
| hole for ship's cable
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| hawser
| large rope for mooring or towing a ship
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| headsail
| sail set forward of the foremast of a ship
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| helm
| ship's steering wheel
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| holystone
| sandstone material used to scrape ships' decks
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| inboard
| inside the line of a ship's bulwarks or hull
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| jack
| ship's flag flown from jack-staff at bow of vessel
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| jack-block
| pulley system for raising topgallant masts
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| jack-cross-tree
| single iron cross-tree at head of a topgallant mast
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| jackstaff
| short staff at ship's bow from which the jack is hoisted
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| jackstay
| iron or wooden bar running along yard of ship to which sails fastened
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| jackyard
| spar used to spread the foot of a gaff-topsail
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| jib
| small triangular sail extending from the head of the foremast
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| jibboom
| spar forming an extension of the bowsprit
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| jibe
| to change a ship's course to make the boom shift sides
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| jurymast
| mast erected on ship in place of one lost
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| kedge
| small anchor to keep a ship steady
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| keelhaul
| to punish by dragging under keel of ship
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| keelson
| lengthwise wooden or steel beam in ship for bearing stress
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| kentledge
| pig-iron used as ballast in ship's hold
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| lagan
| cargo jettisoned from ship but marked by buoys for recovery
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| lanyard
| rope or line for fastening something in a ship
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| larboard
| left side of a ship
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| lastage
| room for stowing goods in a ship
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| lateen
| triangular sail rigged on ship's spar
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| laveer
| to sail against the wind
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| lazaret
| space in ship between decks used for storage
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| leeboard
| wood or metal planes attached to hull to prevent leeway
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| leech
| a vertical edge of a square sail
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| loxodograph
| device used to record ship's travels
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| luff
| windward side of a ship; forward edge of fore-and-aft sail
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| lugsail
| four-sided sail bent to an obliquely hanging yard
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| lutchet
| fitting on ship's deck to allow mast to pivot to pass under bridges
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| mainmast
| sailing ship's principal mast
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| mainsail
| principal sail on a ship's mainmast
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| mainsheet
| rope by which mainsail is trimmed and secured
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| mainstay
| stay that extends from the main-top to the foot of the foremast
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| manrope
| rope used as a handrail on a ship
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| martingale
| lower stay of rope used to sustain strain of the forestays
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| mizzen
| three-masted vessel; aft sail of such a vessel
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| mizzenmast
| mast aft or next aft of the mainmast in a ship
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| moonraker
| topmost sail of a ship, above the skyscraper
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| oakum
| old ropes untwisted for caulking the seams of ships
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| orlop
| lowest deck in a ship having four or more decks
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| outhaul
| rope used to haul a sail taut along a spar
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| outrigger
| spar extended from side of ship to help secure mast
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| painter
| rope attached to bow of a boat to attach it to a ship or a post
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| pallograph
| instrument measuring ship's vibration
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| parrel
| band by which a yard is fastened to a mast
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| patroon
| captain of a ship; coxswain of a longboat
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| poop
| enclosed structure at stern of ship above main deck
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| port
| when facing forward, the left side of a ship
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| primage
| fee paid to loaders for loading ship
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| purser
| ship's officer in charge of finances and passengers
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| quarterdeck
| part of ship's deck set aside by captain for ceremonial functions
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| quartering
| sailing nearly before the wind
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| rake
| the inclination of a mast or another part of a ship
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| ratline
| small rope forming a rung of a rope ladder on a ship
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| reef
| to reduce area of a sail by rolling or folding part of it
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| reeve
| to pass a rope through a ring
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| roach
| curved cut in edge of sail for preventing chafing
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| roband
| piece of yarn used to fasten a sail to a spar
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| rostrum
| spike on prow of warship for ramming
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| rowlock
| contrivance serving as a fulcrum for an oar
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| royal
| small sail on royal mast just above topgallant sail
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| scud
| to sail swiftly before a gale
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| scupper
| hole allowing water to drain from ship’s deck
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| scuttlebutt
| cask of drinking water aboard a ship; rumour, idle gossip
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| scuttles
| portholes on a ship
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| sheer
| fore-and-aft curvature of a ship from bow to stern
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| shrouds
| ropes supporting the mast of a ship
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| sidelight
| coloured lights on side of a ship under way at night
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| skeg
| part of ship connecting the keel with the bottom of the rudderpost
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| skysail
| sail above the royal sail
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| skyscraper
| triangular sail on a ship above the royal
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| slipway
| ramp sloping into water for supporting a ship
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| snotty
| naval midshipman
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| spanker
| sail on the mast nearest the stern of a square-rigged ship
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| spar
| any ship's mast, boom, yard, or gaff
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| spinnaker
| large triangular sail opposite the mainsail
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| spirketting
| inside planking between ports and waterways of a ship
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| sponson
| platform jutting from ship’s deck for gun or wheel
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| sprit
| spar crossing a fore-and-aft sail diagonally
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| spritsail
| sail extended by a sprit
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| starboard
| when facing forward, the right side of a ship
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| starbolins
| sailors of the starboard watch
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| stay
| large rope used to support a mast
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| staysail
| fore-and-aft sail hoisted on a stay
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| steeve
| to set a ship's bowsprit at an upward inclination
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| stemson
| supporting timber of a ship
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| stern
| back part of a ship
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| sternpost
| main member at stern of a ship extending from keel to deck
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| sternway
| movement of a ship backwards
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| stevedore
| dock worker who loads and unloads ships
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| stokehold
| ship’s furnace chamber
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| strake
| continuous band of plates on side of a ship
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| stunsail
| light auxiliary sail to the side of principal sails
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| supercargo
| ship's official in charge of business affairs
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| taffrail
| rail round the stern of a ship
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| thole
| pin in the side of a boat to keep oar in place
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| tiller
| handle or lever for turning a ship's rudder
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| timberhead
| top end of ship's timber used above the gunwale
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| timenoguy
| rope stretched from place to place in a ship
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| topgallant
| mast or sail above the topmast and below the royal mast
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| topmast
| ship's mast above the lower mast
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| topsail
| ship's sail above the lowermost sail
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| tranship
| to transfer from one ship to another
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| transire
| ship's customs warrant for clearing goods
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| transom
| transverse timbers attached to ship's sternpost
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| treenail
| long wooden pin used to fix planks of ship to the timbers
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| trice
| to haul in and lash secure a sail with a small rope
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| trunnel
| wooden shipbuilding peg used for fastening timbers
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| trysail
| ship's sail bent to a gaff and hoisted on a lower mast
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| tuck
| part of ship where ends of lower planks meet under the stern
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| turtleback
| structure over ship’s bows or stern
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| unreeve
| to withdraw a rope from an opening
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| walty
| inclined to tip over or lean
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| wardroom
| quarters for ship's officers
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| washboard
| broad thin plank along ship's gunwale to keep out sea water
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| watching
| fully afloat
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| waveson
| goods floating on the sea after a shipwreck
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| wear
| to turn a ship's stern to windward to alter its course
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| weatherboard
| weather side of a ship
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| weatherly
| able to sail close to the wind with little leeway
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| wheelhouse
| shelter where ship’s steering wheel kept
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| whipstaff
| vertical lever controlling ship’s rudder
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| windbound
| hindered from sailing by contrary winds
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| windlass
| winch used to raise a ship's anchor
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| xebec
| small three-masted pirate ship
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| yard
| tapering spar attached to ship's mast to spread the head of a square sail
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| yardarm
| either end of the yard of a square-rigged ship
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| yawl
| ship’s small boat; sailboat carrying mainsail and one or more jibs
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| zabra
| small Spanish sailing vessel
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