Trim

The way a vessel sits upon the water in relation to her water-line. A vessel is trimmed by the head when her water-line is nearer to, or more submerged forward than it is aft, and trimmed by the stern when the reverse of the above exists. A vessel is in ballast-trim when she has no cargo and only ballast on board. To trim the sails is to handle the braces of a square-sail and the sheet of a boom-sail so as to obtain the best results from the wind.