A

Signifying Able Seaman.

Ante Meridian; before meridian; the hours from midnight to noon.

An altitude of the sun measured before noon.

The highest that a vessel is classed in reference to her construction. (See Class).

When the wind presses the surface of the sails against the mast with a tendency to drive the…

In the direction of the stern.

The bearing of any object contained between the ship's beam and the stern of the vessel.

The bearing of any object at right angles to the keel.

Owing to the motion of the earth, combined with the motion of light, there is an apparent…

On board; upon the vessel; within the vessel.

To go about is to tack ship; to go off on the opposite tack.

(See Ready About.)

When the north star is so situated as to be intercepted between the observer and the pole, it…

When the head-yards are braced aback and the after-sails are full. To brace abox is to lay the…

Side by side.

The small, square, blue flag hoisted at the starboard-spreader on a yacht to signify that the…

An abridgement of the contents of the log book.

(See Naval Academy.)

The increase of velocity in a moving body. Acceleration of Sidereal on Mean Solar Time. The…

(See Gangway Ladder.)

When the yards are topped up at an angle with the deck. Said of an anchor when it hangs up and…

The origin of the figure-head, being a symbolical ornament on the prows of ancient vessels.

An engagement between two or more vessels. Clear Ship for Action. To make preparation for…

To regulate a compass with magnets, or to regulate the mirrors of a sextant, etc., for use, is…

The highest ranking officer in the navy.

Broken away from moorings.

A dispatch vessel, first used in the year 1692.

Bodies revolving about the sun like the planets, and which the earth encounters in the way of…

Resting on, or buoyed up by the water.

Borne up by, or floating in, the water.

Forward.

In the direction of the stern.

A tower erected aft on the upper deck. (See forecastle.) After peak. (See Run.)

The aftermost plank in a streak.

The overhang of the stern.

The sails on the masts abaft the foremast.

The yards on the masts abaft the foremast.

That part of a ship's body abaft the midships or dead-flat. This term is more particularly…

All those timbers abaft the midships or dead-flat.

A rope laid up from left to right is said to be laid up against the sun. when the wind shifts…

The elapsed time since the last conjunction.

On the bottom.

Before the vessel. When we say that the wind is ahead we mean that it is from the direction…

The term used in hailing a vessel.

Said of a vessel when she lies with all her sails furled, and the helm lashed to leeward, or…

An officer of the rank of lieutenant, attached to the admiral's staff. This officer is also…

The thin sheet-metal lining of the hole in the deck through which the smoke-pipe passes.

A closed vessel communicating with the discharge side of a pump. Air is confined in it above…

A pipe leading air from the blower to the ash pit.

A cavity framed between the sides of some timbers to admit fresh air into the ship and convey…

An instrument attached to an air duct to register the pressure therein.

That pump which removes air and water of condensation from the condenser.

A valve to admit air to the circulating pump to act as a cushion to lessen or soften the shock…

A large, web-footed aquatic bird, belonging to the gull family, and peculiar to the southern…

When the helm is put over to leeward it is said to be a-lee.

An instrument for taking bearings, composed of two revolving arms around a circular brass…

The call by which all the ship's company are summoned. The crew collectively.

All the sails shaking from being too close to the wind.

When all the sails are pressed against the masts.

An African war canoe.

The nautical almanac is a calendar of the days and months of the year in which is tabulated…

Above the vessel's deck.

Along the coast.

Side by side.

At a distance.

A step of a dry dock.

An instrument so constructed as to permit the observer to look over intervening objects, and…

The angular value of a heavenly body above the horizon as measured on a reflecting quadrant,…

An instrument is said to "move in altitude" when it turns on a horizontal axis.

The annual report of the British Aluminum Association, recently printed in the London Times,…

At once; suddenly.

An incorporated American society for the survey and classification of American and foreign…

A term applied to any place on or below decks that is in the centre of the vessel, whether in…

In midships, or in the middle of the ship, either with regard to her length or breadth. Hence…

Explosives and projectiles designed to be fired from ordnance. (See Powder; Explosive;…

The bearing (never in excess of 90 deg.) of a heavenly body at rising or setting, calculated…

Tables found in works on navigation giving the true bearing of heavenly bodies at rising and…

The iron shape used to drop overboard, and, being connected with the vessel by a cable of iron…

The report made by the mate from the forecastle when the anchor leaves the bottom in getting…

The globular lantern light hoisted after sundown by all vessels when at anchor.

A watch kept at night when the vessel is at anchor to guard the ship against dragging, fire,…

The short pieces of plank, or of board, fastened to the sides of the ship or to stanchions…

It is impossible to state with any degree of accuracy the time or the portion of the globe in…

An instrument for measuring the velocity of the wind.

Said of a mast when it is perpendicular to the deck.

The position of any mast, etc., when erected perpendicularly on the deck. The topmasts are…

An instrument for registering the variation of atmospheric pressure. In construction it is an…

The angle made with the line of direction by an impinging body at the point of impact; as that…

The angle reckoned in degrees, which marks the safety limit in a vessel's rolling. Should she…

The angle reckoned in degrees which marks the limit in a vessel's rolling. Should she roll…

The divergence of two line starting from the same point.

Measured by an angle, as the angular distance of a star from the moon.

A western river name for the pilot house.

The variation of the compass constantly fluctuates, and the aggregate change for a…

When the apparent diameter of the moon is less than that of the sun, so that a ring of light…

An electric tell-tale or recorder. When an electric button is pressed in any part of the…

The period of the moon's revolution round the earth with reference to the line of apsides.

The time between two successive passages of the earth through its aphelion or perihelion…

The regions near the South Pole of the earth.

That parallel distant 23 deg. 28 min. from the South Pole.

The South Pole of the earth.

A composition metal frequently used for lining journal boxes to reduce friction.

Also known as return trades. Counter currents in the upper regions of the atmosphere, flowing…

When the cable is hove in so as to bring the vessel's head over, or nearly over, her anchor,…

That point in the planet's orbit which is furthest from the sun.

That point of the moon's orbit which is at the greatest distance from the earth--opposed to…

The instant of time at which the sun appears on the meridian of a place.

That shown by the sun, estimating the apparent noon to commence at the passage of his centre…

(See Bluff Bowed.)

Young men shipped both on board naval and merchant vessels for a specified length of time to…

(See Naval Apprentice.)

The timber bolted behind the stem.

A kind of false or inner stem, fayed on the aftside of the stem, from the head down to the…

A wall sided boat with a flat floor, used on the Rhine.

A part of a circle.

An elliptical moulding sprung over the cove at the lower part of the taffrail.

The regions near the North Pole of the earth.

That parallel distant 23 deg. 28 min. from the North Pole.

(See Polar Explorations.)

A vessel is said to be ardent when she has a tendency to come up into the wind, requiring the…

The name of the vessel that carried Jason and his company on their journey to Colchis in…

A ship of the Levant of large size.

The vessel built by Noah. According to the Bible it was 300 cubits long, 50 cubits broad and…

The elbow on the lower part of the anchor, which crosses the shank, and to the ends of which…

A squadron of guarda-costas formerly used on the coasts of South America to prevent smuggling.

A Spanish privateer.

The forward part, or entrance, of the ship strengthened with armor, for the purpose of ramming.

A filling of tallow or soap in the cavity in the lower end of a heaving lead, placed there for…

A metal protection against artillery projectiles. Belted Armor. A plating completely…

A man-o'-war protected with heavy plates of iron and steel, especially surrounding the guns.

A petty officer who keeps the small arms in condition.

(See Projectile.)

A room set apart for the storage of small arms.

A vessel is said to arrive when she is at a point where she can communicate officially with…

A trough of quicksilver having a roof of glass, and used for measuring altitudes on shore of…

An arc of the equinoctial intercepted between the horizon and the hour circle of the object at…

A tube at the side of a vessel through which to deliver ashes over-board.

Mechanism for lifting ashes out of the fire-room.

A receptacle placed in the bottom of the ash pit in which to collect ashes.

The space in a furnace below the grate bars.

On the shore; aground.

To put together the various parts of a mechanism; to bring or call men together.

The bugle call or drum-beat for the crew to assemble.

Toward the after part of the vessel.

A small planet--Ceres, Pallas, Juno, Vesta, and others.

A pendulum timepiece of great accuracy regulated to sidereal time. (See Clock.)

This begins at noon of the civil day, and the hours are numbered from one to twenty-four--the…

The civil day begins twelve hours before the astronomical day, and the rule for transforming…

The science which treats of the heavenly bodies.

The situation of the vessel when riding at anchor.

Same as Taunt-see latter.

From side to side; opposed to fore-and-aft. Athwart hawse. Across a vessel's cable; across a…

(See Athwart.)

A book of maps or charts.

That line on an indicator diagram traced by the pencil point when the indicator piston is…

When the anchor is raised clear of the ground. (See Aweigh.)

When an officer serves on board a vessel he is said to be attached to her.

Increase. Augmentation of the moon is the apparent increase of the moon's diameter.

The Southern lights. A luminous phenomenon attributed to electrical origin.

The Northern lights.

(See Torpedo.) Aye! Aye! (See Hail.)

The period when the sun crosses the equator on its way into southern declinations.

Small engines, pumps and boilers that may operate independently of the main plant.

A full-powered sail vessel that carries a low power engine, which is used during calms, in a…

The order to cease.

An order to the crew to cease revolving the windlass or capstan.

(See General Average.)

Level with the water. Rocks, shoals, etc., are said to be awash when they cover and uncover to…

When the helm is put toward the windward side of the ship; anything to windward.

(See A-trip.)

A canopy over a vessel's deck to shield the same from sun and rain.

Iron or wooden uprights shipped in sockets in the sides of a vessel; in the upper end a ridge…

An imaginary line passing through the centre of a body, and on which it is considered to…

Also known as line of collimation. The axial line of a telescope; also an imaginary line…

A reply made by seamen in answer to an officer's call.

The bearing (never in excess of 180 deg.) of a heavenly body calculated in degrees from the…

A handy little instrument composed of two upright sight arms, for centering in a "boss" in the…

A great circle passing through the zenith and nadir; a vertical circle.

A compass provided with revolving sight arms, and specially adapted for taking bearings. (See…

A diagram designed by one Godfray, which gives, without calculation, the true azimuth; the…

An instrument is said to "move in azimuth" when it turns on a vertical axis.

Published tables giving the true bearing of the sun, calculated for various declinations,…