S

A flat circle of wood secured to a spherical exploding projectile, fitted with a fuze, in…

A Greek trading vessel.

The supports on which a boiler rests.

Pieces of wood, sometimes called saddle crutches, bolted on to the sides of the masts near the…

(See Angle of Safety.)

An apparatus attached to a steam boiler or pipe for relieving it automatically of any pressure…

To settle. A vessel sags to leeward when she drifts off sideways under the influence of the…

Said of a vessel when she droops amidships, so that the line of her shear settles at that…

A ketch of the Levant.

A covering of canvas placed over sails when they are furled so as to add to their neatness,…

(See Mast Hoop.)

The side elevation of a vessel showing the sails as they will appear when they are bent and…

(See Out-Point.)

When a vessel is so trimmed as to do her best sailing--as a rule referring to the amount and…

Under head are classed rhumb, great circle, plane and spherical sailings.

A warrant officer who has charge of the sails, awnings, wind-sails, and, in fact, exercises…

A petty officer of the second class who works under the direction of the sailmaker, and who…

The canvas suspended from yards, spread by gaffs and booms, and hoisted upon stays. The first…

A percentage of the value of a ship and cargo awarded under certain circumstances to one or…

A splice made by sailmakers in uniting two ropes of different sizes.

A small vessel connected with the interior of a steam boiler into which a sample of the hot…

A sudden rush in a body from one part of the vessel to another; to issue suddenly.

In reference to fire-ships, the place of escape for the train-firers.

(See Deck.)

A sailor.

A deck-case for temporarily containing a number of charges for the guns.

A sailor's term for the salt beef issued to the crew.

Soap made from cocoa-nut oil and which makes a good lather when used with salt water.

The President or an ex-President of the United States visiting a vessel of the navy, or a navy…

A simultaneous discharge of a number of pieces of ordnance.

A Turkish coasting vessel.

An Arab pinnace.

A small Chinese boat with a house built over nearly its entire length.

A coarse kind of shot once used, which derived its name from being cast in sand molds.

A long, narrow open boat with two masts seen on the coast of Barbary.

In the engine-room it means a decomposition of a lubricant into a lather like substance.

Sargasso in Spanish means sea-weed, and the sea-weed seas are found in both the Atlantic and…

A secondary planet; the moon of a planet.

Steam whose latent heat is sufficient to maintain it in a gaseous state. When saturated steam…

A term referring to the proportionate amount of saline matter held dissolved in the water in a…

(See Water Sail.)

(See Part V.)

A warning cry employed on board ship to signify that the enemy is using scalding water from…

Mineral matter from the water in a boiler which has settled on and adhered to the heating…

A Neapolitan galley.

To haul up the tack or to drop the peak of a fore-and-aft sail. To goose-wing a square sail by…

When the wind hauls so that the vessel is obliged to brace up to head her course the wind is…

The dimensions given for the timbers, planks, etc. Likewise all quartering under five inches…

The letting of one piece of timber or plank into another with a lap, in such a manner that…

(See Part V.)

A petty officer of the first class who is under the direct orders of the navigating officer,…

A vessel set apart for the education of boys and young men in all that pertains to practical…

A rore-and-aft schooner has no yards, all her sails being spread by booms and gaffs and by…

A Dutch galiot. (See Dutch Galiot.)

A small boat with three lateen sails found in the Levant.

Food. To scoff is to eat.

The groove cut in the sides of blocks for the strop to fit in.

An illegal prize--one that must be surrendered.

A piece of wood or hide placed over the turnings in of rigging to prevent chafe.

A tub-shaped vessel used in shallow waters for the transportation of merchandise, etc. Some…

A small iron instrument used for scraping masts and other wood and iron work.

The thread into which the breech-plug screws when the breech is closed.

(See Dock.)

A submerged propelling wheel. It is virtually a section of a screw of two or more threads or…

A piece of timber bolted to the knee of the head, and which takes the place of a figure-head.…

Clouds of mist driving along close to the water. To drive before a gale.

To scull a boat is to propel her through the water by working an oar from side to side over…

The narrow lengths of board covering the scupper holes which hang on hinges, opening outwards…

Holes cut through the bulwarks next to the plankshear to allow water to run overboard from the…

Lead pipes let through the ship's side to convey the water from the decks.

A small hole in a vessel's deck, used as a hatchway. To scuttle a ship is to chop or bore…

A cask with a hole cut in its bilge, and kept on deck to hold water for daily use.

A wave. Under this head are classed: smooth sea, moderate sea, heavy sea, head sea, long sea,…

A drag is also known as a sea anchor. (See Drag.)

A vessel that rides the seas easily, and is capable of weathering storms, is said to be a good…

(See Land Breeze.)

A wind blowing from the sea, toward the land.

A kind of faucet connected to a pipe which leads from the outside of the vessel to the bath…

Until a few years ago navigators followed the absurd practice of commencing their date at one…

A name given to an old sailor.

(See Shore Duty.)

The circle at sea which bounds the observer's view; the blending of the waters with the sky.

A worthless sort of seaman, commonly given to inciting the crew and making them dissatisfied…

The log-book kept at sea, in contradistinction to the harbor-log, which is kept in port.

A dish of fish and vegetables in layers between crusts. A small mess (i.e., few men) will have…

(See Quelling Oil.)

(See Rate.)

A valve in the bottom of the vessel with which pipes are connected leading to the pumps.

A rating next higher than that of ordinary seaman. A seaman is a first-class sailor, able to…

A naval apprentice who has been rated as a seaman before his term of apprenticeship is closed.

A seaman who is skillful in gunnery and torpedo duties, and receives a little additional pay…

A sailor who goes on long voyages; one who cruises to various parts of the world.

The spaces between the planks of a vessel's decks and sides.

The openings between the edges of the planks when wrought.

A powerful electric reflector light which can be thrown completely around the horizon,…

A more or less powerful arc (electric) lamp placed at the focus of concave reflectors, the…

Timber that has been treated chemically to protect it against rot. Some wooden vessels were…

A term applied to a ship kept standing a certain time after she is completely framed and…

That surface upon which a valve makes its contact.

That part of the floor which fays on the dead-wood; and of a transom which lays against the…

In trigonometry a line drawn from the centre of a circle through one end of an arc, and…

An officer in the marine corps one rank lower than a first lieutenant; a second lieutenant is…

Division of a minute; the sixtieth part of a minute of angular measure.

Division of minute; the sixtieth part of a minute of time.

(See Classification.)

A great circle perpendicular to another great circle-meridians are secondary to the…

A great circle of the sphere which passes through the poles of another.

Meridians other than the first or prime meridians.

A plane which revolves around or attends another-in contradistinction to primary.

There was allowed by law a secretary to the admiral and one to the vice-admiral of the navy,…

(See Dock.)

An astronomical instrument for determining the zenith distance of stars-sometimes referred to…

An order as applied to ordnance, signifying that exercise at the guns is to cease.

Related to old-fashioned guns, being eyebolts in the ship's side near the port for securing…

To seize a rope to another or to any object is to bind it with small stuff.

Seizings are named according to their position and use. There are throat, round, flat and eye…

An apparatus, an adjunct to the box-gauge, so arranged that the rising and falling float…

Rope yarn or spun yarn marled together and used as a strop.

An upright post on which arms are hinged, their elevation or depression from the horizontal…

Deviation caused by the magnetism of the ship and the induced magnetism of vertical iron,…

Half a diameter; the radius of a circle.

Half the diurnal arc-the part between the meridian and the horizon.

An inequality in the tides.

Half the nocturnal arc.

A ship sends when she pitches into the trough of the sea suddenly and with violence.

The power, direction and velocity of the waves.

The act of pitching violently into the hollows or intervals of the waves.

Rope yarns or spun varn braided. There are several kinds of sennit, known as flat, French,…

A plane, tangent to the earth's surface at the placed of the observer, and which extends to…

Same as Sentry.

A marine or blue-jacket placed on guard. Sentries are stationed at the commanding officer's…

A vessel forming part of a steam pipe, in which the water entrained and carried through the…

The act of covering a rope by winding small stuff, such as spun yarn, around it. (See Worming,…

To serve a vent is to close it by placing the thumb over it while sponging, and to clear it…

The covering of a rope that has been served.

A small piece of flat board attached to a handle and used in place of a serving mallet when…

A torpedo used in action. The Whitehead and Howell torpedoes are used in the U. S. Navy.

A mallet having a groove cut lengthwise in its head, and used for serving large rope.

Spun yarn is in general use for serving, but rope yarn, round-line, etc., is sometimes…

A heavenly body is said to set when it dips below the horizon line; the set of a current is…

A sail not confined, but set from the deck like the jib of a cutter, a sprit or club-topsail,…

The direction in which the tide is flowing-not the direction from which it is coming.

To put to sea.

A small finished bolt with a square head and the thread cut up to the head.

To give the helmsman the compass course to steer.

To muster the crew aft at 8 p. m., on the day of leaving port, and divide the ship's company…

To raise her from the keel blocks by wedging.

To tauten the shrouds and stays by the aid of purchases.

A lateen rigged vessel of the Mediterranean. It is distinguished by a long and sharp prow.

The act of making the planks, etc., fay close to the timbers by driving wedges between the…

To lower. To settle a yard on the cap is to lower it so that the parrel rests on the cap.

(See Lay the Land.)

(See Sued.)

A navigating instrument of reflection used for measuring altitudes of heavenly bodies and…

An iron horse-shoe shape which closes across the end with a movable bolt. It either secures…

A sail devised some years ago to take the place of a spinnaker, but which proved anything but…

A portable, slender pin about 6 inches long, so arranged as to stand vertically on the center…

A piece usually circular in cross-section which is used to transmit rotary motion.

The passage-way from the engine aft to the stern bearing through which the shaft passes.

A natural defect in plank or timber when it is full of splits or clefts, and will not bear…

Crevices in a spar, generally referred to as sun-shakes.

A sail is said to be shaking when it flutters from being too close to the wind.

A name applied to a small rowing boat pulled by two men, also to a boat fitted with fore and…

When men are pressed into the merchant or naval service against their will they are said to be…

The main piece of an anchor. (See engraving.)

The rope or chain which confines the fluke of the anchor to the rail.

Also spelled Chanty. A verse of sailor song; singing.

A member of the crew who leads the singing when a yard is being mastheaded, or when some other…

To ascertain the compass point necessary to head in order to reach the desired port or place.

Ascertaining by the employment of the parallel rules ad the chart, or by middle latitude or…

Yards are sharp up when they are braced as near fore-and-aft as possible.

A sharp-built vessel of from 20 to 40 feet long, flat bottom, carrying a centre-board, and…

The upward curve of a vessel's decks.

To remove to a greater distance.

The copper or yellow metal covering on a vessel's bottom.

A thin sort of doubling, or casing, of fir-board or sheet copper, and sometimes of both, over…

The wheel within the shell of a block.

The space between the cheeks of a block.

A method employed for temporarily shortening a rope. (See engraving.)

The position of a vessel when riding to a single anchor. (See Part II.)

The longitudinal curve or hanging of a ship's side in a fore-and-aft direction.

An old vessel employed in taking out or lifting in a vessel's lower masts.

A ship-construction drawing which show the side elevation, rail, planksheer, outlines of stem,…

A bar of metal seized across the shrouds and resting on top of the upper dead-eyes. The sheer…

The line of planking on a vessel's side upon which the plankshear or covering board rests.

The plan of elevation of a ship whereon is described the outborad works, as the wales,…

Two or more spars raised perpendicularly, their upper ends lashed together and supported by…

The strake or strakes wrought in the topside, of which the upper edge is wrought well with the…

A rope employed to spread the clew of square-sails and head-sails. With boom sails sheets are…

The anchor carried in the waist on board men-'o-war. It is the same in weight as the bowers;…

This bend is made by passing the end of one rope through the bight of another, then around…

Bitts near the mast to which the topsail sheets are belayed.

The cable belonging to the sheet anchor; the heaviest anchor on the vessel.

(See Home.)

The spaces in a rowing boat forward and abaft the thwarts, and named respectively fore-sheets…

The case of a block in which the sheave turns. (See Racing Shell.)

(See Projectile.)

A bag made use of for hoisting shell in and out of a vessel, or for transporting same, or bags…

A contrivance for transporting heavy shell.

A contrivance of two brass rings for hoisting shell through hatches.

An iron stanchion shaped like a fish davit. It is shipped near a hatch, has a tackle hooked…

Mechanism in the rear of a breech-loading small arm by which the empty shells are removed.…

(See Charges.)

A compartment in the vessel for storing shell.

The fastening used to secure the sabot to the shell.

A tackle used for hoisting or lowering shell through the hatch.

An old sailor.

A member of the gun's crew who provides shell for the gun.

To change the position or direction of anything, as to shift the helm, shift the berth, shift…

To reverse its direction.

Packstays used only as necessity requires. They are always shifted when a vessel goes about so…

Portable wooden bulkheads used to separate cargo.

A carriage that can change the direction of fire of the gun by shifting the pivot.

(See Ballast.)

A vessel having three masts and square-rigged on all. Some large ships carry an additional…

One who transacts the ship's custom house business, negotiates for cargoes, buys and sells…

A man who deals in naval stores, rope, chain paint, etc.

A watchman who looks after a vessel having no crew on board.

(See Out Oars.)

(See Clinometer.)

The principal feature to be overcome is the impossibility of having all wastes from fixtures,…

In neat order; in a proper, seamanlike manner.

The solar time at the place of the ship-12 o'clock (noon) being made known by eight bells when…

To be on shipboard is to be within a vessel.

(See Ancient to Modern Shipbuilding.)

A man serving on board the same ship.

The agreement signed by the officers (excepting the captain) and crew of a vessel, setting…

A person appointed by the circuit courts of the United States under authority of Congress to…

The manner of telling the time on board ship is by striking the bell. Eight bells indicate…

What is known as Ship's Business relates to those documents known as charter parties, bills of…

(See Carpenter).

A petty officer who has charge of the cooking for the ship's company. At seven bells (II:30 a.…

An assistant to the master-at-arms. (See Master-at-Arms.)

The ship's overseer; one who attends to the vessel's repairs and transacts her business, etc.

The ship's register, enrollment, charter party, clearance, bill of health, etc.

The place (latitude and longitude) of the ship at sea is determined by observations of the…

In case of damage happening during the voyage, or it being suspected to ship or cargo, the…

A round of duties. Carrying on the business of the vessel according to established rules.

(See Storekeeper).

(See Surgeon).

An instrument consisting of two parallel base bars, divided by scale to tenths of an inch…

A clerk to the executive officer. He is a first class petty officer, and his duty is to keep…

(See Equipment Yeoman.)

A vessel's sails are said to shiver when she is luffed so close that the wind is spilled out…

An expression, like that of Tarry-top-lights, which is accredited by some novel writers to,…

Shallow; a bank of mud, rock, or sand.

A piece of wood upon which the heels of sheers rest; a piece of wood hollowed so as to allow…

A block having two sheaves revolving at right angles to one another--one horizontal, the other…

A vessel shoots ahead of another when she passes her. To shoot the sun is to observe an angle…

To advance. (See Head Reach.)

On a clear night eight shooting stars per hour may be counted for the average of the year. The…

A jocose remark in relation to measuring the sun's altitude with a quadrant or sextant.

A prop for supporting anything. To shore is to prop up. (See Dog Shores.)

Service performed at navy yards, naval stations, at the navy department, lighthouse board,…

The waterline on the beach.

A short length made on one tack.

A confused sea.

A certain kind of splice put in a rope that does not require to render through a block, as…

(See Peak.)

To reef or furl some of the canvas.

(See Projectiles.)

A rope grommet for containing shot--obsolete.

A ring or cylinder for ascertaining the diameter of shot.

The line shot over a vessel from the mortar by a life-saving crew.

A compartment in the hold of a vessel for the stowage of shot.

A pyramid of shot. To ascertain the number of shot in a pile, multiply the sum of the three…

A wooden cone used for closing up shot-holes made in a wooden vessel.

Iron rods about the hatch coamings for holding shot.

An iron contrivance, on the principle of ice-tongs, for picking up shot.

Troughs of wood for conveying shot along the decks during an engagement, or from one pile to…

Junk placed in front of a shot to hold it in place in the bore of the gun.

A purchase used in hoisting or lowering shot.

The jog formed by the change from one diameter to another in a shaft.

The projecting part of a vessel about the water line. Fore Shoulders. That portion of the…

A block having a projection on one end so as to keep it in place.

(See Uniform.)

A triangular boat sail.

(See Uniform.)

A ducking punt.

An order given to the man in the bows of a boat to shove the same clear of the ship's side so…

An order to the crew to hurry.

A knot put in a shroud to rejoin it after parting. (See engraving.)

(See Chain Plates.)

A four-strand rope laid up right-handed.

Ropes of hemp or wire fitted over the mastheads and extending to the vessel's sides or to the…

A compartment on board ship used as a hospital for sick members of the crew.

The compartment on board ship in which the sick are treated--the hospital of the ship.

The drum and fife call sounded each morning on board a man-o'-war, notifying all sick men to…

A vacation granted upon a surgeon's certificate of disability.

The names of the sick, together with their respective ailments and condition, is sent daily to…

A mess for the sick members of the crew, provided for wholly or in part by the surgeon from…

A document which accompanies a member of the crew when he is sent to the hospital, and which…

The outer part of the hull from the water line to the covering board.

The canvas extending from the ridge ropes to the rail.

Same as accommodation ladder.

Same as bow lighthouses.

(See Side Light Castles.)

The red and green lights carried by vessels when under way at night. The green light is…

The pipes connecting the upper and lower chests of a poppet valve engine. There is one on the…

Sights situated at the side of the gun on the rimbase or trunnion. Trunnion Sight. A side…

Cleats of wood or iron on the sides of a vessel, used in conjunction with man ropes for…

The tackles on the sides of the broadside carriages, and by which they are run out after the…

(See Train Tackle.)

Boys who attend the gangway when officers of rank enter upon or leave a vessel. The admiral…

Relating to the stars.

Astronomical clocks regulated to sidereal time are called sidereal cocks.

The interval of time between two successive transits of the star over the same meridian-23h.…

The time that the First Point of Aries comes to the meridian.

Time measured by the daily motion of the stars-by the daily motion of that point in the…

The time which elapses between the sun's leaving a fixed star until his return to it, ad…

The box on the side of a gun in which the sight travels.

The size or dimensions of timber the contrary way to the moulding or moulded side.

A shape of metal placed on a small arm or cannon in order to direct the fire of the same.…

To observe the altitude or angular distance of a heavenly body.

A part of the breech sight. It is a small rod of metal, which can be elevated and lowered, and…

A metal cover, which is placed over the sight of a gun as a protection when the piece is not…

The projection on a gun on which the sights are fixed.

Gun sights provided with magnifying telescopes.

A portion of the ecliptic containing 30 degrees, or the twelfth part of a circle.

The halliards reeving through a dasher block on the end of the after-gaff, or through the hole…

Certain letters awarded to documented vessels by the Bureau of Navigation, whereby the vessel…

A very convenient match, or small prismatic torch, which is manufactured in two colors--red…

Quartermasters who have charge of the signal-locker and lights, and whose duty it is to signal…

The following signals are treated under this head: Cautionary, Information, Local Forecast,…

A code of communication by means of certain signs. For communication between men-o'-war…

The first of the twelve signs commences at that point of the ecliptic through which the sun…

Mud; sediment.

A hot, dry wind blowing from a desert.

A perpendicular line form one extremity of an arc to the diameter drawn through the other…

The sine of the arc which measures the angle.

The sine of the angle of incidence.

The sine of the angle of reflection.

The sine of the angle of refraction.

The cosine. Versed Sine. Distance from the foot of the sine of an arc to the extremity of the…

To cry out loudly.

One observation of a heavenly body; one angular measurement.

A block containing but one sheave.

An ornamental knot worked with the strands of a rope and used on man-ropes, etc. (See…

A sloop or cutter.

(See Topgallant-sail.)

(See Topsail.)

An order to the mate to get in the double parts of the mooring lines and allow only one part…

(See Banked.)

A hickory sword employed in broadsword exercise.

To sail away from the land until it sinks below the horizon.

An instrument for emitting an exceedingly shrill sound; used during fogs and in thick weather…

The different places marked upon the moulds where the respective bevelings are to be applied,…

A length of wood containing two sheaves, one over the other. The outside shell has a score…

(See Clip Hooks.)

Timbers placed on the sides of the main keelson and bolted through it. This is often done in…

Vessels built from the same model.

A long-handled scoop for drawing water from over the side.

The after-part of the keel upon which the stern-post rests.

A roughly made boat.

Lengths of timber used for sliding anything up and down, on the same principle that a barrel…

As applied to naval ordnance iron beams arranged parallel to one another for guns to rest on.

A small rowboat.

The inside of a vessel's plating or planking; that fold of canvas which is outside when the…

The usual title for the master of a small vessel. Also a title for Holland shipmasters.

(See Weather Indications.)

A sailor's name for a parson. (See Holy Joe.)

The wooden frames or sashes (working on hinges) containing glass windows, and placed over…

The sail next above the royal. A three-skysail-yard ship carries fore, main and mizzen…

(See Skysail Pole.)

That part of the royal mast above the shoulder and terminating at the truck) from which the…

The yard next above the royal yard.

When a skysail is triangular it takes the name of skyscraper.

A line used for hauling up the foot of a course.

Pieces of wood fitted between the whelps.

The opposite to taut. A vessel is said to be slack-in-stays when she goes around slowly in…

A certain quantity of canvas allowed to be gradually gathered up in sewing on the bolt rope of…

The interval between tides when the water is stationary.

A favorable breeze.

(See Slaver.)

A vessel engaged in the slave trade; the term may also be correctly applied to a person…

The lowest tier of casks or barrels in a vessel's hold.

The knees that connect the transoms to the after-timbers of the ship's quarters.

(See Uniform.)

An iron bar with one flattened end used to clear the grates of ashes and clinkers.

(See Guide.)

(See Companion.)

A valve having a flat face reciprocating over ports in a flat seat.

The movable limb on an instrument of reflection, having the mirror or index glass on one end…

Are the planks upon which the bilgeways slide in launching.

To suspend a cask or other article in ropes or chains. (See engravings of cask-sling,…

The chain which connects the centre of a yard with the mast. Also a length of rope having the…

To slip the cable is to unshackle it and let it run out.

The foundation laid for the purpose of building the ship upon, and launching her.

An expansion joint in a line of pipe which is made by inserting an end of one of the lengths…

A knot that slips along a rope around which it is made.

The difference between the pitch of the screw and the distance that the vessel moves during…

The lost motion of the propeller. The difference shown between the distance run by log or…

The difference between the distance run by a steaming vessel and the distance that would have…

A rope arranged in such a manner that it may be let go suddenly.

A hitch made by a landsman, or novice on board ship, which will not hold. Also a loop or…

A vessel with one mast. (See engraving, Part I.)

Before the introduction of steam a sloop of war was smaller than a frigate, and carried from…

The place in which the slops are kept on board ship.

That part of the gun which is between the rifling and the chamber.

Ready-made clothing and small stores, like knives, tobacco, etc., carried on deep-water ships…

A loosely twisted wick saturated in lime-water and saltpetre. It will burn about six inches in…

To turn around.

The small iron gates or openings in the bulkheads of a vessel to allow the bilge water to…

The grease skimmings of the cook's coppers or pots when salt pork and beef are boiled. Slush…

(See Part I.)

The tub in which the slush is kept.

A small fishing or trading vessel, sloop or cutter rigged.

Members of the crew specially trained in the use of small arms.

Rifles, revolvers, cutlasses and bayonets.

A vessel takes a small helm when she is sensitive to it, requiring only a spoke or two to…

A term given to marline, spun yarn, houseline, etc.

An old name for the pension received for wounds.

The line which breaks out a yarn-stopped sail.

(See Front Connection.)

The pipe erected above a boiler which carries away the products of combustion from the…

The pipe of a steamship through which the smoke from the fire-room furnaces escapes. (See…

A powder which is not attended by smoke upon explosion. There are several kinds.

During ocean gales, when very high seas are running, it has been observed that every few…

A boat fitted with machinery for removing snags in rivers.

To confine two ropes after the manner of racking or nippering.

To hance or bevel the end of anything so as to fay upon an inclined plane.

A block containing one sheave, the shell having an opening in the side so that the bight of a…

A valve fitted to the condenser opening upwards to permit the discharge of the air and vapor…

A rope used for pulling off the lift and brace of a light yard when it is being sent down.

A two-masted vessel resembling a brig but having a boom mainsail set on a trysail mast.

To check anything suddenly, as the anchor chain when it is running out.

To reduce sail so as to be prepared for a gale. So. An exclamation signifying that anything is…

A term applied to planks when their edges round or curve upwards. The great any occasioned in…

A stay-bolt through two parallel flat surfaces of a boiler, holding them together against…

Fresh made raised bread.

(See Soft Bread.)

Pertaining to the sun.

The interval of time between tow successive transits of the sun over the same meridian.

The sun and the various bodies that revolve round it.

Time measured by the sun. (See Time.)

The period in which the sun moves form the vernal equinox to the vernal equinox again.

The timber bolted on to the foot of a rudder in order to make it even with the false keel.

A perfectly solid projectile.

The time of the year (June 21 and December 21) at which the sun is at his greatest distance…

The hour circle passing through the solsitial points.

The first pints of Cancer and Capricorn, or the pints of the ecliptic at which the sun arrives…

A Japanese junk.

Ascertaining the depth of water by the hand or deep-sea lead and line, or by a sounding pole.

The line attached to either the hand or deep-sea leads.

(See Part III.)

Contrivances for ascertaining the depth of water. There are various kinds in use, being known…

A name sometimes applied to a sounding machine.

A pole marked in feet and inches, and used for sounding in shallow rivers.

A rod used for ascertaining the depth of water in the ship's hold. It is marked in feet and…

Any part of the coast or ocean where the depth of the water can be measured; also the act of…

A brilliant constellation in the southern hemisphere, its principal stars forming a…

That half of the sphere which is south of the equator.

(Pronounced sou'wester.) A storm-hat made of rubber, or oiled or painted canvas, in shape much…

A rope having both its ends made fast, to the bight of which a purchase is hooked. The span of…

A purchase. (See Burton; see engraving.)

This is made by untwisting a yarn, then laying it up again the contrary way.

When the yards are lowered on the cap; a knot tied in the head of a head sail.

A wooden roller secured so as to revolve, and which is turned by hitching a marline spike used…

The after fore-and-aft sail on a three-mast vessel. This sail was once called the driver.

The mast on which the spanker is set.

A term employed in giving description to anything fine, large or satisfactory, as a spanking…

A long spar floating perpendicularly, having one end anchored to the bottom.

(See Spar Varnish.)

(See Deck.)

(See Torpedo.)

A superior make of varnish, not affected by salt water, steam, soap, grease, or ammonia fumes;…

To seize oars or short lengths of light timber across the ratlines preparatory to rattling…

A general term applied to masts, booms, gaffs and yards.

To communicate with a vessel either by voice or signal.

The hollow tube, flaring at one end, through which orders are issued by officers to the crew.

The comparative difference in the weight or gravity of two bodies of equal bulk; hence called,…

Sometimes called Spectacle Shackle. A three-eye iron on the clews of courses for the tack,…

A log, either chip or patent.

In the from of a sphere; globular.

A period of time. To spell is to relieve another at any work upon which he is employed. Spell…

(See Trysail.) Speronare A lateen rigged boat of Italy, having two masts.

The seams of a vessel are said to spew pitch when from excessive heat the pitch melts and…

A reflecting instrument f navigation used n 1570.

In geography, a representation of the surface of the earth. In astronomy, the concave expanse…

An angle on the surface of the sphere contained between two great circles at their point of…

Parallel, middle latitude, Mercator's and great circle sailings.

A three-sided spherical polygon-a portion of the surface of a sphere bounded by the arcs of…

That branch of trigonometry which explains the method of solving spherical triangles.

An iron crane used for keeping a block clear of anything.

The name sometimes given to the iron band just under the top, and to which the futtock-shrouds…

A small steel rod used to close the vent of a muzzle-loading gun by dropping it into the same,…

(See Pile.)

To empty the wind out of a sail by luffing, or by bracing in the yards, or by hauling in or…

Temporary ropes fitted to sail for the purpose of spilling the wind out of them.

The perpendicular shaft or axle upon which the capstan revolves.

A racing sail shaped like a jib, the open foot of which is extended along a light spar called…

(See Bubble Clinometer.)

The allowance of grog which previous to 1862 was served out daily to all hands on board U. S.…

A thick strake, or strakes, wrought withinside upon the ends of the beams or waterways. In…

A small wooden tub used as a spittoon.

A name given to the storm jib.

To join two ropes together, or to form a loop in the end of a rope. (See Long Splice, Short…

Indulging in a glass of spirits. Sometimes called topping the boom and taking an observation…

Meshwork arranged to retard the passage of splinters.

Fragments of wood, iron, etc., broken off and scattered owing to a shot striking the vessel.

One of the handles of a steering wheel. (See King Spoke.)

A contrivance for cleaning the bore of a gun. It may be composed of soft material or stiff…

A shape of canvas to fit over the head of a sponge when not in use.

Sheepskin tacked over the head of a sponge.

A wooden staff to which the sponge is attached. This staff may be in one piece or in sections…

The wooden head on the end of the sponge staff.

(See Sponge Handle.)

A projection from the ship's side in which guns are mounted to enable them to fire fore and…

The spaces forward and abaft the paddle-boxes on steamboats. Sponson beam. The beam which…

An extension of the gun deck on which the guns are mounted in the sponsons.

Oars that are curved or concaved at the end of the blade, used for racing shells and other…

Water blown from the tops of waves during a heavy gale.

A portable board extending above the gunwale of a boat and used for the purpose of keeping out…

To spread eagle a man is to lash him in the shrouds with his arms and legs spread at angles of…

(See Fires.)

On each bow of very sharp vessels a horizontal bar is rigged out to give more spread to the…

A hawser run out from any part of a ship to the shore, or to a buoy, to turn, or spring the…

A hawser led from the stern of the vessel to the cable by which the ship is riding. It is…

To start the end of a plank from its fastenings.

To begin to leak.

To put the helm down so as to bring the vessel sufficiently close to the wind to shiver the…

Same as Vernal Equinox.

Also known as the Clark Russell Log. An instrument for measuring the velocity of a vessel, and…

A pronged tool of steel utilized for searching for orifices or cracks in the bore of a gun.

An instrument used for spiking a gun. It differs from the ordinary spike inasmuch as it is…

The highest tides. Spring-tides occur every new and full moon.

The highest tides, which occur at the time of the new and full moons; opposed to neap tides.

A horizontal stay from one lower-mast-head to another lower-mast-head. (See Stay.)

A staff used to hoist the peak of a small boomless and gaffless sail not provided with peak…

The sail that was at one time suspended under the bowsprit from the spritsail yard. Also a…

A knot made by walling and crowing the six strands of the rope together, thus forming an eye.…

An old time sail set on the flying-jib-boom in the same manner that the spritsail topsail was…

A yard formerly used instead of whiskers, which was lashed across the bowsprit and used to…

To thrust a two-pointed stick in a shark's mouth so that he cannot close it, and turning him…

A topsail set flying from the deck, with the luff laced to a pole, called a sprit; but this…

Damaged in a variety of ways, such as warped, started, bent out of shape, etc. (See Spring.)

Two or three rope yarns twisted together into a cord.

(See Marine Rams.)

Large pieces of timber that come abaft the pump-well.

A line connecting the tiller and tell-tale, and by which the latter is made to point parallel…

Pieces of timber fixed on the bilge-ways their upper ends being bolted to the vessel's sides…

A small telescope. An optical instrument by which distant objects are made more distinctly…

Another name of the marine telescope.

A number of vessels of war detached from the main fleet. A squadron is larger than a division,…

A sudden and violent gust of wind.

Very long yards are said to be square. A sail is called square on the head when it is long on…

The figure which comprehends all the timbers whose areas or planes are perpendicular to the…

A yard is square by the braces when the latter are hauled on so that the yard is exactly at…

A yard is square by the lifts when the latter are hauled on so as to make the yard perfectly…

(See Bluff-Bowed.)

(See Flat Knot.)

A winding of twine placed on the lifts and braces and which, when brought to a certain point,…

A temporary sail which is set on a yard hung just below the fore cross-trees of a schooner, or…

The timbers which stand square with, or perpendicular to, the keel.

A name given to the after part of a ship's bottom when terminated in the same direction, up…

A vessel carrying yards on all her masts.

A vessel whose stern is almost perpendicular; no overhang. Square the Ratlines. To adjust the…

A piece of flat board about fifteen inches long, one inch thick, and four inches wide, having…

(See Corposant.)

A large awl used by sailmakers to pierce holes in canvas.

That quality which enables a ship to keep herself steadily in the water, without rolling or…

A light flag pole.

A staff graduated upwards in feet and tenths, and so placed that its zero will lie below the…

Officers of the medical, pay, and engineering corps, constructors, chaplains, civil engineers,…

A vessel is said to stagger under a press of sail when she has as much canvas set as she will…

A boat flying a distinguishing flag or mark, anchored at a distance from the race committee's…

Seaworthy, strong, watertight, able.

Posts of wood or iron which support a vessel's beams, or the bulwark rail, and to which the…

Upright parts of wood or iron placed so as to support the beams of a vessel. Also upright…

A support for small arms.

The complete charge and projectile. Also called a round of ammunition.

A rifle, including the bayonet and cartridge belt.

A charge of grape shot.

To stand on is to hold the course.

An inverted knee placed above the deck instead of beneath it, as a bitt-standard, etc.

A compass on board ship situated where it is least subject to deviation; the compass by which…

Time shown by a clock, which is regulated to mean solar time, which see.

An order given to the crew to attend, prepared and waiting for orders.

The part of a rope or cable which is secured to something is known as the standing part; the…

Stays which set up abaft the shrouds on each side, and support the mast when the vessel is…

A small bolt with thread cut at both ends. One end is screwed permanently into place, and the…

A fixed bowsprit: one that does not run in and out.

Gaffs kept throated and peaked aloft on which fore and aft sails are set by means of an…

The regular working topsail which hoists upon the topmasts by hoops, its foot being spread by…

Stays, shrouds, etc., which are secured permanently, and not hauled upon.

(See Sidereal Time.)

The right hand side of a vessel when looking forward.

Having the starboard tack of a square-sail on board. Sailing with the wind blowing on the…

To put the helm to starboard.

A term given to the men of the starboard watch.

Apparently small luminous bodies visible in the heavens at night, which shine by their own…

To start a sheet is to slack it off a little. A term used in racing to signify the…

A bar used when starting an engine, to work the valves by hand while the mechanical gear is…

A small valve by which steam may be admitted into a cylinder when the engine stands in such a…

(See State Training Ships.)

School ships fitted out under State authority and expense for the nautical education of young…

A written or printed form showing the respective stations for the crew for various evolutions.

A written or printed form showing the respective stations for the crew for various evolutions.

The officers and men belonging to a particular station of the Life Saving Service.

An instrument used in marine surveying, consisting of a graduated circle of brass having one…

(See Dock).

An order to the crew to take stations for tacking the ship.

8 furlongs, 326 rods, 1,760 yards, or 5,280 feet.

(See Stove.)

To stay a vessel is to tack her; to stay a mast is to support it sideways, forward and aft.

(See Peak.)

A boiler tube that is secured in the tube sheet more firmly than by merely expanding and…

Small holes worked in the luff of staysails to secure the hanks which fasten the sail to the…

Ropes of hemp or iron used for supporting masts. The fore-and-aft stays lead forward and…

Sails which hoist upon stays. The fore staysail is the first head sail forward the foremast;…

An order to the wheelsman for him to keep the vessel's head as it is.

An elastic vapor generated from boiling water. Dry Steam is that which has no particles of…

The chamber attached to an engine cylinder into which the main steam pipe discharges and in…

A large steam dome built about the base of the chimney, and the annular space thus formed…

A cylindrical reservoir built on the top of a boiler-shell. One end has a head riveted in, the…

A cylindrical reservoir having two heads. It is attached to the boiler by one or more short…

The outer casing about an engine cylinder. Into the space enclosed is admitted live steam to…

A small boat propelled by steam and using coal for fuel. (See Naphtha Fuel Launch.)

(See Lead.)

A harbor cargo vessel propelled by steam. (See Lighter.)

(See Port.)

A siren blown by steam instead of a bellows.

A small engine found on board steamships for controlling the rudder when under way, and by…

A table in which the temperatures are given for the different pressures of steam.

A table in which the temperatures are given for the different pressures of steam.

The whistle forward the smoke-stack on a steam vessel, blown by steam, and used to signal…

A vessel without masts or sails, and propelled by a screw or paddle wheels. This class of…

That system in which live steam is admitted behind packing rings to set them out tight against…

Space in a steam boiler above the surface of the water therein.

A compound of iron and carbon in which the proportion of combined carbon does not exceed 1.5…

(See Belted Cruiser.)

A name given to the foremost or aftermost plank, in a strake which drops short of the stem and…

To guide a vessel on her course by the movement of the helm.

The lower deck of a passenger vessel, and on which the steerage passengers live.

The apartment in which the steerage officers live.

Midshipmen, cadet midshipmen, mates, cadet engineers, and ensigns when they do not perform…

When a vessel moves through the water with sufficient velocity to make her obedient to her…

The bridge on which the steering wheel is placed.

A screw propeller so arranged that it may be swung through a limited range about a vertical…

The wheel connected with the tiller, and by which the ship is steered.

A bowsprit steeves in proportion as it is raised from the horizontal. A long spar having a…

Relating to the stars.

To stem the tide is to make headway against it. The perpendicular piece of timber at the…

The main timber at the fore part of the ship, formed by the combination of several pieces,…

The light carried on top of the stem on all inland vessels, and which takes the place of the…

To sail against the tide with just about sufficient way on to overcome its velocity.

A piece of compass timber, wrought on the aft part of the apron withinside, the lower end of…

The breaking strain in pounds of a bar of metal of one inch area of cross section when pulled…

To step a mast is to fix a lower mast in position. A framing of wood or iron on the main…

The pieces of quartering, with mouldings, nailed to the sides amidship, about nine inches…

The steps into which the heels of the masts are fixed, are large pieces of timber. Those for…

The after-part of the vessel.

An order given to the crew of a boat to back her astern with their oars.

The motion of a vessel when she progresses backward--stern foremost.

When one vessel follows directly after another, so that their masts are more or less in line.

Guns fired from the stern ports at the vessel astern.

Guns situated so as to fire through the stern ports, or sharp on either quarter from the main…

Davits projecting from the stern of the vessel for hanging a boat to.

The strong frame of timber, composed of the stern-post, transoms and fashion-pieces, which…

A ladder hung over a vessel's stern for the use of the gig's crew when that boat hangs from…

The rope leading over the stern of a vessel, and by which that part of her is moored.

A window in the stern of the vessel.

The perpendicular after-framing timber scarphed into the after-part of the keel and extending…

The space abaft the after thwart--a kind of cockpit in the boat in which the passengers sit.

The principal piece of timber in the stern frame on which the rudder is hung, and to which the…

A man who makes a profession of stowing ship's cargoes.

The elevation of a ship's cathead or bowsprit; or the angle which either makes with the…

The caterer of the vessel, under whom are the cooks, flunkies, etc.

The woman who attends upon the lady passengers on board ship. The stewardess is under the…

A named applied to masts.

A stiff breeze is a strong breeze. The quality of a ship which permits her to carry a press of…

Earthen jars containing gunpowder, rosin, pitch and handgrenades, and used to throw on an…

Ropes of short length having eyes spliced in one end, the other end being seized to the…

The horizontal crosspiece of an anchor. The stock may be either of wood or iron, and it is…

(See Tar.)

A series of blocks inclining toward the water, and on which the keel of a vessel is laid in…

An English term for fire room.

An English term for a fireman.

Small channels abaft the regular channels, and to the dead-eyes of which the backstays set up.

A fastening of small stuff used for securing a sail to a boom or gaff after it is furled; on a…

The valve in a steam pipe close to the boiler by which the passage may be closed or opened.

A short length of rope, one end of which is secured convenient to a running rope (or cable)…

Ring bolts in the deck to which the stoppers are secured.

A double wall knot in the end of a deck stopper.

The poppets, timber, etc., used to fill up the vacancy between the upper side of the bilgeways…

A treenail through the stern and keel at their joining; also through the joining of the…

A government vessel employed in carrying stores of various kinds for the use of men-o'-war.

The one on board steamships who has charge of the ship's stores in the way of rigging, blocks,…

Small sails of heavy material used in place of the regular working sails during storms.

A small jib of heavy canvas used in bad weather.

(See Storm Canvas.)

(See Cautionary Signals.)

The course of a storm; the path of a hurricane in its forward or progressive motion-not its…

(See Mother Carey's Chickens.)

A boat is stove when her hull is broken in.

To fix anything in place, as to stow the fenders away; stow the cargo, stow the anchor, etc.…

The space before and abaft dead-flat, in which the ship is the same uniform breadth, or of the…

One through which fluid passes without its direction being changed.

A plank running fore-and-aft.

One breadth of plank wrought from one end of the ship to the other, either within or without…

Any number of rope yarns twisted together. A rope is stranded when one of the strands forming…

A vessel whose nationality is in doubt.

A flat band used to bind various loose parts securely together. Connecting Rod Strap is a…

A length of rope spliced together so as to form a ring, and used for various purposes, such as…

The lowest of clouds, sometimes called the night cloud; an extended horizontal formation of…

(See Strake.)

To attach a buoy to an anchor by a length of rope and to drop it overboard previous to letting…

An anchor about one-third the size of the bowers, and used for warping, club-hauling, etc.

A cable belonging to a stream anchor, and which is of comparatively light weight.

An accumulation of the parts of a drift into a collective mass by the intervention of some…

Extra pieces of canvas sewed on the corners of sails, also at the reef cringles and along the…

An order given to a boat's crew to bend to their oars with increased power.

Pieces of wood placed thwartships in a boat's bottom for the rowers to brace their feet…

To lower a yard, mast, sail, or colors; for a vessel to touch bottom.

Strakes of plank round the inside of a vessel close to the under side of the beams.

To take the rigging off of a mast is to strip it.

(See Uniform.)

The distance the piston travels in moving from one end of the cylinder to the other.

The sweep of an oar. The stroke oarsman pulls the after starboard oar.

The after oarsman who sets the stroke for the rest of the crew.

(See Davit Guy.)

A binding of rope encircling and fitted into the score of a block, in one part of which an eye…

(See Strike.)

A support for the outer end of a twin-screw propeller shaft.

The crank pin end of a connecting rod in which the brasses are held in place by a U-shaped…

(See Standing Bolt.)

The horizontal bar on which the stun' sail sets.

The rope leading from the outboard end of the studding sail boom to the side of the vessel.

The bend which secures the stun' sail halliards to the stun' sail yard.

The ropes which hoist the stun' sails to the stun' sail booms. There are two sets, named…

The tack line of the lower stun' sail, which leads through a block on the end of the swinging…

The line which secures the inner lower corner of a stun' sail.

The rope secured to the outer lower corner of a stun' sail. (See Studding Sail Outhaul.)

The light spar to which the head of the stun' sail is lashed before the sail is sent aloft.

(Pronounced stun' sails.) Light sails carried in moderate weather with a fair wind, and which…

The cavity in a cylinder head in which packing is confined about the piston rod to prevent…

When projectiles are smaller than the bore of the gun they are called sub-calibre projectiles,…

A small vessel constructed for use below the surface of the water.

Currents which do not correspond either in direction of velocity with those of the surface.

A gun projecting shell from a point below the surface of the water.

(See Torpedo.)

The navigation of the waters below the surface by means of submarine vessels.

Explosive shell fired from submarine guns.

A telescope for viewing objects below the surface water, consisting of two united tubes, one…

A new iron or steel vessel will rid itself to a great extent of the magnetism which it…

A government grant of encouragement money to a line of vessels to assist their maintenance.

When a pump draws air it is said to suck.

The position of a vessel when high and dry on the shore.

A process for finding the ship's longitude and place when the latitude is in doubt, by…

The centre of the solar system and the source of light and heat; diameter, 885,000 miles;…

A luminous spot sometimes seen near the sun.

(See Solar Time.)

A term applied to a shipmaster or mate who bullies the crew.

The appearance of the sun above the eastern horizon; the time of the sun's appearance in the…

The time of the sun's descent below the western horizon; in the evening.

An officer on a merchant vessel who is authorized to dispose of the ship's cargo for cash or…

Steam which has an excess of heat. This excess may be parted with and cause no condensation.…

A closed vessel in which steam, separated from water, is brought in contact with heated plates…

(See Planet.)

Men in excess of the ship's complement, or extra members of a boat's or gun's crew.

The old superstition as to lucky and unlucky days has largely passed away. Foreign mails start…

The knee timbers under the cat-heads.

A breaking sea on a shelving shore. (See Breakers.)

A boat built specially for carrying passengers and cargo through the surf.

The flowing of the surface water.

To surge a rope or cable is to slack it suddenly. A swelling wave.

The medical officer of the vessel, whose duty it is to look after the sanitary arrangements of…

(See Medical Corps.)

An ordered examination of government stores. (See Medical Survey.)

In the event of putting into port with masts or bulwarks gone, on the vessel leaking, the…

Determining boundaries, extent and contour of a portion of the earth's surface, and…

To prohibit an officer from performing duty is to suspend him.

A rope mop used for cleaning the decks. A term applied to a worthless individual on board ship.

The space or opening in a block which takes the rope before it passes over the sheave.

A flag having two pointed ends.

A drink made of vinegar, molasses and water, and much indulged in by sailors in tropical…

To let the yards fall to the horizontal after they have been sent aloft. (See Cross Yards.)

To pull; to hoist.

When a sail is stretched so as to set as flat as possible it is said to be sweated. To sweat…

Dragging the bottom for anything lost. Forcing a vessel ahead by the use of long oars.

Long oars.

The roll of the sea. The following symbols are used to express the character of same; S,…

To swift the shrouds is to bring two of them close together by a binding of rope.

The forward shrouds of a lower mast on the port and starboard sides. There are fore, main and…

To bear off on the hauling part of a tackle when its end is made fast.

Said of a vessel when she turns around under the influence of the wind or tide when at anchor.

(See Boat Booms.)

Turning the ship around to the 32 points of the compass and observing while on each point the…

Turning the vessel around in adjusting her compasses.

A metal link turning upon an axis, and used on cables to keep turns out. Also used on…

A small piece of ordnance turning on a pivot.

Characters used as abbreviations to represent the weather. Beaufort's weather notation is as…

The period in which the moon goes through every variety of phase.

Lapping the edges of planks over each other for a bulkhead.

In astronomy, the position of the moon, or planet, when it is in conjunction with, or in…

The tide occurring on the afternoon of the day that the sun and moon are in syzygy. Meridional…