W

A man is said to have his wack when he is provided with his share or portion of food out of…

A mass of oakum or other loose substance, rammed into a gun after the projectile has been…

That part of the deck contained between the forecastle and quarterdeck.

(See Sheet Anchor.)

Green hands; decrepit seamen.

The agitation of the water left astern of the vessel's course. The track over which the ship…

Strong planks running fore-and-aft on a vessel's sides.

(See Beam.)

(See Engine.)

A knot worked in the end of a rope. (See engraving.)

Opposed to flaring out or tumbling home. Perpendicular sides.

A term applied to the topsides of the ship when the main breadth is continued very low down…

The compartment in a man-o'-war or yacht in which the officers live.

The apartment in which the higher commissioned officers live. (See Mess.)

The space contained between the staterooms in the wardroom. In this space is placed the…

(See Mess.)

(See Wear.)

To change the position of a vessel by kedging, or by hauling her along by means of a hawser…

An officer warranted by the President of the United States. Warrant officers in the U. S. Navy…

Lengths of thin plank fastened to and projecting above the gunwale of boats and small…

(See Wash Boards.)

A shifting strake along the topsides of a small vessel, used occasionally to keep out the sea.

A small plate about a bolt and next to the nut. Its use is to distribute the strain which the…

Spun but unwoven cotton refuse used as wiping stuff about the engine.

Cotton yarn used for cleaning purposes on shipboard.

There are seven watches on board ship during the 24 hours. They are named as follows: From…

The crew are said to get watch and watch when their service on deck and their leisure below is…

A list of the crew showing the division of the watches. Watch ho! Watch! The cry passed along…

A list of the crew, showing the division of the watches.

A gun once fired in the service at 8 p. m., when the first anchor watch was set.

A line officer generally below the rank of lieutenant-commander who, while on duty, is the…

A purchase formed of a double and single block, the single block being provided with a hook…

Water carried in flat tanks in a vessel's hold to serve as ballast for the ship. When the…

A boat for supplying vessels with fresh water, the same being contained in a large tank in the…

A ship is said to be water borne when there is just sufficient water to float her clear of the…

A bridge wall built into a boiler at the back of the furnace, forming part of the interior…

A large cask for containing fresh water. (See Scuttle Butt.)

A screw plug in a time-fuze which prevents the water from extinguishing the latter.

A small vertical cylinder, usually of composition, attached to a boiler at the water line, to…

Any kind of a vessel.

(See Fountain Dues.)

(See Gauge Glass.)

(See Leg.)

A horizontal line painted around the vessel's hull to mark her proper trim in loading.

Those horizontal lines supposed to be described by the surface of the water on the bottom of a…

When a vessel is filled with water yet afloat owing to the buoyant nature of her cargo, she is…

The water resulting from condensing steam.

Also known as a save-all. It is seldom used in these days. It was a kind of studding sail set…

A hollow projectile filled with water, and which contains an explosive charge of gun cotton in…

A dark blue sky seen in the arctic seas, and which is caused by the reflection of deep water.

The part of a boiler which is designed to contain water.

(See Tank.)

Petty officers of the second class, belonging to the Engineer's Department, whose duty it is…

The opposite to leaky.

(See Part II.)

The edge of the deck next the timbers, which is wrought thicker than the rest of the deck, and…

A name sometimes applied to rope laid up left-handed.

A vertical column of water having a gyratory motion, and moving along the surface of the sea,…

A vessel is said to have way on her when she moves through the water.

An order given to a boat's crew signifying that they are to cease rowing, and to take their…

The timbers on which a vessel slides into the water in being launched. Hauled up on the ways…

To put the helm up and bring the vessel around on the other tack by changing the wind across…

Loss by accident and damage by use to hull, spars, rigging, sails, etc.

That point of the compass from which the wind blows.

(See Symbols.)

To take an additional turn around the windlass end or the bitts with the cable.

Detained in harbor owing to the unfavorable conditions of the weather.

A vessel is said to have the weather gage of another when the latter is to leeward.

A halo on the border of a distant cloud which is discharging rain--considered a forerunner of…

The barometer.

A clear streak in the sky to windward, near the horizon, following stormy weather.

A vessel carries a weather helm when her tendency is to come up into the wind, requiring the…

Clear weather prophesies are, rosy sky at sunset, gray morning sky, low dawn, delicate clouds,…

A sudden roll to windward.

The inclination of the vessel's deck to windward.

The shore to windward.

The windward side; the side the wind blows on.

(See Signals.)

(See Symbols.)

The tide which sets against the lee side of the vessel and carries her to windward.

To keep one's weather-eye open is to be on the alert.

A vessel that works well to windward and makes little leeway.

A crossed seizing placed between two eyes.

A two-part, wedge-shaped fid.

To clear the rigging of bits of rope, yarn, ravelings, etc.

A period of seven days.

To weigh the anchor is to lift it from the bottom.

The enclosure around the pumps, from the hold up to the deck, to preserve the former from…

(See Well.)

The angle between the geographical and magnetic meridians when the latter inclines to the…

(See Thermometer.)

Specially constructed basins for facilitating the loading and discharging of vessels. At high…

(See Nurse.)

A boat from 20 to 40 feet long, with a beam equal to about one fifth of its length. It is a…

A peculiar construction of vessel built originally on the Great Lakes, and designed for…

A peculiar construction of vessel built originally on the Great Lakes, and designed for great…

A vessel employed in the whale fishery.

A landing place built by the side of, or extending into the water, at which ships load and…

Street arabs and river thieves who infest wharves, sometimes living on platforms beneath the…

One who has charge of a wharf.

The instrument for steering a vessel, being connected with a barrel around which the tiller…

Chains used in place of the rope for connecting the steering wheel and the tiller.

The house on deck containing the wheel, connecting with the tiller, and by which the vessel is…

Lengths of straight rod along the water ways that take the place of a part of the wheel rope…

A rope connecting the steering wheel and the tiller.

Pieces of iron bolted to wooden windlass barrels so as to prevent the chain cable from cutting…

A small rowing boat. Also a small sailing boat used for fishing.

A purchase formed of one single block with a small rope rove through it. To prevent the end of…

A whip, the block of which is spliced into a pendant. One end of the whip is made fast, the…

The binding of twine placed around the end of a rope to keep it from fraying.

One whip applied to the fall of another.

A spinning instrument like a top, used on shipboard as an artificial horizon.

A volent wind having both a circular and a progressive motion.

Projecting spars or irons from the bowsprit for the purpose of giving more spread to the…

Several short toots of the steam whistle signifies that there is confusion of ideas--that a…

A whistle placed on a buoy and which is sounded automatically by the rising and falling motion…

The froth on the crest of waves caused by the wind, and indicating that the breeze will…

A putty made of white lead and whiting, and used for filling the deck seams on yachts. (See…

(See Squadron.)

Water over a shallow bottom given a light appearance by the reflection of the white sand.

(See Torpedo.)

(See Symbols.)

A term applied to the bodies of those ships which are so constructed that one mould made in…

A wind which will allow a vessel to carry all sail.

When a vessel keeps at a considerable distance from an object she is said to give it a wide…

(See Part V.)

A system of signaling all the letters of the alphabet by waving a flag in the daytime and a…

A vessel is said to steer wild when she yaws a great deal.

Air in motion. There are several numerals given to describe the force of winds, namely: o,…

(See Symbols.)

To change a vessel's position by bringing her head where her stern was.

Being prevented from sailing by a head-wind.

Trades, Anti-trades, Land-breeze, Sea-breeze, Monsoons, Variable winds, Mountain-winds, Bora,…

(See Weather Gall.)

(See Anemometer.)

The situation of a ship when she rides to the wind independent of the current or tide.

(See Signals.)

(See Symbols.)

The boatswain is said to wind his call when he blows it. The first word is pronounced the same…

The difference between the diameter of a projectile and that of the bore of the cannon.

The machine by which an anchor is weighed. (See engraving; see Capstan.)

The upright supports for the barrel of the windlass. These uprights are also known by the…

A combination of a windlass and capstan, in which the windlass moves the spindle of the…

The exact point from which the wind blows.

A long funnel-shape canvas leading below through one of the hatches, kept spread by wooden…

The point or direction from which the wind blows.

A tide that sets to windward. (See Weather Tide.)

The part of the hold next the side.

Said of a fore-and-aft vessel when she is sailing with her booms out on opposite sides.

The casks or barrels which are stowed in the wings.

The places next the side upon the orlop, usually parted off in ships of war, that the…

The uppermost transom in the stern frame, upon which the heels of the counter timbers are let…

A horizontal barrel turned by a crank. A mast winch is on the deck just in front of the mast…

The reduction of pressure which steam undergoes by its passage through contracted areas, and…

Standing rigging of wire-rope, which has almost entirely taken the place of hemp standing…

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

(See Wythe.)

A block of wood bolted to the rudder-stock underneath one of the pintles so as to prevent the…

A piece of elm or oak, closely fitted and sheathed with copper, in the throating or score of…

The winding of rope around a spar after it has been fished.

To make progress against the wind.

Handling the yards and sails and rudder.

The regular jib-one of the head-sails. (See Jib.)

That about an engine from which the starting and reversing gear is reached and handled.

All the regular sails of a vessel excepting such as are rigged specially in light breezes.…

(See Traverse Sailing.)

Known also as the standing and the gaff-topsail, in distinction to the sprit or club-topsails…

To make spun yarn, etc., out of the strands of old rigging. Also to keep a man constantly at…

Filling up the lays of a rope with spiral windings of small stuff (called worming), so as to…

Ring bolts, used when planking, with two or more forelock holes in the end for taking in the…

A sort of stout billet of tough wood, tapered at the ends so as to go into the ring of the…

Destruction of a vessel in part or whole.

Spars, cordage, sails, cargo, etc., belonging to a wrecked vessel.

The term may be defined in two ways. One who seeks to draw vessels ashore by false lights, for…

To strain anything unduly or to twist out of shape. To wring a mast is to buckle it by setting…

In its pure state it is metallic iron without combination with any other element, and is…

An iron ring fitted to the end of a boom as a cap, through which a spar is rigged out.