boat terms

Question 1

amidships

Answer 1

the middle of a vessel, either longitudinally or transversely

Question 2

anchor

Answer 2

a wooden, stone, or metal device that, when connected to a vessel with a cable or chain, was used to secure the vessel to the bed of a waterway to prevent it from drifting

Question 3

fluke

Answer 3

the pointed or chisel-shaped end of an anchor arm, which was designed to dig into the bottom

Question 4

stock

Answer 4

a wooden, stone, or metal crosspiece near the top of and perpendicular to the shank; it was designed to cant one of the arms so that its fluke dug into the bottom

Question 5

apron

Answer 5

a curved piece of timber fixed to the after surface of the stem or to the top of the forward end of the keel and the after surface of the stem; an inner stempost

Question 6

ballast

Answer 6

heavy material, such as iron, lead, or stone, placed low in the hold to lower the center of gravity and improve stability

Question 7

beam

Answer 7

a timber mounted athwartships to support decks and provide lateral strength; large beams were sometimes called baulks; also see breadth

Question 8

bevel

Answer 8

the fore-and-aft angle or curvature of an inner or outer frame surface

Question 9

beveling

Answer 9

the technique of shaping a frame timber to its correct fore-and-aft curvature

Question 10

bilge

Answer 10

the area of the hull’s bottom on which it would rest if grounded; generally, the outer end of the floor; when used in the plural, especially in contemporary documents, bilges refers to the various cavities between the frames in the floor of the hold where bilge water tends to collect

Question 11

boat

Answer 11

an open vessel, usually small and without decks, intended for use in sheltered water; this term is discussed in the introduction

Question 12

bolt

Answer 12

a cylindrical metal pin used to fasten ships’ timbers together

Question 13

bottom

Answer 13

the underwater portion of a fully loaded hull; also used as a general designation for a seagoing vessel

Question 14

bow

Answer 14

the forward part of a hull, specifically, from the point where the sides curve inward to the stem

Question 15

bowsprit

Answer 15

a spar projecting forward from the bow

Question 16

breadth

Answer 16

the width of a hull; sometimes called beam, which is technically the length of the main beam

Question 17

breast hook

Answer 17

a large, horizontal knee fixed to the sides and stem to reinforce and hold them together

Question 18

butt joint

Answer 18

the union of two planks or timbers whose ends were cut perpendicularly to their lengths; sometimes called carvel joint