Sailing vocabulary Flashcards
downhaul
A line attached to the tack of the sail, used to trim the draft forward. Line for pulling a sail down when it is being taken in. Rope used to set up downward tension or haul down a sail or spar.
whisker pole
A light pole used to hold out the clew of a headsail when running. A light spar extending from the mast and used to hold the jib out when sailing off the wind.
weather side
The side of a boat on which the wind is blowing.
fall
The part of a tackle to which the power is applied in hoisting.
coil
Making loops in a stretch of rope or line in order to properly store it.
cleat
A fitting, made of metal or other strong material and attached to a boat, where a line can be fastened. A fitting used to secure a line under strain. Fitting to which a line is secured, without knotting.
rudder
A fin or blade attached under the hull’s stern used for steering. A flat wooden shape fitted on the sternpost to pintles and gudgeons. A steering instrument located at the stern of a boat. Vertical metal or wooden plate attached to the stern, whose movements steer the boat.
shackle
A U-shaped piece of iron or steel with eyes in the ends, closed by a shackle pin.
shoal
A shallow area in a body of water.
waterline
An imaginary line around the hull at the surface of the water when the boat is on an even keel. The level up to which the hull is submerged. The line along the hull at which a boat floats. The point where the surface of the water meets the hull of a boat.
stay
A rope of hemp, wire, or iron used for supporting a mast in the fore-and-aft direction. Heavy cable that gives support to a ship’s mast. Rope holding the mast in place from the front. Part of the standing rigging.
inshore
In the direction of a shoreline.
spar
Pole, mast, or boom, that supports a sail.
head to wind
With the bow headed into the wind and the sails luffing.
rules of the road
Regulations to prevent collisions between boats. Right-of-way (ROW) regulations to prevent collisions between boats.
list
A leaning sideways due to excess weight on one side.
point
To head close to the wind.
boom
Horizontal pole that holds out the bottom of the mainsail. Spar which extends the foot of a sail. Large horizontal posed used to spread the sails. The spar to which the foot of the sail is attached with lacing, slides or a groove.
come about
To change course so as to be sailing at the same angle but with the wind on the other side. Turn through the wind.
gudgeon
A fitting attached to the hull into which the rudder’s pintels are inserted.
gooseneck
A device that secures the boom to the mast.
eye
A loop. Especially a loop or catch to receive a hook.
moor
To secure a boat in place with the help of an anchor or heavy cables.
mainsail
Boomed sail projecting aft from the mainmast. The sail that is on the mast. Not always the biggest sail.
yard
A pole or rod that gives support to a sail.
mizzen
The shorter, after-mast on a ketch or yawl.
whitecap
A type of wave that has a foamy, white top.
offshore wind
Air that is moving away from a shoreline.
centerboard
A shaped blade attached to the underside of the hull to give the boat lateral resistance. Retractable keel to stop a boat’s leeward drift.
privileged vessel
A boat that has the right-of-way (ROW).
beating, beating to windward
To sail to windward close-hauled, tacking as you go, to reach an objective to windward.
astern
Behind the stern of the boat. The area behind a boat. Behind a boat.
jibe
To change tack on a downwind course. A jibe begins at the moment when, with the wind aft, the foot of her mainsail crosses her centerline. The action is complete when the mainsail fills on the new tack. To go from one tack to the other when running with the wind coming over the stern.
mast
A large wooden pole used to hold up the sails. Vertical spar to which the sails and rigging are attached.
daggerboard
A blade shaped centerboard that is lifted out of a case when raised. Usually only suitable for small boats. Centerboard that does not pivot.
forestay
The foremost stay, running from the masthead to the bow. Stay holding the mast in place towards the front.
quarter
That portion of a vessel’s side near the stern.
transom
The stern facing hull. A flat surface at the back of the hull to which the rudder is attached.
mooring
A heavy anchor or weight permanently in position.
thwart
The athwartships seat in a boat.
gear
Any equipment pertaining to a sailboat.
careen
To place a boat on her side so that work may be carried out on her underwater parts. When a boat tilts or leans to the side.
eye of the wind
Direction from which the true wind is blowing.
aground
With the hull or keel of a boat touching the bottom.
rigging
The ropes and wire stays of a boat, securing masts and sails. The collection of ropes, chains, and other equipment that helps to sail a boat. The wire or lines used to adjust sails.
reach
Sailing with a beam wind. Sailing on a tack with the wind roughly abeam. All sailing points between running and close.
standing rigging
That part of a ship’s rigging that is permanently secured and not movable, i.e., stays, shrouds, and spreaders. The shrouds and stays which are permanently set up and support the masts.
wing-and-wing
Running before the wind with the sails set on both sides.
grommet
A metal ring fastened in a sail. Rope or brass ring in a sail or piece of canvas.
athwartships
Across the beam of a boat. Across the boat sideways, i.e., in a direction at right angles to the fore-and-aft line of the vessel.
lashing
A rope used for securing any movable object in place.
jam cleat
A device used to grip a line (rope). It has two rows of V-shaped molded teeth that grip the line when it is jammed in the groove. Also called the cam cleat.
lee helm
The tendency of a boat to swing leeward unless held on course.
alee
To the leeward side.
port
The left-hand side of a boat, looking forward towards the bow (opposite of starboard).
tacking
Working to windward by sailing close-hauled on alternate courses so that the wind is first on one side of the boat, then on the other. Sailing upwind, by sailing as close to the wind as possible on alternate sides, zigzagging.
center of effort (COE)
The point at which all the forces acting on the sails are concentrated.
head
The top corner of a sail. The top edge of a sail. A boat’s toilet or bathroom.
leach
The vertical edge of a square sail. The after edge of a fore-and-aft sail.
tackle
An arrangement of ropes and blocks to give a mechanical advantage.
about
On the opposite tack.
sheet
Line for extending the clew of a sail when being set. Line that controls a sail or the movement of a boom. The line used to control the forward or athwartships movement of a sail.
tuning
The delicate adjustment of a boat’s rigging, sails and hull to the proper balance to assure the best sailing performance.
foresail
A jib.
headway
Motion forward.
aft, after
Refers to the back area of a boat. At, near or towards the stern.
fairlead
A fitting used to change the direction of a line, giving it a better angle from a sail or block to a winch or cleat.
capsize
When a boat turns over in the water. To overturn. To tip over.
wake
A boat’s track, behind. The trail left behind a boat that is moving through the water. The waves from a boat.
shrouds
Rigging providing sideways support to a mast. Transverse wires or ropes that support the mast laterally. Vertical wires that hold the mast upright.
fore
At or toward the boat’s bow. Refers to the front area of a boat.
windward
Sailing in an upwind direction. The direction from which the wind blows. Towards the wind. Opposite of leeward.
leachline
Line for pulling in the leach of a sail when it is being taken in.
jibstay
A wire supporting the mast to which the luff of the jib is attached.
draft
The depth or fullness of a sail. The depth of the keel or centerboard in the water.
rig
In general, a boat’s upper works, i.e., its arrangement of masts and sails.
masthead
Top of the mast.
weather
Windward, opposite of leeward. The state of the atmosphere at a certain time or place.
jibsheets
The jibsheets control the jib. One on each side.
fore-and-aft
In the direction of the keel, from front to back. Lengthwise, in the direction of the keel.
mainsheet
The line that controls the main boom. The sheet that controls the mainsail.
stern
After end of a boat. The after section of the boat. The back of a boat.
hike
To lean over the side of a boat to help counterbalance heeling.
leech
Outside edge of a sail. The after edge of a sail.
full-and-by
Sailing as close to the wind as possible with all the sails full.
centerline
The center of the boat that spans its full length.
bear away
The act of steering a boat away from the wind. To steer the boat away from the wind. To turn away from the wind.
keel
Centerline of a boat running fore and aft; the timber at the very bottom of the hull to which frames are attached. Centerline backbone at the bottom of a boat. A steel piece at the bottom of a boat that supports its frame. A heavy fin filled with lead ballast under the hull. It prevents the boat from sideslipping by resisting the lateral force of the wind, and it gives the boat stability.
backstay
A wire support from the mast to the stern of the boat. Provides rearward support to a mast. Any single wire supporting the mast from the stern. A running backstay can be triced out of the way when not in use.
headsail
Any sail used forward of the mast, a foresail. Sail forward of the foremast.
tell-tales, tell tales
Small lengths of wool sewn through a sail near the luff and leech to allow the air flow over the sail to be checked.
beam
The width of a boat at its widest point. The widest dimension of the hull of a boat.
inboard
Toward the centerline of the boat; mounted inside the hull.
cable
A heavy length of rope.
rode
The line and chain that secure the anchor to the boat.
drift
The leeway or movement sideways of a boat.
beam wind
A wind that blows across the boat from side to side. A wind at right angles to a boat’s course.
off the wind
Sailing downwind or before the wind.
gasket
A piece of rope or canvas used to secure a furled sail. Rope for lashing sails secure after they have been taken in.
heave to
To stop a boat by turning the bow to the wind and holding it there. A boat stopped this way is hove to.
pintle, pintel
A bolt of metal secured to the rudder and fitting into the gudgeon. It gives a swinging support to the rudder.
falling off
Turn away from the direction of the wind.
spinnaker
A balloon like sail used on a downwind course. A large, light, balloon-shaped sail set forward of the mainsail when running before the wind.
starboard
Right-hand side of a boat looking forward towards the bow (opposite of port). The righ side of a boat as one faces forward.
rope grommet
A grommet made with rope.
batten
Thin wooden or plastic strips fitted into a pocket for stiffening the leech of a sail.
sheave
A grooved wheel in a block or spar for a rope to run on. The wheel of a block pulley.
headstay
A forward stay supporting the mast.
lanyard
A line fastened to an object, such as a pail, whistle, knife, or other small tool for the purpose of securing it.
take in
To furl a sail.
run
Point of sail with the wind aft. To sail with the wind aft and with the sheets eased out.
pitch
The rising and falling motion of a boat on rough seas.
outhaul
The line that pulls the mainsail away from the mast and tightens the foot of the sail along the boom.
starboard tack
A course with the wind coming from the starboard and the sails trimmed on the port side. Tack on which the wind strikes the starboard side first and the boom is out to port. If the boom is on the port-side, the boat is considered to be on a starboard tack.
tiller, tiller extension
A bar or handle which fits into the head of the rudder used for turning a boat. A metal or wood handle that moves a boat’s rudder. Short piece of wood by which the rudder is turned. Steering instrument that controls the rudder. Tillers sometimes are equiped with tiller extensions.
broad reach
The point of sailing between a beam reach and a run, when the wind blows over the quarter. With the wind at 135 degrees (point of sale).
bow
The forward part of a boat.
ease
To let out.
foot
A sail’s lower edge. Bottom edge or length of a sail.
point of sail
A direction of sail in relationship to the wind. The different angles from the wind on which a boat may sail. The boat’s course relative to the direction of the wind.
hoist
The length of the luff of a fore-and-aft sail. The vertical edge of a sail. To haul aloft.
hull
The main body of the boat.
beat
To sail to windward. To sail against the wind by tacking (sailing a zigzag course towards the wind).
pay off
To turn the bow away from the wind.
line
Any length of rope that has a specified use. Any rope with a purpose.
above deck
When someone is on deck and not in a cabin underneath.
bank
An area of shallow water created by a raised portion of the ground.
compass
An instrument with a needle that determines direction.
lee
The side opposite that from which the wind blows. The opposite of weather.
thimble
An iron ring grooved on the outside for a rope grommet.
bear off
To bear off or fall off is to turn away from the wind (lower course).
burdened vessel
A boat required to keep clear of a vessel holding the right-of-way.
offshore
Away from the shore.
abeam
At right angles to the centerline of a boat. Directly to the side of the boat.
chock
A device affixed to the deck and used as a guide for an anchor or mooring line.
bridle
Rope span with ends secured for the sheet block to ride on. A strong connection of cables used for towing ships and boats.
halyard
A line for hoisting a sail when being set. A line used to haul sails up and down the mast.
furl
The act of securely rolling up a sail. Tightly roll up a sail. To fold or roll a sail on a boom and then secure it with sail ties.
even keel
When a boat is sailing in an upright, balanced position.
working sails
The regular sails on a boat.
bend
To secure (for example, a sail to a spar or a line to a sail). The act of fastening or securing ropes on a boat. To connect two ropes with a knot.
mainmast
The principal mast of a sailboat.
pinch
To sail so close to the wind as to allow the sails to luff.
guy
Adjustable steadying rope of a boat’s rig. A line or wire used to adjust and position the spinnaker pole.
beam reach
Sailing with the wind coming across the boat’s beam. With the wind at 90 degrees (point of sale).
broach
Turn sideways to wind and the surf (waves). To spin out of control and capsize or come close to capsize. Loss of steering.
cringle
A metal ring worked into the sail.
breast line
Docking line leading roughly at right angles from the boat’s sides.
clew
Aft bottom corner of a sail, where the foot and leech meet. The lower after corner of a fore-and-aft sail. Also the lower corner of a square sail. The outer corner of a sail.
roach
The curve of the edge of the sail.
aloft
Overhead. Above the deck. A position high above a boat’s deck.
mooring line
A heavy cable that secures a boat to a pier.
ready about
Order to prepare for coming about. Prepare to come about (to change directions), watch your head! The command given to prepare for coming about.
aboard
When something or someone is on or in a boat.
leeward
The direction away from the wind (also lee). The direction to which the wind blows. Downwind or down wind. Sailing in a downwind direction.
deck
A floor of a boat.
bearing
The compass (magnetic) direction from one object to another.
on the wind
Close-hauled. Sailing close-hauled.
luff
The forward vertical edge of a sail. The foreward edge of a fore-and-aft sail. To alter course toward the wind until the boat is head to wind. The flapping of a sail caused by the boat being head to wind. Sails flapping because you’re too close to the wind.
lift
Line to support the weight of a boom or yard.
forestay
Connects the top of the jib to the bow of the boat.
in irons
In the wind’s eye and having lost all headway. A boat in irons will not go off on either tack. Stuck pointing straight into the wind. To head into the wind and refuse to fall off. Also called in stays. Into the wind (point of sale).
running rigging
All of the moving lines, such as sheets and halyards, used in the setting and trimming of sails.
luff up
To turn the boat’s head right into the wind.
buoy
Any floating object anchored in one place to mark a position or privide a mooring. The various types are often distinguished by color.
winch
A mechanical device, consisting usually of a metal drum or coil turned by a handle or crank, around which a line is wound to give the crew more “help” when tightening a line.
braces
Lines for altering the angle of the yards to suit the direction of the wind.
bail
To remove water from a boat.
mooring buoy
A buoy fitted with a ring and used for mooring a boat.
cast off
To let go of a line when leaving the dock or mooring; to ease sheets.
true wind
The direction and speed of the wind felt when stationary, at anchor or on land.
jib
A triangular headsail set on a stay forward of the foremast (and not overlapping the mainsail). A triangular sail set forward of the mainmast. The sail at the fore of the boat.
foremast
Mast nearest to the bow. The most forward mast of a sailboat having two or more masts.
close-hauled, beating
The most windward point of sail, on which the wind is at about 30 to 40 degrees. With the wind at 30 to 40 degrees (point of sale). Sailing close to the wind with sails pulled in.
by the lee
On a run, having the wind coming slightly from the side on which the sails are trimmed.
clewline
Line for gathering up the clew of a sail when it is being taken in.
tack
The forward lower corner of a for-and-aft sail, where the luff and foot meet. The line used to extend the windward clew of a squaresail. Any course on which the wind comes from either side of the boat. The diagonal made with the wind by a sailboat when close-hauled. To change from one tack to another by coming about. To change course by passing into the wind.
dinghy
A small boat carried on board a ship that’s used to transport people to and from the craft. A small boat used to ferry people to a yacht. Also used for sailing or rowing. Also called a tender.
ballast
Weight placed in the bottom of a boat to give it stability.
head up
To turn toward the wind (higher course).
staysail
A small triangular sail used forward of the mast on a reaching course. Sail set on a stay inboard of the forward most sail.
center of lateral resistance (CLR)
The underwater center of pressure about which a boat pivots when changing course.
knot
A measurement of one nautical mile. A nautical unit of speed: 6,076 feet or one nautical mile per hour.
float
A floating platform, usually accessible from shore, to which a boat is tied up when docked.
trim
To adjust the sails. The position of the sails relative to the wind. The act of adjusting the angle of a boat’s sails.
close reach
The point of sailing between close-hauled and a beam reach, when the wind blows forward of the beam. With the wind at 70 degrees (point of sale).
traveler, traveller
A sliding fitting to which the mainsheet is attached, keeping the boom in the same place as it is moved in and out. A slide which travels on a track and is used for altering sheet angles.
port tack
A course with the wind coming from the port and the sails trimmed on the starboard side. The boom is on the starboard-side. The wind hits the port side first.
fair wind
A wind that is favorable for a particular sailing direction.
block
A (nautical) pulley.
apparent wind
The direction and speed of the wind felt by the crew. Combination of the true wind and that created by the motion of the boat. As opposed to true wind.
spreader
An athwartships support that holds the shrouds away from the mast. An horizontal spar attached to the mast that extends the shrouds and stays and helps to support the mast.
course
The direction in which a vessel is steered, usually given in degrees.
helm
The tiller or wheel mechanism by which the boat is steered.
painter
A short piece of rope secured to the bow of a small boat and used for making her fast to a dock. The bow line by which a dinghy or tender is towed or made fast. The dinghy line.
put about
The act of changing the course of a boat.
bollard
A short heavy post on a pier or boat used for fastening docking lines.
heel
A boat’s angle to horizontal, to lean over to one side.
running
With the wind at 180 degrees (point of sale).
ground tackle
Anchor, rode, etc., used to secure a boat to her mooring.
spring line
A line used when the boat is docked to keep her from moving forward and aft.
