Vocabulary Flashcards
Of a sail, when the wind is on the “wrong” side
Aback
Toward the stern, as in “_____ the beam”
Abaft
Off the boat at right angles to its centerline
Abeam
Toward the stern or behind the boat
Aft
Toward the stern
After
When the hull or keel is touching the bottom
Aground
A buoy or other device deployed to mark a channel, a navigational feature, or a hazard
Aid to navigation
Above the deck, usually in the rig
Aloft
At or toward the middle of the boat
Amidships
A device lowered to the bottom while secured to the boat to hold the boat stationary
Anchor
The combination of true wind and the wind effect of motion as felt aboard a moving boat
Apparent wind
Behind the stern
Astern
Across the boat from side to side
Athwartships
The act of setting a sail aback
Backing or Backwinding
A wire support from the top of the mast to the stern
Backstay
Weight placed low in the boat to give it stability
Ballast
A slat inserted in the leech of a sail to support the sailcloth
Batten
A pocket sewn into the sail to hold a batten
Batten Pocket
An aid to navigation that’s fixed in place
Beacon
The width of a boat at its widest point
Beam
The region of the boat’s sides halfway between bow and stern
Beam
The point of sail where the wind is abeam of the boat
Beam reach
To turn the boat away from the wind, fall off
Bear away
To sail to windward close-hauled
Beat, beating
A knot used to tie a line to another line or to an object.
Bend
To attach, as a sail to a spar
Bend on
Hidden from the wind, as when one sail is _______ by another
Blanketed
A pulley
Block
A pole with a hook on one end useful for snagging a line or a ring
Boathook
A rope sewn into the edge of a sail, often used to attach it to the mast or boom.
Bolt rope
The seabed or bed under any body of water
Bottom
The spar that supports the foot of the mainsail
Boom
An item of running rigging, often a block and tackle, used to hold down the boom
Boom vang
The forward part of a boat
Bow
A knot that forms a loop in the end of a line
Bowline
A dock line tied between the bow of a boat and a dock
Bow line
The point of sail between a beam reach and a run
Broad reach
A floating object anchored to the bottom
Buoy
Sailing on a run with the wind on the same side as the mainsail
By the lee
A room in the interior of a boat
Cabin
A fitting with spring-loaded jaws used to secure a line
Cam cleat
A cylindrical buoy used as an aid to navigation
Can buoy
To turn over
Capsize
To undo completely a line that has been secured
Cast off
A boat with two hulls
Catamaran
A board that pivots down from the bottom of the boat to provide sideways resistance
Centerboard
Damage caused to a sail or a line by rubbing
Chafe
Material used to prevent chafe
Chafing gear
Metal fabrication attached to the hull and to which a stay or shroud is connected
Chainplate
A narrow passage; a deeper-water route often marked with aids to navigation
Channel
A nautical map
Chart
A fixed fairlead through which dock lines are led
Chock
A fitting used to secure a line under load
Cleat
The aft lower corner of a sail
Clew
The point of sail where a boat sails as close to the wind as possible
Close-hauled
The point of sail between close-hauled and a beam reach
Close reach
The area of the boat, usually recessed into the deck, from which the boat is steered and sailed
Cockpit
To make up a line into tidy loops
Coil
A line that has been coiled
Coil
To tack
Come about
The entrance from the cockpit or deck to the cabin
Companionway
The direction in which a boat is being steered
Course
An eye formed by sewing a rope or metal ring into, e.g., a sail
Cringle
A line used to tension the luff of a sail
Cunningham
A board that lowers vertically down from the bottom of the boat to provide sideways resistance
Daggerboard
The generally horizontal surface that encloses the top of the hull
Deck
A small boat
Dinghy
A place where a vessel is berthed, but generally used to refer to the pier, quay, or pontoon to which it’s tied when in that berth
Dock
To bring a boat to its dock
Dock
A line used to tie a boat, in its dock
Dock line
The process of bringing a boat into its dock
Docking
A line used to tension the luff of a sail by pulling down the boom at the gooseneck
Downhaul
In the direction toward which the wind is blowing
Downwind
The depth of a boat below the water
Draft
The curvature of a sail
Draft
To let out a line that has load on it
Ease
Directly to windward
Eye of the wind
Smooth, unobstructed
Fair
A fitting used to lead a line fair and at the correct angle to a winch, cleat, or other fitting.
Fairlead
To lay out a line in parallel lengths so it can run freely
Fake, flake
To turn away from the wind, bear away
Fall off
A cushion, usually an inflated cylinder of rubber or similar material, placed between a boat and a dock
Fender
A piece of hardware that is fixed to the boat or its spars
Fitting
To lay in even loose folds, as a sail
Flake
The bottom edge of a sail
Foot
The direction parallel with the centerline of a boat
Fore-and-aft
The forward part of the deck, usually forward of the forwardmost mast
Foredeck
A sail set forward of the mainsail, often a jib or a headsail
Foresail
A stay that supports the mast from forward
Forestay
Toward the bow
Forward
Tangled, snagged
Fouled
The height of the hull above the waterline
Freeboard
About a sail, when it is not flapping or luffing
Full
To stow a sail on a spar or a stay
Furl
General term for equipment aboard a sailboat
Gear
A large jib that extends aft of the mast
Genoa
Under the Navigation Rules, the vessel that is obliged to adjust its course or speed to avoid collision with another vessel
Give-way vessel
To be moving backward
Going astern
An articulated fitting that connects a boom to a mast
Gooseneck
A metal ring set into a sail
Grommet
Collective term for a boat’s anchors and their rodes
Ground tackle
The top edge of the deck where it joins the hull
Gunwale
An increase in wind speed that lasts just a short while
Gust
A line used to raise and lower a sail
Halyard