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
A metal clip or fabric tab used to attach a sail’s luff to a stay
Hank
The announcement by the helmsman that he is about to tack the boat.
“Hard a-lee!”
A covered opening in the deck
Hatch
The top of a sail
Head
A boat’s position when its bow is pointing directly into the wind
Head to wind
A reinforcement at the head of a sail
Headboard
To steer away from the wind, bear away, fall off
Head down
A metal or plastic cover that fits over a forestay to accept the luff tape of a jib when it’s hoisted
Headfoil
Any sail set forward of the forwardmost mast; a jib
Headsail
The stay between the top of the mast and the bow
Headstay
To steer more toward the wind
Head up
Motion forward
Headway
To hold a boat almost stationary by setting the sails and rudder in opposition
Heave-to
Of a boat - to lean sideways under the pressure of the wind on the sails
Heel
The tiller or wheel with which the boat is steered
Helm
The person at the helm steering the boat
Helmsman
An extension to the tiller that allows the helmsman more freedom of movement.
Hiking stick
A type of knot, used to attach a line to an object or to another line.
Hitch
To haul aloft
Hoist
The watertight structural shell of a boat
Hull
Toward the centerline of the boat; inside the hull
Inboard
Of a boat that’s head to wind, having lost all headway
In irons
A device that holds a line by an internal mechanism, rope clutch.
Jammer
A triangular sail set forward of the mainmast
Jib
To turn the boat so that its stern passes through the wind
Jibe
Announcement by the helmsman that he is about to steer the boat into a jibe; also a warning that an accidental jibe is imminent.
“Jibe-Ho!”
A line attached to the clew of a jib used to adjust its angle to the wind
Jibsheet
When hoisting a sail, to haul on the halyard at the mast
Jump
The main structural member along the bottom of a boat’s hull; on a sailboat often an appended fin-shaped structure that contains ballast
Keel
A sailboat that has a keel and ballast, usually combined
Keelboat
A fastening made by entwining a rope, line, or cord with itself or with other ropes, lines, or cords
Knot
Unit of speed: one nautical mile (6,076 feet) per hour
Knot
Of a rope’s strands, the direction they are twisted, as in right-hand or left-hand.
Lay
Of, for example, a jibsheet, the windward one that’s not under load
Lazy
The after (back) edge of a sail
Leech
Sheltered area to leeward of something (boat, building, island) that’s protected from the wind
Lee
The tendency of a sailboat when sailing to turn downwind
Lee helm
The side away from the wind, or downwind side
Lee side
The direction, or side of the boat, away from the wind
Leeward
A wire supported on stanchions around the perimeter of the deck to prevent crew from falling overboard
Lifeline
A length of rope that has a specific purpose on board
Line
A storage compartment
Locker
Of a mainsail, for example, that is attached to its boom at its tack and clew but not along its foot.
Loose footed
The forward edge of a sail
Luff
The fluttering of a sail when the boat is too close to the wind for the sail’s trim
Luff
To head up so the sails ____
Luff
Tape with an integral bolt rope that is sewn to the luff of a sail.
Luff tape
The boom that supports the mainsail
Main boom
The principal mast on a sailboat
Mainmast
The sail attached to the aft side of the mainmast
Mainsail
The line used to control the main boom and thus also to trim the mainsail
Mainsheet
To secure, as when tying a line to a cleat
Make fast
General term for an aid to navigation
Mark
A fixed vertical spar that holds up a sail or sails
Mast
To tie up (a boat)
Moor
A permanently set anchor
Mooring
A buoy attached to a mooring and to which a boat can be moored
Mooring buoy
A boat with more than one hull
Multihull
To conduct a vessel’s passage on a body of water
Navigate
The act of navigating
Navigation
A map used for the purpose of navigation.
Navigation chart
A light required to be displayed on a vessel in darkness and poor visibility
Navigation light
Laws established to prevent collisions on the water
Navigation Rules
The zone in relation to the wind where the sails cannot generate power
No-sail zone
A buoy with a cone-shaped top used as an aid to navigation
Nun buoy
Any point of sail where the wind is abaft the beam
Off the wind
Any point of sail where the wind is forward of the beam
On the wind
Away from the centerline of a boat; outside the gunwale
Outboard
A portable motor that attaches (usually) to the stern of a boat
Outboard
A line used to tension the foot of the mainsail
Outhaul
A structure built over the water on pilings
Pier
To sail too close to the wind, so that the sails luff
Pinch
A moored floating structure to which a boat can be tied
Pontoon
The direction a boat is sailing relative to the wind
Point of sail
A harbor
Port
The left-hand side of a boat when facing forward
Port
Any course where the wind is blowing on the port side of the boat
Port tack
An increase of wind strength of short duration, usually with less strength than a gust
Puff
A guardrail at the bow or stern of a boat to which (usually) the lifelines are connected
Pulpit
The sides of a boat between the beam and the stern
Quarter
A solid structure to which vessels tie up to load and unload
Quay
Any point of sail between close-hauled and a run
Reach
The command used to signal the crew to prepare to tack.
“Ready about!”
An area of rock or coral, usually submerged, that presents a hazard to navigation
Reef
To reduce the area of a sail that is exposed to the wind
Reef
To attach, as a sail
Rig
The total assembly of sails, spars, and rigging aboard a sailboat
Rig
Wires and lines used to support spars and to control sails
Rigging
The line and/or chain that connects an anchor to the boat
Rode
A mechanism for furling a sail by rolling it around its stay
Roller furling
To a sailor, raw material for making up lines
Rope
Of a boat, to spontaneously turn head to wind.
Round up
The movable appendage attached to a boat under the water and with which it can be steered.
Rudder
The point of sail on which the wind is aft.
Run
The adjustable rigging used to raise and lower or trim the sails
Running rigging
Length of webbing used to secure sails
Sail tie
A Sailboat that is essentially a surfboard with a sail.
Sailboard
Material from which sails are made
Sailcloth
Sailing on a run with the wind on the same side of the boat as the mainsail
Sailing by the lee
The ratio of the length of anchor rode deployed to the vertical distance from the boat’s bow to the bottom
Scope
To make fast (as a line)
Secure
To make safe
Secure
A device on a winch that enables it to grasp and gather the tail of a line as it is wound in on the Winch
Self-tailer
A closable metal connector used in rigging
Shackle
A tool for tightening and loosening a shackle
Shackle key
A line used to control the alignment of a sail relative to the boat and the wind
Sheet
A wire that provides athwartships support to the mast
Shroud
A navigation light that shines on one side of the boat in an arc that extends from the bow to 22.5 degrees abaft the beam
Sidelight
A berth where a boat docks between piers, pontoons, or pilings
Slip
A sailboat with one mast, a mainsail, and one headsail
Sloop
To hold a line under tension by wrapping it around a cleat or a winch
Snub
A pole used to support a sail, e.g. mast, boom
Spar
A large, lightweight, rounded sail used when sailing downwind
Spinnaker
An athwartships strut on a mast that holds a shroud away from the mast
Spreader
A metal post that supports lifelines
Stanchion
Rigging, e.g. shrouds and stays, that supports spars and that remains in place when a boat is not sailing
Standing rigging
In a situation when two vessels converge, the vessel that must maintain its course and speed
Stand-on vessel
The right-hand side of a boat when looking forward
Starboard
Any course where the wind is blowing on the starboard side of the boat
Starboard tack
A piece of standing rigging that supports a mast in the fore-and-aft direction
Stay
A navigation light that shines on both sides of the boat in an arc from the bow to 22.5 degrees abaft the beam; used on a sailing vessel that is under power
Steaming light
The aft part of the boat
Stern
A navigation light that shines on both sides of the boat in an arc from the stern to 22.5 degrees abaft the beam
Stern light
To put away in a seamanlike manner
Stow
Part of a self-tailer
Stripping arm
To ease a loaded line while snubbing it to keep it under control
Surge
The forward lower corner of a sail
Tack
To change course by turning the bow of the boat through the wind
Tack
A course designation according to the side of the boat onto which the wind is blowing (port or starboard)
Tack
A line reeved through a series of blocks to gain mechanical advantage
Tackle
The end of a working line (e.g. halyard, sheet) after the winch or snubber that is taking the load
Tail
To pull on the tail of a line
Tail
A bag in which line tails are stowed to keep them tidy
Tail bag
A short length of light yarn or similar material attached to a sail to indicate the flow of air across it and thus the state of the sail’s trim
Telltale
The movement of a body of water caused by the gravitational effects of the moon and sun
Tide
A lever used to control the angle of the rudder and thereby steer the boat
Tiller
A line or wire that supports a boom when it is not being supported by its sail
Topping lift
The more or less flat surface that closes the hull at the stern
Transom
A car-and-track system that allows the mainsheet’s attachment point to the deck to be moved athwartships
Traveler
To adjust a sail by hauling in on the sheet
Trim
The position a sail is set relative to the wind
Trim
A vessel with three hulls
Trimaran
The wind as observed at a stationary point
True wind
In the direction from which the wind is blowing
Upwind
A piece of running rigging used to restrain a spar
Vang e.g. boom vang
Used as an all-inclusive term in the Navigation Rules to describe any ship or boat or craft capable of being navigated
Vessel
The line around the interface between the hull and the surface of the water
Waterline
The side of a boat from which the wind is blowing; windward side.
Weather side
The tendency of a boat when sailing to head up into the wind
Weather helm
A device consisting of a gear-driven drum that is operated with a handle to provide mechanical advantage when hauling on a line; also used to snub a line
Winch
The resistance a boat’s hull, rig, and superstructure present to the wind
Windage
Toward the wind
Windward
The side upon which the wind is blowing
Windward side
Sailing on a run with the jib and mainsail set on opposite sides of the boat
Wing on wing
Sailing wing on wing
Winging the jib
Of a sheet, the one that is currently being used to trim the sail
Working
A gentle breeze, perfect for a quiet evening sail
Zephyr
