Vocabulary Flashcards
1
Q
aback
A
When the wind is on the wrong side of the sails.
2
Q
abaft
A
Toward the stern.
3
Q
aft
A
Toward the stern.
4
Q
aground
A
When the hull or keel is touching the bottom.
5
Q
aid to navigation
A
A buoy or other device deployed to mark a channel, a navigational feature, or a hazard.
6
Q
aloft
A
Above the deck, usually in the rig.
7
Q
amidships
A
At or toward the middle of the boat.
8
Q
apparent wind
A
The combination of true wind and the wind effect of motion as felt aboard a moving boat.
9
Q
astern
A
Behind the stern.
10
Q
athwartships
A
Across the boat from side to side.
11
Q
backing or backwinding
A
The act of setting a sail aback.
12
Q
backstay
A
A wire support from the top of the mast to the stern.
13
Q
ballast
A
Weight placed low in the boat to give it stability.
14
Q
batten
A
A slat inserted in the leech of a sail to support the sailcloth.
15
Q
batten pocket
A
A pocket sewn into the sail to hold a batten.
16
Q
beacon
A
An aid to navigation that’s fixed in place.
17
Q
beam
A
The width of a boat at its widest point, or the region of the boat’s sides halfway between bow and stern.
18
Q
beam reach
A
The point of sail where the wind is abeam of the boat.
19
Q
bear away
A
To turn the boat away from the wind, to fall off.
20
Q
beat
A
To sail to windward close-hauled.
21
Q
bend
A
A knot used to tie a line to another line or to an object.
22
Q
bend on
A
To attach, as a sail to a spar.
23
Q
blanketed
A
Hidden from the wind, as when one sail is blanketed by another.
24
Q
block
A
A pulley.
25
boathook
A pole with a hook on one end useful for snagging a line or ring.
26
bolt rope
A rope sewn into the edge of a sail, often used to attach it to the mast or boom.
27
bottom
The seabed or bed under any body of water.
28
boom
The spar that supports the foot of the mainsail.
29
boom vang
An item of running rigging, often a block and tackle, used to hold down the boom.
30
bow
The forward part of the boat.
31
bowline
A knot that forms a loop in the end of a line.
32
bow line
A dock line tied between the bow of a boat and a dock.
33
broad reach
The point of sail between a beam reach and a run.
34
by the lee
Sailing on a run with the wind on the same side as the mainsail.
35
cabin
The interior of the boat.
36
cam cleat
A fitting with spring-loaded jaws used to secure a line.
37
can buoy
A cylindrical buoy used as an aid to navigation.
38
capsize
To turn over.
39
cast off
To undo completely a line that has been secured.
40
catamaran
A boat with two hulls.
41
centerboard
A board that pivots down from the bottom of the boat to provide sideways resistance.
42
chafe
Damage caused to a sail or line by rubbing.
43
chafing gear
Material used to prevent chafe.
44
chainplate
Metal fabrication attached to the hull and to which a stay or shroud is connected.
45
channel
A narrow passage; a deeper-water route often marked with aids to navigation.
46
chart
A nautical map.
47
chock
A fixed fairlead through which dock lines are fed.
48
cleat
A fitting used to secure a line under load.
49
clew
The aft lower corner of a sail.
50
close-hauled
The point of sail where a boat sails as close to the wind as possible.
51
cockpit
The area of the boat, usually recessed into the deck, from which the boat is steered and sailed.
52
coil
To make up a line into tidy loops, OR a line that has been coiled.
53
come about
To tack.
54
companionway
The entrance from the cockpit or deck to the cabin.
55
cringle
An eye formed by sewing a rope or metal ring into a sail.
56
cunningham
A line used to tension the luff of a sail.
57
daggerboard
A board that lowers vertically down from the bottom of the boat to provide sideways resistance.
58
deck
The generally horizontal surface that encloses the top of the hull.
59
dinghy
A small boat.
60
dock
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, OR to bring a boat to its dock.
61
dock line
A line used to tie a boat in its dock.
62
docking
The process of bringing a boat into its dock.
63
downhaul
A line used to tension the luff of a sail by pulling down the boom at the gooseneck.
64
downwind
In the direction toward which the wind is blowing.
65
draft
The depth of a boat below the water, OR the curvature of a sail.
66
ease
To let out a line that has load on it.
67
eye of the wind
Directly to windward.
68
fair
Smooth, unobstructed.
69
fairlead
A fitting used to lead a line fair and at the correct angle to a winch, cleat, or other fitting.
70
fake or flake
To lay out a line in parallel lengths so it can run freely.
71
fall off
To turn away from the wind, bear away.
72
fender
A cushion, usually an inflated cylinder of rubber or similar material, placed between a boat and a dock.
73
fitting
A piece of hardware that is fixed to the boat or its spars.
74
flake
To lay in even loose folds, as a sail.
75
foot
The bottom edge of a sail.
76
fore-and-aft
The direction parallel with the centerline of a boat.
77
foredeck
The forward part of the deck, usually forward of the forwardmost mast.
78
foresail
A sail set forward of the mainsail, often a jib or headsail.
79
forestay
A stay that supports the mast from forward.
80
forward
Toward the bow.
81
fouled
Tangled, snagged.
82
freeboard
The height of the hull above the waterline.
83
full
About a sail, when it is not flapping or luffing.
84
furl
To stow a sail on a spar or stay.
85
gear
General term for equipment aboard a sailboat.
86
genoa
A large jib that extends aft of the mast.
87
give-way vessel
Under the Navigation Rules, the vessel that is obliged to adjust its course or speed to avoid collision with another vessel.
88
going astern
To be moving backwards.
89
gooseneck
An articulated fitting that connects a boom to a mast.
90
grommet
A metal ring set into a sail.
91
ground tackle
Collective term for a boat's anchors and their rodes.
92
gunwale
The top edge of the deck where it joins the hull.
93
gust
An increase in wind speed that lasts just a short while.
94
halyard
A line used to raise and lower a sail.
95
hank
A metal clip or fabric tab used to attach a sail's luff to a stay.
96
hard-a-lee
The announcement by the helmsman that he is about to tack the boat.
97
hatch
A covered opening in the deck.
98
head
The top of a sail.
99
head to wind
A boat's position when its bow is pointing directly into the wind.
100
headboard
A reinforcement at the head of a sail.
101
head down
To steer away from the wind, bear away, fall off.
102
headfoil
A metal or plastic cover that fits over a forestay to accept the luff tape of a jib when it's hoisted.
103
headsail
Any sail set forward of the forwardmost mast; a jib.
104
headstay
The stay between the top of the mast and the bow.
105
head up
To steer more toward the wind.
106
headway
Motion forward.
107
heave-to
To hold a boat almost stationary by setting the sails and rudder in opposition.
108
heel
The sideways leaning of a boat under the pressure of the wind on the sails.
109
helm
The tiller or wheel with which the boat is steered.
110
helmsman
The person at the helm steering the boat.
111
hiking stick
An extension to the tiller that allows the helmsman more freedom of movement.
112
hitch
A type of knot, used to attach a line to an object or to another line.
113
hoist
To haul aloft.
114
hull
The watertight structural shell of a boat.
115
inboard
Toward the centerline of the boat; inside the hull.
116
in irons
Of a boat that's head to wind, having lost all headway.
117
jammer
A device that holds a line by an internal mechanism.
118
jib
A triangular sail set forward of the mainmast.
119
jibe
To turn the boat so that its stern passes through the wind.
120
jibe-ho
Announcement by the helmsman that he is about to steer the boat into a jibe; also a warning that an accidental jibe is imminent.
121
jibsheet
A line attached to the clew of a jib used to adjust its angle to the wind.
122
jump
When hoisting a sail, to haul on the halyard at the mast.
123
keel
The main structural member along the bottom of a boat's hull; on a sailboat often an appended fin-shaped structure that contains ballast.
124
keelboat
A sailboat that has a keel and ballast, usually combined.
125
knot
A fastening made by entwining a rope, line, or cord with itself or with other ropes, lines, or cords. OR, a unit of speed, one nautical mile per hour.
126
lay
The direction a rope's strands are twisted, as in right-hand or left-hand.
127
lazy
Of, for example, a jib sheet, the windward one that's not under load.
128
leech
The after edge of a sail.
129
lee
Sheltered area to leeward of something (boat, building, island) that's protected from the wind.
130
lee helm
The tendency of a sailboat when sailing to turn away from the wind.
131
lee side
The side away from the wind, or downwind side.
132
leeward
The direction, or side of the boat, away from the wind.
133
lifeline
A wire supported on stanchions around the perimeter of the deck to prevent the crew from falling overboard.
134
line
A length of rope that has been made up to serve a specific purpose on board.
135
locker
A storage compartment.
136
loose footed
Of a mainsail, for example, that is attached to its boom at its tack and clew but not along its foot.
137
luff
The forward edge of a sail OR the fluttering of a sail when the boat is too close to the wind for the sail's trim OR to head up so that the sails luff.
138
luff tape
Tape with an integral bolt rope that is sewn to the luff of a sail.
139
main boom
The boom that supports the mainsail.
140
mainmast
The principal mast on a sailboat.
141
mainsail
The sail attached to the aft side of the mainmast.
142
mainsheet
The line used to control the main boom and thus also to trim the mainsail.
143
make fast
To secure, as when tying a line to a cleat.
144
mark
General term for an aid to navigation.
145
mast
A fixed vertical spar that holds up a sail or sails.
146
moor
To tie up a boat.
147
mooring
A permanently set anchor.
148
mooring buoy
A buoy attached to a mooring and to which a boat can be moored.
149
multihull
A boat with more than one hull.
150
navigation light
A light required under the Navigation Rules when a vessel is operating at night or in poor visibility.
151
Navigation Rules
Laws established to prevent collisions on the water.
152
no-sail zone
The zone in relation to the wind where the sails cannot generate power.
153
nun buoy
A buoy with a cone-shaped top used as an aid to navigation.
154
off the wind
Any point of sail where the wind is abaft the beam.
155
on the wind
Any point of sail where the wind is forward of the beam.
156
outboard
Away from the centerline of a boat; outside the gunwale, OR a portable motor that attaches to the stern of a boat.
157
outhaul
A line used to tension the foot of the mainsail.
158
pier
A structure built over the water on pilings.
159
pinch
To sail too close to the wind, so that the sails luff.
160
pontoon
A moored floating structure to which a boat can be tied.
161
point of sail
The direction a boat is sailing relative to the wind.
162
port
A harbor, OR the left-hand side of a boat when facing forward.
163
port tack
Any course where the wind is blowing on the port side of the boat.
164
puff
An increase of wind strength of short duration, usually with less strength than a gust.
165
pulpit
A guardrail at the bow or stern of a boat to which the lifelines are connected.
166
quarter
The sides of a boat between the beam and the stern.
167
quay
A solid structure to which vessels tie up to load and unload.
168
reach
Any point of sail between close-hauled and a run.
169
ready about
The command used to signal the crew to prepare to tack.
170
reef
An area of rock or coral, usually submerged, that presents a hazard to navigation, OR to reduce the area of a sail that is exposed to the wind.
171
rig
To attach, as a sail, OR the total assembly of sails, spars, and rigging aboard a sailboat.
172
rigging
Wires and lines used to support spars and to control sails.
173
rode
The line and/or chain that connects an anchor to the boat.
174
roller furling
A mechanism for furling a sail by rolling it around its stay.
175
rope
Raw material for making up lines.
176
round up
To spontaneously turn a boat from head to wind.
177
rudder
The movable appendage attached to a boat under the water and with which it can be steered.
178
run
The point of sail on which the wind is aft.
179
running rigging
The adjustable rigging used to raise and lower or trim the sails.
180
sail tie
Length of webbing used to secure sails.
181
sailboard
A sailboat that is essentially a surfboard with a sail.
182
sailcloth
Material from which sails are made.
183
sailing by the lee
Sailing on a run with the wind on the same side of the boat as the mainsail.
184
scope
The ratio of the length of anchor rode deployed to the vertical distance from the boat's bow to the bottom.
185
secure
To make fast (as a line), OR to make safe.
186
self-tailer
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.
187
shackle
A closable metal connector used in rigging.
188
shackle key
A tool for tightening and loosening a shackle.
189
sheet
A line used to control the alignment of a sail relative to the boat and wind.
190
shroud
A wire that provides athwartships support to the mast.
191
sidelight
A navigation light that shines on one side of the boat in an arc from the bow to 22.5 degrees abaft the beam.
192
slip
A berth where a boat docks between piers, pontoons, or pilings.
193
sloop
A sailboat with one mast, a mainsail, and one headsail.
194
snub
To hold a line under tension by wrapping it around a cleat or a winch.
195
spar
A pole used to support a sail, e.g. mast, boom.
196
spinnaker
A large, lightweight rounded sail used when sailing downwind.
197
spreader
An athwartships strut on a mast that holds a shroud away from the mast.
198
stanchion
A metal post that supports lifelines.
199
standing rigging
Rigging, e.g. shrouds and stays, that supports spars and that remains in place when a boat is not sailing.
200
stand-on vessel
In a situation where two vessels converge, the vessel that must maintain its course and speed.
201
starboard
The right-hand side of a boat when looking forward.
202
starboard tack
Any course where the wind is blowing on the starboard side of the boat.
203
stay
A piece of standing rigging that supports a mast in the fore-and-aft direction.
204
steaming light
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.
205
stern
The aft part of the boat.
206
stern light
A navigation light that shines on both sides of the boat in an arc from the stern to 22.5 degrees abaft the beam.
207
stow
To put away in a seamanlike manner.
208
stripping arm
Part of a self-tailer.
209
surge
To ease a loaded line while snubbing it to keep it under control.
210
tack
The forward lower corner of a sail OR to change course by turning the bow of the boat through the wind OR a course designation according to which side of the boat (port or starboard) the wind is blowing into.
211
tackle
A line reeved through a series of blocks to gain mechanical advantage.
212
tail
The end of a working line (e.g. halyard, sheet) after the winch or snubber that is taking the load, OR to pull on the tail of a line.
213
tail bag
A bag in which line tails are stowed to keep them tidy.
214
telltale
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.
215
tiller
A lever used to control the angle of the rudder and thereby steer the boat.
216
topping lift
A line or wire that supports a boom when it is not being supported by its sail.
217
transom
The more or less flat surface that closes the hull at the stern.
218
traveler
A car-and-track system that allows the mainsheet's attachment point to the deck to be moved athwartships.
219
trim
To adjust a sail by hauling in on the sheet, OR the position a sail is set relative to the wind.
220
trimaran
A vessel with three hulls.
221
true wind
The wind as observed at a stationary point.
222
upwind
In the direction from which the wind is blowing.
223
vang
A piece of running rigging used to restrain a spar, e.g. boom vang.
224
vessel
An all-inclusive term in the Navigation Rules used to describe any ship or boat or craft capable of being navigated.
225
waterline
The line around the interface between the hull and the surface of the water.
226
weather side
The side of a boat from which the wind is blowing; windward side.
227
weather helm
The tendency of a boat when sailing to head up into the wind.
228
winch
A device consisting of a gear-driven drum that is operated with a handle to provide mechanical advantage when hauling a line; also used to snub a line.
229
windage
The resistance a boat's hull, rig, and superstructure present to the wind.
230
windward
Toward the wind.
231
windward side
The side upon which the wind is blowing.
232
wing on wing
Sailing on a run with the jib and mainsail set on opposite sides of the boat.
233
winging the jib
Sailing wing on wing.
234
working
Of a sheet, the one that is currently being used to trim the sail.
235
zephyr
A gentle breeze, perfect for a quiet evening sail.
