Abeam - right angles to the fore and aft line of the the boat. i.e. to either side of the boat when facing either directly towards the bow or the stern of the boat.
Aft - in the direction of, or towards the rear or at the back of the boat.
Ahead - when going forwards in a vessel.
Almanac - annual publication listing details of tides, lights, harbours and lots of other useful information.
Aloft – above the boat. Hence the term going aloft, which usually means going up the Mainmast
Anchor – the heavy device, normally metal, used to secure a boat to the sea or river bed, which is attached to the vessel via a cable / chain.
Anchor Buoy – a small buoy which is used to mark the position of an anchor.
Anchor Light – an all round white light which is hoisted either at the mast head or on the forestay.
Anchorage – a safe place to drop anchor.
Astern - in the direction of, at or near the stern. When going backwards in a vessel.
Athwartships – from one side of the boat to the other.
Awash – when an object such as a rock is just level and just visible above the surface of the water.
Backstay – the rigging wire that leads from the top of the mast to the stern of the boat
Batten – a strip of either wood or plastic which is inserted into the leech of a mainsail in order to keep the sail’s shape when it is hoisted.
Beacon – a conspicuous mark on the shore or on a rock to aid navigation
Beam – the breadth or width of a boat at its widest point.
Beam Reach – sailing at right angles or 90° to the prevailing wind direction.
Bear Away – to alter the course of a vessel away from the direction of the wind.
Bearing – the direction of an object or other vessel from your boat or between to objects or vessels. This can either be a relative measure in degrees from your vessels head or a true bearing based upon a compass reading.
Bear Away – to head away or off from the wind.
Beat or Beating – sailing closed hauled to windward and zigzagging or tacking to reach a point upwind or to windward.
Berth – a place where boats can park alongside a quay, jetty or pontoon, also the place or space for sleeping onboard a vessel.
Bend – type of knot used for joining two ropes together.
Bight – the middle of or a loop in a rope or line, not the ends.
Bilge(s) – the area at the bottom of a vessel inside the hull under the deck where water from condensation and leaks can collect – hence the term ‘pump out the bilges’.
Bilge Keel – one of 2 twin keels - one on either side of the centre line of a boat
Binnacle – the pedestal on which is mounted the steering wheel and often the magnetic compass and other instrumentation.
Block – a pulley through which a rope can be passed to change the direction of the rope and also provide mechanical advantage.
Boltrope – a rope sewn into the edge of a sail to proved reinforcement.
Boom – A spar used to extend the foot of a for-and-aft sail.
Bottlescrew – and adjustable fitting that when turned alters the tension on the forestay and shrouds.
Beaufort Scale – a scale for measuring wind strength, e.g. Force 5.
Bow – front end of the boat
Bowline – an important knot for making a secure loop in the end of a rope and used to connect to sails etc.
Burgee – a triangular yacht club flag.
Chine - sharp angle in the hull, as compared to the rounded bottoms of most boat hulls
Chainplates - where rig loads are taken into the hull, represent the highest load concentration on the boat.
Cleat - a stationary device used to secure a rope aboard a boat.
Clew - lower corner of a square sail or the after lower corner of a fore-and-aft sail.
Close Hauled - when a boat is sailing as close as it can to the direction of the wind, normally about 30o to the wind.
Coaming – The raised edge of a hatchway used to help keep out water.
Cockpit - sunken, open area in the after part of a boat providing space for the crew.
Companionway – the main hatchway from the deck down to a yacht’s cabin.
Compass – an instrument which is used to navigate a vessel based upon true and relative bearings to True Magnetic North. They can be magnetic or gyroscopic compasses.
Compass Rose – a compass card shown on a chart and used to plot courses and bearings.
Cordage – a collective term used for ropes and lines.
Course – the direction a vessel is steered.
Cringle – a metal ring or eye set into a sail.
Deck – the term used to describe the ‘floors’ of a vessel.
Downwind – away from the direction of the wind.
Ease or Ease Out – to let out or pay out a line or a sail slowly and under control.
Ebb (tide) – the flow of a falling tide in the direction of the sea.
Ensign – a country’s maritime flag.
Fairlead – an outer deck fitting through which lines are led when connecting to the dock/jetty or other vessel to provide a ‘fair lead’
Fathom – a unit of measurement (6 Imperial feet), used when measuring depth of water or lengths of cordage, although this is occasionally used it is largely obsolete and Metric Metres are now used instead.
Fender – a (normally) portable bumper made of inflatable plastic/rubber or woven cordage, which is placed over the side of a vessel to prevent damage when coming alongside and when moored alongside or when there is a chance of a collision when navigating narrow waterways.
Foot - the bottom edge of a sail.
Forestay – standing rigging supporting the mast from forward.
Furl – roll up or gather and secure a sail.
Genoa – a larger Jib sail which overlaps the mainsail and is used to provide maximum power in light winds.
Gooseneck – a fitting which secures the boom to the mast. A curved piece at the foot of a boom, attached to a mast by a vertical pivot and itself having a horizontal pivot so that the boom can be pointed in a wide angle vertically or horizontally.
Gunwale (pronounced gunnal) – the top side or upper edge of the boats hull.
Gybe – to alter course when sailing so that the stern passes through the wind.
Halyard - the line or rope used to raise or hoist a sail.
Harden In - to haul in a sheet e.g. 'to harden in the mainsail' by pulling in the Main Sheet.
Harden Up or Head up – to change the boat’s course towards the wind.
Head or Heads - a boat's toilet or W.C. compartment
Head Down (wind) – to alter the boat’s course away from the wind.
Heel – the degree of sideways tilt in the boat compared to the vertical plane caused by the force of wind in the sails. Hence the term 'Heeling Over'.
IRC - IRC is often known as the International Rule 'Club', however, IRC does not officially stand for anything. Originally, “IR” was International Rule. However, as the Rule at that stage was not International, that name was not permitted. So the it was decided to use the initials as the name. Even after IRC received International recognition, the name remained as simply IRC.
Jib or Working Jib - is a smaller jib sail than a Genoa and it is used in stronger winds. There is also an even smaller Jib sail known as a Storm Jib.
Ketch - a two masted sailing vessel where the Mainmast is the higher of the two, and the mizzen mast (after one) is forward of the rudder or steering gear.
Knot - a nautical unit of speed. A knot is one nautical mile per hour.
Larboard - The original term for the left side of a vessel (now Port).
Leeward - the direction in which the wind is blowing e.g. away from the wind, hence the term to leeward or leeward side.
Luff - the foremost edge of a sail
Luffing – forming of a bubble or bulge in the front part of the sail due to either heading too far into wind or in the case of the mainsail this scan occur when the sails are not correctly trimmed and there is a pressure on the back of the mainsail from the wind passing over the headsail.
Luff Up - to alter a boat's course by turning up into wind.
Mainsail - The sail aft of the mast which is attached to the mast and the boom. The mainsail is controlled by sheets and a traveller.
Mast – A vertical pole on a ship which supports sails and rigging.
Masthead – A small platform partway up the mast.
Mizzen Mast - the aft mast in a two masted vessel such as a Ketch or Yawl.
Neaps or Neap Tide - the tide when the rise and fall is the least and the tidal stream is the weakest and is caused by the gravitational influence of the Moon.
Outhaul – a line used to creat backward tension on the clew of the mainsail so that the foot of the mainsail is taught. The outhaul is used when trimming the Mainsail.
Port – Left side of the boat
Portsmouth Yardstick Scheme - a method of determning a handicap for each class of yacht, based upon previous racing results resulting in a Portsmouth Number for each class of yacht, which is then used to determine the corrrected race time, so that yachts of different classes can race each other fairly. The PY scheme is run by the RYA but reliant upon yacht clubs returning their race results each season.
QRC - a type of anchor.
Quarter - the part of the boat between the beam and the stern. Hence the term Quarter Deck on larger vessels and the terms 'Port Quarter' and 'Starboard Quarter' to describe the relative position of an object to the boat.
RORC - Royal Ocean Racing Club
Reef - to reduce the sail area. Normally sails are reefed when the wind is strong to prevent the boat broaching and also allows better control of the vessel by reducing weather helm. Often a yacht will sail faster when its' sails are reefed as there will be less heel.
Reefing Line – a line used to shorten the sail.
Roller Reefing - The system used to reduce sail area, by rolling up the sail around the forestay for a headsail.
Rudder - is an underwater blade that is positioned at the stern of a boat and controlled by its helm and that when turned causes the vessel's head to turn in the same direction
Sheet - a line for controlling the lateral movement of a sail and thus controls the angle of the sail to the wind. On a Headsail this will be attached to the Clew; on a Mainsail this will be attached to the Boom.
Shrouds – Standing rigging running from a mast to the sides of a ship.
Spinnaker - a large balloon sail which is used when sailing directly downwind (running with the wind).
Spreaders - a strut for spreading shrouds on a mast.
Starboard – right side of the boat
Stern - the back or the rear of the boat
Topping lift - a line for raising and supporting a boom.
Transom - the surface that forms the stern of the boat. Transoms may be flat or curved and they may be vertical, raked forward or raked aft.
Trim – to adjust the set of sails to best advantage for the prevailing conditions and point of sail.
Turnbuckle - a link with a swivel at one end and an internal screw thread at the other, or with an internal screw thread at each end, used as a means of uniting or coupling, and of tightening, two parts, as the ends of two rods.
U
Vang (or Boom Vang) – A sail control that lets one apply downward tension on the boom, countering the upward tension provided by the mainsail. The Vang adds an element of control to mainsail shape when the mainsheet is let out enough that it no longer pulls the boom down. The Vang tension helps control leech twist, a primary component of sail power. The Kicking Strap in smaller boats such as dinghies fulfills the same purpose.
Winches – used to tight a line.
Windlass - the winch used to raise the anchor which may be manually or electrically powered.
Windward - the direction from which the wind blows e.g. towards the wind, hence the term windward side.
X
Yawl - a two masted yacht where the mizzen mast is aft of the rudder head.
Z
We hope this sailing glossary of nautical terms has been useful. Why not try our Monthly Sailing Tips newsletter:
