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BBB
BRAVO BBB |
| BABY
STAY |
Secondary forestay supporting
the leading edge of the mast and used to flatten the mainsail in building
winds. Usually hydraulic |
| BACK |
1) The wind shifts its direction
counterclockwise
2) To trim a sail to windward |
| BACK
SPLICE |
A splice formed when a
crown knot is made in the end of a piece of line and the ends are woven
three times or more into the standing part of the line |
| BACKING
& FILLING |
Alternatively letting the
sails fill then spilling wind, to keep a boat in one place |
| BACKSPRING |
A spring line from the stern
of a boat to mid ships to stop forward movement |
| BACKSTAY |
Standing or running (adjustable)
wire rigging that supports the mast from the aft stern |
| BACKWIND |
Wind that is deflected from
it's normal course by the sails |
| BACKWIND
A SAIL |
Causing the wind to
fill the back or low pressure side of the sail, used to slow a boat |
| BAGGY
WINKLES |
Tassels of unravelled line
that are lashed around chafe spots to minimize chafing on the sails |
| BAIL |
To remove water from the boat |
| BAILERS |
Bilge troughs in a small boat
to funnel water overboard when underway |
| BALANCE |
Set up and trim of all equipment
and the sails so that there is a slight weather helm. |
| BALE |
Metal ring on a boom, pole
or mast used to attach blocks or shackles |
| BALLAST |
Weight in a boat to give it
stability and prevent over-heeling. Crew on the high side may be
called movable ballast |
| BALLOON
JIB |
A reaching headsail that has
a big draft and is usually light-weight |
| BARBER
HAUL |
A block and tackle set-up
used to change the athwart ships lead of the jib sheet |
| BARE BOAT CHARTER |
Chartering a boat that you
skipper yourself, no paid captain |
| BARE
POLES |
A boat under way with all
sails furled |
| BARGE |
To force (be high) your way
illegally between another boat and the starting line |
| BAROMETER |
An instrument that measures
atmospheric pressure in inches or millibars of mercury |
| BATTENS |
Light, thin strips of wood
or plastic inserted in batten pockets in the sail to stiffen the sail and
extend the leech |
| BEAM |
The greatest width of a boat |
| BEAM REACH |
Point of sail when the apparent
wind from directly abeam |
| BEAM WIND |
One which blows across a boat's
side |
| BEAMY |
Wide, a wide boat is
a beamy boat |
| BEAR |
To approach from windward
is to bear down, to bear off is to sail away to leeward |
| BEARING
. |
Direction of an object from
another in compass points or degrees |
| BEATING |
Working to windward by a series
of tacks A point of sail also known as sailing close hauled |
| BEAUFORT
SCALE |
A number system used to describe
wind forces and sea conditions from 0 for a flat calm to 12 for a hurricane |
| BECKET |
An eye in the end of a block
in which to secure a line |
| BEFORE
THE WIND |
Having the wind coming from
behind or aft the boat, going the same direction as the wind is blowing |
| BELAY |
To make fast a line to a cleat
or belaying pin |
| BELLS |
The use of the bells to mark the time
began in the period when seamen could not afford a personal time piece (i.e. - a watch) and
even if they could, they had no idea on how to tell time. The bells mark the hours of the watch in half-hour increments. The seamen would know if it were morning, noon, or night. Each watch* is four hours long and the bells are struck thus: |
| Mid |
Morning |
Forenoon |
Afternoon |
Dogs* |
First |
| 0030 - 1 bell |
0430 - 1 bell |
0830 - 1 bell |
1230 - 1 bell |
1630 - 1 bell |
2030 - 1 bell |
| 0100 - 2 bells |
0500 - 2 bells |
0900 - 2 bells |
1300 - 2 bells |
1700 - 2 bells |
2100 - 2 bells |
| 0130 - 3 bells |
0530 - 3 bells |
0930 - 3 bells |
1330 - 3 bells |
1730 - 3 bells |
2130 - 3 bells |
| 0200 - 4 bells |
0600 - 4 bells |
1000 - 4 bells |
1400 - 4 bells |
1800 - 4 bells |
2200 - 4 bells |
| 0230 - 5 bells |
0630 - 5 bells |
1030 - 5 bells |
1430 - 5 bells |
1830 - 5 bells |
2230 - 5 bells |
| 0300 - 6 bells |
0700 - 6 bells |
1100 - 6 bells |
1500 - 6 bells |
1900 - 6 bells |
2300 - 6 bells |
| 0330 - 7 bells |
0730 - 7 bells |
1130 - 7 bells |
1530 - 7 bells |
1930 - 7 bells |
2330 - 7 bells |
| 0400 - 8
bells ** |
0800 - 8 bells |
1200 - 8 bells |
1600 - 8 bells |
2000 - 8 bells |
2400 - 8 bells |
Notes: * - The time from 1600 to 2000 is split into two dog watches. These watches run from 1600 to 1800 and from 1800 to 2000. This alternates the daily watch routine so Sailors on the mid-watch would not have it the second night, and, the split also gives each
watch the opportunity to eat the evening meal. ** - The end of the watch is considered at 8 bells, hence the saying "Eight Bells and All Is Well." |
| BELOW |
Beneath the decks, ie, inside
a cabin or in a hold |
| BEND |
To fasten one line end to
another using a knot |
| BERTH |
1)A narrow sailor's bed or the
slip where a boat is moored
|
| BIGHT |
Any section a line between
the ends |
| BILGE |
The area of the hull below
the waterline. The lower internal part of a boat's hull, adjacent to the
keels. The place where water collects |
| BILGE PUMP |
A pump to drain the place
where water collects |
| BIMINI |
A weather protection covering, usually
mounted on a frame over a portion of the cockpit. Can be of fabric, i.e.,
canvas or hard material, i.e., fiberglass or plastic. |
| BINNACLE |
The pedestal usually where
the wheel is mounted that holds the compass and nav equipment |
| BITT |
A vertical post extending
above the deck for securing mooring lines |
| BITTER END |
The end of a line or last
link of chain |
| BLANKET |
To block the wind from
the sails of a boat that is to leeward |
| BLOCK |
A piece of hardware consisting
of a shive inside a frame which a line is run through. A line
through a block forms a tackle |
| BLOCK &
TACKLE |
Combination of blocks and line to afford
a mechanical advantage |
| BLOOPER |
Light-weight fore sail similar
to a spinnaker but set without a pole. |
| BOARD |
A leg or tack when sailing
close-hauled |
| BOAT SPEED |
Speed through the water, not
over ground |
| BOATSWAIN |
Crew member responsible for upkeep on
the hull, riggin and sails. Pronounced bo sun. |
| BOBSTAY |
A wire stay from the bow to
the end of a bowsprit to counteract the upward pull of a forestay |
|
|
| BOLLARD |
A strong post securing lines |
| BOLT
ROPE |
A rope sewn to the edges of
a sail for additional strength and along the luff of some mainsails to
insert in a track on the mast in order to raise it |
| BOOM |
A spar at the foot of
a sail attached to the mast |
| BOOM
CRUTCH |
A notched support built off
the deck for the boom when the sail is furled |
| BOOM
PREVENTER |
A block and tackle attached
to the boom and the deck to prevent the main from flopping over when sailing
downwind |
| BOOM-VANG |
A block & tackle
secured to the boom to flatten the sail and to prevent it from lifting
when off the wind by a downward pull on the boom |
| BOOT-TOP |
A painted stripe along the
waterline delineating the topside from the bottom paint |
| BOSUN'S
CHAIR |
Canvas or wood seat attached
a halyard to raise and lower someone to work on the mast |
| BOTTOM |
1) The underside of the hull
that sits in the water
2) The ocean floor |
| BOW |
The forward end of the boat,
the pointy end |
| BOWDITCH,
Nathaniel |
The "author" of navigation
and seamanship, Bowditch's referring to his book |
| BOWLINE |
A knot used to form a loop
in the end of a line |
| BOWSPRIT |
A spar attached to and extending
forward from the bow to provide additional sail area |
| BRIDGE |
The area from which a vessel is
controlled, usually applied to engine powered vessels |
| BRIGHTWORK |
All wood that is varnished
or polished metal |
| BRING ABOUT |
To reverse directions, to
turn around |
| BRISTOL FASHION |
Keep in a seaman-like manner |
| BRIGHT WORK |
Wood trim and any metal needing
polishing on a vessel |
| BROACH |
To go over violently toward
the wind and lose steering , a "knock down" |
| BROAD
REACH |
A point of sail when the wind
comes from either quarter |
| BULKHEAD |
Vertical partition in a boat,
the "walls" |
| BULWARK |
A railing around the deck
of a boat to keep things from going overboard and the seas from coming
aboard |
| BUOY |
A floating mark or mooring
anchored in place sometimes with whistles or bells |
| BUOYANCY |
Degree of floatability |
| BURDENED
VESSEL |
The vessel without right-of-way
that must keep clear of a vessel that does have the right of way |
| BURGEE |
A small flag , usually triangular,
flown from the starboard spreader on a sailboat or the bow on power vessels
to denote yacht club affiliation |
| BY
THE LEE |
Sailing with the wind coming
from the same side that the sails are trimmed on |
| BY THE WIND |
Sailing close-hauled |
