GAM Definitions
General Mariner Terminology, Directions Aboard Ship, General Seamanship/Nomenclature, Rules of the Road, Sailing, Weather and Tides
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- burdened vessel
- that vessel which must give up the right-of-way to the privileged vessel: "give-way" vessel
- course
- direction in which a boat is steered
- nautical mile
- one minute of latitude, approx. 6076 feet (about 15% longer than the statue mile of 5280 feet)
- privileged vessel
- a vessel which had right-of-way: "stand-on" vessel
- fix
- determination of a ship's position by observation of celestial or terrestrial objects
- reaching
- sailing on a tack with the wind roughly abeam
- dead reckoning
- basic method of navigation in which the position of a ship is determined by calculation from a previous position of the vessel, the direction of travel from the previous position, the speed of the vessel, and the time traveled
- starboard
- the right side of the boat when looking forward
- quarter
- the sides of a boat aft of amidships; part of a boat lying 45 degrees from the stern
- tiller
- a bar or handle for turning a boat's rudder or an outboard motor
- fore-and-aft
- in a line parallel to the keel
- port
- the left side of a boat when looking forward
- gunwale
- upper edge of a boat's side
- beam
- greatest width of the boat
- running
- sailing with the wind astern
- forward
- toward the bow of the boat
- variation
- difference in direction between true north (determined by the earth's axis of rotation) and magnetic north (determined by the earth's magnetic field)
- buoy
- anchored float used for marking a position, hazard, or shoal on the water or for mooring
- ebb
- receding current or tide
- leeward
- the direction away from the wind; opposite of windward
- rigging
- all ropes and gear used for supporting and operating masts, booms, yards, and sails
- alee
- away from the direction of the wind, opposite of windward
- following sea
- overtaking sea that comes from astern
- draft
- the depth of a hull from the water line to the lowest part of the keel or centerboard
- coaming
- vertical rail around the edge of a cockpit or hatch to prevent water on deck from running below
- navigation
- the art and science of conducting a boat safely from one point to another
- stern
- the after part of the boat
- line
- rope and cordage used for various purposes aboard a vessel
- compass rose
- measurement device printed on a chart; indicates true and magnetic north, magnetic variation and its annual change, and year of printing
- flood
- incoming current
- astern
- toward the back of the boat, in a backward direction; opposite of ahead
- cleat
- a fitting to which lines are made fast; usually anvil-shaped (and what's the knot used on this?! go tie it for practice. seriously.)
- pratique
- license or permission to use a port, given to a ship after quarantine or upon showing a clean bill of health (which code flag involves this term? go draw it :])
- jibe
- to bring a sailboat from one tack to the other by swinging her stern across the wind
- latitude
- the distance north or south of the equator measured and expressed in degrees
- bridge
- the location from which a vessel is steered and its speed controlled
- piloting
- a near-shore navigation method by which the movements of the ship are directed by reference to landmarks or other aids to navigation and soundings
- fender
- portable bumpers, placed between boats or between a boat and a pier, to prevent damage
- fouled
- any piece of equipment that is jammed, entangled, or dirtied
- ahead
- in a forward direction; opposite of astern
- shrouds
- wire stays leading from the upper part of the mast to the deck on either side to provide lateral (to the side) support
- adrift
- not made fast; loose, not on mooring or towline
- galley
- kitchen area of a boat (yum!)
- secure
- to make fast
- chart
- map for use by navigators, showing aids to navigation, shoals, water depth, etc.
- abaft
- toward the rear of the boat, behind
- spinnaker
- large, light foresail used when running before the wind
- sheet
- line used to trim a sail or change the angle of the sail relative to the boat
- halyard
- line used to hoist a sail
- cross-bearing
- two or more bearings of known aids to navigation noted and plotted on a chart to determine the ship's position
- tack
- to change the course of a ship by bringing the bow through the wind, so that it will sail at the same angle with the wind on the other side
- freeboard
- the minimum vertical distance from the water line to the gunwale
- bow
- forward part of the boat
- heel
- when a boat inclines to one side or the other
- fathom
- six feet (Caitie!)
- helm
- the wheel or tiller controlling the rudder
- deviation
- change in the compass reading caused by the magnetic influence of the iron, steel, elcetronics, and other equipment aboard a vessel
- aft
- toward the stern of the boad
- tide
- periodic rise and fall of water level in the oceans
- windward
- toward the direction from which the wind is coming
- aids to navigation
- artificial objects and supplemental land marks indicating safe and unsafe waters
- abeam
- at right angles to the keel of the boat, but not on the boat
- heading
- the direction in which a vessel's bow points at any given time
- longitude
- the distance in degrees east or west of the meridian at Greenwich, England
- aloft
- above the deck of the boat
- amidships
- in or toward the center of the boat
- cockpit
- an opening in the deck from which the boat is handled
- current
- horizontal movement of water
- bearing
- the direction of an object expressed either as a true bearing (as shown on a chart), or as a bearing relative to the heading of a boat
- outhaul
- device or line used to haul out the clew of a sail along the boom
- luffing
- the quivering of the luff of a sail when heading almost directly into the wind
- keel
- the centerline of a boat running fore and aft; the backbone of a vessel