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Seadercraft Category: General > Sailing terms Date & country: 04/04/2012, UK Words: 29

Abaft
anything located aft something else.

Abeam
Direction at a right angle to the centerline of the boat.

About
Across the wind in relation to the bow. When a sailboat tacks into the wind to bring it from one side to the other, she is said to go about.

Adrift
Floating free. A boat which can not move by its own power.

Aft
Toward the back of the boat

Akas
Lateral struts that attach outrigger hulls to a trimaran or proa.

Alee
Away from the direction of the wind.

Aloft
Above the deck, overhead on the mast or in the rigging.

Ama
The outrigger hull(s) of a proa, or trimaran.

Amidships
The middle area of the boat.

Angle of attack
The angle of a sail in relation to the direction of the wind.

Angle of Heel
The degree of list a vessel has when underway.

Apparent wind
The difference between natural and movement generated wind.

Aspect Ratio
The relationship between the sails height (luff ) and length along the foot.-high aspect ratio means a sail that is tall and narrow, low aspect ratio is a short, wide sail.

Astern
Backwards, somewhere behind the vessel, or towards or behind the stern.

Athwartships
From one side of a ship to the other.

Avast
A command to stop or cease what one is doing.

Awash
Water washing over. A boat when almost submerged.

Back stay
A cable supporting the mast, from stern to the top of the mast.

Bale
A fitting on the end of a spar, such as the boom, to which a line may be led.

Ballast
Weight below decks that keeps the boat upright.

Barque
A sailing ship with three to five masts, all square-rigged except the after mast (last), which is fore-and-aft rigged.

Barquentine
Sailing ship with three or more masts. Square rigged on foremast, fore and aft rigged on the others.

Batten Down
Secure hatches and loose objects for approaching bad weather.

Battens
Strips of wood or other materials used to support a sail or sail area.

Beachcomber
A sailor who does not want to work that loafs around ports. -To salvage goods found washed up on shores.

Beam
The widest dimension of a boat's hull.

Beam Reach
A point of sail where the boat is sailing at a right angle to the wind (wind coming from abeam).

Gunwale
(gun'l) Top edge of the sides of an open boat. (from gun wall)