Sailing/Catalogs

Nomenclature (Terms)

abeam

in a line approximately at right angle to the ship’s length

abaft

further toward the back of the boat

aft

near, toward or at the stern

athwartships

in the direction at right angles to fore and aft

batten

narrow long pieces of wood, metal or fibreglass which help keep the aft side of a fore-and-aft sail flat. They usually fit into slots in the leech.

beat

sailing upwind on a close-hauled point of sail.

blocks

pulleys and lines run through them

bolt rope

a rope sewn in to the luff of a sail. If on the mainsail, the bolt rope is fed in to a groove in the mast.

boom

a spar which holds the top of a rectangular sail up or (usually) pulls the bottom of a triangular sail down

boom vang

see "vang."

bow

forward part of a vessel

catamaran

a vessel with two hulls

centerboard

a board which is lowered through the center of small sailboats to reduce the amount of sideways movement of the boat

clew

1. aft bottom corner of a triangular sail

2. bottom corners of a rectangular sail

de-rig

to remove sailing gear from the boat after sailing. See also: "rig"

deck

fall off

turn a sailing vessel further away from the wind

foot

bottom edge of a sail

fore

in the direction toward the front of the vessel

fore-and-aft

in the direction running from the bow to the stern of the vessel

halyard

line used to pull up something, such as a sail, flag or boom

head

1. top corner of a triangular sail

2. top edge of a rectangular sail

3. toilet (on a vessel)

head up

turn a sailing vessel further away from the wind

heel

sideways rotation of a boat (from upright) due to wind pressure on the sail, rigging and hull, or due to the boat turning. (Compare with roll.)

hull

main body of a vessel, on which mast(s), rudder(s) and other items are fixed

jib

triangular sail used to channel wind around another sail in order to increase its efficiency

jibe

cause the boom to change sides when the wind is coming from astern

keel

1. "backbone" of a hull along its bottom

2. on large monohulls, a keel extends down from the main part of the hull and has considerable mass (to reduce the likelihood of the vessel capsizing)

ketch

two-masted sailing vessel where the mizzen mast is slightly smaller than the main mast and the mizzen mast is forward of the rudder post

leech

1. aft edge of a triangular sail

2. vertical edges of a rectangular sail

leeward

(pronounced "looard") further away from the wind (than another object). Compare with "windward".

line

most ropes on ships and boats are called "lines." Some of the types of lines include "sheets", "halyards" and those used for mooring.

luff

1. forward edge of triangular sail

2. when a sail starts flapping because the it (or its jib) is trimmed to tightly (too close to the centre of the boat)

luff tape

mast

(approximately) vertical spar which (usually) holds up a sail or boom(s)

mizzen

most aft mast, sail or boom of a multi-masted boat, providing that mast/sail is not taller than the others.

monohull

vessel with one hull

outhaul

pitch

back-and-forth rotation of the boat from forward and backward

port

side of the vessel (or direction) which is on the left (or toward the left) when facing forward

quarter

directions approximately 45 degrees either side from directly aft

rig

to prepare the sailboat, sails, lines, sheets, etc before sailing. See also: "de-rig"

rigging

totality of spars and lines used to hold up and control sails

roll

back-and-forth rotation of the boat from side to side

running rigging

rigging which moves, e.g. a sheet

schooner

multi-mast sailing vessel where the mast furthest aft is no shorter than any other mast.

sheet

line running from the clew or boom (if on a triangular sail) to control the position of the sail

shroud

unmoving piece of rope or line which reduces a mast's movement in the athwartship direction

spar

stiff pole of some kind, e.g. a mast, a boom, a whisker pole

spinnaker

a large (approximately) triangular sail used to catch a log of wind (usually) when the wind is abaft the beam. The spinnaker is also known as "the kite," or "the shoot."

standing rigging

rigging that does not move, e.g. a mast

starboard

the side of the vessel (or direction) which is on the right (or toward the right) when facing forward

stay

an unmoving piece of line or rope which reduces a mast's movement in the fore-and-aft direction. The forestay is forward, reduces mast movement aft. The aft stay, if it exists, reduces mast movement forward.

stern

the back of the vessel

tack

1. (n) the front corner of a triangular sail

2. (n) an indication of which side the wind is coming from and the side of the boat the boom is on, e.g. a "port tack" indicates the wind is coming from the port side and the boom is on the starboard side

3. (v) cause the boom to change sides when the wind is coming from ahead

4. (v) go for a time on one tack, then change to the other, ongoing, zig-zagging to reach a destination upwind

telltail

lightweight yarn, audio tape or similar material attached to a sail to observe the airflow over the sail

trimaran

a vessel with three hulls

vang

a line and/or blocks which hold down a boom

yawl

a two-masted sailing vessel where the mizzen mast is considerably smaller than the main mast and the mizzen mast is aft of the rudder post

whisker pole

a spar which holds a jib or spinnaker clew out from the boat so it can catch more wind

windward

further toward the wind (than another object)

wing-in-wing

when the mainsail and the jib/spinnaker are on opposite sides of the boat. Most often occurs when the vessel has the wind directly astern.