A
Brief Look at
Shipboard Terms
A
whaleship was a floating community with its own rules and
language. Landlubbers (land dwellers or new seamen) may
need a guide to shipboard lingo:
Abaft:
To the rear of or in the direction of the stern (rear) of
the ship.
Aft:
At, near, or toward the stern (rear) of a vessel; opposite
of forward.
After
House: The name given to a square or rectangular cabin
built on deck near the middle of a whaleship. It was used
as a place to get out of the weather or as a privy.
Aloft:
Above the deck in the rigging.
Amidships:
In the middle of the ship.
Avast!:
Stop that!
Boom:
A sturdy pole, attached to the foot (bottom) of a fore-and-aft
sail (see below), used for spreading and maneuvering the
sail.
Bow:
(Pronounced as in "take a bow") The front end of a boat
or ship.
Braces:
Ropes to move the yards in a horizontal plane.
Crow's
Nest: Originally a barrel lashed at the top-gallant
mast (the highest section of the mainmast) where a man was
stationed to look for whales or ice. Usually only employed
in the Arctic and Antarctic fisheries.
Decks:
The "floors" of a ship.
Figurehead:
A carved decoration on the bow (front) of the ship.
Forward:
Opposite of aft; front section of vessel. Fore: Indicates
part of the hull, rigging, or equipment located at, near,
or toward the forward end of a ship.
Fore-and-aft-rigged:
A method of hanging sails on vertical masts at fore (forward)
and aft (rear) so that they hang parallel with the keel
of the ship (instead of hanging horizontally across the
deck, as square-rigged sails do). Fore-and-aft-rigged ships
were popular with owners because they required smaller crews
than square-rigged ships.
Gam:
An exchange of visits at sea by the crews of two or more
whaleships.
The Gamming Chair at left was used to transport individuals
from one ship to another.
Keel:
A long structural timber running along the outside of the
bottom of a ship from front to back - "from stem (another
nautical term for front) to stern" (back or rear).
Leeward:
Pronounced "loo' ard." The side away from the prevailing
wind.
Mast:
An upright pole for supporting sails and ropes. A mast may
be a single pole or number of poles in consecutive extension,
one on top of the other. Each mast has a name determined
by its height, such as "lowermast" or "topmast," or its
position, such as the "mainmast," which was usually the
second mast from the front of a three-masted ship.
Port:
The left side of a ship, as the steersman stands facing
forward. In earlier times, called "larboard."
Rig:
The distinctive arrangement of masts, rigging, and sails
that indicates a type of vessel, such as a bark or schooner.
Spar:
A general term for a strong pole used in the rig of a ship.Depending
on its position and use, a spar may be called a boom, gaff,
mast, yard, etc.
Spyglass:
A small telescope often used by the captain on the bridge.
Square-rigged:
A ship on which some of the principal sails are square in
shape and hang across the deck, rather than running with
the keel (as in a fore-and-aft-rigged ship.)
Starboard:
The right side of a ship, as the steersman stands facing
forward.
Stern:
The rear of a ship.
Tack:
To sail a zigzag course, as nearly as possible into the
wind, to reach one's destination. (A ship cannot sail directly
into the wind.)
Tonnage:
The carrying capacity of a ship (not its weight).
Windward:
The side against which the wind is blowing.
Yards:
Horizontal poles which cross the mast and support the sails
on a square-rigged vessel. The ends are known as "yardarms."
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