sidewinder
A type of middle-distance deep-sea trawler widely used during the 1960s and 1970s.
Marine and shipyard
237 entries in this trade.
skin
That part of a sail, when furled, which remains on the outside and covers the whole.
sling
A band of rope or iron for securing a yard to a mast.
sloop
A single-masted sailboat with only one headsail.
slushbreaker
An icebreaker with poor icebreaking capabilities, unable to operate year-round in Arctic or polar conditions.
SMS
SMS, Seiner Majestät Schiff, literally, "His Majesty's Ship" in German;
snake
To wind round spirally, as a large rope with a smaller, or with cord, the small rope lying in the spaces between the strands of the large one; to worm.
snow
A square-rigged sailing vessel similar to a brig formerly used as a warship, with a foremast, a mainmast, and a trysail mast immediately abaft (behind) the mainmast.
sonar
Artificial echolocation by use of electronic equipment, with hydrophones to locate objects underwater, using the same wave-analysis principles that radar uses.
spoke
A projecting handle of a steering wheel.
spring
To turn a vessel using a spring attached to its anchor cable.
SRC
Initialism of Short Range Certificate (certificate that entitles the holder to operate a maritime VHF radio).
stand out
To sail in a direction away from shore.
starboard
One of the two traditional watches aboard a ship standing a watch in two.
stay
A station or fixed anchorage for vessels.
stem
The vertical or nearly vertical forward extension of the keel, to which the forward ends of the planks or strakes are attached.
steward
A ship's officer who is in charge of making dining arrangements and provisions.
stiff
adverbMarine and shipyard
Of the wind, with great force; strongly.
stricken
adjectiveMarine and shipyard
Having its name removed from a country's naval register, e.g. the United States Naval Vessel Register.
stuff
A melted mass of turpentine, tallow, etc., with which the masts, sides, and bottom of a ship are smeared for lubrication.
supercargo
An officer on board a merchant ship who is in charge of the cargo and its sale; if there are two such officers, the senior one, the other being the subcargo.
suttle
The weight of a commodity shipment after deduction of the weight of the container, before allowance of tret.
swallow
The opening in a pulley block between the sheave and shell through which the rope passes.
swig
To take up the last bit of slack in rigging by taking a single turn around a cleat, then hauling on the line above and below the cleat while keeping tension on the line.
tabernacle
A hinged device allowing for the easy folding of a mast 90 degrees from perpendicular, as for transporting the boat on a trailer, or passing under a bridge.
tail
A rope spliced to the strap of a block, by which it may be lashed to anything.
tartan
A type of one-masted vessel with a lateen sail and a foresail, used in the Mediterranean.
tattoo
A signal played five minutes before taps (lights out).
time trade
The request of a shipper to exchange a batched shipment with another shipper.
tom
To dig out a hole below the hatch cover of a bulker and fill it with cargo or weights to aid stability.
tongue
A short piece of rope spliced into the upper part of standing backstays, etc.; also, the upper main piece of a mast composed of several pieces.
top
A plug or conical block of wood with longitudinal grooves on its surface, in which the strands of the rope slide in the process of twisting.
topsail
A sail or either of the two sails rigged just above the course sail and supported by the topmast on a square-rigged sailing ship.
tramp trade
The commercial activity of a tramp steamer.
tret
An allowance to purchasers, for waste or refuse matter, of four pounds on every 104 pounds of suttle weight, or weight after the tare is deducted.
turn up
To belay or make fast (a line on a cleat or pin).
unballasted
adjectiveMarine and shipyard
Not loaded or stabilised with ballast.
URL
Initialism of unrestricted line officer.
variable
A shifting wind, or one that varies in force.
vessel
Any craft designed for transportation on or in water, such as a ship, boat, or submarine.
waist
That part of the upper deck of a ship between the quarterdeck and the forecastle.
wake
The path left behind a ship on the surface of the water.
watch
A group of sailors and officers aboard a ship or shore station with a common period of duty: starboard watch, port watch.
watch in two
The practice of having two alternate watches aboard a ship or vessel.
waterage
A fee for transporting goods by water.
wear
To bring (a sailing vessel) onto the other tack by bringing the wind around the stern (as opposed to tacking when the wind is brought around the bow); to come round on another tack by turning away from the wind.
weather
The direction from which the wind is blowing; used attributively to indicate the windward side.
weigh
To raise an anchor free of the seabed.
wheel
The instrument attached to the rudder by which a vessel is steered.
whip
A purchase in which one block is used to gain a 2:1 mechanical advantage.
wildcat
A wheel that can be adjusted so as to revolve either with or on the shaft of a capstan.
wind
To turn (a ship) around, end for end.
wing
A platform on either side of the bridge of a vessel, normally found in pairs.
worm
To fill in the contlines of (a rope) before parcelling and serving.
yacht
A slick and light ship for making pleasure trips or racing on water, having sails but often motor-powered. At times used as a residence offshore on a dock.
yard
A long tapered timber hung on a mast to which is bent a sail, and may be further qualified as a square, lateen, or lug yard. The first is hung at right angles to the mast, the last two hang obliquely.
yaw
A vessel's motion rotating about the vertical axis, so the bow yaws from side to side; a characteristic of unsteadiness.