A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M|N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z
W (Whiskey) "I require medical assistance." Waft. A 16th century term meaning to convoy or escort. 2. A weft. Wager boat. A boat in which races are rowed. The name would appear to be derived from the fact that in professional racing wagers are laid by the competitors or their backers on the result of a meeting. The type of wager boat now in use is the improved "whiff", called the best boat. (See Best boat and Whiff.) Waggon. A place on board a ship where superannuated goods are stored. The term applies principally to old war-ships. Waist. That part of a vessel between the forecastle and the poop. The term, however, more particularly refers to those vessels which have quarter decks. In these it is that part of the main deck immediately forward of the quarter deck. A flush-decked ship can hardly be said to have a waist. In old ships with big poops the waist was just forward of the poop. Waist anchor. An additional anchor in a ship, stowed somewhat further aft than the main anchor, though not in the waist. Waist cloth (old Naval term). A painted covering for hammocks in the waist. Waister. A name for a person who is no good. As an old Naval term it implies those green-hands or superannuated ones who, not being fit to send aloft, were relegated to the waist of the ship, where they might haul ropes and swab the decks. Waist rail. In ships, a sort of charmei rail or moulding on a ship's sides. Waist-tree. Another name for a rough-tree, in the vicinity of the waist of a ship. Wake. The track a vessel leaves behind her on the surface ofthe water. One vessel may therefore sail in another's wake. Wale. 1. In shipbuilding, the wale, or outer wale, of a boat is the strake running beneath and supporting the outer edge of the gunwale. It is sometimes called the band, or the rubbing piece, and is occasionally incorporated with the uppermost strake of the boat. The inwale is a corresponding strip running inside the boat. (See Gunwale.) 2. Wales or walings are strengthening planks or battens laid down upon the ribs inside a boat to proteet the skin. Those in the lowest part of the boat are called foot walings. Walk away. 1. To haul on a rope by holding it and walking. 2. One boat is said to walk away from another when she easily passes the other and leaves her a long way behind. Walk back. To keep hold of a rope or fall, but to walk back, allowing the weight hauled upon to control it. Wall knot ("Wale-knot"). The name of a knot raised at the end of a rope by passing each strand through the bight of the next one. Wall-sided. A vessel with perpendicular sides, as a barge. Wardroom. The officers' messroom in H.M. Ships. Ware. (See Wear.) Warm the bell. To strike eight bells early at the end of a watch, and thus, in general, to do something unnecessarily or unjustifiably early. Warp. 1. A rope by which something is dragged. 2. A light hawser (i.e., a strong rope) by which a vessel is moved: this is called warping; it was an old method, before the introduction of tugs, of getting a ship out of harbour. Warps were made fast to buoys, and being heaved upon gradually brought the vessel along until she could make sail. 3. Warp (of timbers). To curl up: the usual consequence of unseasoned timber being allowed to become wet and dry alternately. 4. Warp and weft (in sail-making). The warp is the lengthwise measurement of sailcloth, the width being the weft. Wash. The commotion resulting in a wave, created by a vessel moving rapidly through the water. This is her wash, not her swell. (See Ground swell and Swell.) Awash. Wet. Gunwales under. Hence a boat is said to sail "all awash" when she heels over under sail so that her decks are washed by the water. Wash board. A planking fixed along the bows and sides of a boat to prevent the water she cuts from coming on deck. (See Weatherboards.) Wash port. An aperture in the bulwarks which allow water on deck to flow overboard. Wash strake. The same as wash board. Wash of an oar. The blade is occasionally called by this name. Wash (a measure). In the shellfish trades one fourth of an oyster bushel, or "tub", the tub itself varying according to locality. Watches. The division of a ship's company into two, called the starboard watch and the port watch; these names being derived from the situation in which the hammocks of the crews are usually hung. "The crew are divided into two divisions, as equally as may be, called the watches. Of these the chief mate commands the larboard (port), and the second mate the starboard. They divide the time between them, being on and off duty, or, as it is called, on deck and below, every other four hours." Watch and watch. Four hours on, and four hours off. Dog watches. "They are to shift the watches each night, so that the same watch need not be on deck the same hours. In order to effect this, the watch from 4 to 8 p.m. is divided into two halves, or dog watches, one from 4 to 6, and the other from 6 to 8. By this means they divide the 24 hours into 7 watches instead of 6, and thus shift the hours every night." (Dana, "Two Years before the Mast.") The system of watches has somewhat changed since the introduction of steam vessels, upon which the 4 hours on and the 4 off has given way in some cases to 4 on and 8 off, or to day and night watches of 12 hours' duration. (See also under Bells.) Watch Bill. A nominal list of men, giving their watch and special stations and duties. Water bailiff. A Customs official whose duties relate more especially to the inspection of vessels under weigh within certain boundaries. Water ballast. Water carried to increase the stability of a vessel, usually in double bottom, peaks or deep tanks. Water borne. Brought by water. Water-laid (called by the stow-boat fisherman "stow-boat rope").The same as cablet, or cable-laid, i.e., left-handed rope. (See Rope.) Water-laid coils. Those laid left-handed or against the sun. Water-line or Waterplane (in Naval architecture). A section of a hull, taken parallel to the line of flotation. There are two cardinal ones; the water-line or light water-line, and the load-water line. The first is the line to which a vessel is designed to float; the second that down to which she may with safety be immersed when freighted. And between these two there may be, for purposes of calculation in the designing of a vessel, any number of water-lines. In the popular sense the water-line of a boat is the line of flotation. (See Lines.) Water-logged. A vessel is water-logged when full of water but still floating; she has then lost all her buoyancy and becomes the creature of every sweeping sea, under which circumstances she is often abandoned. The term relates, of course, only to wooden ships which do not sink. These freighted with timber occasionally become water-logged. Waterman. Generally speaking, one whose vocation is carried on by the waterside. But a distinction is to be made, for not one half of those men whose work is connected with the water are watermen. The Thames or Queen's waterman is one who has served his apprenticeship to some member of the Watermen's Company, and who is fit to navigate on the Thames. Watermen's and Lightermen's Company. One of the riparian authorities on the Thames. "The members have a monopoly of the navigation of craft plying between Teddington and Gravesend; and the court licenses and exercises certain jurisdiction over its members." Water-proof clothing. (See Oil-skins.) Water sail, or save all (in ships). "A small sail sometimes set under the foot of a lower studding-sail." (Smyth.) (See Studding sails.) A sail hung below the boom on gaff rig boats for extra downwind performance when racing. Waterspout. A whirling column of rain and spray, perhaps hundreds of feet in height, between low cloud and sea, and generally encountered in the tropics. Waterspouts are dangerous to small craft and a hazard to shipping. They are the ocean counterpart of tornados. Water stang. A pole or rod across a stream, or a system of such poles. Water stead. The old name for the bed of a river. Water stoup. A name sometimes given to the common winkle. Water ways (in a ship). The deck planks extending round the ship's sides, and usually having grooves or channels which carry off the water from the decks. In a small half-decked boat the narrow decking round the well is called the water ways. Water war. Another name for the peculiar rising of the tide which in the Severn is called the bore, or anciently, the hygre. (See Eagre.) Wattles. Hurdles composed of withies woven together and often placed along a river bank at high-water mark to keep the banks from falling in. Waveson. Goods after shipwreck floating on the waves. Way. Momentum. It is important to note the difference between this and the term "weigh", the two being often confounded. A vessel in motion is said to have way on her: and when she ceases to move, to have no way. But a vessel under weigh is one in the act of weighing her anchor, or having weighed it, during which time she has no way on her. Fresh way is increased speed made by a vessel under sail. (See under Fresh.) Head-way. To make head-way is to make progress forward. (See under Head.) Stern-way. A vessel makes stern-way when she moves stern foremost. (See under Stern.) To gather way is to make fresh way. To lose way, to fail in making any progress and lose that already made. Gang-way. An opening in the bulwarks of a vessel, through which a gang-board may be pushed. 'Way aloft, or 'way up (literally away aloft). A command to the crew of a ship to go aloft to furl, reef, etc. Way-landing. An intermediate stop along the route of a steamboat. Waypoint. A location defined by navigational coordinates, especially as part of a planned route. Ways. Baulks of timber laid down for launching vessels upon, or for moving any heavy weight. Wear (from "weather") or veer. To wear or wear ship is to put a vessel on the other tack by bringing her round stern to wind (in other words by paying her head off before the wind); and it is, therefore, the opposite to tacking, which brings her round head to wind. (Compare with Tack.) In fore-and-aft boats the practice is not general; but there are occasions, and more especially with slow turning craft, as for instance when from a heavy sea a boat refuses to "wind helm", upon which it is necessary to wear. The safest plan is then to settle the peak, trim in the main sheet, and press the helm up. As the boat gets stern to wind the sail will naturally gybe, and as soon as this has taken place the peak may be again hauled up, the sheet trimmed, and the boat brought on the other tack to the desired course. It would appear, from the accounts of fights between sailing ships, that wearing was a very common evolution in old naval warfare. Wear bare. Spoken of ropes that are thin and weak from constant friction and exposure. Ropes should always be renewed before they have worn bare. Weather (Anglo-Saxon woeder, the temperature of the atmosphere). The term as a nautical expression, says Smyth, is applied to all things to windward of some particular situation. Hence the following: The weather side of a vessel is the side upon which the wind blows, the other side being the leeward. To weather another ship (in sailing) is to pass her on the weather or windward side. To weather a gale is to lie to in a gale; that is with the vessel's head to wind; and she is said to have weathered the gale when she has lived safely through it. A weatherly vessel is one that points well up to the wind and makes little leeway, or, if a steam vessel, rides comfortably in a seaway. Weather beam. That side of the ship's beam presented to the wind. Weather board. That side of the ship to windward. Weather boards. Boards set up round the bows of a boat to prevent water from coming over her. They usually extend from the headpost to a point just forward of the shrouds. It must be admitted, however, that as a boat ships water at the shrouds quite as much as over the bows, and in some cases a good deal more, the weather boards are seldom taken sufficiently far aft. It would undoubtedly be better, therefore, to carry them from the headpost to the beam amidships, when that is possible. Weather boat. One which behaves herself well, or the reverse, in any weather. The one is a good weather boat, the other a bad. Weather-bound or weather-fast (anciently woeder-foest). Unable to proceed because of the condition of the weather. Also windbound. Weather clew. (See Clew.) Weather-cocking. A term used ofboats which have a troublesome habit of running up to the wind and refusing to pay off either on one side or the other. The position such a boat then assumes is supposed to resemble that of a weather-cock; whence the term. It may be caused through some mistake on the part of the helmsman (see Miss stays under Tack) or it may be the fault of the boat itself being too much down by the head; in which latter case, if a change in the disposition of the ballast does not cure the fault, a considerable increase in the size or weight of the rudder has been recommended. Very long boats will be more liable to this than short ones. Weather coil. "An expression signifying that a ship has had her head brought about, so as to lie that way which her stern did before, as by the veering of the wind, or the motion of the helm; the sails remaining trimmed." (Smyth.) Weather coiling. "A ship resuming her course after being taken aback; rounding off by a stern-board, and coming up to it again." (Smyth.) Weather eye. "Keep your weather eye open" - keep a good look out to windward. Hence in general conversation it usually means keep a good look out. Weather gage is the distance of a vessel (or any object) from another on the weather or wind side; e.g., a ship on the weather side (or to windward) of another is said to have the weather gage of her; just as that one to leeward is said to have the lee gage. Weather gall. (See Wind gall.) "A weather gall at mom, Fine weather all gone." Weather helm. A vessel is described as carrying weather helm when-her tendency being to run up into the wind-the helm must be kept over to the weather side. Therefore, to give her weather helm is to put the helm up, i.e., over to the weather side. (Compare with Lee helm, under the heading Helm.) Weather lurch. A roll over to windward. Weather ropes. The tarred ropes (old term, before wire roping was brought in). Weather sheets (in square rig). The ropes attached to those corners of a square sail which for the time being are the tacks or weather clews. (See Tack and Clew.) Weather shore. The shore to windward. Weather tide. A tide running weatherwards; or, in other words, a tide which, running, contrary to the direction of the wind, presses a vessel, as she is sailing, towards the windward. Weather warning. A forecast from the Meteorological Office. (See Signals.) Weather wheel. "The position of a man who steers a large ship, from his standing on the weather side of the wheel." (Smyth.) Weed. To clear rigging of knots, seizings, etc. Weekly account. "An old name for a white patch on the collar of a midshipman's coat." (Smyth.) Weeping. Drops of water oozing through the seams of a vessel. Weevil. (Anglo-Saxon weft). An insect resembling a maggot, found in old biscuits; it also perforates wood. Weft. In sail-making, the width measurement in a sail cloth, the length measure being the warp. Weigh (Anglo-Saxon woeg). To lift the anchor from the ground. (See Anchor.) This term must not be confounded with "way", as is too often the case. (See Way.) A vessel is under weigh from the moment her anchor is weighed, or off, the ground (or as soon as she has slipped her mooring), even though she may have no way on her. Well. That part of a yacht or sailing boat which is not decked or covered in: it is often called the cockpit. Well room is the space in a half-decked boat which is open or undecked, and hence resembles a well. The deep part of a vessel, in which water accumulates, and from which it is pumped, or, in boats, baled out, is also sometimes called the well. North Sea and other fishing vessels are built with a large compartment in their holds, through which the water passes so that fish may be preserved alive for a considerable period. This compartment is called the well. It appears also in the old Thames peter-boat. Well found. A vessel fully equipped and with all gear in good condition is said to be well found. Well grown, said of a spar or timber when the grain of the wood runs in the right direction. "Well there!" usually "Well there, belay!" Equivalent to saying "That will do, belay!" Wending (another name for, though more correctly a local pronunciation of the term, winding). Putting a vessel about. (See Tack.) Wentle (old term). To roll over. West. A cardinal point on the compass. Westing. Distance westward. The movement of the sun af ter passing the meridian. Westward Ho! This was one of the cries of the old Thames watermen. It signified a readiness to proceed westward . West Country parson. "The hake; from the black mark on its back, and its abundance on the West coast." Wet. A wet boat. One which sails all awash, i.e., gunwales under; or one which plunges her head, bringing water aboard. Wet dock. A dock in which vessels float. Whack. A seaman's term for his daily allowance of provisions. Whaler. A ship employed in the whale trade. Whale boat. A long boat used in whaling. It is sharp at both ends, swift and buoyant. Old whale boats may of ten be seen along the coast, having generally been picked up as bargains by the longshore men. Some of these boats reach to 56 ft in length, with a beam of 10 ft. Whalers used in the Royal Navy derived from whale boats. They were 27 ft long, pulled five oars and were yawl-rigged, and latterly fitted with engines. Whale Catcher or Whale Chaser. Small handy ship of trawler type, mounting a harpoon-gun, and working in conjunction with a whale factory. .  Whaling. The hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales. Industrial whaling emerged with organized fleets in the 17th century; competitive national whaling industries in the 18th and 19th centuries; and the introduction of factory ships along with the concept of whale harvesting in the first half of the 20th century. As technology increased and demand for the resources remained high, catches far exceeded the sustainable limit for whale stocks. In the late 1930s more than 50,000 whales were killed annually and by the middle of the century whale stocks were not being replenished. In 1986 the International Whaling Commission (IWC) banned commercial whaling so that stocks might recover. While the moratorium has been successful in averting the extinction of whale species due to overhunting, contemporary whaling is subject to intense debate. Pro-whaling countries, notably Japan, wish to lift the ban on stocks that they claim have recovered sufficiently to sustain limited hunting. Anti-whaling countries and environmental groups contend that those stocks remain vulnerable and that whaling is immoral, unsustainable, and should remain banned permanently. Wharf. 1. A lading place for vessels. 2. A scar of rock, or a sand bank, as Mud Wharf, Lancashire. Wharf dues. Charges made for lading or discharging cargoes at certain wharfs. Wharfinger. One who owns a wharf. What cheer Ho? (often pronounced "whatchee" for what cheer?). A greeting common in many localities; more especially in the Eastern counties. What ship is that? A signal expressed by the International Code, once often seen exposed at Lloyd's signalling stations. Hence, when a person uses an exceptionally long word, or some expression beyond the understanding of his hearers, the seafaring man may not unnaturally ask, "What ship is that?" Wheel. The wheel and axle by which the tiller and rudder of a vessel is worked. As well as in ships it is found in yachts, and steamlaunches, even of the smallest size, are usually furnished with it, to enable one man to both steer and drive the engine. .  Wheel ropes or chains. The ropes or chains which communicate with the ship's tiller from the wheel. Wheft. 1. (Sometimes weft, whiff or waft). Any flag that has had a stop passed around it halfway along its length. It then has some special significance. 2. In sail making. (See Weft.) Whelk. A mollusc, Buccinum undatum, much consumed in East London, and valuable as bait for fishing. Whelk tingle, or dog-whelk. A smaller whelk (Purpura lapillus), which has the power to bore through the shells of other molluscs, and is, therefore, the btte noir of oyster culturists. Whelps. The projecting ribs on the barrel of a capstan or windlass. They enable a cable to get a good bite. .  In the late 18th century the name was given to the Norfolk Wherry, a kind of sailing barge with large sails, una rigged, which was developed to replace an earlier cargo boat, the Norfolk Keel. Whiff. 1. A small flag. (See Wheft.) 2. The name given on the Thames to a long, narrow, out-rigged sculling boat used for racing. It superseded the wedge-shaped wager boat, being made by the Claspers, and has, in its turn, been superseded for racing purposes by the best boat of the present day. But it is still used by scullers in practice, and in rum tum races. It is often clincher built. Whiffler (old term). One who blows a fife. Whip. 1. "A rope and single block used in lifting light articles. If another block is added the medium is known as a double whip." (Smyth.) Whip upon whip. "One whip applied to the fall of another, and so on." (Smyth.) 2. To whip. To bind up, as a rope served (or bound) with tarred twine is said to be whipped; from which we have- Whipping. A sort of string of spun yam, saturated with Stockholm tar, and generally used in whipping the ends of ropes. (See under Knots.) Whipper. One who unloads colliers into lighters on the Thames. Whipstaff. A vertical lever operating on the fore end of a ship's tiller. It was used in the 16th and 17th centuries before the invention of the steering wheel. Whirl. Another name for a rope-winch. Whiskers. Cross-trees to a bowsprit; or in large vessels to a jib boom. They are employed in small craft, where the bowsprit is long, or when the bows of the boat are narrow, to extend the bowsprit shrouds and give increased lateral support to the bowsprit, just as top-mast shrouds, extended on the cross-trees, do to a top-mast. Whistle. The older name for the boatswain's pipe, or call. Originally the badge of the English Lord High Admiral, worn round the neck on a silver chain. Whistling for the wind is a practice so ancient and so constantly followed by a majority of the seafaring and fishing community, that it is difficult to believe that it can ever die out. And, indeed, if the amateur who has not yet tried the experiment is willing to do so on the next occasion upon which the wind fails him, he will very possibly return a partial believer in it himself. Whistling psalms to the taffrail. An expression signifying the throwing away of good advice upon some person who may be about as susceptible to its influence as is the taffrail of his yacht. Wet your whistle. To drink. Chaucer's "Miller's Lady of Trumpington" had "Hir joly whistle wel ywette". White boot-top. The white line painted round a vessel. White caps or white horses. Waves the crests of which break into whitefoam. White lapel. "An old term for a naval lieutenant, from the white lapel on his uniform. " White rope. Rope which is not tarred. (See Rope.) White squall. A sudden squall of wind, of ten unforeseen, covering the sea with a mass of foam called spoon-drift. It is common to the tropics and occasionally occurs in the Mediterranean. Wholesome (occasionally written "holsom"). The behaviour of a vessel in a heavy gale. One which will "try, hull, and ride" safely and well is wholesome. Wick (Anglo-Saxon wyc). "A creek, bay, or village by the side of a river" , as Hampton Wick, on the Thames; Walberswick, on the Suffolk coast, etc. Widdershins. A slang word signifying "in a direction contrary to that of the sun" , Widows' men. "Imaginary sailors, formerly borne on the books as A.B.'s for wages in every ship in commission; they ceased with the consolidated pay at the close ofthe war. The institution was dated 24 George II, to meet widows' pensions; the amount of pay and provisions for two men in each hundred was paid over by the Paymaster-general of the Navy to the widows' fund." (Smyth.) Captain Basil Hall describes the system as "an official fiction by which the pay of so many imaginary persons was transferred to a fund for the relief of the widows of non-commissioned and warrant officers", Wild (in sailing). To steer badly. In rowing, to keep bad time, a bad stroke, and get excited. Wimble (with shipwrights). The boring implement worked by the centre-bit. Winch (Anglo-Saxon wince). In a ship, a machine consisting of a horizontal barrel rotated by steam or electric power, and round the drum of which a rope may be wound. Used for hoisting cargo and other purposes. 2. A species of small windlass with a crank, which in some small yachts takes the place of the windlass. Winch bitts. The posts which support the winch. Wind. Wind, in sailing, is described according to the direction in which it blows upon a vessel, or the compass point from which it blows. To wind is to go about head to wind as in tacking (see Tack); and a vessel having come round is said to have winded. To sail in the eye of the wind is equivalent to sailing very close to the wind, that is, as nearly against the direction of the wind as possible. Windward. That side of a vessel or of any other object upon which the wind is blowing. It is often called the weather side. To wind a call. To pipe a call upon the whistle, as a boatswain does the orders. Wind banks. Long clouds supposed to prognosticate wind. Wind-bound. Unable to proceed because of contrary winds. Wind gall. "A luminous halo on the edge of a distant cloud, where there is rain, usually seen in the wind's eye, and looked upon as a sure precursor of stormy weather. Also an atmospheric effect of prismatic colours, said likewise to indicate bad weather if seen to leeward." (Smyth.) Wind lipper. A very slight disturbance on the surface of the sea-the first effect of a breeze. Windmill. In rowing, lifting the oars so high out of the water each time a stroke is taken that their motion resembles that of the sails of a windmill. It is an art in which beginners are peculiarly adept. Windmills (on ships). There were sometimes seen on sailing ships, more specially on Scandinavian vessels. Their use is to work the pumps. Wind-rode. When the wind overcomes the tide so that a vessellying at anchor rides with it (and therefore, against the tide). Wind sail. A tube or awning of canvas, employed in hot latitudes to convey a draught of fresh air to the lower parts of a ship. Wind-tout. "A vessel at anchor heeling over to the force of the wind." (Smyth.) Wind-vane. A thin strip of metal mounted to pivot upon a masthead or elsewhere aloft, to show the direction of the wind. In the eye ofthe wind. Sailing very close to the wind. In the teeth of the wind. Making progress directly against the wind. Head to wind. The position of a ship when her stem points exactly in the direction of the wind. In sailing evolutions vessels are generally brought round head to wind. (See Tack.) Winds. "Currents in the atmosphere conveying air with more or less velocity from one part to another. A contraction or expansion in one part of the atmosphere, such as is caused by a variation in temperature, or by an increase or diminution in the quantity of aqueous vapour suspended in the air, will disturb the equilibrium, and produce a wind. Winds may be divided into three classes: 1. Permanent winds, as the trade winds of the torrid zone. 2. Periodical winds, as the monsoons of the Indian Ocean. 3. Variable winds, as the winds of the temperate and frigid zones." (Brande and Cox.) The tendency of winds has been found to be a vee ring round with the motion of the sun, that is, from north through east to south, and so through west back to north; and it has been observed that this circle may be traversed for several days continuously, though the circle in the opposite direction is very rarely, if ever, completed. (See Backing of the wind.) The velocity of wind may vary from a motion almost imperceptible to one of upwards of a hundred miles per hour. The Beaufort Wind Scale is generally used to indicate this. The scale is a system of estimating the force of the wind by the amount of sail a ship could carry; or by observing the appearance of the sea. Devised in 1806, it has been used, with slight revisions, ever since. The author later became Rear Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort and a distinguished Hydrographer of the Navy. A gale is a continuous storm; it ranges from a fresh gale to astrong gale, and lastly to a heavy, hard, or whole gale. (See Gale.) .  The windjammers were cargo ships designed for ultra-long voyages. They usually carried bulk cargo, such as lumber, guano, grain or ore from one continent to another, usually following the prevailing winds and circumnavigating the globe during their voyages. Several of these ships are still in existence — either as school ships, museum ships or restaurant ships. Windlass. The machine in the bows of a vessel, used for heaving in the anchor cable. When worked by hand in old, or small vessels, the wheel and axle was turned by either handspikes or a crank, by which the chain cable of a vessel (or any other weight) may be hauled in. To prevent the windlass from moving backwards, it has a ratchet wheel connected with it, into the teeth of which fall one or more pawls: the pawl being, of course, lifted when it is necessary to pay out chain, or, as they used to say on ship-board, to "freshen hawse". The uprights which support and take the bearing of the windlass are known as the windlass bitts or chocks; and the smaller head, which, in large windlasses, carries the pawls, is called the pawl-bitt. Spanish-windlass. "A machine formed of a hand-spike and a small lever, usually a treenail; or a tree-nail and a marling spike; to set up rigging, heave in short purchases, etc." Wind surfing. (See Sailboard.) Wing. The studding sails of a square rigged ship are sometimes thus called; as also, in sailing with the wind aft, may be the spinnaker and mainsail of a yacht. (See Wing and wing.) Wings (in large ships). Passages below, along the sides, to enable carpenters to get at any leak. The lee boards of barges are also sometimes called wooden wings. Wing and wing is an expression invented long before the naming of that which we now call a spinnaker, and which shows its principle to be of some antiquity, for old works define the term as used of foreand-aft vessels when running before the wind, "the foresail boomed out on one side, and the mainsail on the other": and this practice of making one sail serve the purpose of both balloon jib and spinnaker has again become very common in yacht racing. In square rigged vessels, when studding sails are set both sides (as in running), they are said to be wing and wing, and with lateen rig, a vessel with two masts often runs with the peak of the fore-sail on one side, and that of the main sail on the other. Wing transoms (in shipbuilding). The uppermost transoms in the stern frame of a vessel. Or a transom supporting the stern of a square-sterned vessel. .  Designer: Eric Bergqvist. Builders: Ferry Boatyard, Cheshire, England. Length on deck: 16 ft (4.9 m), Length overall: 20 ft (6.1 m), Waterline length: 15 ft (4.6 m), Beam: 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m), Draught: 1 ft 2in / 2 ft 6in (twin retractable bilge boards), Displacement': 650 kg. Sails: Main 104 sq ft (9.7 m2), Jib 42 sq ft (3.9 m2), Topsail 26 sq ft (2.4 m2). Wire-rope. This is of steel or iron, and is now almost universally employed for standing rigging-such as shrouds, etc.; when the wires of each strand are wound round hemp hearts, and the strands themselves wound round a hemp heart the rope is flexible enough for general purposes, and is then termed flexible wire rope. It is of ten galvanised, though this is found to somewhat weaken it. lts cost, compared with that of hemp, is scarcely more than half. Stout wire rope may be spliced, but when thin it becomes considerably damaged, and therefore weakened by splicing. Wire stretcher. (See Set-screw.) Wiring or Rising. A stringer or batten upon which the thwarts (seats) of a boat rest: it is fixed to the ribs. The thwarts do not (or should not) rest upon the sides of the boat, but are fixed by knees to a short piece called a wiring clamp, and that to the wiring. Wishbone. A divided gaff or boom, joined at the fore end, which allows the sail to take an aeroform shape. With the sun. In the same direction as the sun's path - i.e., from east through south to west. Often said when turning anything about clockwise. Withe. A boom iron, i.e., an iron at the head of a boom, yard, or bowsprit with a ring on it through which another spar can run - or it may be a joint, like that of a fishing rod, by which the length of a spar is made up: this being a useful way, in small craft, of rigging out a spinnaker boom. Within. Within 4 points, 6 points, etc. Sailing close-hauled at a certain angle with the direction ofthe wind. (See under Sailing.) Within and without board. The same as in-board and out-board. Withy. A place where willows grow. Hence the willow itself, or a twig of it, is called a withy. Wood. Wood ends. Another name for hood ends or hoodings. Woodlock. A block of wood nailed near some movable object to prevent it from shifting; as those which sometimes keep a rudder down. Wood sheathing. The feathered planking used in doubling a vessel. Wood wings. The lee boards of barges are occasionally thus called. Woolding. The strengthening of a weakened spar by binding it up. "Winding a piece of rope about a mast or yard to support it when it is fished, or when composed of several pieces." Work. 1. To work signifies to set and keep going, as: To work a vessel. To adapt the sails to the wind, steer, etc. To work the sheets. To haul in or let them out as occasion may require. 2. But in another sense we have: To work up or prepare, as to train and exercise a newly-joined crew until they become proficient, or to work up a junk - i.e., to draw out 'yarns, old cable, etc., and with it to make foxes, points, gaskets, sinnit or spun-yarn, etc. Working. 1. This word as applied to the planks of a vessel signifies "to open" or "work open" as she strains in a sea, and the extent to which she works is called her give. 2. Working to windward. Beating to windward, or making progress against the wind. (See under Tack.) 3. Working a day's work (at sea). Calculating a vessel's progress from noon on one day to noon on the next, and her then probable position. The word work is also applied to certain sails, as: Working foresail (in fore-and-aft rig). A foresail which runs on a horse. Working lug, the same as a standing lug; and it often has a boom. (See Lug.) Working topsail (in fore-and-aft rig). The most general form of big-topsail. It is, in fact, a working or standing lugsail elevated above the mainsail.(See Topsail.) And in various other senses; thus: Working deck, sometimes called spar deck. (See Deck.) Working up (old term). Keeping men at work as punishment. World Maritime University (WMU) was established in 1983 by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). It is located in Malmö, Sweden with campuses in Shanghai and Dalian, China. The World Maritime University (WMU) operates under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a specialized agency of the United Nations. WMU thus enjoys the status, privileges and immunities of a UN institution in Sweden. WMU is truly an organization by and for the international maritime community. Established by an IMO Assembly Resolution in July 1983, its basic aim is to further enhance the objectives and goals of IMO and IMO member states around the world. Since it was founded, over 3,000 students have graduated from WMU. Former alumni have gone on to play leading roles include ministers. Its programs are taught by a small team of full-time faculty supported by a cohort of over 100 guest lecturers, all of them leading experts in their specific fields. Worm, parcel and serve. A method of protecting parts of a rope which are likely to be chafed. It is first wormed, by laying thin pieces of line (the worms) between the strands; next parcelled by winding strips of canvas (saturated with tar) over the part wormed; and lastly served or tightly bound with spun yarn. There is an old rhyme with respect to this proceeding which runs: "Worm and parcel with the lay, Turn and serve the other way." Wrack. Sea weed and (perhaps) all else which has been cast by the sea on the ebb-dry foreshore. Wreck (it is said that this term is derived from wrack, denoting all that the sea washes on shore as it does this weed). A wreck is: 1. The destruction of a ship by the sea; or (as the insurance policies put it) by the act of God; 2. The ship herself (or the remnant of her) after this act. A vessel may, in asense, be said to become a wreek when there is no longer any hope of saving her: but, in law, she is no wreek while any person or domestic animal remains alive aboard her; and this fact is said to have given rise, in times past, to acts which one might well feel ashamed to recount. Wreckage. "Goods cast up by the sea after a shipwreck, and left on land within the limits of some county." Goods jettisoned or cast overboard, and not stranded, do not come under this head. (See Flotsam, Jetsam and Lagan.) Wreckage is now taken charge of by "receivers of wreck", who keep it a certain time, after which, if not claimed, it becomes the property of the Crown, and is sold in open auction. Wreckers. In times past, men who made it their business to gather up the spoils of wrecks, and who are said to have occasionally employed means to bring wrecks about. Today the name is occasionally opprobriously applied to those fishermen and others who may always be found ready to risk their lives in going out to ships in distress, both to save other lives, as well as on the chance of earning that which very frequently turns out to be but amiserable reward for their labours: for which latter reason they are of ten called "grabbers" by those who sit at home, and, while risking nothing, are certainly not less eager after plunder. The nation may feel proud, however, that in the Admiralty it has a court which recognises the enormous risks these men run, and is always anxious to award them just compensation. Wreck free. Exempt from the forfeiture of wreckage. Under Edward I this privilege was granted the lords of the Cinque Ports. Wriggle. A projection over a port hole or scuttle to prevent water running in. Wring. To twist or injure by too severe a pressure. Wrong. To wrong another (in sailing). To take the wind out of her sails by unfair means. Under some circumstances this may, in racing, constitute a foul.
|
A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M|N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z . . Email: jackvanderwyk@yahoo.co.uk
