The Continental Risque (48 page)

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Authors: James Nelson

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gasket:
a short, braided piece of rope attached to the yard and used to secure the furled sail.
gig:
small boat generally rowed with six or fewer oars.
glim:
a small candle.
grapeshot:
a cluster of round, iron shot, generally nine in all, wrapped in canvas. Upon firing the grapeshot would spread out for a shotgun effect. Used against men and light hulls.
grating:
hatch covers composed of perpendicular interlocking wood pieces, much like a heavy wood screen. They allowed light and air below while still providing cover for the hatch. Gratings were covered with tarpaulins in rough or wet weather.
gudgeon:
one-half of the hinge mechanism for a rudder. The gudgeon is fixed to the sternpost and has a rounded opening that accepts the
PINTLE
on the rudder.
gunwale:
pronounced
gun-el
. The upper edge of a ship's side.
halyard:
any line used to raise a sail or a yard or gaff to which a sail is attached.
headsails:
those sails set forward of the foremast.
heaver:
a device like a wooden mallet used as a lever for tightening small lines.
heave to:
to adjust the sails in such a way that some are full and some aback so that the vessel is stopped in the water.
hogshead:
a large cask, twice the size of a standard barrel. Capacity varied but was generally around one hundred gallons.
holystone:
a flat stone used for cleaning a ship's decks.
hood-end:
the ends of the planking on a ship's hull that fit into the rabbet, or notch, in the
STEM
or sternpost.
hoy:
a small vessel, chiefly used near the coast, to transport passengers or supplies to another vessel.
hull down:
said of a ship when her hull is still hidden below the horizon and only her masts or superstructure is visible.
jolly boat:
a small workboat.
lanyard:
line run through the holes in the
DEADEYES
to secure and adjust the
SHROUDS
. Also any short line used to secure or adjust an item on shipboard.
larboard:
until the nineteenth century the term designating the left side of a vessel when facing forward. The term
port
is now used.
leech:
the side edges of a square sail or the after edge of a fore-and-aft sail.
leeward:
pronounced
loo-ard
. Downwind.
letters of marque:
a commission given to private citizens in times of war to take and make prizes of enemy vessels. Also, any vessel that holds such a commission.
lifts:
ropes running from the ends of the yards to the mast, used to support the yard when lowered or when men are employed thereon.
limber holes:
holes cut through the lower timbers in a ship's hull allowing otherwise trapped water to run through to the pumps.
line:
term used for a rope that has been put to a specific use.
log:
device used to measure a vessel's speed.
longboat:
the largest boat carried on shipboard.
lug sail:
a small square sail used on a boat.
mainstay:
standing rigging primarily responsible for preventing the mainmast from falling back when the main sails are aback. Runs from under the maintop to the bow.
make and mend:
time allotted to the seamen to make new clothing or mend their existing ones.
marlinespike:
an iron spike used in knotting and splicing rope.
mizzen:
a large fore-and-aft sail, hung from a gaff abaft the mizzenmast.
mizzenmast:
the aftermost mast on a three-masted ship.
painter:
a rope in the bow of a boat used to tie the boat in place.
parceling:
strips of canvas wrapped around standing rigging prior to
SERVING
.
partners:
heavy wooden frames surrounding the holes in the deck through which the masts and
CAPSTAN
pass.
pawls:
wooden or iron bars that prevent a windlass or capstan from rotating backward.
pintles:
pins attached to the rudder that fit in the
GUDGEON
and form the hinge on which the rudder pivots.
plain sail:
all regular working sails, excluding upper staysails, studdingsails, ringtails, etc.
port:
the left side of the ship when facing forward. In the eighteenth century the word was used in helm directions only until it later supplanted
LARBOARD
in general use.
post:
in the Royal Navy, to be given official rank of captain, often called a post captain, and thereby qualified to command a ship of twenty guns or larger.
privateer:
vessel built or fitted out expressly to operate under a
LETTERS OF MARQUE
.
quadrant:
instrument used to take the altitude of the sun or other celestial bodies in order to determine the latitude of a place. Forerunner to the modern sextant.
quarter:
the area of the ship, larboard or starboard, that runs from the main shrouds aft.
quarterdeck:
a raised deck running from the stern of the vessel as far forward, approximately, as the mainmast. The primary duty station of the ship's officers, comparable to the bridge on a modern ship.
quarter gallery:
a small, enclosed balcony with windows located on either side of the great cabin aft and projecting out slightly from the side of the ship.
quoin:
a wedge under the breech of a cannon used when aiming to elevate or depress the muzzle.
ratline:
pronounced
ratlin
. Small lines tied between the shrouds, horizontally forming a sort of rope ladder on which the men can climb aloft.
reef:
to reduce the area of sail by pulling a section of the sail up to the yard and tying it in place.
reef point:
small lines threaded through eyes in the sail for the purpose of tying the reef in the sail.
rigging:
any of the many lines used aboard the ship.
Standing rigging
holds the masts in place and is only occasionally adjusted.
Running rigging
manipulates the sails and is frequently adjusted, as needed.
ringbolt:
an iron bolt through which is fitted an iron ring.
ring stopper:
short line on the
CATHEAD
used to hold the anchor prior to letting it go.
ringtail:
a type of studdingsail rigged from the mainsail gaff and down along the after edge of the mainsail.
round seizing:
a type of lashing used to bind two larger lines together.
run:
to sail with the wind coming over the stern, or nearly over the stern, of the vessel.
running rigging:
see
RIGGING
.
sailing master:
warrant officer responsible for charts and navigation, among other duties.
scantlings:
the dimensions of any piece of timber used in shipbuilding with regard to its breadth and thickness.
schooner:
(eighteenth-century usage) a small, two-masted vessel with fore-and-aft sails on foremast and mainmast and occasionally one or more square sails on the foremast.
scuppers:
small holes pierced through the bulwark at the level of the deck to allow water to run overboard.
scuttle:
any small, generally covered hatchway through a ship's deck.
service:
a tight wrapping of spunyarn put around standing rigging to protect it from the elements.
serving mallet:
a tool shaped like a long-handled mallet used to apply
SERVICE
to rigging.
sheet:
lines attached to the
CLEWS
of a squaresail to pull the sail down and hold it in place when the sail is set. On a fore-and-aft sail the sheet is attached to the
BOOM
or the sail itself and is used to trim the sail closer or farther away from the ship's centerline to achieve the best angle to the wind.
ship:
a vessel of three masts, square-rigged on all masts.
To ship
is to put something in place, thus shipping capstan bars means to put them in their slots in the capstan.
short peak:
indicates that the vessel is above the anchor and the anchor is ready to be pulled from the bottom.
shrouds:
heavy ropes leading from a masthead aft and down to support the masts when the wind is from abeam or farther aft.
slack water:
period at the turn of the tide when there is no tidal current.
slings:
the middle section of a yard.
sloop:
a small vessel with one mast.
sloop of war:
small man-of-war, generally ship rigged and commanded by a lieutenant.
slop chest:
purser's stores, containing clothing, tobacco, and other items that the purser sold to the crew and deducted the price from their wages.
snatch block:
a block with a hinged side that can be opened to admit a rope.
spar:
general term for all masts, yards, booms, gaffs, etc.
spring:
a line passed from the stern of a vessel and made fast to the anchor cable. When the spring is hauled upon, the vessel turns.
spring stay:
a smaller stay used as a backup to a larger one.
spritsail topsail:
a light sail set outboard of the spritsail.
spunyarn:
small line used primarily for
SERVICE
or seizings.
standing rigging:
see
RIGGING
.
starboard:
the right side of the vessel when facing forward.
stay:
standing rigging used to support the mast on the forward part and prevent it from falling back, especially when the sails are
ABACK
. Also, to
stay a vessel
means to tack, thus
missing stays
means failing to get the bow through the wind.
stay tackle:
system of blocks generally rigged from the
MAINSTAY
and used for hoisting boats or items stored in the hold.
stem:
the heavy timber in the bow of the ship into which the planking at the bow terminates.
step:
to put a mast in place. Also, a block of wood fixed to the bottom of a ship to accept the base or heel of the mast.
stern chasers:
cannons directed aft to fire on a pursuing vessel.
stern sheets:
the area of a boat between the stern and the aftermost of the rowers' seats, generally fitted with benches to accommodate passengers.
sternway:
the motion of a ship going backward through the water, the opposite of
headway
.
stow:
as relates to sails, the same as
FURL
.
swifter:
a rope tied to the ends of the capstan bars to hold them in place when shipped.
tack:
to turn a vessel onto a new course in such a way that her bow passes through the wind. Also used to indicate relation of ship to wind, i.e., a ship on a ‘starboard tack' has the wind coming over the starboard side.
taffrail:
the upper part of a ship's stern.
tarpaulin hat:
wide, flat-brimmed canvas hat, coated in tar for waterproofing, favored by sailors.
tender:
small vessel that operates in conjunction with a larger man-of-war.
tholes:
pins driven into the upper edge of a boat's side to hold the oars in place when rowing.
thwart:
seat or bench in a boat on which the rowers sit.
tiller:
the bar attached to the rudder and used to turn the rudder in steering.
top:
a platform at the junction of the lower mast and the topmast.
tophamper:
general term for all of the spars, rigging, and sails; all the equipment above the level of the deck.

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