Boating Dictionary

Weight provided with a small cable, thrown to land in order to allow the passage of a bigger cable

Metal part, usually made of zinc, fixed to the hull or some other metal parts to prevent galvanic streams from causing corrosion

It is surrounded by navigable waters bu it doesn't indicate a danger. It is used, for example, to indicate a channel

Inspections which verify that the boat, its safety equipments, engines, electric systems, etc.. meet the technical requirements for marine safety

Fabric designed and shaped to catch the wind and used to propel a vessel.

Fabric part of a sail

Vertex of a sail triangle fixed to the boat or a spinnaker pole

Track equipped with a carriage to change sheet position easily and fast

To sail towards a point located windward (or underset)

Raw canvas used in the past to produce sails, bags and hammocks. It is used in the deck of some vintage boats for a non-slip effect

Group of sailing boats sharing the same design features, recognised by the the International Sailing Federation (ISAF)

A book with useful information about navigation, coast and harbours

Direction of the bow in relation to wind direction

Boat with two identical masts, with trysail or mainsail, with or without bowsprit

A sailing ship carrying two or more masts bearing fore and aft sails, with the mizzen forward of the mainmast.

The length of the anchor rope or chain

To row with a single oar

The openings in the bulwarks that allow drainage over the side

An anchor made up of a cone which, drug in the water, slows boat motion down

Valve communicating with outside from which water can be sucked or drained

Buoy or general reference point used to identify rocks or shallows or to indicate navigable canals or bearings.

Knot used to join two ropes

To leave, to heave anchor

To tighten a knot. To approach two running elements

To haul a rigging after easing it to recover a board

A particularly tight knot

Optical instrument which determines latitude through the measurement of the elevation of a celestial body above the horizon

To join two parts of a rope or a chain through a shackle or a false link. It means also to link an anchor to the chain or a buoy to a rope/chain

U-shaped iron element with a removable pin. It is used to join chain ends or to fix sails to eye bolts thorugh cringles

Main element of the anchor

A knot used to shorten a rope.

The curved fore and aft line formed by the uppermost plank of a boat.

Rope used to set sails

A zone protected from wind and waves

The owner of a vessel

Error which can contain the navigation error

Where ships are built or repaired

An area where the bottom shape rises near the surface

Elastic rope made up of a main cable and several braces, used to clew the mainsail down fast.

Cable, generally made of steel, on the sides of the mast to support and reinforce it

Standing riggings: shrouds, backstays and forestays

Side of the boat

Term which represents ‚S‚ in the international phonetic alphabet.

To see or recognise an object

Buoy or beacon fixed to the anchor ring through a specific rope to indicate the anchor position and recover it if stucked

If in national waters it is red with a white diagonal, it signals the presence of a scuba diver. In international waters, it must show the alpha flag of the international code

Southeast wind

Support located in front of the rudder to protect and support it

Master of a boat

Opening in the deck

Triangular sail located between two masts

A not taut rope

Hook mounted on hail eadropess to allow the junction with stays

Difference between the real propeller forward in water and that one it would have if screws in a solid.

Let a rope or a chain run free but always with control

Inclined plan finishing in water used to launch small boats

A sailing vessel carrying a single mast and a single fore sail

A block which can be opened to allow a rope to be looped

One-design craft with fixed keel designed by Jean Herman Linge; it's the biggest boat of the olympic class, with a length of 8.15x1.90 m l'its crew is made up of 3 people

Intrument to measure the depth or distance of an object. See also Depth meter

Thin boat with no decks

Wind blowing from South

Wind blowing from South-West

System of cables to distribute traction, generally used for awnings.See also LazyJack

Shaft located horinzontally to the mast where Latin sails are inserted

Spare parts used to replace broken equipments

Spare parts of any boat equipment

They don't help navigation but they indicate a particular area or situation, whose nature can be determined by referring to maps or other documents.

Commercial name of Dyneema, a very resistant synthetic fibre used for ropes

To ease the sheet so that the sail does not fill completely.

Very thin nylon sail, often coloured, used to sail downwind or a beam wind

A spar used to maintain a sail away from the bow

Storm jib

To join the ends of two lines, or make a loop, by weaving the untwisted lays into the bight.

Squaresail above the fore sail

A long dockline which is run from the bow aft to the dock, or from the stern forward to the dock.

Fore and aft sail where the peak is fixed on the basis of the mast and there is no boom

Wood used for the construction of masts; it's light, resistant and elastic.

Violent short gust

Waves high enough, with strong wind. Degree 8 in Beaufort scale, equal to over 40 knots

Trapezoidal sail fixed on the upper side of yards, excellent for running free but not good for sailing close to wind

Receiver/transmitter for long-ray communications, acronym of ‚single side band‚

The relative tendancy of a ship to remain upright in the face of wind and waves.

When sails or rudder loose their lift, like plane wings

A vertical metal post mounted at the edge of the deck to which a rail or cables are attached as a safety measure.

Standing terminal part of a cable, fixed on a ring. The ring or spar which the cable is fixed on.

Metal cables or standing ropes supporting the masts

One-design craft with bulb keel; designed by William Gardne in 1911; it measures 6.92x 1.73 m and it has a sail area of 26 square metres

Right side of the boat

The right side of a vessel when seen by someone facing the bow

A particular spinnaker with star-shaped panels; today it is replaced by the gennaker

Steel cable between tanchions and pulpits which forms a protection handrail

Triangular fore sail used together with gennaker

To direct the course of a vessel

Change of course

A vertical post, at the front of the keel, that forms the main part of the bow

Mast basis seat

Rear part of a boat

Tube fixed to the hull or a propeller where a shaft passes through

Terminal part of the stern

Lateral part of the boat on the sides of the stern.

To haul up on the wind and stop only when sails start to flap

An extension of rudder

To hook a rope or a chain so that it keeps in tension while it is fixed in a permanent way

Hook or lever to block the anchor or the chain after dropping the anchor.

Guy used to fix a rope or a chain

Supplies stocked on board for use as needed during a voyage, food included

Sudden violent weather event with rain and lightings

One-design craft with centreboard designed by Ettore Santarelli; it is a two-seater with mainsail jib and spinnaker( 13.50 x 1.70 m)

To get struck with the keel on the bottom, for example in the rocks.

Water motion generated by wind, tides or bottoms.

Reinforcement of the junction between hull and deck

Waves with crests which start to roll; thicker and thicker foam. Degree 9 in Beaufort Scale

Part of a rope linked to a ring through a knot or a splice to fix an object

Mooring rope perpendicular to the boat, used together with springline

Cilynder where rudder shaft is located

Danger buoy with a very visible light

To go over the wave generated by the forward; the hull goes out of water by increasing speed

The person who steers a wind- surf.

Broom, besom to wash and dry decks

Method to calculate compass mistakes due to magnetic deviations. The result is reported on a table which will be used to plot the course