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Sailing is associated with
a rich vocabulary reflecting its long international history, and some of
the specialist terms appear on the pages of this website. Here is an
explanation of the terms used.
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| A |
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aspect
ratio |
the relationship between the height and
width of a sail. A tall, narrow sail has a high aspect ratio, while a
short wide sail has a low aspect ratio. |
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about |
as in "going about" -
meaning to change direction by tacking |
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aft |
towards the back of the
boat |
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amidships |
the centre of the boat |
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astern |
behind a boat, or to
travel backwards |
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| B |
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backstay |
part of the rigging that supports the mast:
it goes from high on the mast down to the stern of the boat. |
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bail |
to empty water from the
boat |
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batten |
a stiffening rod usually slipped into a sleeve
attached to the sail. Some battens support the entire width of the sail
('full battens'), while others are shorter and support only the trailing
edge (leech) of the sail. |
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beam |
the widest part of a boat's hull. |
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bear away |
to change course away from the direction the
wind is coming from. |
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beat |
sail to windward - closer to wind. |
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block |
a structure containing one or more pulley wheels around
which ropes or cables can be passed to change their direction of pull. Two
or more blocks can be arranged to increase the power generated by pulling
on the rope passing round them - this is called a tackle. |
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| C |
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centreboard |
a pivoted, streamlined board that can be
tilted downwards below the craft to reduce the tendency it has to drift
sideways when the wind comes from the side (compare with daggerboard,
below). |
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clew |
the lower outer corner of a fore-and-aft sail. |
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cringle |
a metal eye set into a sail and through
which a rope can be passed. |
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| D |
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daggerboard |
a streamlined board that can be raised and
lowered vertically through a slot in the hull to reduce sideways drifting
when the wind comes from the side (compare with centreboard,
above). |
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dinghy |
this word originates from India - it
originally referred to small river craft on the Ganges. It is now applied
to small sailing or rowing boats. |
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downwind |
moving in the same direction as the wind. |
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draught |
the depth of a vessel below the waterline. |
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| E |
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ebb tide |
falling water level after high water. |
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| F |
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flood tide |
rising water level after low water. |
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foot |
the bottom edge of the sail. |
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forestay |
part of the rigging that supports the mast -
it goes from the mast down to the bow of the boat. |
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| G |
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genoa |
a large sail set mainly in front of the mast
but whose trailing edge extends back beyond the mast. |
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guy |
a rope which hold or
moves a spar, for example: a spinnaker guy attached to a spinnaker pole |
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gybe |
to change course when sailing downwind so
that the stern of the boat passes through the wind and the sail swings
across to the other side. |
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| H |
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halyard |
a rope used to hoist a sail up the mast. |
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hank |
a clip (usually several)
used to attach a sail such as a jib to the forestay. |
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head |
the topmost corner of a sail. |
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heads |
the toilet on board a
yacht. |
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head up |
turn the boat more towards the direction
from which the wind is coming. |
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headsail |
a sail attached to the forestay ahead of the
mast. |
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heel |
the way a sailing boat
leans away from the wind. |
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helm |
the tiller or wheel used
to steer the boat - it can also mean the person doing the steering. |
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| I |
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incidence |
the angle between the apparent wind and the
sail. |
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| J |
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jib |
a triangular sail carried forward of the
mast, its luff attached to the forestay. Jibs and genoas are types of headsails. |
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| K |
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ketch |
a boat with two masts, the rear mast being
set in front of the axis of the rudder. |
| kicking
strap |
a device that holds the boom down whilst
still allowing it to move freely from side to side. Its main purpose is to
increase the tension in the leech (trailing edge) of the sail. |
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knot |
a nautical unit of speed - 1 knot = 1 nautical mile (2000
yards) per hour. |
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| L |
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lee |
the side of the vessel away from the wind. 'In the lee'
of something means sheltered from the wind by that structure: for example,
in the lee of a large vessel. |
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leech |
the trailing edge of a sail. |
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leeward |
(pronounced loo'ard) downwind, on the sheltered side.
Opposite of windward. |
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luff |
the leading edge of a sail. |
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luff up |
change the boat's course so that it is sailing closer to
the wind. |
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| M |
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mainsail |
(pronounced mains'l) the principal fore-and-aft sail on a
boat. |
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mainsheet |
the rope attached to the boom and used to adjust the
mainsail. |
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mast |
a vertical spar to which sails are attached. |
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| N |
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nautical mile |
the unit of distance at sea. It is defined as one minute
(1') of latitude, and is standardised to 1852m (6076 ft) - slightly longer
than a land mile. |
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neap tide |
a tide with the smallest rise and fall. |
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| O |
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offshore wind |
a wind that blows away from the land. |
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onshore wind |
a wind that blows towards the land. |
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outhaul |
a rope that pulls something away from something else -
for example, the mainsail outhaul which pulls the clew of the sail
outwards towards the end of the boom. |
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| P |
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painter |
rope attached to the bow of a dinghy for mooring or
towing. |
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pinching |
attempting to sail too close to the wind. |
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planing |
skimming across the surface of the water. |
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port side |
the left-hand side of a boat, when looking forwards. |
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pram
dinghy |
this name can be traced back to praam
- a Swedish name given to small sailing vessels that could be rowed in
calm weather. It is now generally used to describe a dinghy that has a
blunt rather than pointed bow. |
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| Q |
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quarter |
the aft end of the side of a boat. |
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| R |
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reach |
to sail with the wind coming from the side of the craft. |
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reef |
to reduce the sail area when the wind speed increases. |
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rig |
the structures involved in deriving energy
from the wind: the mast(s), spar(s), sail(s), supporting rigging, and
control systems. To see illustrations of a variety of rigs, click here... |
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run |
to sail with the wind coming from behind the craft. |
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| S |
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schooner |
generally applied to small two-masted boats
with fore and aft sails on each mast. The story is that at the launch of
such a boat in 1714, an admirer exclaimed to the owner that the "hull
scooned upon the water!" "Then a sc(h)ooner she shall be,"
agreed her proud owner. |
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sheave |
a pulley wheel usually located inside a block. |
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sheet |
rope used to control the sideways movement of a sail. |
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shroud |
standing rigging at the side of a mast. |
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sloop |
one sail forward of the mast and the
mainsail behind. This term has a rather confused history, at one time
being applied in military parlance to a type of vessel rather than a type
of rig. When it entered civilian usage, the word became more associated
with the rig. The word derives from 'chaloupe', a French term for a
small vessel. |
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spinnaker |
a lightweight, balloon-shaped sail attached in front of
the mast when the craft is running down wind. There are many suggestions
about the origin of this name. One is that a sail of this type was first
set on a yacht called "Sphinx". Another is that when it was set
on the racing yacht "Niobe", one of the sailors aboard said,
"now there is the sail to make her spin!". The name 'spin-maker'
was given to the sail, and later shortened to spinnaker. |
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| T |
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tack |
1) to alter course by turning the bow of the boat across
the wind so that the wind strikes the sail from the other side
2) the lower forward corner of a fore-and-aft sail. |
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thwart |
a seat placed across a boat. |
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topping lift |
a rope that supports the outer end of the boom when the
mainsail is not set. |
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transom |
flat stern of a boat. |
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trim |
adjust the sails to obtain the required performance. |
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| U |
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| V |
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vang |
a device between the foot of the mast and the underside
of the boom that prevents the boom from being lifted by the tension in the
sail. Also called a kicking strap. |
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| W |
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warp |
a rope used to moor a boat. |
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windward |
towards the wind - the opposite of leeward. |
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| X |
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| Y |
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yacht |
Derived originally from a German word for
'hunting ship' - jachtschiff, the term entered the Dutch language
in the 17th Century as jaght and then English as yacht. It
is now generally used for small sailing ships used for racing and
pleasure. |
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| Z |
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Here is an example of
sailing-related terminology:
 "The so-called
English rig usually consisted of deep, single top gallants, above which
royals were set. The spanker was a quadrilateral gaff sail, whereas in
the Scottish rig, it was often a leg-of-mutton sail, while double
topgallants were favoured under the royals."
from: The Story of Sail,
by V. Laszlo and R. Woodman, 1999, London: Chatham Publishing (p 209). |
glossary