Shiptalk

Pier head jump: Making a ship just as it is about to sail. Pile: A pointed spar driven into the...

Oakum: Material used for caulking the seams of vessels and made from the loose fibers of old hemp rope. Off...

Make colors: Hoisting the ensign at 8 a.m. and down at sunset. Make the course good: Steering; keeping the ship...

Keel: The timber or bar forming the backbone of the vessel and running from the stem to the stempost at...

Hemp: Rope made of the fibers of the hemp plant and used for small stuff or less than 24 thread...

G.I.: Anything of Government Issue. Gantline: A line rove through a single block secured aloft. Garboard strake: The strake next...

Fake: A single turn of rope when a rope is coiled down. Fake down: To fake line back and forth...

Davit: A curved metal spar for handling a boat or other heavy objects. Dead ahead: Directly ahead on the extension...

Cabin: The captain's quarters. The enclosed space of decked-over small boat. Cable-laid: The same as hawser-laid. Cable-length: 100 fathoms or...

Bail: To throw water out of a boat; a yoke, as a ladder bail (rung). Ballast tanks: Double bottoms for...