SHIPTALK: A GLOSSARY OF SHIPPING AND MARITIME TERMS

HATCH – An opening in a boat's deck fitted with a watertight cover.
HEAD – A marine toilet. Also the upper corner of a triangular sail.
HEADING – The direction in which a vessel's bow points at any given time.
HEADWAY – The forward motion of a boat. Opposite of sternway.
HELM – The wheel or tiller controlling the rudder. HELMSPERSON – The person who steers the boat.

HATCH – An opening in a boat's deck fitted with a watertight cover.
HEAD – A marine toilet. Also the upper corner of a triangular sail.
HEADING – The direction in which a vessel's bow points at any given time.
HEADWAY – The forward motion of a boat. Opposite of sternway.
HELM – The wheel or tiller controlling the rudder. HELMSPERSON – The person who steers the boat.
HITCH – A knot used to secure a rope to another object or to another rope, or to form a loop or a noose in a rope.
HOLD – A compartment below deck in a large vessel, used solely for carrying cargo.
HULL – The main body of a vessel.
INBOARD – More toward the center of a vessel; inside; a motor fitted inside a boat.
INTRACOASTAL WATERWAY – ICW: bays, rivers, and canals along the coasts (such as the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts), connected so that vessels may travel without going into the sea.
JACOBS LADDER – A rope ladder, lowered from the deck, as when pilots or passengers come aboard.
JETTY – A structure, usually masonry, projecting out from the shore; a jetty may protect a harbor entrance.
KEEL – The centerline of a boat running fore and aft; the backbone of a vessel.
KNOT – A measure of speed equal to one nautical mile (6076 feet) per hour.
KNOT – A fastening made by interweaving rope to form a stopper, to enclose or bind an object, to form a loop or a noose, to tie a small rope to an object, or to tie the ends of two small ropes together.