SHIPTALK: A GLOSSARY OF SHIPPING AND MARITIME TERMS

BATTEN DOWN – Secure hatches and loose objects both within the hull and on deck.
BEAM – The greatest width of the boat.
BEARING – The direction of an object expressed either as a true bearing as shown on the chart, or as a bearing relative to the heading of the boat.
BELOW – Beneath the deck.
BIGHT – The part of the rope or line, between the end and the standing part, on which a knot is formed. BILGE – The interior of the hull below the floor boards.

BATTEN DOWN – Secure hatches and loose objects both within the hull and on deck.
BEAM – The greatest width of the boat.
BEARING – The direction of an object expressed either as a true bearing as shown on the chart, or as a bearing relative to the heading of the boat.
BELOW – Beneath the deck.
BIGHT – The part of the rope or line, between the end and the standing part, on which a knot is formed. BILGE – The interior of the hull below the floor boards.
BITTER END – The last part of a rope or chain.The inboard end of the anchor rode.
BOAT – A fairly indefinite term. A waterborne vehicle smaller than a ship. One definition is a small craft carried aboard a ship.
BOAT HOOK – A short shaft with a fitting at one end shaped to facilitate use in putting a line over a piling, recovering an object dropped overboard, or in pushing or fending off.
BOOT TOP – A painted line that indicates the designed waterline.
BOW – The forward part of a boat.
BOW LINE – A docking line leading from the bow.
BOWLINE – A knot used to form a temporary loop in the end of a line.
BRIDGE – The location from which a vessel is steered and its speed controlled. "Control Station" is really a more appropriate term for small craft.
BRIDLE – A line or wire secured at both ends in order to distribute a strain between two points.
BRIGHTWORK – Varnished woodwork and/or polished metal.
BULKHEAD – A vertical partition separating compartments.
BUOY – An anchored float used for marking a position on the water or a hazard or a shoal and for mooring.
BURDENED VESSEL – That vessel which, according to the applicable Navigation Rules, must give way to the privileged vessel. The term has been superseded by the term "give-way".