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Nautical Dictionary - Nautical Glossary - Maritime Terminology

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Nautical Dictionary

Nautical Glossary - Maritime Terminology

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Dacron: A synthetic polyester material.

Daggerboard: Similar to a centerboard, except that it is raised and lowered vertically in a trunk rather than pivoted. Like a keel, daggerboards are used to reduce leeway by preventing a sailboat being pushed sideways by the wind.

Danforth Anchor: A brand of lightweight anchor. It has pivoting flukes that dig into the ground as tension is placed on the anchor.

Davit(s): A small crane that projects over the side of the boat to raise or lower objects (such as smaller boats) from or to the water.

Davy Jones: Nautical slang for the spirit of the sea, usually in the form of a sea devil. Davy Jones's Locker is the bottom of the sea, the final resting place of sunken ships, articles lost or thrown overboard, and of men buried at sea.

Daybeacon: A fixed navigation aid structure, visible during the day, used in shallow waters upon which is placed one or more daymarks.

Daymark: A signboard attached to a daybeacon to convey navigational information presenting one of several standard shapes (square, triangle, rectangle) and colors (red, green, orange, yellow, or black). Daymarks usually have reflective material indicating the shape.

Daysailor: A small boat intended to be used only for short sails or racing.

Dayshape: Black diamond, ball, and cone shapes hoisted on vessels during the day to indicate restricted movement, ability, or type. For example three balls means aground.

Dead Ahead: A position directly in front of the vessel.

Dead Astern: A position directly aft or behind the vessel.

Dead on End: Said of wind when exactly ahead; and of another vessel when her fore and aft line coincides with observer's line of sight.

Dead Horse: Seaman's term for the period of work on board ship for which he has been paid in advance when signing on.

Dead Marine: An empty wine bottle after its contents have been drunk.

Dead Reckoning: The process of plotting a theoretical position or future position based on advancing from a known position using speed, time, and course, without aid of objects on land, of sights, etc. Term comes from deduced reckoning, abbreviated first to "ded reckoning".

Deadeyes: Circular blocks in the shrouds or stays to adjust tension.

Deadfreight: Space booked by shipper or charterer on a vessel but not used

Deadhead: (1) A floating log. (2) A useless member of the crew, a person skylarking.

1 Deadlight: Fixed ports that do not open which are placed in the deck or cabin to admit light.

Deadrise: The measurement of the angle between the bottom of a boat and its widest beam. A vessel with a 0º deadrise has a flat bottom, high numbers indicate deep V shaped hulls.

Deadweight: A common measure of ship carrying capacity. The number of tons (2240 lbs.) of cargo, stores and bunkers that a vessel can transport. It is the difference between the number of tons of water a vessel displaces "light" and the number of tons it displaces "when submerged to the 'deep load line'." A vessel's cargo capacity is less than its total deadweight tonnage. The difference in weight between a vessel when it is fully loaded and when it is empty (in general transportation terms, the net) measured by the water it displaces. This is the most common, and useful, measurement for shipping as it measures cargo capacity.

Deadwood: Heavy longitudinal timbers fastened over the keelson. The timbers of the bow and stern are fastened to the deadwood.

Deck: A permanent covering over a compartment, hull or any part of a ship serving as a floor.

Deck Beam: A beam which supports a deck.

Deck Gang: The officers and seamen comprising the deck department aboard ship. Also called deck crew, deck department, or just deck.

Deck Girders: Continuous longitudinals fastened under the deck.

Deck House: A small house erected upon the deck of a ship for any purpose. A low building or superstructure, such as a cabin, constructed on the top deck of a ship.

Deck Log: Also called Captain's Log. A full nautical record of a ship's voyage, written up at the end of each watch by the deck officer on watch. The principal entries are: courses steered, distance run, compass variations, sea and weather conditions, ship's position, principal headlands passed, names of lookouts, and any unusual happenings such as fire, collision, etc.

Deck Officer: As distinguished from engineer officer, refers to all officers who assist the master in navigating the vessel when at sea, and supervise the handling of cargo when in port.

Deck Plate: A metal plate fitting on the deck that can be opened to take on fuel or water

Deck Prism: A prism inserted into the deck which provides light down below.

Deck Stepped: A mast that is stepped (placed) on the deck of a boat rather than through the boat and keel stepped. The mast of a deck stepped boat is usually easier to raise and lower and are usually intended for lighter conditions than keel stepped boats.

Deckhand: Seaman who works on the deck of a ship and remains in the wheelhouse attending to the orders of the duty officers during navigation and maneuvering. He also comes under the direct orders of the bosun.

Deckhead: The underside of the deck, viewed from below the ceiling.

Declination: The angular distance North or South of the equator, measured from the center of the earth. It thus corresponds to latitude on the earths surface.

Deep V: Refers to the shape of a boat's (usually power boat) hull. A deep V hull is usually good at cutting through rough waves at high speeds.

Deep Waterline: The line to which a vessel is submerged with a full cargo on board.

Departure: (1) The last position on a chart, when a ship is leaving the land. (2) The number of nautical miles that one place is eastwards or westwards of another.

Depression: An area of low barometric pressure. The wind circulates clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere and counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere. Generally these are bad weather systems.

Depth Sounder: An instrument that uses sound waves to measure the distance to the bottom.

Derelict: Any abandoned vessel.

Derrick: A hoisting apparatus consisting of a block and tackle rigged at the end of a beam.

Design Waterline (DWL): Also length waterline or load waterline (LWL) This is the length of the boat where it meets the water when loaded to its designed capacity.

Deviation: (1) Differences between the compass reading and an actual magnetic direction caused by magnetic forces in the vicinity of the compass, which are usually the result of masses of metal, speaker magnets, etc. (2) Vessel departure from specified voyage course.

Deviation Card: A listing of a particular boat's steering deviation on each point of the compass

Devil: Caulker's name for the seam in the upper deck planking next to a ship's waterways. There was very little space to get at this seam, making it a difficult and awkward job. This is the origin of the expression "Between the devil and the deep blue sea, since there is only the thickness of the ship's hull planking between this seam and the sea. also known as the garboard seam.

Devil to Pay: Old seafaring term meaning something very difficult or awkward. see Devil

Dewatering: In controlling damage, to pump out a compartment. 1

Dewpoint: Temperature at which moist air becomes saturated

Dingbat: Slang term for a small swab made of rope and used for drying decks.

Dinghy: A small open boat often used as tender and lifeboat for a larger craft; a small open boat, usually carried aboard a yacht for going ashore

Dink: Nickname for a dinghy

Dirk: A small naval sword worn by midshipmen or their equivalents when in full dress uniform.

Disabled Ship: When a ship is unable to sail efficiently or in a seaworthy state as a result of engine trouble, lack of officers or crew, damage to the hull or ship's gear.

Discharges: An essential document for officers and seamen as it serves as an official certificate confirming sea experience in the employment for which he was engaged.

Disembark, Debark: Leave the vessel.

Dismast: The loss of a mast on a boat.

Displacement: The weight of a floating boat measured as the weight of the amount of water it displaces. A boat displaces an amount of water equal to the weight of the boat, so the boat's displacement and weight are identical.

Displacement Hull: A type of hull that plows through the water, displacing a weight of water equal to its own weight, even when more power is added.

Displacement Speed: The theoretical speed that a boat can travel without planing, based on the shape of its hull This speed is 1.34 times the length of a boat at its waterline. Also known as hull speed.

Distance Made Good: The distance traveled after correction for current, leeway and other errors that may not have been included in the original distance measurement.

Distress Signals: Any signal that is used to indicate that a vessel is in distress and needs help. Flares, smoke, audible alarms, EPIRB, electronic beacons and others are all types of distress signals.

Ditty Bag: A small bag for carrying or stowing all personal articles.

Ditty Box: A small wooden box, with lock and key, in which seamen keep sentimental valuables, stationery, and sundry small stores.

Diurnal: Daily; occurring once a day.

Dividers: A navigational tool used to measure distances on a chart.

Dock: The area a boat rests in when attached to a pier or wharf; also the act of taking the boat to the pier to secure it

Dodger: Screen of cloth or other material to give the crew protection against the weather, wind and water spray.

Dog: Heavy latch by which doors, hatches, portholes, etc., are secured; verb to latch

Dog Watch: see Watch

Dog's Breakfast: An old salt I know uses this term in reference to a "tangled mess of lines".

Doghouse: The short deckhouse or main hatchway which is raised above the level of the cabin top or coachroof.

Doldrums: The area of calm which lies inside the trade winds near the equator.

Dolphin: A mooring buoy or spar. A group of piles driven close together and bound with wire cables into a single structure.

Dolphin Striker: A short spar under the cap of the bowsprit used for holding down a jib boom.

Donkey Boiler: A steam boiler on a ship deck used to supply steam to deck machinery when the main boilers are shut down.

Donkey Engine: An auxiliary engine used for furnishing power for a variety of small mechanical chores.

Donkey House: The structure on deck where the donkey engine is located.

Donkey's Breakfast: Merchant seaman's name for his bed or mattress.

Donkeyman: Crew who tends a donkey boiler, or engine, and assists in engine-room.

Door: A passage through a bulkhead or other vertical divider of spaces. Doors can be closed, sometimes with a watertight seal, to prevent progressive flooding.

1 Dorade: A horn type of vent designed to let air into a cabin and keep water out.

Dory: A hard-chined dinghy with flared sides, considered a useful weight-carrying work boat.

Double Bottom: General term for all watertight spaces contained between the outside bottom plating, the tank top and the margin plate. The double bottoms are sub-divided into a number of separate tanks which may contain boiler feed water, drinking water, fuel oil, ballast, etc.

Double Clews: An old term for getting married.

Double Ender: Any Boat Designed with a pointed bow and stern.

Doubler Plate: An extra plate of the same strength or stronger than the original plating secured to the original plating for additional strength.

Doubling: Name given to that portion of the mast of a large sailing vessel where an upper mast overlaps the lower mast, as a topmast with the lower mast.

Douse: To take down a sail quickly; the entire action of getting a sail out of the wind and furling it.

Downhaul: (1) Line attached to the bottom of the boom used to flatten the sail by pulling the boom down, and thus tightening the luff of the sail. (2) A line used for hauling down a jib or staysail.

Downwind: In the direction the wind is blowing. A boat sailing downwind, away from the wind source with the sails let out all the way, is running with the wind.

DR: see Dead Reckoning

Draft: (1) The depth of the boat below the waterline; the amount of vertical distance from a boats water line to the bottom of it's keel. (2) The depth of water necessary to float a vessel (3) The belly or chord depth of the sail, its fullness

Draft Marks: On ships, the stern and stem are marked in feet to show the draft or depth of the vessel.

Drag: (1) The resistance to movement. (2) An anchor drags when its flukes do not hold.

Draw: (1) A sail is said to be drawing when it is full of wind. (2) Said of a vessel to indicate her draft. e.g., she draws 10 feet.

Drawbridge: A bridge that can be raised vertically to allow boats to pass underneath.

Dress Ship: To decorate a ship with flags in celebration of certain occasions.

Drift: (1) Speed or velocity of current (2) The leeway, or movement of the boat, when not under power, or when being pushed sideways while under power.

Drift or Drift Pin: A round bar driven through heavy wooden parts to hold the parts together. The ends of the bar may be hammered round over a washer. 1

Drift Ice: Ice in an area containing several small pieces of floating ice, but with total water area exceeding total area of ice.

Drive: A ship drives when her anchor fails to hold and she is at the mercy of wind and tide, or when she can make no progress against the wind.

Drogue: Any object used to increase the drag of a boat and slow her down. Typically shaped like a parachute or cone opened underwater, drogues decrease a boat's speed in heavy weather. Also see sea anchor.

Dry Cargo: Merchandise other than liquid carried in bulk.

Dry Dock: A dock into which a vessel is floated, which when raised lifts the boat out of the water. Can also be a watertight basin with one end open to the sea that can be closed and sealed with a gate, thus allowing the basin to be pumped out. This facility allows inspections, painting and repairs to be made on the hull and any underwater machinery.

Dry Storage: Storing on land. Many small boats are placed in dry storage over the winter.

Ducts: Tubes used to move air, such as to ventilate an enclosed area.

Dunnage: Any material, permanent or temporary, that is used to ensure good stowage, and protect cargo during carriage.

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