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Nautical Dictionary - Nautical Glossary - Maritime Terminology

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Nautical Dictionary

Nautical Glossary - Maritime Terminology


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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

Gadget
Any little handy contraption such as a scraper or sailmaker's palm, etc.
Gaff
(1) A spar that holds the upper side of a four sided gaff sail. (2) A pole with a sharp hook at the end used to get a fish on board.
Gaff Rig
Any sailboat with a four-sided mainsail, defined by two booms, one located on the bottom, perpendicular to the mast, and another, located on top, at an angle from the mast.
Gaff Sail
A four sided sail used instead of a triangular main sail. Used on gaff rigged boats.
Gaff Topsail
A light triangular or quadrilateral sail set over a gaff.
Gale
An unusually strong wind. In storm-warning terminology, a wind of 34 to 47 knots (39 to 54 miles per hour or 62-87 kilometers per hour).
Galleon
A development of the carrack, with the high forecastle eliminated.
Gallery
In larger sailing warships, the walk built out from the admiral's or captain's cabin and extending beyond the stern. Often decorated with carved and gilded work, they were also covered and enclosed with elaborate glass windows.
Galley
(1) The kitchen area of a boat. (2) Very old fighting ship propelled by oars.
Galley Pepper
Sailor's term for soot or ashes which sometimes fell into food while it was being cooked.
Galley Slave
A prisoner sold in the slave market. He was forced to serve in the war galleys, where he pulled on one of the oars.
Gallows Frame
A frame used to support the boom when the sail is down.
Galvanizing
The process of coating one metal with another, ordinarily applied to the coating of iron or steel with zinc. The chief purpose of galvanizing is to prevent corrosion.
Gammon Iron
Circular iron band used to hold a bowsprit on the stem of a sailing vessel.
Gangplank
A board with cleats, forming a bridge reaching from a gangway of a vessel to the wharf.
Gangway
A narrow portable platform used as a passage, by persons entering or leaving a vessel moored alongside a pier.
Garboard
The first plank on the outer hull of a wooden vessel next to the keel. In steel ships, the plating next to the keel, or what is known as strake A.
Garnet
On a square-rigged ship, a tackle used for hoisting casks and provisions.
Garters
Slang for the leg irons which were used to secure men under punishment.
Gasket
Ties used to tie up the sails when they are furled to the boom or yards.
Gate Valve
A valve with a faucet type handle used to restrict the flow of water in a line
Gear
A general term for ropes, blocks, tackle, equipment, instruments, riggings, any apparatus used aboard ship; clothing and other personal items taken aboard ship
Gel Coat
The outer resin surface of a fiberglass boat, usually colored.
Gellywatte
Old term for the boat used by the captain to go ashore.
General Quarters
The positions and functions assigned to every member of ship's company to manage emergencies or fight the ship; also, the order spoken to take such positions. 1
Gennaker
A large sail that is a cross between a spinnaker and a genoa. Hoisted without a pole, the tack is attached at the bottom of the headstay.
Genoa
A large foresail or jib that overlaps the mainsail. Also known as a genny. Can be expressed in percentages of overlap, e.g. 150 Genoa is 50% overlap of the mainsail.
Get Spliced
Slang for getting married. A splice joins two lines together permanently.
Ghosting
To make headway when there is no apparent wind.
Gimbals
A system by which an object such as a compass is suspended so that it remains horizontal as the boat heels.
Gingerbread
Gilded carving and scroll work decorating the hulls of ships.
Gird
To haul in or bind something together in order to create more space.
Girdle
Additional thickness of planking on a wooden ship about her waterline to give the vessel more stability.
Girth
The measurement around the body of a ship. The half girth is taken from the center line of the keel to the upper deck beam end.
Give-Way Vessel
A term, from the Navigational Rules, used to describe the vessel which must yield to the "Stand-on Vessel" in meeting, crossing, or overtaking situations. also known as the Burdened Vessel
Glass
In the days of tall ships the barometer was a glass vessel with a thin stem. The fluid in the glass (in most cases water) would move up and down the stem as the pressure of the surrounding atmosphere changed. These movements were used to predict changes in the weather. also the seaman's name for a telescope.
Global Positioning System (GPS)
A navigation system using satellite signals to fix a position with great accuracy.
Glory Hole
Any small enclosed space in which unwanted items are stowed when clearing up decks.
GMT
See Greenwich Mean Time.
Go About
To turn the boat head-to-wind so as to go about on the opposite tack
Go Adrift
To break loose from a mooring, anchor or docking.
Gob Line
A length of rope used in a tug to bowse in the towrope. Gog rope.
Going to Weather
To sail against the prevailing wind and seas.
Gondola
A small boat, highly ornamented, with a high rising stem and sternpost. Used on the canals of Venice, it is propelled by a man standing near the stern using a single oar
Gone Aloft
Sailor's phrase for a seaman who has died.
Gooseneck
The fitting which connects the boom to the mast.
Goose-Wings
Indicates the jib or staysail being boomed out on the opposite side of the mainsail in a following wind, giving a large amount of sail area presented to the wind. see Wing and Wing. The term originates, however, from square riggers, and means to haul the (weather) tack of a square sail forward, to encourage it to fill when the vessel is hauled so closely on the wind as to begin to backfill the sail.
GPS
See Global Positioning System.
Grapnel, Grapple
A small multi-pronged anchor used on dinghies and small boats. Also used to drag along the bottom to recover something that has sunk.
Grave, to
see Bream
Great Circle
The largest circle which can be inscribed on a sphere by a plane that cuts through the center of the sphere. On the earth, the equator is a great circle, as are all the meridians of longitude which pass through both poles. The shortest distance between two points on the earth's surface lies along the great circle which connects the two points.
Green Buoy/Can
A can buoy. A cylindrical buoy painted green and having an odd number used in the United States as a navigational aid. At night they may have a green light. Green buoys should be kept on the left side when returning from a larger body of water to a smaller one.
Green Daymark
A navigational aid used in the United States and Canada to mark a channel. Green triangular daymarks should be kept on the left when returning from a larger to smaller body of water.
Greenwich Mean Time
GMT for short. Greenwich Meridian Time, also known as Universal Time or Zulu time. A time standard that is not affected by time zones or seasons. It is the time used by navigators in celestial navigation.
Gripe
The tendency of a sailing vessel to head up into the wind when sailing close hauled. Can be caused by the vessel's overall trim, an ill-balanced hull or rig, or by her overall design.
Gripes
Small lines or bands used to hold down and secure boats on deck while at sea.
Grog
Rum diluted with water. In the 1700s the daily ration of rum in the British Navy was diluted with water with the idea of reducing drunkenness. The term groggy was derived from the effects of drinking too much grog.
Grommet
A ring or eyelet normally used to attach a line, such as on a sail.
Gross Tonnage
A common measurement of the internal volume of a ship with certain spaces excluded. One ton equals 100 cubic feet; the total of all the enclosed spaces within a ship expressed in tons each of which is equivalent to 100 cubic feet.
Ground
To touch bottom.
Ground Swells
Long wave formations during calm or light air formed by waves running into shoaling water
Ground Tackle
A collective term for the anchor, anchor rode (line or chain), and all the shackles and other gear used for attachment.
Growler
Small iceberg that has broken away from a larger iceberg.
GRP
Glass Reinforced Polyester. Commonly called fiberglass, a material used for boat construction.
Guardrail
The upper deck rail along both sides of a vessel to prevent anyone on board from falling overboard.
Gudgeon
A ring-shaped fitting into which the rudder pintle is inserted which allows the rudder to pivot.
Gunkholing
Cruising in shallow water and spending the nights in coves.
Gunnels
See Gunwhale
Gunter Rig
Development of the lugsail rig where the sail is cut with a very short luff and lon leech.
Gunwale
The upper edge of a boat's side; the part of a vessel where hull and deck meet. (Pronounced "gunnel")
Gusset
A brace, usually triangular, for reinforcing a corner or angle in the framework of a structure.
Guy
A supporting or steadying line or wire; a line used to control the end of a spar. A spinnaker pole, for example, has one end attached to the mast, while the free end is moved back and forth with a guy.
Gybe
(Jibe) Turning the boat so that the stern crosses the wind, changing direction. To change direction before the wind onto another tack with the boom coming over by the force of the wind. Caution is needed in this maneuver, especially in heavy wind.
Gypsy
A windlass or capstan drum.
Gyres
A large circular ocean current.

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