A Boatwright's Terminology

It has been made clear to me that certain terminology that I use when describing this project is not entirely understandable or clear to everyone. Since we are building a boat, I will, as a matter of course, ( and have ) use(d) nautical terminology, as it is the terminology that is used in our day to day discourse as we work, receive orders and assignments, etc. It seems proper to use the proper terms, but, this is pointless if they are not understood.

Keeping this in mind, I will provide in this post a list of terms that I likely will have used up to this point, or shall use regularly. Moving forward, if I use a term that may not be readily familiar, I will provide a definition at that time.

Here is an alphabetical list of terms that you may refer to if anything is unclear or should you wish to clarify:

Abeam
To the side of the boat, beside, abreast, etc.

Aft
To the back of the boat

All-Hands
Notice that every member of the crew must be present for a task or activity

Astern
Behind the boat

Baseline
When you draw a boat from measurements, that is you loft it, a baseline is a straight line from which you start your measurements.

Beam
The measurement of the width of a boat from side to side.

Bite
Used to describe the purchase or holding power of a clamp.  A clamp which is able to hold tightly has a good bite.

Boat Crew
A small section of Boatwrights ( usually two to five ) assigned to a particular task and working under the direction of a mate.

Boatswain
A boatswain (/ˈboʊsən/, formerly and dialectally also /ˈboʊtsweɪn/), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, is the senior crewman of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. The boatswain supervises the other members of the ship's deck department, and typically is not a watchstander, except on vessels with small crews. Other duties vary depending on the type of ship, her crewing, and other factors.

Boatswain's Locker
Storage compartment for items used by the deck crew.

Boatwright
A craftsman who builds traditional wooden boats.


Bolting
The act of rolling fabric ( in our case, fiberglass fabric, specifically ) onto spindles of cardboard or wood.

Bow
The front of the boat

Bowsprit
The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a spar extending forward from the vessel's prow. It provides an anchor point for the forestay(s), allowing the fore-mast to be stepped farther forward on the hull

Bridgedeck
The deck portion of a catamaran that 'bridges between the two (or more) hulls.

Bulkhead
A bulkhead is an upright wall within the hull of a boat. Bulkheads provide support and usually separate different sections to reduce the risk of flooding. In small boats bulkheads might enclose flotation chambers, or might provide rigidity or support a seat.

Buttboard
A length of wood that is used to cover a joint where two adjacent pieces of wood are 'butted' up or abutt one another.

Camber
Decks normally have a slight curvature to assist with drainage and impart stiffness. This is the deck Camber or Crown.

Carvel (or Caravel) Planked
carvel planking is a method of constructing wooden boats by attaching planks to a frame. The planks butt up edge to edge to each other and form a smooth hull. Caulking is required between the joints. It is a heavier method of boat building than Clinker (Lapstrake). When a boat is built a strong frame is first made then the planks are attached to the frame.

Catamaran
A catamaran (colloquially cat) is a multi-hulled watercraft featuring two parallel hulls of equal size. It is a geometry-stabilized craft; that is, it derives its stability from its wide beam, rather than from a ballasted keel, like a monohull. Being ballast-free and therefore lighter than a monohull, catamarans often have a shallower draft (draught) than comparably-sized monohulls. The two hulls combined also often have a smaller hydrodynamic footprint than that of comparable monohulls, allowing for reduced drag and increased efficiency. The catamaran's wider stance on the water can reduce both heeling and wave-induced motion, as compared with a monohull. Catamarans range in size from small sailing or rowing vessels to large naval ships and car ferries. The structure connecting a catamaran's two hulls ranges from a simple frame strung with webbing to support the crew to a bridging superstructure incorporating extensive cabin and/or cargo space.

Centerboard / Centreboard
A shaped plank often made of metal or weighted wood, which can be pivoted into the water to act as a keel to provide resistance to lateral drift and lift, as well as extra stability. When lifted, the centerboard fits into a well in the hull.

Clinker Built
Similar to Lapstrake. When long boards are overlapped then fastened either with clinched nails or with rivets. This kind of boat construction creates long ridges the length of the boat. This adds rigidity and strength to the hull. Viking boats were Clinker built. Carvel planking makes a smooth hull, Clinker has the ridges.

Daggerboard
A shaped plank which can be lowered into the water to act as a keel to provide resistance to lateral drift and to provide lift. Daggerboards are usually found in sailing dinghies. The cross section shape of the daggerboard can have a significant effect on performance.

Deadeye(s)
A deadeye is an item used in the standing and running rigging of traditional sailing ships. It is a smallish round thick wooden (usually lignum vitae) disc with one or more holes through it, perpendicular to the plane of the disc. Single and triple-hole deadeyes are most commonly seen. The three-holed blocks were called deadeyes because the position of the three holes resemble the eye and nose sockets of a sheep's skull.
Single deadeyes (or bull's eyes) are used to guide and control a line and, particularly in older vessels, to change its direction. More modern systems would use a block for this purpose but in traditional rigs with many lines to deal with, designed when blocks were relatively expensive to make, a deadeye provided an acceptable compromise. When blocks came into common use for adjusting running rigging, deadeyes continued to be used for tensioning standing rigging.
Triple deadeyes are used in pairs; a line called a lanyard is run back and forth between them, through the holes, so that they function again much as a block and tackle would. This provides a mechanical advantage, pulling harder on whatever the deadeyes are attached to. Pairs of deadeyes are placed in the shrouds (the lines that hold up the mast), where they are used to create greater tension in the shrouds. To set up the lanyards used with dead-eyes, a suitable grease such as tallow is first applied to the holes. After reeving the lanyard through the deadeyes, the end is hooked to a handy purchase in the rig above, such as the throat halyard. By hauling on the halyard the lanyard in the deadeyes is drawn up taut. A small wooden wedge is knocked into the last hole, to prevent the lanyard sliding back, and the end is unhooked from the purchase and made up on the shroud above the upper deadeye. The wedge can then be removed ready for the next shroud. As an alternative the tackle on the lanyard can be made fast to the shroud well above the upper deadeye so that it compresses the deadeyes. The last part of the lanyard can then be seized to an adjacent part between the deadeyes. When this is finished the tackle is cast off and the lanyard made off.

Double Ended
Is said of a boat that is pointy at both ends such as a canoe or a peapod.

Engine Box
Long box which contains several storage lockers (compartments)(i.e., for fuel, tools, parts., etc.) beneath which an outboard motor is rigged upon a pivoting boom so that it may be lowered into the water when needed.

Epoxy
Epoxy is a term used to denote both the basic components and the cured end products of epoxy resins, as well as a colloquial name for the epoxide functional group. Epoxy resins, also known as polyepoxides, are a class of reactive prepolymers and polymers which contain epoxide groups. Epoxy resins may be reacted (cross-linked) either with themselves through catalytic homopolymerisation, or with a wide range of co-reactants including polyfunctional amines, acids (and acid anhydrides), phenols, alcohols and thiols. These co-reactants are often referred to as hardeners or curatives, and the cross-linking reaction is commonly referred to as curing. Reaction of polyepoxides with themselves or with polyfunctional hardeners forms a thermosetting polymer, often with high mechanical properties, temperature and chemical resistance. Epoxy has a wide range of applications, including metal coatings, use in electronics / electrical components, high tension electrical insulators, fiber-reinforced plastic materials and structural adhesives.


Epoxy Gnome
A bearded, be-hatted Boatwright ( we look uncomfortably like gnomes..  its undignified)

Eyes
Protective eyewear such as glasses, goggles, etc.  - if you fail to wear your eyes when engaged in any task that can cause an eye injury ( particles being thrown, someone using caustic chemicals above your eye level, etc. ) you are docked a full day's pay.

Faering
A faering is an open boat with two pairs of oars, commonly found in most boat-building traditions in Western and Northern Scandinavia.

To Fair
To smooth out. When building a boat great care is taken to smooth out the sides so that curves are smooth and there are no irregularities. This is fairing.

Fiberglass
Fiberglass (or fibreglass) is a type of fiber reinforced plastic where the reinforcement fiber is specifically glass fiber. The glass fiber may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet (called a chopped strand mat), or woven into a fabric. The plastic matrix may be a thermosetting plastic – most often epoxy, polyester resin – or vinylester, or a thermoplastic.
The glass fibers are made of various types of glass depending upon the fiberglass use. These glasses all contain silica or silicate, with varying amounts of oxides of calcium, magnesium, and sometimes boron. To be used in fiberglass, glass fibers have to be made with very low levels of defects.
Fiberglass is a strong lightweight material and is used for many products. Although it is not as strong and stiff as composites based on carbon fiber, it is less brittle, and its raw materials are much cheaper. Its bulk strength and weight are also better than many metals, and it can be more readily molded into complex shapes. Applications of fiberglass include aircraft, boats, automobiles, bath tubs and enclosures, swimming pools, hot tubs, septic tanks, water tanks, roofing, pipes, cladding, casts, surfboards, and external door skins.
Other common names for fiberglass are glass-reinforced plastic (GRP), glass-fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) or GFK (from German: Glasfaserverstärkter Kunststoff). Because glass fiber itself is sometimes referred to as "fiberglass", the composite is also called "fiberglass reinforced plastic." This article will adopt the convention that "fiberglass" refers to the complete glass fiber reinforced composite material, rather than only to the glass fiber within it.

Fillet
In Stitch and glue boatbuilding, a bead of thickened epoxy is squeezed onto joints to strengthen them. This is a fillet. The process is just about the same as caulking a bathtub.

Forward
To front of the boat

Forestay
On a sailing vessel, a forestay, sometimes just called a stay, is a piece of standing rigging which keeps a mast from falling backwards. It is attached either at the very top of the mast, or in fractional rigs between about 1/8 and 1/4 from the top of the mast. The other end of the forestay is attached to the bow of the boat.

Freeboard
The distance between the water line and the top of the gunwale. Boats designed to be used in quiet water often have very little freeboard such as punts. Boats that typically have to face stronger waves are built with more freeboard, such as dories.

Fresh Hell
Rasping and sanding fillet


Fumed Silica
A component added to epoxy in order to make glue or fillet

Garboard
The Board or strake that is immediately next the the keel. The first strake from the bottom.

Gassed
Exhausted.  Tuckered out.

Glass
Fiberglass

Gunwale
The upper protective band installed on the top of the sides of the boat. The gunwales are on the outside and often have oarlocks attached to them. Sometimes spelled gunnels. The inside gunwale is called the inwale.

Hardener
One of two compounds which comprise epoxy.

Hawsepipe
A pipe or moulding in a boats side where the anchor rode fits through the hull. Hawsepipes are not usually found in dinghies and small boats but occasionally sailing yachts have them.

Hog
A structural board installed on top of the keel to help attach the garboard plank.

Hogged
A hull deformation which is the opposite of sagging. The hogged keel has a hollow in the middle when the boat is on a flat surface. Sometimes it happens as a wave reaches the middle of the boat and causes it to bend upwards. When permanent it is a defect.

Keel
The central beam running the length of the bottom. It can be quite shallow of quite deep. The shape of the keel determines how well a boat can sail into the wind and how well it can turn or track straight. Boats that are intended to be beached often have a very shallow keel. In sailing yatchts the keel is often cast iron or lead. In lapstrake the garboard or first board attaches to the keel. The keel is the backbone of wooden boats. It connects to the stem at the front and back of the boat.

Keelson
The inside part of the keel is the keelson. It helps make the boat more rigid and strengthens the connection of ribs and other parts of the boat to the keel.

Knee
A piece of wood connecting and supporting two parts roughly at right angles. Knees are often seen supporting seats in canoes and wooden dinghies.

Ladypants
A boatwright who is reluctant to get dirty, climb to a precarious position, or who lacks the strength to perform some task or feat.   Term of affection (?)



Lapstrake
Similar to Clinker built. A type of boat construction where long boards (strakes) are overlapped and fastened together along the edge by clinched nails, rivets or glue. Viking boats are a well know example.

LOA
Length Overall, is measured from one end (stern or bow) of the hull to the other end along the center line of the hull.
Mast Partner
A support roughly at the height of the gunwales through which the mast is inserted. The partner supports the mast in its proper position. It can be as simple as a thwart with a hole or can be an elaborate support. The foot of the mast is inserted in the step.

Love
1. A task, a purpose, a function.   When one is 'In need of love' or is 'love starved' it means you have nothing to do.  We also use the term 'At loose ends' to describe this condition.
2.  Content - as in with a proper fit or position of a piece of an assembly that you are fitting.   If a long piece is supposed to meet a mark or line on one end of the hull, for instance, the person who is monitoring that fit, he wil announce "I love this." or sometimes, "I am happy here."

Mainstay
A rope from the top of the main-mast to the foot of the fore-mast on a sailing ship.

Mani
Decorative finials which project from the bow and stern of each hull of a catamaran.

Marlinspike
Marlinspike (/ˈmɑːrlᵻnspaɪk/; sometimes marlin spike, marlinespike, or the archaic marlingspike/marling-spike) is a tool used in marine ropework. Shaped in the form of a polished metal cone tapered to a rounded or flattened point, they aid in such tasks as unlaying rope for splicing, untying knots, drawing marline tight using a marlinspike hitch, and as a toggle joining ropes under tension in a belaying pin splice.
Most marlinspikes are 6–12 inches (15–30 cm) long, but may reach 2 feet (61 cm) and more for working heavy cables and ropes. They are usually made from iron or steel, whereas fids, similar in shape and function, are formed from wood or bone. The marlinspike may be a separate tool or one item on a pocket knife.
Sailors who become proficient at knot tying, splicing, and sewing using the marlinspike are said to have mastered marlinespike seamanship, earning them the right to be known as marlin spikes or marlinspike seamen.

Mast Step
Cuplike depression or support where the bottom of the mast is inserted when stepped. Usually the mast step is supported by the keelson or keel and has drainage to prevent water from sitting at the base of the mast.

Mate
A mate is a deck officer aboard a merchant vessel, such as the chief mate (first mate), second mate, or third mate.

One of the mates is always the watch keeping officer, unless the master takes that responsibility. Each mate also has other duties, such as making the passage planning, overseeing loading and unloading and personnel management.

Micro-Balloons
A component added to epoxy to make glue or fillet

Pahi - "Hi!" - a term used for a catamaran vessel designed and built in the Tuamotuan Archipelago

Phenolic Micro-Balloons
A component added to epoxy to make fairing compound.  ( also a main ingredient in the production of Bakelite, billiard balls, and laboratory counter tops. )

Pod
Cabin, or other superstructure which is sunken into the deck of a catamaran. ( Galley pod contains food storage and preparation areas, a sleeping berth, etc., Navigation pod contains wheel/bridge, chart room, communications equipment, navigation equipment, etc., Often a pod also serves as a mast partner / mast brace )

Port
Sitting in the boat facing the bow, your port side is on the left. Starboard is on the right.

Proud
Protruding.  For example, if you cut a notch into one piece of wood, and another piece of wood is intended to fit into the notch in such a fashion that it is flush with the top edges of the notch, but sticks up a bit over the top of the level of the notch edges, it is said to be proud.  The opposite is shy.

Resin
One of two components which comprise epoxy. 

Reeving
thread (a rope or rod) through a ring or other aperture, especially in a block.

Roll / Roll & Go
Used when several members of the crew are working on a single task, such as pulling a line, turning a capstan or winch, unloading cargo or materials in an 'ant line' or any other task where an individual crew member steps in, takes a portion of the load for a time, then steps out, and repeats this action until the task has been completed.

Run
When a clamp lets go and comes loose.

Salon
Akin to a 'Drawing Room' in a house. A meeting space.

Scarf
A joint in a board or a piece of plywood to make it longer. Usually each side of the board is cut in a long wedge and the 2 sides of the wedge glued together. This increases the glueline and makes a solid scarf. A ratio of 7 times the width of the scarfed board is considered adequate, longer is better. A scarf can also be secured by rivets as are scarfs in faerings.

Scupt / Sculpting
Using a hammer and chisel to clean up fillet or glue overage.

Shanty
A sea shanty, chantey, or chanty is a type of work song that was once commonly sung to accompany labor on board large merchant sailing vessels. The term shanty most accurately refers to a specific style of work song belonging to this historical repertoire. However, in recent, popular usage, the scope of its definition is sometimes expanded to admit a wider range of repertoire and characteristics, or to refer to a “maritime work song” in general.

Sheer
If you look at the shape of a boat from the side, The top of the hull often curves up (or rarely down) at the bow and stern. This is sheer. Usually the bow and stern are higher to maximize the freeboard at the bow and stern where the boat meets waves. The curve at the keel level is called rocker.
When looking at the boat hull from the side, sheer is the line where the hull meets the gunwale.

Shy
Concave.  For example, if you cut a notch into one piece of wood, and another piece of wood is intended to fit into the notch in such a fashion that it is flush with the top edges of the notch, but the notch is either too deep or the wood in the notch lacks the proper height to reach the top of the notch, it is said to be shy.  The opposite is proud.

Skeg
A downward or sternward projection from the keel in front of the rudder or in rowboats at the stern. A skeg helps a boat to track straight. A wormshoe is sometimes attached to the skeg and provides a replaceable strip to protect the skeg.

Skipper
A skipper is a person who has command of a boat or sea-craft or tug, more or less equivalent to "captain in charge aboard ship." At sea, or upon lakes and rivers, the skipper as shipmaster or captain has the absolute command over the crew. The skipper may or may not be the owner of the boat.
The word is derived from the Dutch word schipper; schip is Dutch for "ship". In Dutch sch- is pronounced [sx] and English-speakers rendered this as [sk].
The word "skipper" is used more than "captain" for some types of craft, for example fishing boats.

Spiling
The process of measuring a plank to figure out its final shape when on the flat so it can be cut. Sometimes done with a spiling batten. Spelt with only one l.

Starboard
When you are in a boat facing the bow, starboard is on the right. When you are sailing and the wind is coming from starboard and your sail is leaning towards port side, you are in a starboard tack and have right of way over a boat on a port tack.

Stem
The stem connects to the keel and extends it to the front and back. Sometimes the stem is carved and decorated.

Stern
The back of the boat, bow at the front stern at the back.

Strake
A board or plywood panel that runs the length of the boat.

Strongback
a beam or girder which acts as a secondary support member to existing structure. A strongback in a staircase is usually ordinary two-by dimensional lumber attached to the staircase stringers to stiffen the assembly. In shipbuilding, a strongback is oriented lengthwise along a ship to brace across several frames in the case of hull damage.

Throw
When you screw in a screw, or apply a clamp, you are 'throwing' it.   e.g.;  "Throw three screws here... and throw a few clamps along there."

Tip off / Tipping off / Tipping
Using an acetone dipped brush, using a feather-light uni-directional stroke to remove air bubbles which form in epoxy or paint to create a very smooth finish.  Rolling & Tipping is an alternate term.

Trampoline
A tightly rigged net on a catamaran upon which passengers and crew may sit, stand, or walk.

Treenail / Trunnel
A treenail, also trenail, trennel, or trunnel, is a wooden peg, pin, or dowel used to fasten pieces of wood together, especially in timber frames, covered bridges, wooden shipbuilding and boat building. Many such buildings and bridges are still in use. Locust is a favorite wood when making trunnels in shipbuilding due to its strength and rot resistance and red oak is typical in buildings.

Wild
Long.  Example.  Think of a stockade fence, which has two horizontal cross pieces;  the bits of fence that stick up over top of the cross piece are 'wild'.   Whereas in this example, this is intended, we use it more or less to indicate an unintentional circumstance ( such as if one of the vertical pieces of the fence were too long and stuck up ) or when cutting with a margin so that we can then cut it back to fit properly.

Wormshoe
A worm shoe is a strip of wood such as oak or pine which is fixed to the keel of a wooden boat to protect it from shipworms. The wood is sacrificed to the worms while the main structure is kept separate and safe using a layer of tar paper or creosoted felt, which the worms will not penetrate.