General sailing

General sailing

Terms used to sail, navigate, and maintain a sail boat.

Industry: Sailing

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General sailing

fid

Sailing; General sailing

Tool used by riggers in splicing line. A square iron pin used to keep topmasts and bowsprits in their places.

rail

Sailing; General sailing

The timber fitted on to the heads of the bulwark stanchions. Called also "top rail."

clew lines

Sailing; General sailing

Clew garnets. Ropes used for hauling up the clews of sails.

Hoops were formerly used for jib-headed topsails, the same as they used to be for the original "gaff topsails." The hoops when not in use rest on the masthead. In hoisting the topsail the lacing is ...

moon

Sailing; General sailing

Sailors say there will be a moon at such and such a date, meaning that there will be a new moon or full moon, from which the time of high water is calculated.

flying start

Sailing; General sailing

In match sailing a start made under way. In the old days yachts started from anchor or from moorings. This practice has long since been abandoned, and all starts in yacht races are flying starts.

vang

Sailing; General sailing

A device, usually with mechanical advantage, used to pull the boom down, flattening the sail. A rope used to keep a gaff from sagging to leeward. On a schooner's foresail a block is lashed to the ...