Nautical Lexicon - What The Words Mean

[AZbeachboy]

Good trick about port = left, but can you remember when you are facing forward or aft if you are on a cabin deck?

 

When you are on cabin decks. Look at the color or the carpet or at least the trim. Port is Red, Starboard is Blue look down and see the color.

Edited August 17, 2013 by AZbeachboy

[chengkp75]

<useless trivia>

 

Starboard was derived from the 'steer board' side [the steering oar of a ship designed without a conventional rudder [good Scrabble rudder related words are 'pintle' and 'gudgeon' :) ]]

 

The other side of the ship was originally 'larboard' [i guess this was because it rhymed]. Some time ago, it was noticed that the two words sounded identical in a noisy environment [like during a battle], so the word 'port' was introduced.

 

A possible derivation was from the red color of the port running light [pour a glass of port, hold it up to the light and what color is it?]

 

In naval usage [don't know about civilian usage] engine orders are port and starboard, rudder orders are left and right - "starboard engine back one third, left full rudder"

 

</useless trivia>

 

Actually, "larboard" comes from "lee board", which was the side (opposite to the side with the steering oar, where the lee board was hung. Early boats did not have a keel, and also to be able to beach, so they needed a retractable keel (like today's centerboard) to keep the ship sailing in a straight line. Since it was considered structurally unsafe to put a slot in the keel for a centerboard, the centerboard was hung off the port side of the boat.

[crewzr]

How to keep "port" and "starboard" straight...

 

"Port" has four letters, just like "left". Easy.

 

(remember: they refer to left and right relative to the front - or forward motion - of the ship)

 

 

-Dito

Starboard-handed

 

Great tip! Thanks!

 

A good way to remember that "bow" is the front of the ship... When you bow, you are leaning forward. Also, I remember "aft" is the back, because it is three letters and starts with an "a", just like the curse word for your rear end (a@@). LOL

[chengkp75]

Great tip! Thanks!

 

A good way to remember that "bow" is the front of the ship... When you bow, you are leaning forward. Also, I remember "aft" is the back, because it is three letters and starts with an "a", just like the curse word for your rear end (a@@). LOL

 

Just to pick nits: The parts of the ship are bow and STERN, the direction you face is FORWARD and aft.

[Jackytar]

When you are on cabin decks. Look at the color or the carpet or at least the trim. Port is Red, Starboard is Blue look down and see the color.

 

I don't know about the carpet colour or trim colour, but starboard is green, not blue. Check the nav lighting :)

[JohnPlayer]

Wow, this thread is super helpful. Thanks a lot!

[BallFour4]

There are no ropes aboard a water vessel. Those used in docking are lines.

 

On a sailboat those used to hoist the sail are halyards, those used to trim the sails are called sheets.

 

When you dock look closely at the line thrown to the boatsmen. It has a small ball of line woven line called a monkeys fist. It's attached to a larger line and that one is attached to a dock line.

 

.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Jackytar]

There are no ropes aboard a water vessel. Those used in docking are lines.

 

On a sailboat those used to hoist the sail are halyards, those used to trim the sails are called sheets.

 

When you dock look closely at the line thrown to the boatsmen. It has a small ball of line woven line called a monkeys fist. It's attached to a larger line and that one is attached to a dock line.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Quite right... except for one that is properly called a rope. When you lower a small boat into the water, the line from the boat's bow up to the deck cleat is properly known as the boatrope. The lines from the ship to the jetty are the head, breasts, springs and sternfast :) The line with the monkey's fist is called a throwing line when used to bring the lines onboard. If you use it to pass a heavier line to another ship, it's called a messenger :)

[BallFour4]

Quite right... except for one that is properly called a rope. When you lower a small boat into the water, the line from the boat's bow up to the deck cleat is properly known as the boatrope. The lines from the ship to the jetty are the head, breasts, springs and sternfast :) The line with the monkey's fist is called a throwing line when used to bring the lines onboard. If you use it to pass a heavier line to another ship, it's called a messenger :)

 

In our sailing days my wife refused to refer to the snatch block. Boat's gone, wife is still here...

 

Decent trade.

 

.

Edited February 18, 2014 by BallFour4

[Jackytar]

In our sailing days my wife refused to refer to the snatch block. Boat's gone, wife is still here...

 

Decent trade.

 

.

 

Good on you for your priorities :)

[Jimnbigd]

"Bow" rhymes with "how" and "cow".

Here's how I remember where it is: I "bow" to the captain, who usually is at the front of the ship.

Well, OK, I have never actually bowed to the captain, but that's how I remember where "bow" is.

 

If parents want to give their kids a stern lecture, do they first have to go to the back of the ship?

 

For me, the hardest terms to remember are the ships that use names instead of numbers for the different decks.

I never seem to remember the deck names. Sigh.

Edited July 9, 2014 by Jimnbigd

[justjoanie29]

When you are on cabin decks. Look at the color or the carpet or at least the trim. Port is Red, Starboard is Blue look down and see the color.

 

 

Also, When you are sailing on NCL, look at the carpet and see which way the "fish" are swimming. They always swim forward except for a couple of rebellious ones. That is the only way I can tell which way to go when I get off the elevators! LOL :D

[Pynk52]

Lol:d

[jammen]

Sailors' superstitions have been superstitions particular to sailors or mariners, and which traditionally have been common around the world. Some of these beliefs are popular superstitions, while others are actually better described as traditions, stories, lore, tropes, myths, or legend.

The origins of many of these superstitions are based in the inherent risks of sailing, and luck, either good or bad, as well as portents and omens that would be given associative meaning in relation to the life of a mariner, sailor, fisherman or a crew in general.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailors'_superstitions

[john watson]

Another curiosity: Why is left called port if we don't always get off that side of the ship? Why is right called starboard if there is no board with a star on it?

 

One explanation I have heard about starboard and port sides goes back many years. This is back in the days when ships did not have rudders mounted in line with the keel. In order to steer the ship they used a steering board something like a giant oar which hung over the side of the ship. Most people being right handed they mounted them on the right hand side of the ship so you could stand looking forward with the steerboard to your right. Over the years the word got corrupted into starboard. When they docked in ports in order not to damage the steerboard and to facilitate manoeuvring when leaving port it was vital to have this in clear water not dock side. Starboard and larboard are similar sounding, so to stop any accidents arising from shouting similar sounding words a new term was needed. Port seemed the best choice as it was always that side of the ship when berthed everybody understood that and port sounds nothing like starboard.

 

But this goes back so far nobody really knows definitely.

 

Regards John

[Calgon1]

Glad you folks have enjoyed. Geocities shut down a couple/few years ago, but my data has ben saved at:

http://www.reocities.com/calgon1/Nautical_Dictionary.html

 

If anyone has a suggestion for another (free) site, please let me klnow and I'll transfer the pages. Yes, I have saved them (Dictionary, Ultimate Packing List, etc.). :D:D

[Jam Maker]

Hi Everyone

I have waited 40 years for my husband to agree to try a cruise (!!) and we are booked on an Eastern Caribbean cruise for our Ruby anniversary in September. If it goes well, I hope we can make it a regular event when he retires. I look forward to reading all the advice on your site, and sharing my cruising experiences.

[Magnum60]

Ship High In Transit = s--t. Certain cargo shipped below deck, if stored in wet or damp cargo holds, could sometimes create methane gas - something you don't want in a ships closed cargo space :eek:. Years ago, that type of cargo was shipped high on deck allowing any methane that might form to be disbursed into the air lessening the chance of it exploding.

We all know where the bridge is and what's done there but how did it become called 'the bridge'? How about 'helm', forecastle or capstan? I used to know the definitions but I'm drawing a blank at the moment :o.

[Cuizer2]

In the days of sail (not sale) a ship was commanded from the aft (behind the main mast. The enlisted bunked ahead of the forward mast (see Richard Henry Dana's book, Two Years Before the Mast). So, what to do with the officers in training. They can't sleep with the officers as they were not officers yet. However, you don't want them bunking with the crew, after all these men will soon be officers. So they bunked between the masts, in the middle of the ship. That is where the term midshipmen comes from.

 

Then in the days of steam the ocean going ships had side paddle wheels. The officers needed a way to inspect the paddle wheels. So a raised platform was constructed between the two. This was literally a bridge. When screws became the preferred means of propulsion (the propellers on a ship are called screws and are more efficient then paddle wheels) the command was moved to the front of the ship, but the name bridge was retained.

 

As to the acronym Ship High In Transit, if you do some checking you will find out that this is an Internet hoax (the first two will take you directly to the correct page - the last two require that you type in the search term) ...

 

http://www.etymonline.com/baloney.php

 

http://mentalfloss.com/article/26955/intriguing-origins-indelicate-words-****

 

http://www.truthorfiction.com/

 

http://www.snopes.com/

[Magnum60]

Man I hate it when someone [with a bit more knowledge than me] comes up with documentation that wipes out fun stuff like the miss guided info I splattered around within this post :).

I bow to you superior knowledge, complete with documentation no less :mad:, but because of it I'm now on a quest to find another factual 'tid bit' that will make me as clever as I once thought I was ;). In all sincerity, thanks for the correction - but - keep in mind, you slaughtered a fun bit of bar trivia :)

[Cuizer2]

Man I hate it when someone [with a bit more knowledge than me] comes up with documentation that wipes out fun stuff like the miss guided info I splattered around within this post :).

I bow to you superior knowledge, complete with documentation no less :mad:, but because of it I'm now on a quest to find another factual 'tid bit' that will make me as clever as I once thought I was ;). In all sincerity, thanks for the correction - but - keep in mind, you slaughtered a fun bit of bar trivia :)

 

Some people like the story so much that they continue to use it even knowing it is false. Its a fun story, so have fun with it.

 

Some correspondents have assured me this explanation is true. Some, even when confronted with the evidence and after admitting the story was impossible, said they were going to keep spreading it, because they liked it. They had rehearsed this little set-piece, and they had told it at the drop of a hat, and they basked in the resulting chuckles.

 

After all, it's only a harmless set-up for a golf joke. But because it has the look of authentic history, it has begun to circulate as a legitimate etymology.

Edited July 17, 2015 by Cuizer2

[Magnum60]

Some people like the story so much that they continue to use it even knowing it is false. Its a fun story, so have fun with it.

 

Some correspondents have assured me this explanation is true. Some, even when confronted with the evidence and after admitting the story was impossible, said they were going to keep spreading it, because they liked it. They had rehearsed this little set-piece, and they had told it at the drop of a hat, and they basked in the resulting chuckles.

 

After all, it's only a harmless set-up for a golf joke. But because it has the look of authentic history, it has begun to circulate as a legitimate etymology.

 

Forget that. I'm going to make up a new myth ;). This could take awhile but most of my boating friends think that as a past Commodore and member of several race committees that I'm the final word on all things boat :rolleyes:. Could be fun :)

[SetU2]

What is the "hump" People talk about getting cabins on, or aft, of the hump all the time. Widest part of ship??

[Cuizer2]

I always wondered why we don't just say front, back, left, and right for ships. We do for road vehicles and bikes. Sometimes people slip up and say front or back anyway, even though they know the nautical lexicon, out of habit.

Another curiosity: Why is left called port if we don't always get off that side of the ship? Why is right called starboard if there is no board with a star on it?

Good trick about port = left, but can you remember when you are facing forward or aft if you are on a cabin deck?

 

The term starboard dates back before steam engines moved ships. The starboard was used to steer the ship. Since most people were right handed, the starboard was on the right side of the ship. To protect the starboard from damage, the ship would be docked with the left side next to the port.

 

Thus the right side became known as the starboard side and the left side because known as the port side. The terms survived the change to a rudder that is in the middle of the ship, allowing the ship to safely dock on either side.

[Cuizer2]

And... from Port and Starboard comes the word Posh:

 

Port Out, Starboard Home from Trans-Atlantic cruising - always the best side of the ship.

 

Not really ...

 

http://www.merriam-webster.com/help/faq/posh.htm

 

http://http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/posh.asp

 

http://http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/port-out-starboard-home.html

 

http://www.seatalk.info/cgi-bin/nautical-marine-sailing-dictionary/db.cgi?db=db&uid=default&FirstLetter=p&sb=Term&view_records=View&nh=5