Wake. The track or path a ship leaves behind her in the water.

Wales. Strong planks in a vessel's side running her whole length fore and aft. Wall. A knot put on the end of a rope.

Wall-sided. A vessel is wall-sided when her sides run up perpendicularly from the bends. In opposition to tumbling home or flaring out.

Ward-room. The room in a vessel of war in which the commissioned officers live.

Ware, or Wear. To turn a vessel round, so that from having the wind on one side, you bring it upon the other, carrying her stern round by the wind. In tacking, the same result is produced by carrying a vessel's head round by

the wind.

Wear and Tear. An expression used to denote the loss or diminution of value of hull, spars, sails, etc., by use and by accidental injury.

Warp. To move a vessel from one place to another by means of a rope made fast to some fixed object, or to a kedge.

A warp is a rope used for warping. If the warp is bent to a kedge which is let go, and the vessel is hove ahead by the capstan or windlass, it would be called kedging.

Wash-boards. Light pieces of board placed above the gunwale of a small vessel or boat.

Watch. A division of time on board ship. There are seven watches in a day, reckoning through the 24 hours, five of them being of four hours each, and the two others, called dog-watches, of two hours each, viz., from 4 to 6, and from 6 to 8 P.M. (See DOG-WATCH.)

Also a certain portion of a ship's company, appointed to stand a given length of time. In the merchant service all hands are divided into two watches, port and starboard, with a mate to command each.

A buoy is said to watch when it floats on the surface.

Watch-and-watch. The arrangements by which the watches are alternated every other four hours. In distinction from keeping all hands during one or more watches.

Anchor watch. A watch of one or two men, kept while in port. Watch-ho! Watch! The cry of the man that heaves the deep sea lead. Watch-tackle. A small luff-purchase with a short fall, the double-block hav

ing a tail to it, and the single one a hook. Used for various purposes about decks.

Water-sail. A save-all, set under the swinging-boom.

Water-ways. Long pieces of timber, running fore and aft on both sides, connecting the deck with the vessel's sides. The scuppers are made through them to let the water off.

Wear. (See WARE.)

Weather. In the direction from which the wind blows. (See WINDWARD, LEE.)

A ship carries a weather-helm when she tends to come up into the wind, requiring you to put the helm up.

Weather-gage. A vessel has the weather-gage of another when she is to windward of her.

A weatherly ship is one that works well to windward, making but little leeway Weather-bitt. To take an additional turn with a cable round the windlassend.

Weather-roll. The roll which a ship makes to windward.

Weigh. To lift up; as, to weigh an anchor or a mast.

Wheel. The instrument by which a ship is steered, being a barrel (round which the tiller ropes go), and a wheel with spokes.

Whelps. Pieces of iron to keep the cabin cable from cutting the windlass.
Whip. A purchase formed by a rope rove through a single block.

To whip is to hoist by a whip. Also to secure the end of a rope from fagging by a seizing of twine.

Whip-upon-whip. One whip applied to the fall of another.

Whiskers. Projecting irons across the stem head of very sharp bowed vessels to give more spread to the bowsprit shrouds.

Wholesail-breeze. A wind which will allow a vessel to carry all sail. Winch. A purchase formed by a horizontal spindle or shaft with a wheel or crank at the end. A small one with a wheel is used for making ropes or spunyarn.

Windlass. The machine used in merchant vessels to weigh the anchor by. Wind-rode. The situation of a vessel at anchor when she swings and rides by the force of the wind, instead of the tide or current. (See TIDE-RODE.) Wing. That part of the hold or between-decks which is next the side. Wingers. Casks stowed in the wings of a vessel.

Wing-and-wing. The situation of a fore-and-aft vessel when she is going dead before the wind, with her foresail hauled over on one side, and her mainsail on the other.

Withe, or Wythe. An iron instrument fitted on the end of a boom or mast, with a ring to it, through which another boom or mast is rigged out and secured, as a cap.

Woodlock. A piece of wood bolted to the rudder beneath one of the pintles, to prevent the rudder unshipping.

Woold. To wind a piece of rope round a spar.

Working-jib. The regular jib (one of the head sails.)

Working-topsail. Known also as the standing and the gaff-topsail, in distinction to the sprit or club topsails which are hoisted from the deck, and set flying.

Work-up. To draw the yarns from old rigging and make them into spun-yarn. foxes, sennit, etc. Also a phrase for keeping a crew constantly at work upon needless matters, and in all weathers, and beyond their usual hours for punish

ment.

Worm. To fill up between the lays of a rope with small stuff wound round spirally. Stuff so wound round is called worming.

Wrain-bolts. Bolts that secure the planks to the timbers.

Wrain-staves. Strong pieces of plank used with the wrain-bolts.
Wring. To bend or strain a mast by setting the shrouds up too taut.

Y

Yacht. (Pronounced yot.) A vessel of pleasure or state.

Yard. A long piece of timber, tapering slightly towards the ends, and hung by the center to a mast, to spread the square sails upon.

Yard a-box is the sail attached to the yard being aback to act on the vessel's head, turning it away from the wind.

Yard-arm. The extremities of a yard.

Yard-arm and Yard-arm. The situation of two vessels, lying alongside one another, so that their yard-arms cross or touch.

Yarn. (See ROPE-YARN.)

Yaw. The motion of a vessel when from bad steering she goes off from her

course.

Yawl. A cutter, a small fishing vessel.

Yeoman. A man employed in a vessel to take charge of a storeroom; as, boat

swain's yeoman, the man that has charge of the stores of rigging, etc. Yoke. A piece of wood placed across the head of a boat's rudder, with a rope (yoke-line) attached to each end, by which the boat is steered.

Zenith. The point over the observer's head.

Zenith Distance. What an altitude lacks of 90°-the complement of an altitude.

DICTIONARY OF TERMS.

AND

AN EXPLANATION OF SOME ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES,
REQUISITE TO BE UNDERSTOOD IN THE THEORY
AND PRACTICE OF SHIP-BUILDING.

A.

Afloat. Borne up by, or floating in, the water.

After-body. That part of a ship's body abaft the midships or dead-flat. This term is more particularly used in expressing the figure or shape of that part of the ship.

After-timbers. All those timbers abaft the MIDSHIPS or DEAD-FLAT.

Air Funnel. A cavity framed between the sides of some timbers, to admit fresh air into the ship, and convey the foul air out of it.

Amidships. In midships, or in the middle of the ship, either with regard to

her length or breadth. Hence that timber or frame which has the greatest breadth and capacity in the ship is denominated the midship bend. Anchor-lining. The short pieces of plank, or of board, fastened to the sides of the ship, or to stantions under the fore-channel, to prevent the bill of the anchor from wounding the ship's side, when fishing the anchor.

To Anchor Stock. To work planks in a manner resembling the stocks of anchors, by fashioning them in a tapering form from the middle, and working or fixing them over each other, so that the broad or middle part of one plank shall be immediately above or below the butts or ends of two others. This method, as it occasions a great consumption of wood, is only used where particular strength is required, as in the SPIRKETTINGS under ports, etc. An-end. The position of any mast, etc., when erected perpendicularly on the deck. The top-masts are said to be AN-END when they are hoisted up to their usual stations. This is also a common phrase for expressing the driving of anything in the direction of its length, as to force one plank, etc., to meet the butt of another.

Angle of Incidence. The angle made with the line of direction, by an impinging body, at the point of impact; as that formed by the direction of the wind upon the sails, or of the water upon the rudder, of a ship.

Apron. A kind of false or inner stem, fayed on the aftside of the stem, from the head down to the dead-wood, in order to strengthen it. It is immediately above the foremost end of the keel, and conforms exactly to the shape of the stem, so that the convexity of one applied to the concavity of the other, forms one solid piece, which adds strength to the stem, and more firmly connects it with the keel.

Arch of the Cove. An elliptical moulding sprung over the cove at the lower part of the taffarel.

Back of the Post.

B.

The after-face of the STERN POST.

Backstay Stool. A short piece of broad plank, bolted edgeways to the ship's side, in the range of the channels, to project, and for the security of, the dead-eyes and chains for the backstays. Sometimes the channels are left long enough to answer the purpose.

Back-sweep. (See FRAMES.)

Balance Frames. Those frames, or bends of timber, of the same capacity or area, which are equally distant from the centre of gravity. (See FRAMES.)