Nautical Glossary - C

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

cabin

A room on a boat used as living quarters

cabin sole

The bottom surface of the enclosed space under the deck of a boat

cabin trunk

A structure built up above the deck and providing headroom below

cable

1. A large, strong rope used for mo0ring a ship; 2. A unit of length equaling 120 fathoms

cam cleat

A fitting that has interlocking teeth on springs (cam) instead of prong to secure a rope

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can buoy

A cylindrical black buoy with a flat top and marked with an odd number, found on the port side of a channel as you enter from seaward; See also num buoy

canvas

A general term covering all sails on a boat

capsize

To turn over

capstan

1. A winch with its drum on which the line is wrapped turning on a vertical axis; Compare to windlass 2. A mechanical device used for hoisting anchors or other heavy objects

captain

1. Commander of the ship; 2. Person responsible for the safety of the ship and its crew; 3. The highest ranking commissioned officer in the United States Navy until 1862.; 4. To command a ship and its crew

cardinal mark

A navigation aid used in the Uniform State Waterway Marking System that is color-coded to indicate the compass direction around which it should be passed. A red-topped cardinal mark may be passed to the south or west, a black-topped one to north or east.

cardinal point

The four main points on a compass (north, south, east, west)

carline, carlin, or carling

A short timber running fore and aft between deck beams

carry away

When any part of a vessel's gear or equipment breaks or gives way

carry on

To carry all sails possible

cast off

1. To let go a line, especially mooring or docking lines; 2. To remove the turns of a line from a cleat; 3. To untie a knot

cat

1. The tackle used to hoist the anchor up to the cathead; 2. A general term used to refer to catamarans

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catamaran

A twin-hulled boat

catboat

A sailboat with a single fore-and-aft sail

cathead

Timbers projecting from the bow used to secure an anchor

catspaw

A light wind ruffling the water

caught in the stays or misses the stays

Same as in irons

ceilings

Light planking or plywood sheeting on the inside of the frames

center of effort (CE)

A theoretical point on a boat's sail plan that represents the focus or center of the total forces of wind on the sails

centerboard

1. A retractable keel to stop a boat's leeward drift; 2. A board lowered through a slop in the centerline of the hull to reduce sideway skidding or leeway. Unlike a draggerboard, which lifts vertically, a centerboard pivots around a pin, usually located in the forward top corner, and swings up and aft.

chafe

To damage to a line, sail, or other rigging caused by rubbing

chafe gear

Canvas, plastic, sail tape, and other materials used to protect lines, sails, and rigging from abrasion and wear

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chain plate

1. Metal plates bolted to the side of a boat to which shrouds are attached; 2. Adjustable metal fittings that attach stays to the hull

channel

The deeper portion of a water area, which may be marked with buoys that guide boats safely through shoals, shallow areas or other underwater obstructions

Charlie Noble

The pipe used to vent a galley stove above deck

chart (noun)

The proper term for a nautical map

chart (verb)

To mark a course on a nautical map

charter (noun)

A contract for leasing a boat

charter (verb)

To lease a boat from its owner for a temporary period of time

cheeks

1. The projections on each side of a mast, upon which the trestletrees rest; 2. The side of a block

chine

The line where the sides of a boat intersect the bottom

chock

1. A heavy metal fitting fixed to the deck of a ship through which a line for mooring, towing, or anchor rope is passed.

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chock-a-block

When two blocks of tackle rest firmly against each other

chop

1. Closely spaced waves resulting from wind action on inland bodies of water; 2. Confused water action found at places where tidal currents meet

chronometer

A highly accurate timepiece, set to Greenwich Mean Time and used for celestial navigation.

chute

Colloquial term for spinnaker

cirrus

Detached clouds in the form of white, delicate filaments, or white patches, or narrow bands. These clouds contain snow and ice at high altitudes (above 20,000 feet) and have a fibrous (hair-like) appearance

cirrusocumulus

Thin, white patch, sheet, or layer of cloud without shading, composed of very small elements in the form of grains, ripples, streaks, merged or separate, and more or less regularly arranged. This cloud is often above 20,000 feet and hard to distinguish from a altocumulus.

cirrostratus

Transparent whitish cloud veil of fibrous (hair-like) or smooth appearance, totally or partially covering the sky, and generally producing halo pheonomena.

clawing off

When a sailboat is caught on a lee shore and has to work her way clear

cleat

1. A wood or metal fitting for securing a line without a hitch; 2. A two-horned fitting used to secure a line to the boat or mast

clevis

A u-shaped metal fitting with a pin that can be inserted through a hole in one arm of the u and screwed or pinned in the other arm close to the link

clevis pin

A small cylindrically shaped pin used to close shackles or outhaul fittings, or to fasten a turnbuckle to a chain plate.

clew

The lower after corner of a sail, where the foot meets the leech

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clinker

A lapstrake planked hull, where planks overlap like clapboards

close aboard

When two vessels pass near each other

close-hauled

1. Sailing close to the wind with sails pulled in; 2. Sailing toward the wind source, or against the wind, with the sails pulled in all the way, tacking as you go, to reach a destination upwind.

close-reach

A point of sailing between a beam reach and a beat

clove hitch

A practical knot for securing a mooring line quickly

club

A spar on the bottom of a staysail or topsail

club-footed

A type of jib sail that is bent to a club

coach roof (also trunk)

A cabin roof raised above the deck to provide headroom in the cabin

coaming

The raised protection around a cockpit

cockpit

The area below deck level in which the tiller or wheel is located

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coffeegrinder

A type of sheet winch used on large offshore racing vessels. It has an upright pedestal with two handles and can be worked from a standing position by one or two crew members.

coil

To lay down line in a circular pattern

colors

The ceremony of hoisting the national flag at 8 a.m. The lowering of the flag at sunset is called making the colors.

come about

To bring the boat from one tack to another when sailing into the wind

come up into the wind

To steer the boat in the direction that the wind is blowing

companionway

A staircase to a cabin or area below deck

compass

A magnetic needle, attached to a compass card, that tends to point toward magnetic north

compass card

A disk, labeled with directions marked as cardinal points (N, S, E, W), degrees (clockwise from north), points, and used as the dial inside a compass  

compass point

One of 32 divisions of the compass card equal to an arc of 11 1/4 degrees. The cardinal points are north, east, south and west; the intercardinal points are northeast, southeast, southwest and northwest.

compass rose

Two concentric circles, each divided into 360 degrees or 32 points, printed on nautical charts and used for laying off courses or bearings. The outer circle is graduated in degrees true, the inner circle is degrees magnetic.

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compensate

Correct a compass to allow for local magnetic attraction so that it will point as nearly as possible to magnetic north

cordage

A general term for all ropes made of fibers

Corinthian

A term used to describe an amateur sailor, used primarily to describe a member of a racing crew

corrected time

A calculation used in racing to indicate a boat's elapsed time minus her time allowance

counter

At the stern of the boat, that portion of the hull emerging from below the water, and extending to the transom

course

1. The direction sailed as measured by the compass; 2. The direction in which a ship is steering in making her way from point to point during a voyage. A magnetic course is the direction of the ship's heading relative to magnetic north; a compass course is the direction of the ship's heading based on the ship's compass (including errors of deviation and variation).

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cover

A racing strategy where the lead boat stays between its opponent and the next turning mark, or between the opponent and the direction of the wind in order to keep the opponent from passing.

cow's tail

The frayed end of a rope

crabbing

1. Making leeward; 2. Moving sideways through the water

cradle

A frame used to support a boat when she is hauled out of the water

crank or cranky

A boat that heels too easily

crest

The top of a wave

crew (noun)

1. All personnel operating a ship; 2. All of a ship's personnel except the officers

crew (verb)

1. To serve on a ship as crew; 2. To assist the helmsman, skipper, or ranking officer; 3. To recruit personnel for ship's duty

cringle

A ring, loop, or eye sewn into the edge of a sail through which a line can be passed at tack, head or clew

cross bearings

The bearings of two or more objects, crossing each other at the position of the observer

crosstrees

1. Spreaders fitted to the mast to take the shrouds; 2. Spreaders on a bowsprit; 3. Spars on a gaff-rigged ship

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crown

The center point of an anchor where the arms join the shank

cruiser

1. Any boat having arrangements for living aboard; 2. A light, fast vessel used by pirates in the Mediterranean for raiding and pillaging

crutch

A support for the boom when the sails are furled

cuddy

A small cabin or protective cover over the fore part of the cockpit

cumulonimbus

Heavy, dense cloud with considerable vertical extent, in the form of a mountain or huge towers. At least part of the upper portion is usually smooth or fibrous and nearly always flat, spread out in the shape of an anvil or vast plume. Under the base of the cloud, which is often dark, there are frequently low ragged clouds. Typically indicates a thunderstorm.

cumulus

Detached clouds, generally dense and with sharp outlines, developing vertically in the form of rising mounds, domes, or towers, of which the bulging upper part resembles a cauliflower. Generally, puffing wide-spaced cumulus clouds at 3000 to 5000 feet indicate fair weather. 

cunningham eye

A hole made in a sail. When a rope looped through the hole is pulled on or released, the sail is flattened or made more full, respectively.

current

1. A horizontal flow of water, including infow and outflow during tidal activity (see tidal current and tide); 2. The continuous movement of water in a certain direction

cut of his jib

Originally, the nationality and rigging of sailing ships were distinguished by their jibs. This phrase was extended to men, specifically their noses which is the part that enters a room first. Now it can mean the overall character of a man (attitude, loyalty, courage, etc.)

cutter

A single-masted sailboat, where the mast is set amidships, and capable of carrying two or more sails ahead of the mast

cutwater

Foremost part of the bow or stem