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Nautical Terms and Phrases
The letters of the alphabet are listed with their corresponding phonetic alphabet term. The phonetic alphabet is used when spelling terms over a radio so that the listener does not confuse one letter for another. The terms will show up below the list of letters when you click a letter.
A - Alpha	N - November
B - Bravo	O - Oscar
C - Charlie	P - Papa
D - Delta	Q - Quebec
E - Echo	R - Romeo
F - Foxtrot	S - Sierra
G - Golf	T - Tango
H - Hotel	U - Uniform
I - India	V - Victor
J - Juliet	W - Whiskey
K - Kilo	X - X-Ray
L - Lima	Y - Yankee
M - Mike	Z - Zulu

Saddles	Pieces of wood hollowed out to fit on the yards to which they are nailed, having a hollow in the upper part for the boom to rest in.
Safety Harness	A device worn around a person's body that can be attached to lines to help prevent the person from becoming separated from the boat.
Sag	A vessel is said to sag when its center hangs lower than the ends, due to lack of strength or rigidity. See also hog.
Sail	A large piece of fabric designed to be hoisted on the spars of a sailboat in such a manner as to catch the wind and propel the boat. Definition two: the act of using the wind to propel a sailboat.
Sail Cloth	A fabric, usually synthetic, used to make sails.
Sail Shape	The shape of a sail, with regard to its efficiency. In high winds, a sail would probably be flatter, in low winds rounder. Other circumstances can cause a sail to twist. Controls such as the outhaul, halyards, sheets and the bend of the main mast all can affect sail shape.
Sail Trim	The position of the sails relative to the wind and desired point of sail. Sails that are not trimmed properly may not operate efficiently. Visible signs of trim are excessive heeling and the flow of air past telltales.
Sailboat	A boat which uses the wind as its primary means of propulsion.
Sailing Rig	The equipment used to sail a boat, including sails, booms and gaffs, lines and blocks.
Salon	Also saloon; main social cabin of a boat.
Salvage	To save or recover a vessel or cargo.
Sampson Post	A strong post used to attach lines for towing or mooring.
Sand Bar	An area in shallow water where wave or current action has created a small, long hill of sand. Since they are created by water movement, they can move and may not be shown on charts.
Satellite Navigation	A form of position finding using radio transmissions from satellites with sophisticated on-board automatic equipment.
Save All	A small sail sometimes set under the foot of a lower studdingsail.
Scantling	The dimensions of a ship's principle timbers, or the timbers themselves.
Scarph	An overlapping joint used to couple two timbers end-to-end without increasing their dimensions. Types include simple butt (flat) scarphs and more complicated hooked and keyed scarphs.
Schooner	Sailing ships with at least 2 masts (foremast and mainmast) with the mainmast being the taller. Word derives from the term "schoon/scoon" meaning to move smoothly and quickly. (a 3-masted vessel is called a "tern").
Scope	Technically, the ratio of length of anchor rode in use to the vertical distance from the bow of the vessel to the bottom of the water. Usually six to seven to one for calm weather and more scope in storm conditions.
Scow	A large flat-bottomed boat with broad, square ends used along coastal trade routes for transporting bulk material such as ore, sand, or refuse . These shallow draft vessels were often lightly constructed and could be built quickly by small groups of coastal residents using simple materials and tools.
Scraper	A small, triangular iron instrument, with a handle fitted to its center, and used for scraping decks and masts.
Screw	The propeller of a boat.
Scrimshaw	A sailors carving or etching on bones, teeth, tusks or shells.
Scroll Head	A scroll-shaped figurehead attached to the bow of a sailing vessel.
Scrowl	A piece of timber bolted to the knees of the head, in place of a figure-head.
Scuba	An acronym standing for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus."
Scud	To run before the wind in a storm.
Scull	A method of moving a boat by using a single oar at the stern.
Scuppers	Drain holes on deck, in the toe rail, or in bulwarks or (with drain pipes) in the deck itself.
Scurvy	A disease historically common to seaman caused by a lack of Vitamin C.
Scuttle	To sink a boat.
Sea Anchor	A device designed to bring a boat to a near stop in heavy weather. Typically, a sea anchor is set off the bow of a boat so that the bow points into the wind and rough waves.
Sea Breeze	Cool air pulled ashore by rising thermal air currents caused by the air inland rising as the land heats up.
Sea Buoy	The last buoy as a boat heads to sea.
Sea Cock	A through-hull valve, a shut off on a plumbing or drain pipe between the interior of the boat and the sea.
Sea Going	A vessel designed to be able to cross oceans.
Sea Level	The average level of the oceans, used when finding water depths or land elevations.
Sea Room	A safe distance from the shore or other hazards.
Seamanship	All the arts and skills of boat handling, ranging from maintenance and repairs to piloting, sail handling, marlinespike work and rigging.
Seaworthy	A boat or its gear and its ability to operate under usual sea conditions.
Secure	To make fast.
Securite	A message transmitted by radio to warn of impending storms, navigational hazards and other potential problems that are not an immediate threat to life or property. Less serious than mayday and pan pan messages.
Seize	To bind with thread. Second meaning, To freeze up, as a valve.
Set	Direction toward which the current is flowing.
Severe Tropical Cyclone	An intense tropical weather system with a well-defined circulation and maximum sustained winds of 74 miles per hour (64 knots or higher in the Southwest Pacific Ocean (west of 160° east longitude) or in the Southeast Indian Ocean (east of 90° east longitude). In other parts of the world, they are known as hurricanes, typhoons and tropical cyclones.
Sextant	A navigational instrument used to determine the vertical position of an object such as the sun, moon or stars. Used with celestial navigation.
Shackle	A metal U-shaped connector that attaches to other fittings with the use of a pin that is inserted through the arms of the U.
Shaft	A cylinder used to carry rotating machine parts, such as pulleys and gears, to transmit power or motion.
Shaft Log	A heavy longitudinal timber placed over the keel in a ship's stern through which the propeller shaft passes.
Shake Out	To remove a reef from a sail.
Shank	The long bar part of an anchor. The flukes are at one end of the shank, and the stock is at the other.
Shank-painter	A strong rope by which the lower part of the shank of an anchor is secured to the ship's side.
Sharp Up	Said of yards when braced as near fore-and-aft as possible.
Sharpen Up	To come up more into the wind.
Shear Pin	A pin attaching one part to another that is designed to break if excessive loads are applied; for example, to connect the propeller to the propeller shaft so that the pin can break if the propeller strikes something, preventing damage to the propeller and engine.
Shears	Two or more spars, raised at angles and lashed together near their upper ends, used for taking in masts.
Sheathing	A covering to protect the bottom of a boat.
Sheave	A wheel used to change the direction of a line, such as in a block or at the top of the masthead.
Sheave-hole	The place cut in a block for the ropes to reeve through.
Sheep-shank	A kind of hitch or bend, used to shorten a rope temporarily.
Sheer	The upward curve in a deck.
Sheet	Piece of line fastened to the sail and used to position relative to the wind.
Sheet Home	To haul the sheets of a sail all the way through their guiding blocks at the yardarms of the yard below, up to the clews, until they can go no further, so the sail may be used. Second definition: on the course sail, this means to haul on the leeward sheet until the sail is the optimum shape.
Sheet-anchor	A vessel's largest anchor; not carried at the bow.
Shellback	An old sailor who has a vast knowledge of seamanship and who is able to pass on their knowledge. This can also be used to identify an old-fashioned seaman.
Ship	A larger vessel usually thought of as being used for ocean travel. A vessel is able to carry a boat on board.
Shipping Lane	Path through open water used for commercial vessel passage and so noted on a chart.
Shiver	To shake the wind out of a sail by bracing it so that the wind strikes upon the leech.
Shoal	An area of the sea that is shallow, especially at low tide.
Short-splice	To permanently join two pieces of rope. It will not pass through a block since it increases the diameter.
Shove Off	To push a boat, as from a dock or from another boat.
Shroud	A line or wire running from the top of the mast to the spreaders, then attaching to the side of the vessel.
Shrouds	Rigging which supports the mast from the sides.
Side Lights	Green and red lights on the starboard and port sides of the boat, required for navigation at night. Each light is supposed to be visible through an arc of 112.5 degrees, beginning from directly ahead of the boat to a point 22.5 degrees aft of the beam.
Sideslip	The tendency of a boat to move sideways in the water instead of along its heading due to the motion of currents or winds.
Signal Halyard	A halyard used to hoist signal flags.
Single Sideband	A type of radio carried on a boat to transmit long distances.
Skeg	Any flat protrusion on the outside of the hull that is used to support another object, such as the propeller shaft or rudder.
Skiff	A small boat.
Skin	The outside surface of a boat. Usually used when describing a fiberglass or other molded hull.
Sky-scraper	A name given to a skysail when it is triangular.
Skysail	A light sail next above the royal.
Slabline	A small line used to haul up the foot of a course.
Slack	Not fastened; loose. Also, to loosen.
Slack Away	To let out a line.
Slack Water	Absence of current. The time between flood and ebb tides when there is no current flow.
Slide	Also called a lug. Metal or plastic pieces attached to the forward edge of a sail to allow easy hoisting of a sail.
Sling	Lines used to hoist heavy or awkward objects. Second meaning: the act of using such lines to hoist heavy or awkward objects. Third meaning: ropes used to secure the center of a yard to the mast.
Slip	A space between two docks or piers where a boat can be moored.
Sloop	A one masted vessel carrying a mainsail and a jib or genoa.
Slot	The opening between the jib and the mainsail. Wind passing through this opening increases the pressure difference across the sides of the mainsail, helping to move the boat forward.
Slue	To turn anything round or over.
Snap Hook	A metal fitting with a arm that uses a spring to close automatically when connected to another object.
Snatch Block	A block which opens on the side so that the bight of a line can be led into the block and closed without running the whole length through.
Snotter	A rope going over a yard-arm, with an eye, used to bend a tripping-line to in sending down topgallant and royal yards in vessels of war.
Snub	To stop the running out of a line by taking a turn around a cleat.
Snubber	A stretchable line attached between two long pieces of rode to absorb anchor line strain and soften the impact of waves or tidal pull.
Snying	A term for a circular plank edgewise, to work in the bows of a vessel.
Sole	Cabin or saloon floor. Timber extensions on the bottom of the rudder. Also the molded fiberglass deck of a cockpit.
Sonar	An acronym for Sound Navigation Ranging. It is a term used for underwater echo-ranging equipment, originally for detecting submarines by small warships.
Sounding	A measurement of the depth of water.
Span	A rope with both ends made fast, for a purchase to be hooked to its bight.
Spanker	The after sail of a ship or bark. It is a fore-and-aft sail, setting with a boom and gaff.
Spar	A pole used as part of the sailboat rigging, such as masts and booms.
Spar Deck	The upper deck running a ship's full length. In a sailing vessel, the upper deck from which sails, rigging and spars are controlled.
Spencer	A fore-and-aft sail, set with a gaff and no boom, and hoisting from a small mast called a spencer-mast, just abaft the fore and main masts.
Spill	To shake the wind out of a sail by bracing it so that the wind may strike its leech and shiver it.
Spilling Line	A rope used for spilling a sail. Rove in bad weather.
Spindle	An iron pin upon which the capstan moves. Also, a piece of timber forming the diameter of a made mast. Also, any long pin or bar upon which anything revolves.
Spinnaker	A light-weight, spherical sail used in reaching and running.
Spinnaker Halyard	A halyard used to raise the spinnaker.
Spinnaker Pole	Sometimes spinnaker boom. A pole used to extend the foot of the spinnaker beyond the edge of the boat and to secure the corner of the sail.
Spinnaker Pole Lift	Also spinnaker lift. A line running from the top of the mast, used to hold the spinnaker pole in place.
Spiral Wood Auger	A hand drill, similar in appearance to a corkscrew, for boring holes in wood.
Spitfire	A storm jib. A small jib made out of heavy cloth for use in heavy weather. Sometimes brightly colored.
Split Tacks	To take the opposite tack when sailing to windward with another yacht.
Spoon	To run before a gale (scud).
Spoondrift	Water swept from the tops of the waves by the violence of the wind in a tempest, and driven along before it, covering the surface of the sea.s
Spray	An occasional sprinkling dashed from the top of a wave by the wind, or by its striking an object.
Spreaders	Small spars extending toward the sides from one or more places along the mast. The shrouds cross the end of the spreaders, enabling the shrouds to better support the mast.
Spring	To crack or split a mast.
Spring Line	A pivot line used in docking, undocking, or to prevent the boat from moving forward or astern while made fast to a dock.
Spring-stay	A preventer-stay, to assist the regular one.
Sprit	A small boom or gaff, used with some sails in small boats.. The lower end rests in a becket or snotter by the foot of the mast, and the other end spreads and raises the outer upper corner of the sail, crossing it diagonally. A sail so rigged in a boat is called a sprit-sail.
Sprit-sail-yard	A yard lashed across the bowsprit or knight-heads, and used to spread the guys of the jib and flying jib-boom. There was formerly a sail bent to it called a sprit-sail.
Spurling Line	A line communicating between the tiller and tell-tale.
Spurs	Pieces of timber fixed on the bilge-ways, their upper ends being bolted to the vessel's sides above the water. Also, curved pieces of timber, serving as half beams, to support the decks where whole beams cannot be placed.
Squall	A sudden, violent wind often accompanied by rain.
Square Knot	A knot used to join two lines of similar size. Also called a reef knot.
Square Rigged	A sailboat having square sails hung across the mast.
Square Sail	A square sail hung from a yard on the mast. Best used when sailing downwind.
SS	Abbreviation for steam ship.
Stability Sail	Also riding sail or steadying sail. Any small sail set to help the boat maintain its direction without necessarily moving, as when at anchor or in heavy weather.
Staff	A vertical pole on which flags can be raised.
Stall	To stop moving. Second meaning: air is said to stall when it becomes detached from the surface it is flowing along. Usually air travels smoothly along both sides of a sail, but if the sail is not properly trimmed, the air can leave one of the sides of the sail and begin to stall. Stalled sails are not operating efficiently.
Stanchion	A post near the edge of the deck, used to support lifelines.
Stand-on Vessel	That vessel which has right-of-way during a meeting, crossing, or overtaking situation.
Standing Fast	The part of a line that is made fast.
Standing Part	That part of a line which is made fast.The main part of a line as distinguished from the bight and the end.
Standing Rigging	The shrouds and stays that support the mast.
Starboard	The right side of a boat when looking forward.
Starboard Tack	Sailing with the wind coming over the starboard side.
Staterooms	Private cabins in a ship.
Statute Mile	A mile as measured on land, 5,280 feet or 1.6 kilometers. Distances at sea are measured in nautical miles.
Stays	Rigging used to support the mast from forward or aft.
Staysail	A triangular sail set from stays or 'flying' on halyard.
Steam Barge	A single-decked steam-propelled bulk cargo carrier ranging from 65 to 200 feet in length, used on the Great Lakes from the 1860s to the 1930s for hauling lumber, stone, coal and other bulk cargoes.
Steamer	(A steamship.) A ship propelled by a steam engine.
Steerage	That part of the between-decks which is just forward of the cabin.
Steerage Way	Sufficient forward movement for the rudder to affect steering.
Stem	The forward most part of the bow.
Stem Post	The principal vertical timber in a ship's bow.
Step	A fitting for the bottom of the mast. Second meaning: the act of placing the foot of the mast in its step and raising the mast.
Stern	The after part of the boat.
Stern Light	A white running light placed at the stern of the boat. The stern light should be visible through an arc of 135 degrees, to the rear of the boat.
Stern Line	A docking line leading from the stern.
Stern Post	The principal vertical timber in a ship's stern, upon which the rudder is fastened.
Stiff	A boat that resists heeling.
Stink Pot	Sailors' slang for a powerboat.
Stock	A crossbeam at the upper part of an anchor.
Stockless Anchor	An anchor that is not secured to the rail at the bow of a ship, as stock anchors are, but is pulled up into the hawsepipes until the flukes meet the hull.
Stools	Small channels for the deadeyes of the backstays.
Stops (or Ties)	Pieces of line or canvas strips used to secure a sail when furling it.
Storm Jib	Sometimes called a spitfire. A small jib made out of heavy cloth for use in heavy weather. Sometimes brightly colored.
Storm Sail	The storm jib and storm trysail. Small sails built from heavy cloth for use during heavy weather.
Storm Trysail	A very strong sail used in stormy weather. It is loose footed, being attached to the mast but not the boom. This helps prevent boarding waves from damaging the sail or the rigging.
Stow	To put an item in its proper place.
Stringer	A long horizontal member used to support a ship's bottom, a building floor or an airplane fuselage.
Strut	Metal support attached to the hull and propeller shaft to align.
Studdingsails	Light sails set outside the square sails, on booms rigged out for that purpose. They are only carried with a fair wind and in moderate weather.
Stuffing Box	The fitting that seals and lubricates the propeller shaft where it passes through the hull.
Sued	The condition of a ship when she is high and dry on shore. If the water leaves her two feet, she sues, or is sued, two feet.
Surf	The breaking waves and resulting foam near a shore.
Surfman	A member of the U.S. Life Saving Service who rescued stranded crews from shipwrecks.
Surge	A large swelling wave.
SV	Abbreviation for sailing vessel.
Swab	A mop made from rope or the process of using such a mop.
Swallow	The place between the sheave and housing of a block, through which a line is run.
Swamp	To fill with water, but not settle to the bottom.
Sweep	To drag the bottom for an anchor. Also, large oars used in small vessels to force them ahead.
Swell	Large smooth waves that do not break. Swells are formed by wind action over a long distance.
Swifter	The forward shroud to a lower-mast. Also, ropes used to confine the capstan bars to their places when shipped.
Swig	A term used by sailors for the mode of hauling off upon the bight of a rope when its lower end is fast.
Swivel	A long link of iron, used in chain cables, made so as to turn upon an axis and keep the turns out of a chain.
Syphon	Variation of siphon. A tube, pipe or hose through which a liquid can be moved from a higher to a lower level by atmospheric pressure forcing it up the shorter leg while the weight of the liquid in the longer leg causes continuous downward flow.