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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

Tabernacle	A hinge in the mast near the deck used to lower and raise it.
Tack	The course sailed with the wind on one side of the boat. Second meaning, tto go about and change direction. And a third meaning, the lower forward end of the sail
Tacking	To change a boat's direction, bringing the bow through the eye of the wind or to tack repeatedly, as when trying to sail to a point upwind of the boat.
Tackle	A purchase composed of blocks and lines.
Taffrail	The rail round a ship's stern.
Take In	To remove a sail or to add a reef to a sail.
Tall Ship	A sailing vessel whose masts are in segments, made up of several timbers in order to give strength, and to make each mast more manageable for partial removal and repairs.
Tank Top	The top of a Great Lakes bulk carrier's bilge tank; a water ballast tank forming the bottom of a freighter's hull.
Tap And Dies	Tools for cutting metal threads into parts.
Tar	A liquid gum, taken from pine and fir trees, and used for caulking, and to put upon yarns in rope-making, and upon standing rigging, to protect it from the weather.
Tarpaulin	A piece of canvass, covered with tar, used for covering hatches, boats, etc. Also, the name commonly given to a sailor's hat when made of tarred or painted cloth.
Taunt	High or tall. Commonly applied to a vessel's masts.
Telltale	A length of yarn or other lightweight material attached to the sails, shrouds and other parts of a boat, used as a wind flow indicator of the apparent direction of the wind,
Tend	To watch a vessel at anchor at the turn of tides, and cast her by the helm, and some sail if necessary, so as to keep turns out of her cables.
Tender	A boat that lacks stability. Second meaning, a small dinghy or launch carried aboard a larger vessel
Tenon	The heel of a mast, made to fit into the step.
Tether	The line, usually with shackled ends, used to attach a safety harness to a secure part of the boat.
Thick-and-thin Block	A block having one sheave larger than the other. Sometimes used for quarter-blocks.
Thwarts	Seats set across the beam in a small boat.
Thwartships	At right angles to the centerline of the boat.
Tidal Current	Also called tidal stream. The flowing of water caused by the rising and lowering tidal waters.
Tidal Range	The range between high and low tide in feet.
Tide	The periodic rise and fall of water level in the oceans.
Tide-rode	The situation of a vessel, at anchor, when she swings by the force of the tide. In opposition to wind-rode.
Tier	A range of casks. Also, the range of the fakes of a cable or hawser.
Tiller	A bar or handle for turning the rudder of a boat or an outboard motor.
Tiller-ropes	Ropes leading from the tiller-head round the barrel of the wheel, by which a vessel is steered.
Timber Heads	The ends of the timbers that come above the decks. Used for belaying hawsers and large ropes.
Timenoguy	A rope carried taut between different parts of the vessel, to prevent the sheet or tack of a course from getting foul, in working ship.
Toe Rail	A small rail around the deck of a boat. The toe rail may have holes in it to attach lines or blocks. A larger wall in place of the rail is known as a gunwale.
Toggle	A pin placed through the bight or eye of a rope, block-strap, or bolt, to keep it in its place, or to put the bight or eye of another rope upon, and thus to secure them both together.
Top Heavy	A boat that has too much weight up high. This can adversely affect the boat's stability.
Top-light	A signal lantern carried in the top.
Top-lining	A lining on the after part of sails, to prevent them from chafing against the top-rim.
Topgallant	Situated above the topmast and below the royal mast on a sailing vessel. Second meaning: higher than the adjoining parts of a ship: said of a rail, deck, etc.
Topgallant Mast	The third mast above the deck.
Topping Lift	A line from the upper mast supporting either the boom or the spinnaker pole.
Topsail	On a square-rigged vessel, a sail directly above the lowest sail on a mast. On a fore-and-aft-rigged vessel, the next sail above the gaff of a fore-and-aft sail.
Topsail Schooner	A fore-and-aft-rigged schooner carrying a square topsail and a topgallant sail on the foretopmast.
Topsides	The sides of a vessel between the waterline and the deck; sometimes referring to onto or above the deck.
Tow	To pull a boat with another boat, such as a tugboat towing a barge.
Towing Light	Running lights that should be used by boats when towing to indicate that a tow is in progress.
Track	The course traveled over the ground.
Trade Wind	Winds in certain areas known for their consistent strength and direction. Trade winds are named because of their reliability, allowing for planned voyages along the routes favored by those winds.
Traffic Separation Zone	The area between opposing shipping lanes, restricted to most navigation except for crossing with caution.
Trailing Edge	The aft edge of a sail, more commonly called the leech.
Transit	Also called a range. Two navigational aids separated in distance so that they can be aligned to determine that a boat lies on a certain line. Transits can be used to determine a boat's position or to guide it through a channel.
Transom	The stern cross-section of a square sterned boat.
Traveler	A track that allows side to side adjustment of a main or jib sheet.
Triatic Stay	A rope secured at each end to the heads of the fore and main masts, with thimbles spliced into its bight, to hook the stay tackles to.
Trice	To haul up by means of a rope.
Trim	Fore and aft balance of a boat.
Trimaran	A boat with a center hull and two smaller outer hulls called amas.
Trip Line	The line attached to an anchor used to free it when fouled.
Triple-expansion Steam Engine	An engine with three steam cylinders of different diameters. Steam passes from a small-diameter high-pressure cylinder to an intermediate cylinder to a large-diameter low-pressure cylinder. These cylinders power the pistons that drive the engine.
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 Indian Ocean. In other parts of the world, they are known as hurricanes, typhoons and severe tropical cyclones.
True Course	A course steered by the compass that has been corrected for variation and deviation.
Trunk	The tall, narrow, waterproof box that houses a vessel's centerboard and allows it to be retracted into the ship's hull.
Trysail	Also called 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.
Tugboat	A small, powerful boat used to help move barges and ships in confined areas.
Turn Of The Bilge	The point where the bottom and the sides of a ship join.
Turnbuckle	An English bolt, a threaded adjuster to tension stays and shrouds.
Turning Block	Horizontally mounted block used to re-direct lines.
Tye	A rope connected with a yard, to the other end of which a tackle is attached for hoisting.
Typhoon	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 Northwest Pacific Ocean (west of the International Date Line). In other parts of the world, they are known as hurricanes, tropical cyclones and severe tropical cyclones.