Loom Gale – whole topsail breeze
Windward – a weather; Leeward – a-lee
Jammed – sailing as close to the wind as possible
Steering full and by – filled sails and drawing well
Off the wind – abaft of close hauled
Going large – on the quarter
Scud – to run before the wind under shortened canvas
Favorable – in the 20 point sector of the 32 point compass rose
Contrary (or foul) – in the 12 point sector
Preventing her from lying her course – obliged to work, beat, ply or turn to windward
If a boat could just manage to steer her course – “bare” or “scant”. As wind became more favorable ship was said to be “coming up” – reverse “breaking off” – luffing.
“Leading” wind was a free wind from abeam to the quarter. Opposite of a “scant” wind.
Wear ship – to gybe —- going down wind and rounding to come up to new tack
Under way – not moored or anchored. Making head way or stern way
Drifting to leeward – making leeway but weighing the anchor
Course altered to come up to wind – “Haul her wind” – Come to or Come up
Luff or Spring a luff – Luff and Lie or Luff and Touch
Fall off – after tack successful – Pay off
Handling Ropes
Veer – slacken off, Pay out – opposite of haul
Ropes may be “let go”, “let run”, “let fly” Come up” by “casting it off” the belaying pin to which it is made fast, secured or belayed.
A rope eased off and belayed again – “started” or “checked”
Eased off in increments – rope is “snubbed”
Tending – allowing the rope to pay out under control
Manned – means enough men on the line to prepare for hauling
Halliards are “chocked up” – Clews are “sheeted home”
Handsomely – means carefully
Roundly or cheerly – means briskly
“Walk away” or “Run away” with the “Falls” (hoisting a boat) indicates speed.
“Check” the anchor cable being “paid out” or “veered”
Cable continually rode downwards on the barrel – had to be pried upwards occasionally or “fleeted”
To “Come Up” was to allow the capstan to slacken
To keep the turns tight round the barrel – maintaining tension on the inboard end – called “holding off”. To “walk back” – eased strain on the bars.
To stop – “Well there, belay”, “Avast there” or “Avast heaving”
Sails
Fore and aft line – keel line
Lower yards – “braced up” when close hauled – “braced in” as they become free
‘Brace about or around’ – move or swing the yard to the other tack.
‘Brace by’ – to counter brace fore and main yards to stop the vessel, thereby being ‘hove to’ or ‘brought to’.
‘Brace aback’ – sails were thrown back against the rigging
‘Brace full’ – swinging the yards so the sails filled again
‘Brace abox’ – brace the foreyard flat aback – so that it would work to throw the bow off the wind
‘Bracing to’ – temporary easing or checking e lee fore brace and ‘rounding in’ of the weather brace.
Standing Rigging
Backstays and shrouds set up in Channels – which extended out from the ship’s sides and to ‘chains’ which were attached to the hull below the channels.
Running Rigging
Halliards and ties haul Yards. Halliard to a fly block from deck – the tie connecting the fly
block to a turning block on the mast and down to the yard.
Lifts keep Yards as level as possible
Sails
Made of flax canvas in bolts 40 yards long by 24’ wide. Heaviest being No1 – for courses. Lightest No 8 – for Royals. A bolt of No 1 canvas weighed 46lbs – with each No weight decreased by 3lbs.
Sheets – hauled sail in and back from Clews (eye ring) on bottom corners of a square sail.
Clew-lines – hauled sails up from the Clews to the yard
Tack-lines – hauled sails forward from the Clews
Bow-lines – attached to the leech (edge of sail) to keep it taut (on weather side) so as to stop it from curling back (the wind getting behind the edge of the sail) when close-hauled
Mizzen uses ‘Brails’ to furl the lateen sail.