Glossary
15.8
Overall
length
(OAL):
The boat’s extreme length, measured
from the foremost past of the bow to the
aftermost part of the stern, excluding bow-
spirt, self-steering gear etc.
Pad eye: A small fitting with a hole used to guide
a line.
Painter: A line attached to the bow of a dinghy and
used to tie it up or tow it.
Parallels: Lines of latitude
Pay out: To let out a line.
PFD: Personal Flotation Device, a device used
to keep a person afloat. Also called a life
jacket, life preserver or life vest.
Pile, pil-
ing:
A pole embedded in the sea bottom and
used to support docks, piers and other
structures.
Pintle: A rudder fitting with a long pin that fits into
the gudgeon to form a hinged pivot for the
rudder.
Pitch: 1, the up and down motion of the bows
of a boat plunging over the waves; 2, the
angle of the propeller blades.
Point of
sailing:
The different angles from which a boat
may sail; the boat’s course relative to the
direction of the wind.
Poop
deck:
A boat’s aft deck.
Port: (1) the left side of the boat from the per-
spective of a person at the stern of the boat
and looking toward the bow. The opposite
of starboard. (2) A porthole. A window in
the side of a boat, usually round or with
rounded corners. Sometimes portholes
can be opened, sometimes they are fixed
shut. Also see hatches.
Port tack: A boat is on a port tack when the wind
strikes the port side first and the mainsail
is out to starboard. A boat on the port tack
gives way to a boat on a starboard tack.
Porthole: A port, a window in the side of a boat,
usually round or with rounded corners.
Sometimes portholes can be opened,
sometimes they are fixed shut.
Position
line/ Line
of posi-
tion:
A line drawn on a chart, as a result of
taking a bearing, along which the boat’s
position must be, i.e. two position lines
give a fix.
Pram: A type of dinghy with a flat bow.
Propeller: An object with two or more twisted blades
that is designed to propel a vessel through
the water when spun rapidly by the boat’s
engine.
Prow: The part of the bow forward of where it
leaves the waterline.
Pulpit: A sturdy railing around the deck on the
bow.
Pushpit: Metal guard rail fitted at the stern.
Quarter: The side of a boat aft of the beam. There
are both a port quarter and a starboard
quarter.
Quarter: The portion of the boat midway between
the stern and the beam; on the quarter
means about 45 degrees abaft the beam.
Quarter-
ing sea:
A sea which comes over the quarter of
the boat.
Quarters: Sleeping areas on the boat.
Radar: Radio detection and ranging. An electron-
ic instrument that uses radio waves to find
the distance and location of other objects.
Used to avoid collisions, particularly in
times of poor visibility.
Radio
beacon:
A navigational aid that emits radio waves
for navigational purposes. The radio bea-
con’s position is known and the direction
of the radio beacon can be determined by
using a radio direction finder.
Rake: The fore and aft deviation from the per-
pendicular of a mast or other feature of
a boat.
Range: 1, see transit; 2, of tides, the difference
between the high and low water levels of
a tide; 3, the distance at which a light can
be seen.
Rating: A method of measuring certain dimen-
sions of a yacht to enable it to take part in
handicap races.
Reach: To sail with the wind approximately on the
beam; all sailing points between running
and close-hauled.
Reef: To reduce the sail area by folding or rolling
surplus material on the boom or forestay.
Reefing
pennant:
Strong line with which the luff or leech
cringle is pulled down to the boom when
reefing.
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