Personal Flotation Device (PFD): A safety vest or jacket capable
of keeping an individual afl oat when worn properly.
Piling: A post driven into the ground below the waterline to support
a pier, dock, etc.
Pitch: Theoretical distance a propeller would travel in one minute.
Also, the rise and fall of a vessel’s bow and stern.
Port: The left side of the boat when facing forward (an easy way to
remember the difference between “port” and “starboard” is that both
“port” and “left” have four letters).
Propeller: A rotating multi-blade device that propels a boat through
the water.
Quartering: The practice of aiming the boat’s bow at a 45 degree
angle to oncoming waves.
Rode: Line, chain, cable, or any combination thereof used to connect
the anchor to the boat.
Rubrail: Protective outer bumper that runs around the boat at the
point where the top deck meets the hull.
Shank: The main body of an anchor.
Sheer: The curve of the boat’s deck from fore to aft when seen in
profi le. Refl ective of the chine’s pitch from bow to stern.
Starboard: The right side of the boat when facing forward.
Stern: The aft end of the boat.
11-4
Chapter 11
To Next Page
