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Nautical Terms

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Watches
Standard to Nautical
Nautical to Standard

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Nautical Terms

Watches

First watch Click to show or hide the answer
Middle watch Click to show or hide the answer
Morning watch Click to show or hide the answer
Forenoon watch Click to show or hide the answer
Afternoon watch Click to show or hide the answer
First dog watch Click to show or hide the answer
Second dog watch Click to show or hide the answer

Sounded at the end of a watch (but not the first dog watch) Click to show or hide the answer

Standard to Nautical

In this section you're given a standard English term and asked for the nautical equivalent, or (as in the first table) simply asked a question where the answer is a nautical term.

The Four Types of Shipwreck

Cargo on the bottom of the ocean, but which no one has any hope of reclaiming Click to show or hide the answer
Floating wreckage of a ship or its cargo Click to show or hide the answer
Things that have been thrown off a ship and washed ashore Click to show or hide the answer
Goods or wreckage that is lying on the bottom of the ocean, sometimes marked by a buoy, and can be reclaimed Click to show or hide the answer

Other

Secured in the cathead Click to show or hide the answer
The widest point of a ship, or its width at that point Click to show or hide the answer
The lowest part of the hull, beneath the lowest deck, where water may collect and need to be pumped out Click to show or hide the answer
Stand or housing for a ship's compass Click to show or hide the answer
Women and children first Click to show or hide the answer
Officer responsible for the maintenance of a ship and its equipment Click to show or hide the answer
The spar that projects forwards from the bows of a sailing vessel Click to show or hide the answer
Ship with two masts, the forward of which (only) is square–rigged Click to show or hide the answer
Dividing wall below deck Click to show or hide the answer
Woodwork running around a ship above the level of the deck Click to show or hide the answer
Rotating machine with a drum equipped with ratchets, for hauling in ropes Click to show or hide the answer
A beam that supports the deck – also a popular brand of lager! Click to show or hide the answer
Stairway leading between two decks Click to show or hide the answer
Small single–masted vessel, "fore–and–aft" rigged, having the mast not as far forward as a sloop Click to show or hide the answer
Crane used for raising and lowering equipment, especially lifeboats Click to show or hide the answer
Ceiling Click to show or hide the answer
Traditional Arab sailing ship (with one or more triangular sails) Click to show or hide the answer
Name given by sailors to the belt of low pressure around the Equator – characterised by light winds and calms, but occasional sudden storms – caused by the meeting of trade winds Click to show or hide the answer
Word that stems from a Frisian word meaning 'outstretched arms' Click to show or hide the answer
Raised edges on tables to prevent things from falling off Click to show or hide the answer
Type of rig in which the sails are in the same line as the keel Click to show or hide the answer
Kitchen Click to show or hide the answer
The part of a ship's side that projects above the deck Click to show or hide the answer
Rope used to hoist a sail, flag or yard Click to show or hide the answer
Type of boat with wing–like structures beneath the hull, which lift the boat out of the water at speed, thus reducing drag Click to show or hide the answer
Temporary mast to replace one that has been lost or broken Click to show or hide the answer
Punishment in which the offender is dragged under a ship from one side to the other Click to show or hide the answer
Washboard (on a boat) Click to show or hide the answer
Distress signal "Mayday" comes (allegedly) from the French term Click to show or hide the answer
Marine distress signal with a loud report Click to show or hide the answer
Nearest the stern on a three–masted ship Click to show or hide the answer
Slang term for a boat being towed by a harpooned whale (US) Click to show or hide the answer
To rock from bow to stern; to nose up or down about a transverse axis Click to show or hide the answer
Sailor who hasn't crossed the Equator (cf. Shellback) Click to show or hide the answer
Raised deck at the stern of a sailing vessel, from which it was steered Click to show or hide the answer
Quant: used for Click to show or hide the answer
Reducing the area of sail in a high wind Click to show or hide the answer
To rock from side to side (see also Pitch, Yaw) Click to show or hide the answer
Flat–bottomed Chinese river boat, sometimes with a rudimentary shelter Click to show or hide the answer
Holes in the sides of the deck that allow water to drain off Click to show or hide the answer
Sailor who has crossed the Equator (cf. Polliwog) Click to show or hide the answer
Originally referred to a tall mast, or its main sail, on a sailing ship Click to show or hide the answer
Small single–masted vessel, "fore–and–aft" rigged, having the mast further forward than a cutter Click to show or hide the answer
Type of rig in which the sails are perpendicular to the keel, suspended from a spar Click to show or hide the answer
Lowest deck of a passenger vessel, providing the cheapest and most basic passenger accommodation - so called because it's near the rudder controls Click to show or hide the answer
Starboard is a corruption of Click to show or hide the answer
Receptacle into which the mast fits Click to show or hide the answer
Naval equivalent of the Officer's Mess in the army Click to show or hide the answer
A thin, broad plank above the gunwale or side, to keep out the spray and sea Click to show or hide the answer
To move about a vertical axis (deviate temporarily from course) Click to show or hide the answer

Nautical to Standard

In this section you're given a nautical term and asked for the standard English equivalent, or (as in the first question) simply asked a question where the answer is a standard English term used in a nautical context.

An Alldis lamp is used at sea for Click to show or hide the answer
Avast Click to show or hide the answer
Caravel Click to show or hide the answer
Growler Click to show or hide the answer
Hawser Click to show or hide the answer
Killick or killock Click to show or hide the answer
Sheets Click to show or hide the answer
Slack water: refers to the time around Click to show or hide the answer
Splicing the mainbrace Click to show or hide the answer
Tar (for a sailor) is an abbreviation for Click to show or hide the answer
Umiak Click to show or hide the answer

© Haydn Thompson 2017–18