The following definitions are from United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation publication The Building of a Wooden Ship by Charles G. Davis (1918), a long out-of-print book. They will be very handy when reading the works of such authors as Davis, Howard I. Chapelle, V.R. Grimwood, and others I will reference in this blog. In some cases, I have added further clarification to a definition in the form of editor’s notes. These are in italic, contained in parentheses, and attribute the modern author of the clarification.
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TABLING: a tenon on one piece of timber or scarph fitting snugly into a corresponding mortise in another; also the hem on the borders of sails to which the bolt-rope is sewed.
TACKLE: a purchase of ropes and sheave or tackle blocks.
TACKLE BLOCKS: a term applied to the sheave blocks which go to make part of a purchase tackle.
TAFFEREL (TAFFRAIL): the bulwark rail or fence across the stem of a vessel which forms the upper part of a vessel’s stern, usually ornamented with carved work or molding.
TAFFRAIL LOG: a mechanical device which is attached to the taffrail at the stern of the ship and is used in connection with a small bronze propeller which is towed astern. The rotation of this propeller operates the mechanism inside of the taffrail log and gives accurately the number of knots which the ship is traveling. Some taffrail logs also have a pointer or indicator for the speed of the ship at the time the reading is taken. This mechanism is somewhat similar to the speedometer on an automobile.
TAIL: a vessel at anchor tails up or down stream according to the way her stern is turned.
TAIL-BLOCK: a tail-block is a purchase block with a very short length of rope joined on to the strop, or grummet, fitted around or secured on the block. This rope takes the place of the hook or shackle on the block.
TAIL-ROPE: is a short length of rope which is attached to the strop of a tail-block; also a loose end of rope or the loose hauling part of a tackle.
TAIL-SHAFT: the extreme after section of the propeller shaft which passes through the shaft log and the stern-post. Inboard the forward end is flanged and secured to the line shaft, which is in turn connected with the thrust shaft and main engine crank shafts. The outboard or after end is fitted with a keyway and on this end the propeller is secured. The power developed by the engine is transmitted through the crank, thrust, line and tail-shafts to the propeller.
TAIL-TACKLE: a watch tackle purchase, which has a tail-rope attached to the strop of one of the tackle-blocks.
TANK: an iron, steel or wooden receptacle for storing fresh water or other liquid.
TANNED SAILS: sails that have been soaked in an oak bark solution to preserve them from mildewing.
TAR: the residual gum from the distillation of turpentine, made from pine trees. It is used on standing rigging, to pay seams, and as a general protection to anything from the elements.
TARPAULIN: a painted or prepared canvas. The painting or preparation applied makes it waterproof and wear-proof.
TASTING (OF PLANKS OR TIMBERS): the process of chipping a plank or timber with an adze or boring it with a email auger for the purpose of ascertaining its quality or defects.
TAUNT: extremely tall or high masts are sometimes spoken of as taunt masts. A vessel is said to be “all-a-taunt-o” when she has all her masts and yards aloft, sails bent and rigging in order, ready to go to sea.
TAUT: a rope is said to be taut when it has a strain upon it, and is straight and tight.
TEACH: a term applied to the direction that any line, etc., seems to point out. “Letting the line or mold teach fair to such a spot, raise, etc.”
TELEGRAPH BLOCK: this is a tackle-block with a long, narrow shell, in which are a number of small sheaves, and through these sheaves are rigged the several signal halyards.
TELLTALE: the mechanical device which indicates the angle at which the tiller stands. This device is of great use to the helmsman in steering a vessel.
TELLTALE COMPASS: an inverted card compass hung from one of the deck beams or carlins in the captain’s cabin or other desirable location. By this means one can look at the card and see that the vessel is headed in the right direction or course without going up on the bridge and inspecting the binnacle compass.
TENON: a projection at the end of a timber shaped and fitted so as to be inserted tightly in a mortise which is cut in another timber, thus making a firmly fixed joint; also applied to the shoulder or projection of the heel of a mast which fits into the steps or mortise attached to the ship’s keel or keelson, partners, head-beams, etc.
THICK AND THIN BLOCK: a block that has two sheaves, one thicker than the other, so as to accommodate different diameters of ropes passing through the block and over the sheaves.
THICK STUFF: a name for sided timber exceeding four inches, but which is not more than twelve inches in thickness.
THIMBLE: an iron ring with a groove around its outer rim for a rope strop or grummet to fit into, so that it will remain in place when the rope strop or grummet is lashed or spliced into an eye. Thimbles are sometimes spliced into the bolt rope at the corner of a sail or awning, and used as a cringle or for a similar purpose. Thimbles are put in the eye-splice at the end of a pennant. The purpose of the thimble is to prevent the eye-splice from chafing or wearing out.
THREEFOLD BLOCK: a tackle-block containing three sheaves.
THREEFOLD PURCHASE: a purchase tackle which is made up of two blocks containing three sheaves.
THROAT: the inside of knee timbers at the middle or turn of the arm; also the midship part of floor timbers; the upper forward corner of a fore-and-aft sail formed by the luff and head.
THROAT HALYARDS: the halyards which hoist the inner end of the gaff or luff of the fore-and-aft sails, or that part of the sail which is against the mast.
THROAT SEIZING: the seizing or lashing made at the throat of a sail when attaching it to a halyard or gaff or to the mast.
THRUM: a thatch or mat made of rope ends or canvas, sewed to sails or lashed on a rigging, to prevent chafing.
THRUMS: short strands of rope or shreds of canvas which are obtained by cutting old rigging, sails or gear into small pieces and then unlaying the strands or unweaving the canvas; from this material a thrum or thrum-mat is made.
THRUST SHAFT: the next length of shaft abaft the main engine or connected to the after end of the crank shaft. This shaft has collars forged upon it which are faced and fitted into a thrust bearing. These collars take the entire thrust of the propeller when forcing the ship ahead or astern.
THWART: a small, horizontal wooden beam supporting scaffolding on which the sagging plank is laid; also the cross seat in an open boat; the cross timber or cap of the ground ways supporting the keel-blocks, cribbing and shores; the capping of pile foundation to the ground ways.
TILLER: the bar of iron or wood which is attached to the forward side of the rudder-head or stock, and takes the place of the rudder quadrant. By swinging this bar transversely the rudder is turned at any desired angle with the keel.
TILLER BOX: the protecting box over the tiller.
TILLER-HEAD: the end of the tiller which is farthest away from the rudder-head or stock.
TILLER-ROPES: the ropes or chains which lead from the tiller or rudder quadrant to the barrel of the steering-wheel.
TILLER OR RUDDER TELLTALE: a small arrow on top of the tiller box; this arrow indicates the position of the tiller and rudder in reference to the keel at all times.
TIMBER: a term used for all pieces of wood of any importance employed in the construction of a vessel, but particularly to those pieces which form the frames; the principal pieces of wood forming a ship’s structure.
TIMBER-HEADS: the ends of the timber frame or top futtocks which project above the deck and are sometimes shaped into bitts, which are used for belaying or securing hawsers, etc.
TIMBER-HITCH: a rope knot that is used for attaching a loose end or the standing part of a rope to a timber or other objects.
TIMBER-PORT: a port-hole provided with a water-tight door, cut in the bow of a vessel above the water-line, and close to the stem, or in the stern of a vessel in under the counter; used to handle long timbers or other long, narrow and awkward cargo in and out of the ship’s hold.
TIMENOGUY: a rope stretched from one point to another for the purpose of preventing gear, such as ropes or chains, from fouling. On sailing vessels it is carried from the stock of the waist anchor to the forward rigging and is used to prevent tacks or sheets from fouling with the stock of the anchor.
TOGGLE: a wooden or metal bar employed to connect two ropes or a rope and some other object. The toggle is attached in the middle by lashing or splicing it to the end of a rope. In attaching the toggle to another rope or thing, the toggle is slipped through the rope eye, bight or becket formed in the other rope or through the hole in anything which it is desired to move and set across the eye or opening. Bowlines are sometimes fastened to bridles and ring buoys by this method; anything attached with a toggle can be let go or detached quickly if necessary.
TONGUE: a vertical, pivoted block of hardwood that is fastened between the jaws of a gaff or boom and which forms the bearing surface for the end of a spar against the mast. The tongue is pivoted to a pin which is driven transversely through the jaws of the gaff or boom. This allows the face of the tongue to be parallel to the side of the mast no matter what angle the gaff or boom sets.
TONNAGE: the freight carrying capacity of a vessel expressed in tons. See Gross and Net Registered Tonnage.
TOP: a platform at the head of a lower mast which is supported on the trestle trees. The top is used to give spread to the topmast rigging, and in square or lofty rigged sailing vessels is of considerable size.
TOP AND BUTT: an economical method of working or laying long tapering oak ship planking so as to make a good conversion; as oak or other hardwood planks are liable to run very narrow at the top, the method of laying is as follows: locating the top end of every plank within about two frame spaces of the butt end of the plank above or below it and letting every plank work out as broad as it will hold clear of sap. By this method only can every other seam produce a fair edge.
TOP-BLOCK: a large tackle-block through which the top rope reeves when sending up and down the topmast.
TOPGALLANT OR FOERCASTLE DECK: a small deck built level with the rail at the extreme forward end of the ship.
TOPGALLANT MAST: the mast next above the topmast.
TOPGALLANT RIGGING: the shrouds and ratlines which belong to the topgallant mast.
TOPGALLANT SHROUDS: the shrouds that brace the topgallant mast.
TOP-HEAVY: when the top part of a thing is too heavy for the lower part and it tends to overturn it, it is “top-heavy.”
TOPMAST: the second mast above the deck, or the mast which is next above the lowermast. They are named according to their location, as fore, main and mizzen topmast.
TOPMAST RIGGING: the shrouds and ratlines which brace the topmast.
TOPMAST SHROUDS: the shrouds which brace the topmast.
TOPPING: the act of raising one end of a spar higher than another. Topping the boom or topping the gaff is to raise or pull the outboard end of the spar above the end against the mast.
TOPPING-LIFT: the purchase tackle used for topping or lifting the outer end of a boom and sustaining its weight and anything that may be suspended from it.
TOPSAIL HALYARD BEND: a rope knot or bend made around a spar or timber.
TOPSAIL SCHOONER: a fore-and-aft rigged vessel that carries a square sail and spreads yards on the fore topmast; a square sail is sometimes carried on the foremast below the square topsail.
TOP SIDES: generally referred to as the sides of a ship above the water-line.
TOP TIMBER LINE: the curve limiting the height of the sheer at the given breadth of the top timbers.
TOP TIMBERS: the timbers which form the top side. The first general tier of timbers; the uppermost futtocks which reach the top and form the bulwark stanchions, are called “long top timbers,” and those which terminate at the deck are called the “short top timbers.”
TOUCH: the broadest part of a plank worked up top and butt, which place is at least two frame spaces from the butt end; the middle of a plank worked anchor-stock fashion; the sudden angles of the stem timbers at the counter.
TRAIL-BOARD: in shipbuilding one of the two curved pieces which extend from the stem to the figurehead; it is fastened to the knee of the head. Trail-boards are not seen on vessels with straight stems and are now practically obsolete.
TRANSOM: the athwarthship timber, structure or frame at the after end of a vessel’s hull framing which is bolted to the stern-post and shapes or forms the buttocks, the curves of which are shown on the horizontal or half-breadth plan of the ship. A term sometimes applied to the bench or seats in the cabin, saloon or state-room, which have lockers or storage-room under the seat.
TRANSVERSE: a term meaning athwartship, or at right angles to the keel.
TRANSVERSE LINE: right or curved line which cuts transversely another system of right or curved lines running in another direction.
TRAVELER: a loose ring which slides along the traveling bar, deck horse, along or up and down the standing part of a rope.
TREAD OF KEEL: that part of a vessel’s keel which is a straight line. In vessels with a cambered or sagged keel this would be, of course, only approximately straight.
TREBLE-BLOCK: a threefold block; a tackle-block with three sheaves.
TREENAIL: a round or octagonal piece of hardwood driven through the frames, timbers and planking of a vessel, to fasten or connect them together. They are usually made of locust, live oak, iron bark, bois d’arc or sage orange. They should be made of very tough, sound wood, cut near the butt and perfectly dry or well seasoned. When driven into place they should be wedged on the outside with small hardwood wedges. This wedging prevents the planks or member in which the treenails are driven from becoming detached, and also spreads the end of the treenail and makes it water-tight.
TRESTLETREE: one of the two strong bars of timber fixed horizontally fore-and-aft on the opposite sides of the lower masthead. The treetletrees support the framework of the main top and the topmast. When attaching to the top masthead they support the topmast across trees and topgallant mast.
TRIATIC STAY: a wire or hemp stay or rope, which is secured to the head of the topmasts of fore-and-aft vessels and leads aft to the lower masthead of the next mast aft. These are additional fore-and-aft stays to the topmasts.
TRICE: to haul up and secure anything, as the heel of a boom, clue of a fore-and-aft sail, etc., “trice up the boom.”
TRICING LINE: a small line with which anything is triced up.
TRIM: the amount a ship is off even keel or down by the head or stern, as “she trims by the head or stern.”
TRUCK: a circular or spherical shaped piece of hard, tough, fine-grained wood, such as lignum vitae, which is placed at the extremity or the highest point of a mast, where topmasts or topgallant masts are used; it is only at the highest point of the highest mast. The truck is a protection to the end of the timber in the masts, preventing moisture from getting in and rotting the end fibers, is ornamental and is also useful; it is fitted with small holes, and sheaves are provided, through which are rove the signal halyards.
TRUNK CABIN: the name given to the cabin or compartment used for living quarters, which is half above and half below the upper deck.
TUMBLE HOME: the sloping in of the vessel’s topsides above the point of greatest beam.
TUCK: the after part of a ship where the ends of the planks in the bottom terminate at the tuck-rail, also known as all that part of the ship’s bottom below the wing transom, where it takes the shape of the wing transom as far aft as the fashion piece.
TUCK-RAIL: the rail which is worked on to the upper side of the wing transom, forming a rabbet which provides for the calking of the butt or hood ends of the bottom planking.
TURN: to turn or twist a rope or chain around a cleat, belaying pin, bitts, mast, bollard, yard or spar, for the purpose of fastening or securing, is called “catching,” “catching a turn,” or “taking a turn”; to turn in a deadeye is to strap it around or secure it to the end of a shroud; to turn the glass is to turn the sandglass over so that the sand will start running and indicate a certain interval of time. This is done when heaving a log.
TURNBUCKLE: a mechanical device made of iron or steel, consisting of a double nut with two eye bolts, one threaded right-hand and one threaded left-hand. When the nut is revolved in one direction it tends to bring the two eyebolts together, when revolved in the opposite direction it tends to force the two bolts apart. This device is used for setting up standing rigging, and when used, the shrouds or stays can be set up very tight and great strain or pressure can be created. The turnbuckles are replacing deadeyes and ratlines on modern rigged vessels.
TURN OF THE BILGE: the curved part of the ship’s bottom, the outside joining of the ship’s sides with the flat of the bottom.
TURN OF FLOOR: ships are often built without double bottoms. Where the edge of the floor curves up around the bilge to the vertical side frames, this curved part is called “turn of floor.”
TURTLEBACK: a covering which decks over the extreme forward or after part of the upper deck on many vessels. The turtleback commences at the bulwarks rail and rounds up aft or forward, as the case may be, towards the midships. From its similarity to the back of a turtle it derives its name. The turtlebacks are a great protection to the vessel in heavy weather.
‘TWEEN-DECKS: between decks; the space or deck between the lower and upper decks, used as storage place for cargo.
TWICE-LAID ROPE: a rope that has been laid up from old yarns.
TWOFOLD BLOCK: a tackle-block that has two sheaves; a double block.
TWOFOLD PURCHASE: a purchase tackle that has two double blocks.
TWO HALF HITCHES: a useful rope knot often used as a mooring hitch on a hawser.
TWO TOPSAIL SCHOONER: a schooner having square topsails on fore and main topmasts.
TYERS: short lengths of rope, which are used for tying or securing a sail; they take the place of gaskets.