Adze: an axe-like cutting tool that has a thin, curved blade set at right angles to the handle and is used chiefly for shaping wood.
Anchor: a heavy iron hook or instrument, usually connected to a vessel by a chain or rope, that is used to grip the bottom of the sea to keep the ship from drifting.
Ballast: heavy material, such as iron, lead, stones or gravel placed in the bottom of the hold to keep the vessel steady in the water.
Banks: an underwater plateau, part of the continental shelf, that rises up from the ocean floor, creating shallow water where fish feed.
Beam: the widest part of a vessel.
Boom: a horizontal spar attached to the bottom edge of a sail used to extend the foot of the sail.
Bow: the forward end of a vessel.
Bowsprit: a long spar attached to the jib boom in the bow used to carry the stays that secure the head sails for the fore-topmast.
Bully-beef: dried or cured meat that does not spoil when wet.
Buoy: a distinctively marked object that floats in the water as a navigational aid.
Capstan: a vertical, spool-shaped cylinder that is rotated manually or by machine to hoist weights such as an anchor or for raising heavy sails.
Carrying sail: sailing fast.
Davits: small cranes that project over the side of a ship used to raise and lower equipment, cargo, or smaller boats to or from the deck of the vessel.
Dory: a small, flat-bottomed rowing boat manned by one or two fishermen and used for fishing from a larger vessel in the open ocean.
Dragger: a fishing boat equipped to tow gear, such as a trawl net, along the bottom of the ocean.
Drawknife: a woodworker’s knife to shave surfaces.
Ensign: a national flag or banner carried by a ship.
Fishery: the industry or practice of catching, processing, or selling of fish, shellfish or other aquatic animals.
Flakes: wooden platforms used for drying fish.
Flunkey: an all-purpose labourer on a vessel.
Fo’castle (forecastle): the extreme forward compartment or the living space of the crew in a sailing vessel.
Freeboard: the minimum vertical distance from the surface of the water to the upper deck level, measured at the centre of the ship.
Gaff: a free-swinging spar attached to the top of a four-sided sail.
Galley: the kitchen area for food preparation on a ship.
Gangway: a passage along either side of a ship’s upper deck or the ramp used to embark or disembark a vessel.
Grog: an alcoholic beverage, usually rum diluted with water.
Hard-tack: a very hard, unsalted biscuit or bread, also called ship biscuit.
Hatch: an opening in the deck of a ship for entering below or a compartment on a ship.
Hawser: a large, heavy rope made of three strands for nautical use.
Header: removes the heads and entrails from the fish.
Highliner: the captain of the ship with the biggest catch of the season for the fleet.
Hold: a large compartment below the deck of the ship for stowing cargo and supplies.
Hull: the main body of a ship, excluding the deck, masts, rigging and cabin
Jib: a triangular foresail set in front of the foremast.
Keel: the most important timber at the very bottom of the hull to which the stem, sternpost, and the ribs are attached.
Keelsons: a timber or beam that is attached above and parallel to the keel of a ship for added strength.
Landward: in the direction of land.
Lanyard: a short rope or line used for fastening something or securing rigging.
Mainmast: the principal mast of a sailing ship that has two or more masts.
Mast: a large, wooden, vertical spar or pole used to hold up the sails.
Mooring: equipment, such as anchors or chains, for securing a vessel.
Nautical mile: a unit of length used in sea navigation that equals about 6,076 feet (1,852 metres).
Quadrant: an instrument used for taking angular measurements.
Rigging: the lines, ropes, or chains that support the masts and are used for hoisting, lowering or trimming the sails.
Rudder: a fin or blade attached under the hull’s stern that moves laterally and is used for steering.
Sail dragger: someone who pushes the speed of a vessel to the limit and races with other ships.
Schooner: a sailing ship rigged with fore and aft sails on two or more masts.
Sea shanty: a rhythmic shipboard working song sung by sailors.
Seaward: in the direction of the sea.
Sextant: a navigational instrument containing a graduated 60° arc, used for measuring angular distances between objects, such as the altitudes of celestial bodies to determine latitude and longitude.
Shipwright: a carpenter who builds and repairs ships.
Shipyard: a yard or enclosure where ships are built or repaired.
Sounding lead: the metal weight or bob at the end of a sounding line.
Sounding line: a line with marked intervals and weighted at one end used to measure the depth of the water.
Spike: a long, thick, sharp-pointed implement made of wood or metal.
Splitter: A person who removes the backbone of the fish and splits it open for salting.
Spokeshave: a kind of drawing knife or planing tool originally for shaping spokes, now used for making rounded edges.
Starboard: the right hand side of a ship when facing forward.
Stuns’l (studding sail): a light sail set at the side of a principal or square sail of a ship in free winds to increase speed.
Taffrail log: a torpedo-shaped log with rotary fins drawn through the water to measure the vessel’s speed and distance sailed.
Throater: A person who cuts the throats of the fish open when they are brought on board.
Topmast: a second spar carried above the fore or main mast used to fly more sail.
Topsail: a sail set above the gaff on a schooner, often the second sail in ascending order from the deck.
Tramp schooner: a schooner that carries goods from one place to another.
Trawl: a long, buoyed fishing line holding many shorter lines with baited hooks.
Trawler: a fishing vessel used for trawling.
Trawling: a method of catching fish by pulling a large fishing net through the water behind one or more boats.
Vang: a rope running downward from the peak of the gaff to the ship’s rail or mast, used to keep the gaff steady.
Waterline: the line on the hull made by the surface of the water when a ship has the full proportion of stores and crew on board.
Wharf: a landing place or platform built out from the shore into the water where ships may pull up to load or unload cargo, passengers, etc.
Windward: the direction from which the wind is blowing.
Yard: a long, horizontal spar that is tapered at the end used to support a square sail.
Yardarm: part of the yard lying between the lift and the outer end.