Boat Glossary

adv. toward or at the stern (rear of the boat).

n. a measurement, expressed as an angle in degrees, of how steeply the side of the hull rises vertically from the keel of a V-bottom boat. Flat-bottom boats have zero deadrise. 03000180deadrise.png

n. a spar near the top of a mast extending aft at an upward angle to support a fore-and-aft rigged gaff sail.

n. (pronounced "gunnel") the upper edge of a boat's sides frequently projecting a short height above the deck to form the rail.

n. the main lengthwise structure of a boat in the bottom of the hull providing strength and ballast. In sailboats, the keel projects from the bottom as a fin to contribute added stability.

abbrev. length over all.

n. a sailboat with a single mast set about one third to one fourth the boat's length aft of the bow and having one or more headsails. A sloop's mast is farther aft than the mast of a catboat but not as far back as a cutter's mast. sloop#0000n

n. 1. one of two course legs of a boat sailing in a zigzag pattern to travel indirectly into the wind.

2. the lower fore corner of a sail.

v. 3. to change a sailboat's heading to the other tack.

n. a telescoping or fixed length spar extended horizontally to "wing out" the clew of a jib sail to catch more wind when sailing downwind.

n. a sailboat with two masts, the aft mast shorter than the main mast and positioned abaft of the rudder post.  yawl#0000n