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Common Everyday Used Boating Terms

If you are a sailor, there is a vocabulary of boating terms you should learn. Boaters just starting out often find the task of learning these terms quite the chore.

Presenting to you now, is a basic comprehensive list of some of the top boating terms. Learn these and you are well on your way to becoming proficient in modern day sailer lingo.

If you Google On Line Boating, you will find courses where all of these terms are defined. You will become more an expert for your effort in learning them.

1- Overboard - When you are in a boat on any body of water, what is outside of the boat or off of the boat is called overboard. If you fall into the water you have fell overboard.

2- The Bow - The boats forward section.

3- Starboard - Facing forward to the bow, on your right side would be Starboard.

4- Abaft - To go towards the stern, behind the boat, is abaft.

5- Navigation - Seaman term for traveling from one point to another, accomplished by charting the course before you start your voyage, and then following your plan.

6- Cabin - These are what the crew or passengers use to get out of the elements. Another word for this purpose would be compartment.

7- Nautical Mile - A statute mile has a length of 5280 feet where as a nautical mile is an eighth longer measuring in at 6076 feet.

8- Man Overboard - When a crew or passenger falls off the ship, this is deemed an emergency and "Man Overboard" is called out to the entire ship in an effort to rescue the victim who fell into the water.

9- Stem - At the fron of the boat is the bow. The most forward part of the bow is the stem.

10- Deck - The floor on which the crew and passengers walk on.

11- Starboard - If you are facing the bow of the boat (front) on your right side would be the starboard side.

12- Aboard - If you are anywhere on the boat, you are onboard the boat.

13- Flares - When a boat is in trouble, the use of emergency flares fired from a flare gun, is used as a distress signal; can usually show a boats location from miles at night.

14- Ground Tackle - Usually designates the anchor, its chain and assorted equipment that goes with it.

15- Aboard - If you are on the boat somewhere, you are aboard.

16- Capsize - The act of the sea vessel over turning in the water.

17- Flood - Incoming water currents,usually from an unwanted opening, on a boat usually unless corrected, is a precurser to the boat sinking.

18- Intracoastal Waterways - Inland waterways, rivers, canals, ajacent to the coasts that water vessels travel through with out going out to sea. Also called I.C.W.

19- Nautical Mile - 1 minute of latitude, around 6075 feet , or an eighth longer that a 5280 foot long statute mile.

20- Below - Often referred to the decks below the top deck or any lower deck of a ship or boat.

21- Galley - Where a crew member or passenger can go eat while onboard a boat. The food is prepared there as well by trained cooks, or maybe you or your wife?

22- Tide - The oceans water levels rise and fall from the moons gravitational influence. When the tide is in, the water level is deeper. Some ships can not enter port unless the tide is in, for the water level would not be deep enough to keep them from bottoming out.