AN UNIVERSAL DICTIONARY OF THE MARINE. (continued 5)

FRESHES, souberme, imply the impetuosity of an ebb-tide, increased by heavy rains, and flowing out into the sea, which it often discolours to a considerable distance from the shore; inasmuch as the line, which divides the two colours, may be perceived distinctly for a great length along the coast.

FRIGATE, (fregate, Fr.) in the navy, a light nimble ship built for the purposes of sailing swiftly. These vessels mount from twenty to thirty-eight guns, and are esteemed excellent cruizers.

Frigate-built, fregaté, implies the disposition of the decks of such merchant ships as have a descent of four or five steps from the quarter-deck and fore-castle into the waist, in contra-distinction to those whose decks are on a continued line for the whole length of the ship, which are called galley-built. See the article Flush.

Formerly the name of frigate was only known in the Mediterranean, and applied to a kind of long vessel, navigated in that sea with sails and oars. The English were the first who appeared on the ocean with those ships, and equipped them for war as well as commerce.

FULL AND BY, pres & plein, the situation of a ship with regard to the wind, when she is close-hauled, and sailing in such a manner as neither to steer too nigh the direction of the wind, nor to deviate to leeward; both of which movements are unfavourable to her course, as in the former her sails will shiver, and render the effort of the wind precarious and ineffectual; and in the latter she will advance in a direction widely distant from her real course. Hence, keep her full! defie du vent! is the order from the pilot or other officer to the helmsman, not to incline too much to windward, and thereby shake the sails so as to retard the course.

FURLING, (ferler, Fr.) the operation of wrapping or rolling a sail close up to the yard, stay, or mast to which it belongs, and winding a gasket or cord about it to fasten it thereto. And hence

FURLING-LINE denotes a cord employed in this office: those which are used for the larger sails are generally flat, and are known by the name of gaskets.

FUTTOCKS, the middle division of a ship’s timbers; or those parts which are situated between the floor and the top-timbers. See this fully explained in the article Timber.

As the epithet hooked is frequently applied in common language to any thing bent or incurvated, and particularly to several crooked timbers in a ship, as the breast-hooks, fore-hooks, after-hooks, &c. this term is evidently derived from the lowest part or foot of the timber, and from the shape of the piece. Hence

Futtock-Shrouds, or rather Foot-hook Shrouds. See the article Shrouds.

G.

GAFF, a sort of boom or pole, frequently used in small ships, to extend the upper edge of the mizen; and always employed for the same purpose on those sails whose foremost edges are joined to the mast by hoops or lacings, and which are usually extended by a boom below. Such are the main-sails of all sloops, brigs, and schooners.

The foremost, or inner extremity of the gaff, is furnished with two cheeks forming a semi-circle, which incloses the after-part of the mast so as to confine the gaff close to its respective mast whilst the sail is hoisting or lowering. It is further secured in this situation by a rope passing from one of the cheeks to the other on the fore side of the mast; and to prevent the friction of this rope upon the mast, by hoisting or lowering, several little wooden balls, called trucks, are hung upon it, in the same manner as the holy beads are hung upon a catholic’s rosary.

GAGE. See Weather-Gage.

To GAIN the wind, in navigation, gagner au vent, to arrive on the weather-side, or to windward of, some other vessel in sight, when both are plying to windward, or sailing as near the wind as possible.

GALE of wind, a phrase used by sailors to express a storm or tempest. It is more particularly termed a hard gale, or strong gale.

GALEON, a name formerly given to ships of war, furnished with three or four batteries of cannon. It is now retained only by the Spaniards, and applied to the largest size of their merchant ships, employed on West-Indian voyages, and usually furnished with four decks. They likewise bestow the same name on those vessels, whether great or small, which proceed annually to La Vera Cruz. The Portugueze also have several ships which they send to India and the Brazils, nearly resembling the galeons, and by them called caragues.

GALLED, raqué, the state of a mast, yard, cable, or other rope, when it is deprived of the surface, and chafed by friction. To preserve those articles from being damaged by this effect, it is therefore usual to cover them with skins, mats, canvas, or such materials, in the places where they are the most exposed to it by the rocking of the vessel. See the article Service.

GALLERY, a balcony projecting from the stern or quarter of a ship of war, or large merchantman. In the former, the stern-gallery is usually decorated with a ballustrade, extending from one side of the ship to the other; the fore-part is limited by a partition called the skreen-bulk head, in which are framed the cabin windows; and the roof of it is formed by a sort of vault, termed the cove, which is frequently ornamented with sculpture. See Stern.

The quarter gallery of a ship of 74 guns is represented at large, in the plate referred to from the article Quarter.

GALLEY, galere, a kind of low flat-built vessel, furnished with one deck, and navigated with sails and oars, particularly in the Mediterranean.

The largest sort of these vessels, galeasse, is employed only by the Venetians. They are commonly 162 feet long above, and 133 feet by the keel; 32 feet wide, with 23 feet length of stern-post. They are furnished with three masts, and thirty-two banks of oars; every bank containing two oars, and every oar being managed by six or seven slaves, who are usually chained thereto. In the fore-part they have three little batteries of cannon, of which the lowest is of two 36 pounders, the second of two 24 pounders, and the uppermost of two 2 pounders: three 18 pounders are also planted on each quarter. The compliment of men for one of these galleys is generally 1000 or 1200. They are esteemed extremely convenient for bombarding or making a descent upon an enemy’s coast, as drawing but little water; and having by their oars frequently the advantage of a ship of war, in light winds or calms, by cannonading the latter near the surface of the water; by scouring her whole length with their shot, and at the same time keeping on her quarter or bow, so as to be out of the direction of her cannon.

The gallies next in size to these, which are also called half-gallies, are from 120 to 130 feet long, 18 feet broad, and 9 or 10 feet deep. They have two masts, which may be struck at pleasure, and are furnished with two large lateen sails, and five pieces of cannon. They have commonly 25 banks of oars, as described above. A size still less than these are called quarter-gallies, carrying from twelve to sixteen banks of oars. There are very few gallies now besides those in the Mediterranean, which are found by experience to be of little utility, except in fine weather; a circumstance which renders their service extremely precarious. They generally keep close under the shore, but sometimes venture out to sea to perform a summer cruise. See the articles Quarter and Vessel.

GAMMONING, lieure, a rope used to bind the inner quarter of the bowsprit close down to the ship’s stem, in order to enable it the better to support the stays of the fore-mast, and carry sail in the fore part of the vessel. Seven or eight turns of this rope, fig. 7. plate IV. are passed over the bowsprit A, and through a large hole in the stem or knee of the head Y alternately: after all the turns are drawn as firm as possible, the opposite ones are braced together under the bowsprit by a frapping, as exhibited in the same figure.

GANG, a select number of a ship’s crew appointed on any particular service, and commanded by an officer suitable to the occasion.

GANG-BOARD, planche, a board or plank with several cleats or steps nailed upon it for the convenience of walking into, or out of, a boat upon the shore, where the water is not deep enough to float the boat close to the landing-place.

GANGWAY, passe-avant, a narrow platform, or range of planks, laid horizontally along the upper part of a ship’s side, from the quarter-deck to the forecastle, for the convenience of walking more expeditiously, fore and aft, than by descending into the waist. This platform is therefore peculiar to ships which are deep-waisted. It is fenced on the outside by several small iron pillars, and a rope extended from one to the other; and sometimes by a netting, to prevent any one from falling off into the sea when the ship is in motion. This is frequently called the gang-board in merchant vessels.

Gangway, echelle, is also that part of a ship’s side, both within and without, by which the passengers enter and depart. It is for this purpose provided with a sufficient number of steps, or cleats, nailed upon the ship’s side, nearly as low as the surface of the water; and sometimes furnished with a railed accommodation-ladder, whose lower end projects from the ship’s side, being secured in this position by iron braces, so as to render the ascent and descent extremely convenient.

Gangway, accoursie, is likewise used to signify a passage left in the hold, when a ship is laden, in order to arrive at any particular place therein, occasionally; as to examine the situation of the provisions or cargo; to discover and stop a leak; or to bring out any article required for service; &c. Finally, a gangway implies a thoroughfare, or narrow passage of any kind.

GARLAND, a sort of net, whose opening is extended by a wooden hoop of sufficient size to admit a bowl or platter within it. It is accordingly used by the sailors as a locker or cupboard to contain their provisions, being hung up to the deck within the birth, where they commonly mess between-decks.

Shot-Garland, epitie, a piece of timber nailed horizontally along the ship’s side from one gun-port to another, and used to contain the round-shot ready for charging the great guns in battle. For this purpose it is furnished with several semi-globular cavities, corresponding to the size of the cannon-balls which it is employed to contain.

GARNET, garant, a sort of tackle fixed to the main-stay of a merchant ship, and used to hoist in and out the goods of which the cargo is composed.

Garnet is also a small tackle fastened to the clues or lower corners of the main-sail or fore-sail, for the purpose of trussing up those sails, as occasion requires; and hence it is called Clue-Garnet, which see.

GARBOARD-STREAK, gabord, in ship-building, the first range or streak of planks laid upon a ship’s bottom next to the keel, throughout the whole length of the floor. The edge of this plank is let into a groove or channel in the side of the keel, which is called the rabbit of the garboard-streak.

GASKET, garcet, a sort of platted cord fastened to the sail-yards of a ship, and used to furl or tie up the sail firmly to the yard. This is performed by wrapping the gasket round the yard and sail six or seven times, the turns being at a competent distance from each other.

GAUNTLOPE, pronounced gauntlet, a race which a criminal is sentenced to run in a vessel of war, as a punishment for felony, or some other heinous offence.

It is executed in the following manner: the whole ship’s crew is disposed in two rows, standing face to face on both sides of the deck, so as to form a lane, whereby to go forward on one side, and return aft on the other; each person being furnished with a small twisted cord, called a knittle, having two or three knots upon it. The delinquent is then stripped naked above the waist, and ordered to pass forward between the two rows of men, and aft on the other side, a certain number of times, rarely exceeding three; during which every person gives him a stripe as he runs along. In his passage through this painful ordeal he is sometimes tripped up, and very severely handled while incapable of proceeding. This punishment, which is called running the gauntlet, courir la bouline, is seldom inflicted except for such crimes as will naturally excite a general antipathy amongst the seamen; as on some occasions the culprit would pass without receiving a single blow, particularly in cases of mutiny or sedition, to the punishment of which, our common sailors seem to have a constitutional aversion.

GEARS. See Jears.

GIMBALS, balanciers, the brass rings by which a sea-compass is suspended in its box that usually stands in the binacle. See the article Binacle.

GIMBLETING, a term particularly applied to the anchor, to denote the action of turning it round by the stock, so that the motion of the stock appears similar to that of the handle of a gimblet, when it is employed to turn the wire.

GIRT, the situation of a ship which is moored so strait by her cables, extending from the hause to two distant anchors, as to be prevented from swinging or turning about, according to any change of the wind or tide, to the current of which her head would otherwise be directed.

The cables are extended in this manner, by a strong application of mechanical powers within the ship; so that as she veers, or endeavours to swing about, her side bears upon one of the cables, which catches on her heel, and interrupts her in the act of traversing. In this position she must ride with her broadside or stern to the wind or current, till one or both of the cables are slackened so as to sink under the keel; after which the ship will readily yield to the effort of the wind or current, and turn her head thither. See the article Riding.

GIRT-LINE, cartahu, a rope passing through a single block, on the head of the lower masts, to hoist up the rigging thereof; as also the persons employed to place the rigging and cross-trees upon the mast-heads. The girt-line is therefore the first rope employed to rig a ship, and by means of this all the rest are drawn up and fixed; after which it is removed till the ship is to be unrigged.

GONDOLA, a sort of barge, curiously ornamented, and navigated on the canals of Venice; also a passage-boat of six or eight oars, in other parts of the coast of Italy.

GOOGINGS, femelles, certain clamps of iron bolted on the stern-post of a ship, whereon to hang the rudder, and keep it steddy; for which purpose there is a hole in each of them, to receive a correspondent spindle bolted on the back of the rudder, which turns thereby as upon hinges. There are generally four, five, or six googings on a ship’s stern-post and rudder, according to her size, and upon these the rudder is supported, and traverses from side to side as upon an axis. See Helm.

GOOSE-NECK, a sort of iron hook fitted on the inner end of a boom, and introduced into a clamp of iron, or eye-bolt, which encircles the mast, or is fitted to some other place in the ship, so that it may be unhooked at pleasure. See Boom.

GOOSE-WINGS of a sail, the clues or lower corners of a ship’s main-sail, or fore-sail, when the middle part is furled or tied up to the yard.

The goose-wings are only used in a great storm to scud before the wind, when the sail at large, or even diminished by a reef, would be too great a pressure on the ship, in that situation.

GORING, langue, that part of the skirts of a sail, where it gradually widens from the upper part or head, towards the bottom: the goring-cloths are therefore those, which are cut obliquely, and added to the breadth. See Sail.

GRAPPLING, (grapin, Fr.) a sort of small anchor, fitted with four or five flukes or claws, plate IV. fig. 5. and commonly used to ride a boat or other small vessel.

Fire-Grappling, grapin d’abordage, an instrument nearly resembling the former, but differing in the construction of its flukes, which are furnished with strong barbs on their points, fig. 4. plate IV. These machines are usually fixed on the yard-arms of a ship, in order to grapple any adversary whom she intends to board. They are however more particularly useful in fire-ships, for the purposes described in that article.

GRATINGS, caillebotis, a sort of open covers for the hatches, formed by several small laths or battens of wood, which cross each other at right angles, leaving a square interval between. They are formed to admit the air and light from above into the lower apartments of the ship, particularly when the turbulence of the sea or weather renders it necessary to shut the ports between decks; and also to let the smoke escape from the lower decks in the time of battle.

GRAVING, oeuvres de marée, the act of cleaning a ship’s bottom when she is laid aground during the recess of the tide. See the article Breaming, where this operation is particularly explained.

GRIPES, haubans de chaloupe, a machine formed by an assemblage of ropes, hooks, and dead-eyes, and used to secure the boats upon the deck of a ship at sea, and prevent them from being shaken by the labouring of the vessel. The hooks, which are fastened at their ends, are fixed in ring-bolts in the deck on each side of the boat; whence, passing over her middle and extremities, they are extended by means of the dead-eyes, so as to render the boats as firm and secure as possible.

Griping, ardent, the inclination of a ship to run to windward of her course, particularly when she sails with the wind on her beam or quarter. This effect is partly occasioned by the shock of the waves that strike the ship perpetually on the weather-quarter, and force the stern to leeward; but chiefly by the arrangement of the sails, which disposes the ship continually to edge to windward, while in this situation of sailing.

GROMMET, daillot, a sort of small wreath, formed of a strand of rope, and used to fasten the upper edge of a stay-sail to its respective stay, in different places. By means of the grommets, the sail is accordingly hoisted or lowered, i. e. drawn up or down upon its stay, in the same manner as a curtain is extended or drawn along upon its rod, by the assistance of rings. See also the article Hank.

GROUNDING, the act of laying a ship ashore, in order to bream or repair her. It is also applied to running aground accidentally when under sail, or driving in a tempest.

GROUND-TACKLE, amarrages, a general name given to all sorts of ropes and furniture which belong to the anchors, or which are employed in mooring, or otherwise securing a ship in a road or harbour; as cables, hausers, tow-lines, warps, and buoy-ropes.

GROWING, implies the direction of the cable from the ship towards the anchors; as, the cable grows on the starboard-bow, i. e. stretches out forwards on the starboard, or right side.

GUARD-BOAT, a boat appointed to row the rounds amongst the ships of war which are laid up in any harbour, &c. to observe that their officers keep a good look-out, calling to the guard-boat as she passes, and not suffering her crew to come aboard, without having previously communicated: the watch-word of the night.

GUARD-IRONS, certain curved or arched bars of iron placed over the ornamental figures, on a ship’s head or quarter, to defend them from the impression of some other ship when they lie close to, or rub against each other.

GUARD-SHIP, a vessel of war appointed to superintend the marine affairs in a harbour or river, and to see that the ships, which are not commissioned, have their proper watch kept duly, by sending her guard-boats around them every night: she is also to receive seamen who are impressed in the time of war.

GULF, golfe, (golfo, Ital.) a broad and capacious bay, comprehended between two promontories, and sometimes taking the name of a sea, when it is very extensive, but particularly when it only communicates with the sea by means of a streight: such are the Euxine, or Black Sea, otherwise called the gulf of Constantinople; the Adriatic Sea, called also the gulf of Venice; the gulf of Sidra near Barbary, and the gulf of Lions near France: all these gulfs are in the Mediterranean: there are besides the gulf of Mexico, the gulf of St. Lawrence, and the gulf of Calliphornia, which are in North America. There are also the gulf of Persia, otherwise called the Red Sea, between Persia and Arabia; the gulf of Bengal in India, and the gulfs of Cochinchina and Kamtschatca, near the countries of the same name.

GUNNEL, or GUN-WALE, plat-bord, the upper edge of a ship’s side.

GUNNER of a ship of war, an officer appointed to take charge of the artillery and ammunition aboard; to observe that the former are always kept in order, and properly fitted with tackles and other furniture, and to teach the sailors the exercise of the cannon. See Exercise.

GUN-ROOM, an apartment on the after end of the lower, or gun-deck, of a ship of war; generally destined for the use of the gunner in large ships, but in small ones, it is used by the lieutenants as a dining-room, &c.

GUST, dragon de vent, a sudden and violent squall of wind, bursting from the hills upon the sea, so as to endanger the shipping near the shore. These are peculiar to some coasts, as those of South Barbary and Guinea.

GUTTER-LEDGE, traversier d’ecoutille, a cross-bar laid along the middle of a large hatchway in some vessels, to support the covers, and enable them the better to sustain any weighty body which may be moved or laid thereon.

GUY, a rope used to steddy any weighty body whilst it is hoisting or lowering, particularly when the ship is shaken by a tempestuous sea.

Guy is likewise a large slack rope, extending from the head of the main-mast to the head of the fore-mast, and having two or three large blocks fastened to the middle of it. This is chiefly employed to sustain the tackle used to hoist in and out the cargo of a merchant ship, and is accordingly removed from the mast-heads as soon as the vessel is laden or delivered.

GYBING, the act of shifting any boom-sail from one side of the mast to the other.

In order to understand this operation more clearly, it is necessary to remark, that by a boom-sail is meant any sail whose bottom is extended by a boom, the fore-end of which is hooked to its respective mast, so as to swing occasionally on either side of the vessel, describing an arch, of which the mast will be the center. As the wind or the course changes, it also becomes frequently necessary to change the position of the boom, together with its sail, which is accordingly shifted to the other side of the vessel as a door turns upon its hinges. The boom is pushed out by the effort of the wind upon the sail, and is restrained in a proper situation by a strong tackle communicating with the vessel’s stern, and called the sheet. It is also confined on the fore-part by another tackle, called the guy. See the preceding article.

H.

HAGS TEETH, or Hakes Teeth, those parts of a matting, pointing, &c. which are interwoven with the rest, in an erroneous and irregular manner, so as to appear aukward in the general uniformity of the work. See Pointing, &c.

HAILING, the salutation or accosting of a ship at a distance, either at sea or in a harbour. The usual expression is, Hoa, the ship ahoay! To which she answers, Holloa! Whence came ye? Where are ye bound? Good voyage! What cheer? All well! How fare ye? &c.

HALIARDS, drisse, the ropes or tackles usually employed to hoist or lower any sail upon its respective masts or stay. See also Jears.

HAMMOC, branle, a piece of canvas, six feet long and three feet wide, gathered or drawn together at the two ends, and hung horizontally under the deck, lengthways, for the sailors to sleep therein. There are usually from fourteen to twenty inches in breadth allowed between decks for every hammoc in a ship of war: this space however must in some measure depend on the number of the crew, &c. in proportion to the room of the vessel.

In the time of battle the hammocs, together with their bedding, are all firmly corded, and fixed in the nettings on the quarter-deck, or where-ever the men are too much exposed to the view, or fire of the enemy. See the article Engagement.

HANDING the sails, the same operation with furling them, which see.

HAND-OVER-HAND! main avant! the order to the men, who pull upon any rope, to pass their hands alternately one before the other, or one above the other, if they are hoisting, in order to hasten the service.

A sailor is said to go aloft, hand-over-hand, when he ascends into the tops, &c. by a single rope, as a shroud or back-stay, without the help of the rattlings, by the dexterity of throwing one hand above the other, and lifting his weight along with it.

HANDSPEC, anspec, a wooden bar used as a lever to heave about the windlass, in order to draw up the anchor from the bottom, particularly in merchant ships: for this purpose the handle or small end is round and tapering; and the other end is square, in order to conform to the shape of the holes in the windlass. It is also employed as a lever on many other occasions, as stowing the anchors, or provisions, or cargo, in the ship’s hold.

Gunner’s Handspec, renard, an handspec shorter and flatter than the above, and armed with two claws, for the purpose of managing the artillery in battle, &c.

HANK for HANK, a phrase expressed of two ships which tack and make a progress to windward together. The Dolphin and Cerberus turned up the river hank for hank, without being able to get to windward of each other.

HANKS, daillots, certain wooden rings fixed upon the stays of a ship, whereby to confine the stay-sails thereto at different heights. They are used in the place of grommets, being a later invention and much more convenient; because, being framed by the bending of a tough piece of wood into the form of a wreath, and fastened at the two ends by means of notches, they retain their circular figure and elasticity; whereas the grommets, which are formed of rope, are apt to relax in warm weather and adhere to the stays, so as to prevent the sails from being readily hoisted or lowered.

HARBOUR, havre, a general name given to any sea-port or haven; as also to any place convenient for mooring shipping, although at a great distance from the sea. The qualities requisite in a good harbour are, that the bottom be entirely free from rocks or shallows; that the opening be of sufficient extent to admit the entrance or departure of large ships, without difficulty; that it should have good anchoring-ground, and be easy of access; that it should be well defended from the violence of the wind and sea; that it should have room and convenience to receive the shipping of different nations, and those which are laden with different merchandizes; that it be furnished with a good light-house, and have variety of proper rings, posts, moorings, &c. in order to remove or secure the vessels contained therein: and finally, that it have plenty of wood, and other materials for firing, besides hemp, iron, mariners, &c.

HARD-A-LEE, barre à bord, sous le vent, the situation of the helm when it is pushed close to the lee side of the ship, either to tack or keep her head to the wind, when lying by or trying: also the order to put the helm in this position.

HARD-A-WEATHER, arrive tout, the order to put the helm close to the weather or windward side of the ship, in order to bear away. It is likewise the position of the helm, in consequence of that order; being in both senses opposed to hard-a-lee.

HARPINGS, the fore-parts of the wales which encompass the bow of a ship, and are fastened to the stem, being thicker than the after part of the wales, in order to reinforce the ship in this place, where she sustains the greatest shock of resistance in plunging into the sea, or dividing it, under a great pressure of sail.

Cat-Harpings. See Cat-Harpings.

HARPOON, (harpon, Fr.) a spear or javelin used to strike the whales in the Greenland fishery.

The harpoon, which is sometimes called the harping-iron, is furnished with a long staff, having at one end a broad and flat triangular head, sharpened at both edges, so as to penetrate the whale with facility: to the head of this weapon is fastened a long cord, called the whale-line, which lies carefully coiled in the boat, in such a manner, as to run out without being interrupted or intangled. As soon as the boat has rowed within a competent distance of the whale, the harponeer launches his instrument; and the fish, being wounded, immediately descends under the ice with amazing rapidity, carrying the harpoon along with him, and a considerable length of the line. Being soon exhausted with the fatigue and loss of blood, he re-ascends in order to breathe, where he presently expires, and floats upon the surface of the water, when they approach the carcase by drawing in the whale-line.

HATCH, or HATCHWAY, ecoutille, a square or oblong opening in the deck of a ship, of which there are several, forming the passages from one deck to another, and into the hold, or lower apartments. See the Deck, plate III. where A represents the main-hatchway of the lower deck; N N, the fore-hatchway; and O O, the after-hatchway.

There are likewise hatches of a smaller kind, called scuttles. See U U in the same figure, as also the article Scuttle.

Hatches is also, although improperly, a name applied by sailors to the covers or lids of the hatchways.

To HAUL, haler, an expression peculiar to seamen, implying to pull a single rope, without the assistance of blocks, or other mechanical powers: when a rope is otherwise pulled, as by the application of tackles, or the connection with blocks, &c. the term is changed into bowsing. See also the articles Bowse, Hoist, and Rowsing.

To Haul the wind, venir an vent, to direct the ship’s course nearer to that point of the compass from which the wind arises. Thus supposing a ship sailing south-west, with the wind northerly, and some particular occasion renders it necessary to haul the wind farther to the westward; to perform this operation it is necessary to arrange the sails more obliquely with her keel; to brace the yards more forward, by slackening the starboard, and pulling in the larboard braces, and to haul the lower sheets farther aft: and finally, to put the helm a-port, i. e. over to the larboard side of the vessel. As soon as her head has turned directly to the westward, and her sails are trimmed accordingly, she is laid to have hauled the wind four points, that is to say, from S. W. to W. She may still go two points nearer to the direction of the wind, by disposing her sails according to their greatest obliquity; or, in the sea-phrase, by trimming all sharp: and in this situation she is said to be close-hauled, as sailing W. N. W. See the articles Close-hauled and Sailing.

HAUSE, or HAWSE, is generally understood to imply the situation of the cables before the ship’s stem, when she is moored with two anchors out from forward, viz. one on the starboard, and the other on the larboard bow. Hence it is usual to say, She has a clear hause, or a foul hause. It also denotes any small distance a-head of a ship, or between her head and the anchors employed to ride her; as, “He has anchored in our hause;” the “brig fell athwart our hause,” &c.

A ship is said to ride with a clear hause, when the cables are directed to their anchors, without lying athwart the stem; or crossing, or being twisted round each other, by the ships winding about, according to the change of the wind, tide, or current.

A foul hause, on the contrary, implies that the cables lie across the stem, or bear upon each other, so as to be rubbed and chafed by the motion of the vessel.

The hause accordingly is foul, by having either a cross, an elbow, or a round turn. If the larboard cable, lying across the stem, points out on the starboard side, while the starboard cable at the same time grows out on the larboard side, there is a cross in the hause. If, after this, the ship, without returning to her former position, continues to wind about the same way, so as to perform an entire revolution, each of the cables will be twisted round the other, and then directed out from the opposite bow, forming what is called a round turn. An elbow is produced when the ship stops in the middle of that revolution, after having had a cross: or, in other words, if she rides with her head northward with a clear hause, and afterwards turns quite round so as to direct her head northward again, she will have an elbow. See the articles Elbow and Riding.

Hause-holes, ecubiers, certain cylindrical holes cut through the bows of a ship on each side of the item, through which the cables pass in order to be drawn into, or let out of the vessel, as occasion requires. They are represented by d d in fig. 10. plate IV. being fortified on each side by the

Hause-pieces, a name given to the foremost timbers of a ship, whose lower ends rest upon the knuckle-timber, or the foremost of the cant-timbers. They are generally parallel to the stem, having their upper ends sometimes terminated by the lower part of the beak-head, and otherwise, by the top of the bow, particularly in small ships and merchantmen.

HEAD, an ornamental figure erected on the continuation of a ship’s stem, as being expressive of her name, and emblematical of war, navigation, commerce, &c.

The heads which have any affinity to war or navigation, are in general either historical, as referring to some of the deities or heroes of antiquity; or allegorical, as alluding to some of the natural consequences of battle, or the virtues most essential to a life exposed to perpetual danger. Thus, in the former sense, they represent a Neptune, an Alcides; a Mars, an Achilles; a Minerva, or a Jason; and in the latter they produce a Magnanime, an Intrepid, a Revenge, or a Victory.

The head of a ship however has not always an immediate relation to her name, at least in the British navy. Various instances might be produced to shew, that our artists, as it suits their conveniency or judgment, can dispense with this supposed idea of propriety. Hence we sometimes observe the place of a Jason supplied by a Medea; or a best of prey made the representative of an illustrious lady. The same liberty of design may therefore, with equal propriety, be allowed to symbolize the successes of our arms, by a groupe of heterogeneous figures, of sundry shapes and sizes, according to the artists opinion of their superiority or subordination. Their attitude and situation, as well as their size, must accordingly depend, in a great measure, on the space into which they are to be crowded: for although the figures may be of equal importance in themselves, yet as there is not room for them all, as large as the life, on a ship’s head, it becomes expedient to diminish a few, in order to give place to others. The emblems by which allegorical figures are usually characterized in painting, poetry, and sculpture, are not always thought necessary in a work of this kind, nor even the postures in which these figures are exhibited. And indeed, if we reflect with how much labour and application the workman has endeavoured to fill up every vacancy with some little figure of a convenient form and size, we ought rather to admire his ingenuity than censure him for a violation of those general rules of art, by which it is supposed necessary, on such occasions, to relieve the eye from a scene of perplexity and confusion.

The heads of many of our ships of war have undoubtedly great beauty and propriety; and candour must acknowledge that some of the most elegant and judicious have been borrowed from the French designs, which are never left to the invention of illiterate mechanics. A multitude of ornaments appears rather unnecessary in any building calculated for the purposes of war. If there be any general rule to determine the subjects, and the quantity of sculpture employed in ship-building, it seems to be connected with the ideas of dignity and simplicity. These too are the genuine characteristics of the Grecian and Roman orders of architecture, as opposed to that perplexity, and rage for embellishment, which peculiarly distinguish the Gothic. It is hardly possible for us to recollect the various disasters to which a single hero, or goddess, on the head of a ship, is exposed by tempestuous weather, battle, and the unexpected encounter of ships, without trembling for the havoc and indecency that may happen in an assemblage of gods and conc-shells, princesses and satyrs; heroes, blunder-buffes, sea-monsters, little children, globes and thunder-bolts, and all the apparatus necessary to constitute the head of a ship of the first class in our navy.

In plate IV. we have sketched four heads, which are calculated for vessels of different sizes and constructions. Fig. 6. exhibits an image of Hercules brandishing his club over the heads of Cerberus, calculated for a ship of the line. Fig. 7. represents Jupiter riding on his eagle, and armed with his thunders, being a suitable head for a capital ship. The eagle displayed by fig. 8. may serve for a frigate; and fig. 9. which expresses an incumbent dragon, is very proper for any small vessel with a projecting beak or prow. These figures have been selected from many others, because, being very rarely used to decorate the head of a ship, it is possible that several of our readers may never before have observed them. The two first, which are usually called image-heads, are bold, warlike, and classical. The eagle in the third is certainly a proper emblem of dignity, force, and velocity: and it is apprehended neither the representation of the latter, nor any other figure in that position, are to be met with amongst our shipping.

Head, avant, is also used, in a more enlarged sense, to signify the whole front or fore part of the ship, including the bows on each side: the head therefore opens the column of water through which the ship passes when advancing. Hence we say, head-sails, head-sea, head-way, &c.

Thus fig. 10. plate IV. represents one side of the fore-part, or head of a seventy-four gun ship, together with part of the bow, keel, and gunnel. The names of the several pieces, exhibited therein, are as follow:

A A fore part of the keel, with a a the two false keels beneath it.

A C The stem.

a a The cat-head.

b b The supporter of the cat-head, sous-barbe.

c c The knight-head, or bollard-timber, of which there is one on each side, to secure the inner-end of the bowsprit.

d d The hause-holes.

e e The navel-hoods, i. e. thick pieces of plank laid upon the bow to strengthen the edges of the hause-holes.

f The davit-chock, by which the davit is firmly wedged while employed to fish the anchor.

g The bulk-head, which terminates the forecastle on the fore-side, being called the beak-head bulk-head by ship-wrights.

H The gun-ports of the lower deck.

h The gun-ports of the upper deck and forecastle.

I, I, The channels, with their dead-eyes and chain-plates.

i The gripe, or fore-foot, which unites the keel with the stem, forming a part of either.

k k These dotted lines represent the thickness and descent of the different decks from the fore-part of the ship towards the middle. The lowest of the three dotted lines l expresses the convexity of the beams, the difference between the height of the deck in the middle of its breadth, and at the ship’s side. This is also exhibited more clearly in the midship-frame, where the real curve of the beam is delineated.

N. B. These lines must be always parallel to the lines which terminate the gun-ports above and below.

m m The timbers of the head part of the bowsprit.

X The rails of the head which lie across the timbers.

Q Z Fore-part of the main-wale.

R X Fore-part of the channel-wale.

U C The load water-line.

See also the continuation of a ship throughout her whole length, upon a smaller scale, plate I. Elevation.

Fig. 11. represents a head-view of a ship, with the projection of her principal timbers, and all her planks laid on one side. This figure corresponds to that of the elevation, plate I. and the stern-view, fig. 2. plate X.

It is evident that the fore-part of a ship is called its head, from the affinity of motion and position it bears to a fish, and in general to the horizontal situation of all animals whilst swimming.

By the Head, the state of a ship, which is laden deeper at the fore-end than the after-end.

Head-fast, amarre d’avant, a rope employed to fasten a ship to a wharf, chain, or buoy, or to some other vessel along-side.

Head-land, acrotere, a name frequently given to a cape, or promontory.

Headmost, the situation of any ship or ships which are the most advanced in a fleet, or line of battle.

Head-rope, that part of the bolt-rope which terminates any of the principal sails on the upper-edge, which is accordingly sewed thereto. See the article Bolt-rope.

Head-sails, voiles de l’avant, a general name for all those sails which are extended on the fore-mast and bowsprit, and employed to command the fore-part of the ship: such are the fore-sail, fore-top-sail, fore-top-gallant-sail, jib, fore-stay-sail, and the sprit-sail with its top-sail. This term is used in opposition to after-sails, which see.

Head-to-wind, de bout au vent, the situation of a ship or boat, when her head is turned to windward.

Head-way, sillage, the motion of advancing at sea. It is generally used when a ship first begins to advance; or in calm weather, when it is doubtful whether she is in a state of rest or motion. It is in both senses opposed to retreating, or moving with the stern foremost. See the article Stern-way.

HEART, moque, a peculiar sort of dead-eye, somewhat resembling the shape of a heart, but differing from the common dead-eyes, inasmuch as it is only furnished with one large hole in the middle, fig. 32. plate II. whereas the common dead-eyes have always three holes. The hearts are principally used to contain the laniards, by which the stays are extended. See Dead-Eye.

HEAVER, a name given by seamen to a wooden staff, employed by them as a lever on many occasions; particularly in setting up the top-mast-shrouds, frapping the top masts, dropping the larger blocks, seizing the standing rigging, &c. See those articles.

HEAVING, virer, (heafian, Sax.) the act of turning about a capstern, windlass, or other machine of the like kind, by means of bars or handspecs.

Heaving the lead. See the article Sounding.

Heaving a-head, is advancing the ship by heaving-in the cable, or other rope, which is fastened to an anchor at some distance before her. To heave a-stern is therefore to draw the ship backwards by the same operation.

Heaving-down. See the article Careening.

Heaving-out, the act of unfurling and throwing loose a sail from the place where it had been rolled and fastened. This phrase is more particularly applied to the stay-sails: thus we say, “Loose the top-sails, and heave out the stay-sails!” which is accordingly done, either to set or dry them.

Heaving-short, is the drawing so much of the cable into the ship, by means of the capstern or windlass, as that by advancing, she will be almost perpendicularly above the anchor, and in a proper situation to set sail.

Heaving-taught, the act of heaving about the capstern, till the rope applied thereto becomes streight and ready for action.

HEEL, talon, a name usually given to the after-end of a ship’s keel; as also to the lower end of the stern-post, to which it is firmly connected.

Heel of a mast, the lower end, which is diminished into the frustrum of a pyramid, so as to sink immoveably into a hole of the same shape, cut in the step, which is attached to the ship’s keel.

Heel of a top-mast, the lower end, which is sustained upon the tressel-trees by means of an iron bar, called the fid. See the article Mast.

To Heel, carguer, to stoop or incline to either side. It is usually applied to a ship when she is forced into this position by the wind acting upon her sails, while braced obliquely across her; or by being ballasted so as to lean more to one side than the other. See the articles Crank, Stiff, and Trim.

HELM, gouvernail, (helme, Sax.) a long and flat piece of timber, or an assemblage of several pieces, suspended along the hind part of a ship’s stern-post, where it turns upon hinges to the right or left, serving to direct the course of the vessel, as the tail of a fish guides the body.

The helm is usually composed of three parts, viz. the rudder, the tiller, and the wheel, except in small vessels, where the wheel is unnecessary.

The length and breadth of the rudder are represented in plate VIII. where it is evident that it becomes gradually broader in proportion to its distance from the top, or to its depth under the water. The back, or inner part of it, which joins to the stern-post, is diminished into the form of a wedge throughout its whole length, so as that the rudder may be more easily turned from one side to the other, where it makes an obtuse angle with the keel. The hinges upon which it is supported are also expressed in this figure. Those which are bolted round the stern-post to the after extremity of the ship, are called googings, and are furnished with a large hole on the afterpart of the stern-post. The other parts of the hinges, which are bolted to the back of the rudder, are called pintles, being strong cylindrical pins, which enter into the googings, and rest upon them. The length and thickness of the rudder is nearly equal to that of the stern-post, as represented in fig. 1. plate X.

The rudder is turned upon its hinges by means of a long bar of timber, called the tiller, which is fixed horizontally in its upper end within the vessel. The movements of the tiller to the right and left, accordingly, direct the efforts of the rudder to the government of the ship’s course as she advances, which, in the sea-language, is called steering. The operations of the tiller are guided and assisted by a sort of tackle, communicating with the ship’s side, called the tiller-rope, which is usually composed of untarred rope-yarns, for the purpose of traversing more readily through the blocks or pullies.

In order to facilitate the management of the helm, the tiller-rope, in all large vessels, is wound about a wheel, which acts upon it with the powers of a crane or windlass. The rope employed in this service being conveyed from the fore-end of the tiller k, to a single block i, on each side of the ship, (plate III. Deck) is farther communicated to the wheel, by means of two blocks, suspended near the mizen-mast, and two holes immediately above, leading up to the wheel, which is fixed upon an axis, on the quarter-deck, almost perpendicularly over the fore end of the tiller. Five turns of the tiller-rope are usually wound about the barrel of the wheel, and, when the helm is amidship, the middle turn is nailed to the top of the barrel, with a mark by which the helmsman readily discovers the situation of the helm, as the wheel turns it from the starboard to the larboard side. The spokes of the wheel generally reach about eight inches beyond the rim or circumference, serving as handles to the person who steers the vessel. As the effect of a lever increases in proportion to the length of its arm, it is evident that the power of the helmsman, to turn the wheel, will be increased according to the length of the spokes, beyond the circumference of the barrel.

When the helm, instead of lying in a right line with the keel, is turned to one side or the other, as in BD, fig. 1. plate V. it receives an immediate shock from the water, which glides along the ship’s bottom in running aft from A to B; and this fluid pushes it towards the opposite side, whilst it is retained in this position: so that the stern, to which the rudder is confined, receives the same impression, and accordingly turns from B to b about some point c whilst the head of the ship passes from A to a. It must be observed, that the current of water falls upon the rudder obliquely, and only strikes it with that part of its motion which acts according to the sine of incidence, pushing it in the direction N P, with a force which not only depends on the velocity of the ship’s course, by which this current of water is produced, but also upon the extent of the sine of incidence. This force is by consequence composed of the square of the velocity with which the ship advances, and the square of the sine of incidence, which will necessarily be greater or smaller according to circumstances; so that if the vessel runs three or four times more swiftly, the absolute shock of the water upon the rudder will be nine or sixteen times stronger under the same incidence: and, if the incidence is increased, it will yet be augmented in a greater proportion, because the square of the sine of incidence is more enlarged. This impression, or, what is the same thing, the power of the helm, is always very feeble, when compared with the weight of the vessel; but as it operates with the force of a long lever, its efforts to turn the ship are extremely advantageous. For the helm being applied to a great distance from the centre of gravity, G, or from the point about which the vessel turns horizontally, if the direction P N of the impression of the water upon the rudder be prolonged, it is evident that it will pass perpendicularly to R, widely distant from the centre of gravity G: thus the absolute effort of the water is very powerful. It is not therefore surprizing that this machine impresses the ship with a considerable circular movement, by pushing the stern from B to b, and the head from A to a; and even much farther, whilst the sails with rapidity: because the effect of the helm always keeps pace with the velocity with which the vessel advances^[31].

Amongst the several angles that the rudder makes with the keel, there is always one position more favourable than any of the others, as it more readily produces the desired effect of turning the ship, in order to change her course. To ascertain this, it must be considered, that if the obliquity of the rudder with the keel is greater than the obtuse angle A B D, so as to diminish that angle, the action of the water upon the rudder will increase, and at the same time oppose the course of the ship in a greater degree; because the angle of incidence will be more open, so as to present a greater surface to the shock of the water, by opposing its passage more perpendicularly. But at that time the direction N P of the effort of the helm upon the ship will pass, with a smaller distance from the centre of gravity G towards R, and less approach the perpendicular N L, according to which it is absolutely necessary that the power applied should act with a greater effect to turn the vessel. Thus it is evident that if the obtuse angle A B D is too much enclosed, the greatest impulse of the water will not counterbalance the loss sustained by the distance of the direction N P from N L; or by the great obliquity, which is given to the same direction N P of the absolute effort of the helm with the keel A B. If, on the contrary, the angle A B D is too much opened, the direction N P of the force of action of the helm will become more advantageous to turn the vessel, because it will approach nearer the perpendicular N L; so that the line prolonged from N P will increase the line G R, by removing R to a greater distance from the centre of gravity G: but then the helm will receive the impression of the water too obliquely, for the angle of incidence will be more acute; so that it will only present a small portion of its breadth to the shock of the water, and by consequence will only receive a feeble effort. By this principle it is easy to conceive, that the greatest distance G R from the centre of gravity G is not sufficient to repair the diminution of force occasioned by the too great obliquity of the shock of the water. Hence we may conclude, that when the water either strikes the helm too directly, or too obliquely, it loses a great deal of the effect it ought to produce. Between the two extremes there is therefore a mean position, which is the most favourable to its operations.

The diagonal N P of the rectangle I L represents the absolute direction of the effort of the water upon the helm. N I expresses the portion of this effort which is opposed to the ship’s head-way, or which pushes her astern, in a direction parallel to the keel. It is easily perceived that this part N I of the whole power of the helm contributes but little to turn the vessel; for if I N is prolonged, it appears that its direction approaches to a very small distance G V from the centre of gravity G, and that the arm of the lever B N=G V, to which the force is applied, is not in the whole more than equal to half the breadth of the rudder: but the relative force N L, which acts perpendicular to the keel, is extremely different. If the first N I is almost useless, and even pernicious, by retarding the velocity; the second N L is capable of a very great effect, because it operates at a considerable distance from the centre of gravity G of the ship, and acts upon the arm of a lever G E, which is very long. Thus it appears, that between the effects N L and N I, which result from the absolute effort N P, there is one which always opposes the ship’s course, and contributes little to her motion of turning; whilst the other produces only this movement of rotation, without operating to retard her velocity^[32].

Geometricians have determined the most advantageous angle made by the helm with the line prolonged from the keel, and fixed it at 54° 44´ presuming that the ship is as narrow at her floating-line, or at the line described by the surface of the water round her bottom, as at the keel. But as this supposition is absolutely false, inasmuch as all vessels augment their breadth from the keel upward to the extreme breadth, where the floating-line or the highest water-line is terminated; it follows that this angle is too large by a certain number of degrees. For the rudder is impressed by the water, at the height of the floating-line, more directly than at the keel, because the fluid exactly follows the horizontal outlines of the bottom; so that a particular position of the helm might be supposed necessary for each different incidence which it encounters from the keel upwards. But as a middle position may be taken between all these points, it will be sufficient to consider the angle formed by the sides of the ship, and her axis, or the middle-line of her length, at the surface of the water, in order to determine afterwards the mean point, and the mean angle of incidence.

It is evident that the angle 54° 44´ is too open, and very unfavourable to the ship’s head-way, because the water acts upon the rudder there with too great a sine of incidence, as being equal to that of the angle which it makes with the line prolonged from the keel below: but above, the shock of the water is almost perpendicular to the rudder, because of the breadth of the bottom, as we have already remarked. If then the rudder is only opposed to the fluid, by making an angle of 45° with the line prolonged from the keel, the impression, by becoming weaker, will be less opposed to the ship’s head-way, and the direction N P, fig. 1. plate V. of the absolute effort of the water upon the helm drawing nearer to the lateral perpendicular, will be placed more advantageously, for the reasons above mentioned^[33]. On the other hand, experience daily testifies, that a ship steers well when the rudder makes the angle D B E equal to 35° only.

It has been already remarked, that the effect of moving the wheel to govern the helm increases in proportion to the length of the spokes; and so great is the power of the wheel, that if the helmsman employs a force upon its spokes equivalent to 30 pounds, it will produce an effect of 90 or 120 pounds upon the tiller. On the contrary, the action of the water is collected into the middle of the breadth of the rudder, which is very narrow in companion with the length of the tiller; so the effort of the water is very little removed from the fulcrum B upon which it turns; whereas the tiller forms the arm of a lever ten or fifteen times longer, which also increases the power of the helmsman in the same proportion that the tiller bears to the lever upon which the impulse of the water is directed. This force then is by consequence ten or fifteen times stronger, and the effort of 30 pounds, which at first gave the helmsman a power equal to 90 or 120 pounds, becomes accumulated to one of 900 or 1800 pounds upon the rudder. This advantage then arises from the shortness of the lever upon which the action of the water is impressed, and the great comparative length of the tiller, or lever, by which the rudder is governed; together with the additional power of the wheel that directs the movements of the tiller, and still farther accumulates the power of the helmsman over it. Such a demonstration ought to remove the surprize with which the prodigious effect of the helm is sometimes considered, from an inattention to its mechanism: for we need only to observe the pressure of the water, which acts at a great distance from the centre of gravity G, about which the ship is supposed to turn, and we shall easily perceive the difference there is between the effort of the water against the helmsman, and the effect of the same impulse against the vessel. With regard to the person who steers, the water acts only with the arm of a very short lever N B, of which B is the fulcrum: on the contrary, with regard to the ship, the force of the water is impressed in the direction N P, which passes to a great distance from G, and acts upon a very long lever E G, which renders the action of the rudder extremely powerful in turning the vessel; so that, in a large ship, the rudder receives a shock from the water of 2700 or 2800 pounds, which is frequently the case, when she sails at the rate of three or four leagues by the hour; and this force being applied in E, perhaps 100 or 110 feet distant from the centre of gravity G, will operate upon the ship, to turn her about, with 270000 or 308000 pounds; whilst, in the latter case, the helmsman acts with an effort which exceeds not 30 pounds upon the spokes of the wheel.

After what has been said of the helm, it is easy to judge, that the more a ship increases her velocity with regard to the sea, the more powerful will be the effect of the rudder, because it acts against the water with a force, which increases as the square of the swiftness of the fluid, whether the ship advances or retreats; or, in other words, whether she has head-way or stern-way; with this distinction, that in these two circumstances the effects will be contrary. For if the vessel retreats, or moves astern, the helm will be impressed from I to N, fig. 1. plate V. and, instead of being pushed, according to N P, it will receive the effort of the water from N towards R; so that the stern wall be transported according to the same movement, and the head turned in a contrary direction.

When the helm operates by itself, the centre of rotation of the ship, and her movement, are determined by estimating the force of this machine; that is to say, by multiplying the surface of the rudder by the square of the ship’s velocity^[34]. See the articles Rudder, Sailing, Steering, Trim, and Working.

HIGH AND DRY, a phrase which implies the situation of a ship, when she has run aground, so as to be seen dry upon the strand.

HIGH WATER, haute marée, the greatest height of the flood-tide, See Flood and Tide.

HITCH, clef, a sort of knot or noose, by which one rope is fastened to another, or to some other object, as a post, ring, timber-head, mast, &c. Hence we say an half-hitch, demi-clef, a clove-hitch, a rolling-hitch, &c. See Bend and Knot.

HOASE, manche pour l’eau, a long flexible tube, formed of leather or tarred canvas, but chiefly of the latter, and employed to conduct the fresh water, which is hoisted aboard a ship, into the casks that are ranged in the hold; and to pass the water, or other liquors, out of one cask into another. For the latter use, one of the ends or openings of the hoase is fixed in the empty cask, whilst the other is applied to the pump that extracts the water out of the full one. This exercise is, on some occasions, necessary to alter or preserve the trim of the vessel, without disturbing her stowage.

HOG, goret, a sort of flat scrubbing-broom, serving to scrape off the filth from a ship’s bottom, under water, particularly in the act of boot-topping, which see.

This instrument is formed by inclosing a multitude of short twigs of birch, or such wood, between two pieces of plank, which are firmly attached to each other, after which the ends of the twigs or branches are cut off even, so as to form a sort of brush of considerable strength. To this machine is fitted a long staff, together with two ropes, the former of which is used to thrust the hog under the ship’s bottom, and the latter to guide, and pull it up again, close to the planks thereof, so as to rub off all the filth effectually. This exercise is usually performed in the ship’s boat, which is accordingly confined as close as possible to the vessel’s side during the operation, and shifted from one part of the side to another, till the whole is compleated.

HOIST, guindant, the perpendicular height of a flag or ensign, as opposed to the fly, which implies its breadth from the staff to the outer edge.

HOISTING, hisser, the operation of drawing up any body by the assistance of one or more tackles, according to the weight intended to be raised. See the article Tackle.

The act of pulling up any body, by the help of a single block only, is never expressed by the term hoisting, if we except the exercise of extending the sails, by drawing them upwards along the masts or stays, to which it is invariably applied. See also Tracing-up and Whipping.

HOLD, cale, the whole interior cavity or belly of a ship, or all that part of her inside, which is comprehended between the floor and the lower-deck, throughout her whole length.

This capacious apartment usually contains the ballast, provisions, and stores of a ship of war, and the principal part of the cargo in a merchantman. The disposition of those articles, with regard to each other, &c. necessarily falls under our consideration in the article Stowage; it suffices in this place to say, that the places where the ballast, water, provisions, and liquors are stowed, are known by the general name of the hold. The several store-rooms are separated from each other by bulk-heads, and are denominated according to the articles which they contain, the sail-room, the bread-room, the fish-room, the spirit-room, &c.

To trim the Hold. See the article Trim.

After-Hold, a general name given to all that part of the hold which lies abaft the main-mast.

Fore-Hold, that part of the hold which is situated in the fore-part of the ship, or before the main hatch-way.

Hold, in navigation, is generally understood to signify a particular situation of a ship with regard to the shore, by which she is enabled to keep within a sufficient distance, to facilitate her course, or answer some other important object. Hence we say, Keep a good hold of the land! or, Keep the shore well aboard! which are synonimous phrases, implying to keep near, or in sight of the land.

Holding-on, the act of pulling back the hind part of any cable, or other rope, which is heaved round, by the capstern or windlass, or drawn in by the purchase of a tackle. See Capstern &c.

To have a clearer idea of this exercise, it is necessary to premise, that there are seldom or never more than three turns of any rope passed about the barrel of the capstern, when it is employed in heaving; because a great number of turns of a large rope would soon cover the whole barrel, and utterly destroy the effect of this motion, till those turns could be removed; a circumstance which might be attended with very bad consequences. On the contrary, when there are only a few turns, the capstern or windlass is always kept sufficiently clear for action for it is evident, that every revolution of either will heave-in a quantity of the rope, upon which it is employed, equal to the circumference of its barrel. Now as there are only a few turns upon the barrel at once, an equal quantity of the rope will necessarily come off from the capstern at the same time; and this is accordingly pulled back as strongly as possible, to prevent it from surging or jerking round the barrel, by being held too loosely. This is called holding-on, which therefore may be defined, the act of retaining any quantity of rope, acquired by the effort of a capstern, windlass, or tackle, as being employed in hoisting as well as heaving.

Holding water, the operation of stopping a boat in her course, by holding the oars in the water and bearing the blade, or flat part, strongly against the current made along-side, by her passing swiftly through the water. See Back-astern, Oar, and Rowing.

HOLLOA! commande! an exclamation of answer, to any person, who calls to another to ask some question, or to give a particular order. Thus, if the master intends to give any order to the people in the main-top, he previously calls, Main-top, hoay! To which they answer, Holloa! to shew that they hear him, and are ready. It is also the first answer in hailing a ship at a distance. See Hailing.

HOME, in a naval sense, either implies the situation of some object, where it retains its full force of action; or where it is properly lodged for convenience or security. In the former sense it is applied to the sails; and in the latter, it usually refers to the stowage of the hold, or the anchors.

When it is expressed of the sails, it denotes that their clues, or lower corners, are close to the blocks upon the yard-arm, immediately beneath them; it is therefore understood only of the loftier sails, as the top-sails, top-gallant-sails, and the studding-sails thereto belonging. Hence to haul-home the top-sail sheets, is to extend the bottom of the top-sail to the lower-yard, by means of the sheets. See Clue and Sheet.

In the stowage of the hold, &c. a cask, bale, or case, is said to be home, when it bears against, or lies close to some other object, without leaving any interval between; and indeed the security, or firmness of the stowage, greatly depends on this circumstance.

Home, when spoken of the anchor, seems to imply the station of the ship, with regard to her anchor; which is accordingly said to come home when it loosens from the ground, by the effort of the cable, and approaches the place where the ship floated, at the length of her moorings. See the article Anchor.

HOMMOC, tertre, a name given by mariners to a hillock, or small eminence of land resembling the figure of a cone, and appearing on the sea-coast of any country.

HOOD, tremue, a sort of low wooden porch, resembling the companion, and placed over the stair-case or ladder, which leads into the steerage or apartments, where the crew generally reside in a merchant-ship. The use of the hood is to admit the air and light, and at the same time prevent the rain from falling into the steerage.

HOOK, a crooked piece of iron, of which there are several of different shapes and sizes, used at sea, as boat-hooks, can-hooks, cat-hooks, fish-hooks, foot-hooks, &c. See the articles Boat-hook, Can-hook, &c.

HORSE, marche-pied, a rope reaching from the middle of a yard to its extremity, or what is called the yard-arm, and depending about two or three feet under the yard for the sailors to tread upon, whilst they are loosing, reefing or furling the sails, rigging out the studding-sail booms, &c. In order therefore to keep the horse more parallel to the yard, it is usually suspended thereto, at proper distances, by certain ropes called stirrups, which hang about two feet under the yard, having an eye in their lower ends through which the horse passes. See the article Rigging.

Horse is also a thick rope, extended in a perpendicular direction near the fore or after-side of a mast, for the purpose of hoisting or extending some sail thereon. When it is fixed before a mast, it is calculated for the use of a sail called the square-sail, whose yard being attached to the horse, by means of a traveller, or bull’s-eye, which slides up and down occasionally, is retained in a steddy position, either when the sail is set, or whilst it is hoisting or lowering. When the horse is placed abaft or behind a mast, it is intended for the try-sail of a snow, and is accordingly very rarely fixed in this position, except in those sloops of war which occasionally assume the form of snows, in order to deceive the enemy.

HOUNDS, a name given to those parts of a mast-head, which gradually project on the right and left side, beyond the cylindrical or conical surface, which it preserves from the partners upwards. The hounds, whose upper parts are also called cheeks, are used as shoulders to support the frame of the top, together with the top-mast and the rigging of the lower-mast. See the article Mast.

HOUSED, à la serre, the situation of the great guns of a ship, when they are secured at sea by their tackles and breechings. See Cannon.

HOWKER, a vessel in the Dutch marine, commonly navigated with two masts, viz. a main-mast and a mizen-mast, and being from sixty to upwards of two hundred tons in burthen.

HOUSING, or HOUSE-LINE, a small line, formed of three fine strands, or twists of hemp, smaller than rope-yarn. It is chiefly used to seize blocks into their strops, to bind the corners of the sails, or to fasten the bottom of a sail to its bolt-rope, &c. See Bolt-rope.

HOY, a small vessel, chiefly used in coasting, or carrying goods to or from a ship, in a road or bay, where the ordinary lighters cannot be managed with safety or convenience.

It would be very difficult to describe, precisely, the marks of distinction between this vessel and some others of the same size, which are also rigged in the same manner; because what is called a hoy in one place, would assume the name of a sloop or smack in another: and even the people, who navigate these vessels, have, upon examination, very vague ideas of the marks by which they are distinguished from those above mentioned. In Holland, the hoy has two masts; in England it has but one, where the main-sail is sometimes extended by a boom, and sometimes without it. Upon the whole, it may be defined a small vessel, usually rigged as a sloop, and employed for carrying passengers and luggage from one place to another, particularly on the sea-coast.

HULK, an old ship of war, fitted with an apparatus, to fix or take out the masts of his majesty’s ships, as occasion requires.

The mast of this vessel, a a, fig. 2. plate V. is extremely high, and withal properly strengthened by shrouds and stays, in order to secure the sheers, machine à mater, which serve, as the arm of a crane, to hoist out or in the masts of any ship lying alongside. The sheers, b b, are composed of several long masts, whose heels rest upon the side of the hulk, and having their heads declining outward from the perpendicular, so as to hang over the vessel whose masts are to be fixed or displaced. The tackles, c c, which extend from the head of the mast to the sheer-heads, are intended to pull in the latter towards the mast-head, particularly when they are charged with the weight of a mast after it is raised out of any ship, which is performed by strong tackles depending from the sheer-heads. The effort of these tackles is produced by two capsterns, fixed on the deck for this purpose.

Hulk is also a name bestowed on any old vessel laid by, as unfit for further service: it is probably derived from the ολκαδες, or vessels of burthen of the ancient Grecians.

HULL, corps d’un vaisseau, the frame, or body of a ship, exclusive of her masts, yards, sails, and rigging: it is usually expressed of a ship either before she is furnished with masts, &c. or after she is dismasted and stripped of the aforesaid machinery.

To Hull a ship, is to fire cannon-balls into her hull within the point-blank range.

Hull-to, the situation of a ship when she is trying a-hull, or with all her sails furled; as in trying. See the article Trying.

HURRICANE, ouragan, (huracan, Span.) a violent and prodigious tempest, occasioned by the collection and opposition of several winds, that sometimes blow from one quarter and sometimes from another, producing a dangerous agitation in the sea, where the waves break, and dash against each other with astonishing fury. On the approach of a hurricane, the sea and air become perfectly calm and motionless, without a breath of wind stirring either. Soon after this the sky is darkened, the clouds accumulate, and the light of the day is replaced by terrible flashes of lightening. The hurricanes often last abundantly long, and are usually accompanied with many fatal accidents^[35]. During the continuance of this general calamity, the vessels which were anchored in the roads frequently cut their cables and put to sea, where they drive at the mercy of the winds and waves, after having struck their yards and top-masts.

The hurricanes are more usual between the tropics, particularly in the Atlantic ocean, than to the northward or southward of the torrid zone.

J.

JACK, a sort of flag or colours, displayed from a mast erected on the outer end of a ship’s bowsprit. In the British navy the jack is nothing more than a small union flag, composed of the intersection of the red and white crosses; but in merchant ships this union is bordered with a red field. See the article Union.

JAMMING, the act of inclosing any object between two bodies, so as to render it immoveable, whilst they continue in the same position. This expression is usually applied to the situation of some running-rope, when it happens to be squeezed by the compression of the standing-rigging, &c. and by consequence incapable of performing its office, by traversing in the blocks, till it is released from this confinement. In this sense jamming is opposed to rendering, which see.

A cask, box, &c. is also said to be jammed, when it is in the same manner wedged in between weighty bodies, so as not to be dislodged without great difficulty.

JEARS, or GEERS, drisse, an assemblage of tackles, by which the lower yards of a ship are hoisted up along the mast to their usual station, or lowered from thence as occasion requires; the former of which operations is called swaying, and the latter, striking. See those articles.

In a ship of war, the jears are usually composed of two strong tackles, each of which has two blocks, viz. one fastened to the lower-mast-head, and the other to the middle of the yard. The two blocks which are lashed to the middle, or slings of the yard, are retained in this situation by means of two cleats, nailed on each side, whose arms enclose the ropes by which the blocks are fastened to the yard. The two ropes, which communicate with these tackles, lead down to the deck on the opposite side of the mast, according to the situation of the upper jear-blocks.

The jears, in merchant-ships, have usually two large single blocks on the opposite side of the mast-head, and another of the same size in the middle of the yard. The rope, which communicates with these, passes through one of the blocks hanging at the mast-head, then through the block on the yard, and afterwards through the other hanging-block upon the mast. To the two lower ends of this rope, on the opposite sides of the mast, are fixed two tackles, each of which is formed of two double blocks, the lower one being hooked to a ring-bolt in the deck, and the upper one spliced, or seized into the lower end of the great rope above, which is called the tye. By this contrivance the mechanical power of the tackle below is transmitted to the tye, which, communicating with blocks on the yard, readily sways up, or lowers it, either by the effort of both jears at once, on the opposite sides of the mast, or by each of them separately, one after the other.

JETTY-HEAD, a name usually given, in the royal dock-yards, to that part of a wharf which projects beyond the rest; but more particularly the front of a wharf, whose side forms one of the cheeks of a dry or wet dock.

JEWEL-BLOCKS, a name given to two small blocks, which are suspended at the extremity of the main and fore-top-sail-yards, by means of an eye-bolt, driven from without into the middle of the yard-arm, parallel to its axis. The use of these blocks is to retain the upper-part of the topmast studding-sails beyond the skirts of the top-sails, so that each of those sails may have its full force of action, which would be diminished by the incroachment of the other over its surface. The haliards, by which those studding-sails are hoisted, are accordingly passed through the jewel-blocks; whence, communicating with a block on the top-mast-head, they lead downwards to the top or decks, where they may be conveniently hoisted. See the article Sail.

JIB, foc, the foremost sail of a ship, being a large stay-sail extended from the outer end of the bowsprit, prolonged by the jib-boom, towards the fore-top-mast-head. See Sail.

The jib is a sail of great command with any side-wind, but especially when the ship is close-hauled, or has the wind upon her beam; and its effort in casting the ship, or turning her head to leeward, is very powerful, and of great utility, particularly when the ship is working through a narrow channel. See Sailing.

Jib-Boom, a boom run out from the extremity of the bowsprit, parallel to its length, and serving to extend the bottom of the jib, and the stay of the fore-top-gallant-mast. This boom, which is nothing more than a continuation of the bowsprit forward, to which it may be considered as a top-mast, is usually attached to the bowsprit by means of two large boom-irons, (see the article Iron-Work) or by one boom-iron, and a cap on the outer-end of the bowsprit; or, finally, by the cap without, and a strong lashing within, instead of a boom-iron; which is generally the method of securing it in small merchant-ships. It may therefore be drawn in upon the bowsprit, as occasion requires, which is usually practised when the ship enters a harbour, where it might very soon be broke, or carried away, by the vessels which are moored therein, or passing by under sail.

JIBING. See Gybing.

JIGGER, a machine, consisting of a piece of rope about five feet long, with a block at one end and a sheave at the other; and used to hold-on the cable, when it is heaved into the ship by the revolution of the windlass. See Holding-on.

The jigger is particularly useful when the cable is either slippery with mud or ooze, or when it is stiff and unwieldy; in both of which cases it is very difficult to stretch it back from the windlass by hand, which however is done with facility and expedition, by means of the jigger, as follows: the end of the rope, to which the sheave is fastened by a knot, is passed round the cable close to the windlass, and the hind part of the rope coming over the sheave, is stretched aft by means of another rope passing through the jigger-block. As soon as the last rope is extended, the turn of the former about the cable is firmly retained in its position, by the compression of its hind part under the sheave, acting upon what may be called the neck of the jigger. But as the cable continues to be heaved into the ship, it is evident that the jigger, which is fastened on a particular part thereof, stretching it back, will be removed further aft, by every turn of the windlass, and the effort of the jigger will be lessened in proportion to its distance from the windlass: this circumstance renders it necessary to fleet it, or replace in a proper state of action, as occasion requires. The man who performs this office accordingly calls out, fleet, jigger! one of the men, at the windlass, instantly fixes his handspec between the deck and the cable, so as to jam the latter to the windlass, and prevent it from running out till the jigger is refixed.

Jigger-Tackle, a light small tackle, consisting of a double and single block, and used on sundry occasions by seamen. See Tackle.

IN, dedans, the state of any of a ship’s sails, when they are furled or stowed. It is used in this sense also in opposition to out, which implies that they are set, or extended to assist the ship’s course.

INSURANCE, assurance, a certain contract, by which an individual, or company, agrees to indemnify whatever losses or damages may happen to a ship or cargo, during a voyage, provided they are not occasioned by default of the person insured. For this agreement the latter pays a certain sum in advance, called the præmium, which accordingly falls to the insurer, in case the ship arrives in a safe harbour; but if the ship is lost, the insurer renders the stipulated sum to the merchant.

JOURNAL, in navigation, a sort of diary, or daily register of the ship’s course, winds, and weather; together with a general account of whatever is material to be remarked in the period of a sea-voyage.

In all sea-journals, the day, or what is called the 24 hours, terminates at noon, because the errors of the dead-reckoning are at that period generally corrected by a solar observation. The daily compact usually contains the state of the weather; the variation, increase, or diminution of the wind; and the suitable shifting, reducing, or enlarging the quantity of sail extended; as also the most material incidents of the voyage, and the condition of the ship and her crew; together with the discovery of other ships or fleets, land, shoals, breakers, soundings, &c.

The form of keeping journals is very different in merchant-ships; but one method appears to be invariably pursued in the navy, which nevertheless is certainly capable of improvement, because no form can be properly called perfect, that leaves as great a space for one day’s work, the matter of which may be contained in very few lines, as for another that abounds with important incidents, so as to occupy ten times the space. If therefore there be any such thing as propriety of method on this occasion, it seems to imply, that the space containing, should conform to the matter contained, which will necessarily be greater or less, according to circumstances.

IRON-WORK, ferrure, a general name for all the pieces of iron, of whatsoever figure or size, which are used in the construction of a ship: as bolts, boom-irons, nails, spikes, chains and chain-plates, block-strops, cranks, braces, pintles, and googings.

The most material of these articles are explained in their proper places; but as the article bolt, of which the figures are represented in plate II. was accidentally omitted in the proper place, according to the plan of this work, it may not be improperly introduced here.

A bolt then is generally a cylindrical pin of iron, of which there are various sorts, used for sundry occasions in ship-building.

The bolts are principally employed either to unite several members of a ship’s frame into one solid piece, or to fasten any moveable body on a particular occasion. Those which are calculated for the former purpose have commonly small round heads, somewhat flatted, as in fig. 1 & 2. plate II. On the contrary, the bolts which are intended for the latter use, have either a large round head, as those of the chains, fig. 4. or an eye, with or without a ring in the same place, fig. 5, 6, and 39, as those which are designed to secure the great guns, the jears of the main-sail and fore-sail, the stoppers of the cables, &c.

The bolts are short or long, according to the thickness of the timber wherein they are to be lodged: they penetrate either quite through the pieces into which they are driven, or to a certain determinate depth. The last of these, called a rag-bolt, is retained in its situation by means of several barbs, fig. 3. which, fastening into the timbers, prevent the bolt from loosening from its station by the working of the ship. The first, after being driven through the pieces it is intended to unite, is confined by a flat iron wedge, called the forelock, which is thrust through a narrow hole in the small end of the bolt, where it is hardened home by a hammer; and to prevent the forelock from cutting the wood-work in this position, a little iron ring is fixed over the end of the bolt, between the forelock and the timber.

Those bolts, which have the largest of the round-heads, are called fender-bolts, being driven into the wales, stem, or sides of some small vessels of burthen, as lighters, beancods, prames, &c. to defend their timber-work from the shock of any other vessels which may fall aboard by accident.

A boom-iron is composed of two iron rings, formed into one piece, so as nearly to resemble the figure of 8. It is employed to connect two cylindrical pieces of wood together, when the one is used as a continuation of the other; such is the jib-boom to the bowsprit; and such are the studding-sail booms to the respective yards from whose extremities they are prolonged. The rims, or circles of the boom-irons, are broad and flat; and one of them, which is firmly driven upon the main, or fore-yard-arm, is somewhat larger than the other, as exhibited in fig. 7. plate II. The studding-sail-boom usually rests in the small ring, through which it is occasionally thrust outwards from the yard-arm, when the studding-sail is to be set. Every boom of this kind has, or ought to have, two boom-irons, one of which is fixed on the extremity of the yard, and the other further inward. The former of these is frequently framed of one ring only, which projects from the end of the yard, where it is fastened by a strong iron bar, opening into a sort of fork or crotch that slides upon the yard lengthwise, where it is fastened by nails driven from above and below.

ISLAND of ICE, a name given by sailors to a great quantity of ice collected into one huge solid mass, and floating about upon the seas near or within the arctic circle.

Many of these fluctuating islands are met with on the coasts of Spitzbergen, to the great danger of the shipping employed in the Greenland fishery.

JUNK, bouts de cable, a name given to any remnants or pieces of old cable, which is usually cut into small portions for the purpose of making points, mats, gaskets, sennit, &c. See Points, &c.

JURY-MAST, a temporary or occasional mast, erected in a ship to supply the place of one which has been carried away by tempest, battle, or the labouring of a ship in a turbulent sea.

K.

KAICLING, or KECKLING, a name given to any old ropes, which are wound about a cable, with a small interval between the turns, and used to preserve the surface of the cable from being fretted, when it rubs against the ship’s bow, or fore-foot. See also Rounding and Service.

KEDGE, ancre de touei, a small anchor, used to keep a ship steddy whilst she rides in a harbour or river, particularly at the turn of the tide, when she might otherwise drive over her principal anchor, and entangle the stock or flukes with her slack cable, so as to loosen it from the ground. This is accordingly prevented by a kedge-rope, that restrains her from approaching it.

The kedges are also particularly useful in transporting a ship, i. e. removing her from one part of the harbour to another, by means of ropes, which are fastened to these anchors. They are generally furnished with an iron stock, which is easily displaced, for the convenience of stowing them. See the articles Anchor and Warp.

KEEL, the principal piece of timber in a ship, which is usually first laid on the blocks in building.

If we compare the carcase of a ship to the skeleton of the human body, the keel may be considered as the back-bone, and the timbers as the ribs. It therefore supports and unites the whole fabric, since the stem and stern-post, which are elevated on its ends, are, in some measure, a continuation of the keel, and serve to connect and enclose the extremities of the sides by transoms; as the keel forms and unites the bottom by timbers.

The keel is generally composed of several thick pieces, (A, plate I. Pieces of the Hull) placed lengthways, which, after being scarfed together, are bolted, and clinched upon the upper side. When these pieces cannot be procured large enough to afford a sufficient depth to the keel, there is a strong thick piece of timber bolted to the bottom thereof, called the false keel, which is also very useful in preserving the lower-side of the main keel. In our largest ships of war, the false keel is generally composed of two pieces, which are called the upper and the lower false keels. See Midship-Frame.

The lowest plank in a ship’s bottom, called the garboard-streak, has its inner-edge let into a groove, or channel, cut longitudinally on the side of the keel: the depth of this channel is therefore regulated by the thickness of the garboard-streak.

Keel is also a name given to a low flat-bottomed vessel, used in the river Tyne to bring the coals down from Newcastle, and the adjacent parts, in order to load the colliers for transportation.

Upon an even Keel, the position of a ship when her keel is parallel to the plane of the horizon, so that she is equally deep in the water at both ends.

Keel-hauling, a punishment inflicted for various offences in the Dutch navy. It is performed by plunging the delinquent repeatedly under the ship’s bottom on one side, and hoisting him up on the other, after having passed under the keel. The blocks, or pullies, by which he is suspended, are fastened to the opposite extremities of the main-yard, and a weight of lead or iron is hung upon his legs to sink him to a competent depth. By this apparatus he is drawn close up to the yard-arm, and thence let fall suddenly into the sea, where, passing under the ship’s bottom, he is hoisted up on the opposite side of the vessel. As this extraordinary sentence is executed with a serenity of temper peculiar to the Dutch, the culprit is allowed sufficient intervals to recover the sense of pain, of which indeed he is frequently deprived during the operation. In truth, a temporary insensibility to his sufferings ought by no means to be construed into a disrespect of his judges, when we consider that this punishment is supposed to have peculiar propriety in the depth of winter, whilst the flakes of ice are floating on the stream; and that it is continued till the culprit is almost suffocated for want of air, benumbed with the cold of the water, or stunned with the blows his head receives by striking the ship’s bottom.