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Glossary
Luffing ....................................... The fluttering of the forward edge (luff) of a sail when the boat is turned too far into the wind, resulting in too little pressure on the windward side of the sail.
Lull ..............................................A brief decrease in wind velocity.
Main ........................................... See Mainsail. Mainsail ..................................... In a single-masted boat, the principal sail, with its luff attached to the aft side of the mast and its foot attached to the boom.
Main sheet................................ The piece of running rigging that is attached to the boom to trim the mainsail. Mast ........................................... The vertical spar that supports the sails and is supported by the standing rigging. Mast groove.............................A slot on the af side of the mast into which the luff of the mainsail slides. Midships ................................... The area of a boat about halfway between bow and stern. Monohull ..................................A boat with a single hull. Multihull ....................................A boat with two or more hulls. See Catamaran and Trimaran. Navigation Rules .................... Universally recognized regulations for boats and large vessels to observe for safety when meeting underway, specifying which boat stands on and which gives way.
No-Go Zone ............................. Roughly a 90° area that is too close to the wind for a boat to sail effectively.
Outhaul .....................................A piece of running rigging that pulls the clew of a sail to the end of the boom to stretch the foot of the sail.
Overtaking boat ..................... Under Navigation Rules, the give-way boat that must alter course and/or speed when coming up on a slower boat.
Overtrimming .......................... Having a sail pulled in more than the optimum amount for the boat’s point of sail.
PFD ............................................. Personal flotation device, or life jacket, an essential piece of safety equipment aboard a boat.
Port ............................................ The left side of a boat when looking forward. Port tack ...................................A boat’s attitude when it is sailing with wind coming from the port side. Port-tack boat ......................... Under Navigation Rules, the give-way boat that must alter course and/or speed when meeting a starboard-tack boat.
Powerboat ................................ Under Navigation Rules, a vessel under power is the give-way vessel when meeting a vessel under sail, except in the case of large vessels or ships, which cannot maneuver easily and should be avoided by sailboats.
Puff .............................................A brief increase in wind velocity. Range of tide ........................... The depth difference between high and low water.
“Ready about” .......................... The traditional command for “ready to tack.” “Ready to tack” ........................ The command for preparing to change direction by turning through the wind. Rudder....................................... The movable fin attached to the stern that is used to steer the boat through its attachment to the tiller.
Run ............................................. The downwind point of sailing approximately 150° to 180° off the wind, with the stern facing the wind and the sails between three-quarters and all the way out.
Running rigging ...................... The movable pices of rigging used to set and operate sails, including halyards, sheets, cunninghams, boom vangs and outhauls.
Safety position ........................A way to take a break from active sailing, with the boat in a close-reach direction and the sails let all the way out to spill the wind.
Scoop recovery method .......A method of righting a capsized boat with the helmsman standing on the centerboard to pull the boat up while the crew holds onto a cockpit structure and gets scooped aboard as the boat comes upright.
Sheet..........................................A control line for a sail, like the throttle, used to trim a sail in or out to adjust the angle at which the wind hits the sail.
“Sheet in” ..................................A command for pulling in a sheet to trim a sail. “Sheet out” ...............................A command for letting out a sheet to trim a sail. Shrouds ..................................... Pieces of standing rigging that hold the mast from falling sideways.
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