Is “pinhead” a sailing term?

[Adelie]

Jimmy Stewart was a pinhead.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GCjkQcbqFuY

[doublewide]

I thought "pinhead" was a combination of microcephaly and arrogance. It's an unfortunate combination.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by doublewide

I thought "pinhead" was a combination of microcephaly and arrogance. It's an unfortunate combination.

I thought Pinhead was a corrector in an Archie comic book.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Cadence

I thought Pinhead was a corrector in an Archie comic book.

Not a corrector.....just the polar opposite of jughead

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

Not a corrector.....just the polar opposite of jughead

We are showing our age!

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Cadence

We are showing our age!

I’m only 43!!!!!

[thruska]

Originally Posted by AmzngGrace

Somebody who’s been on the water for quite a bit says that the word “pinhead” is used for a particular type of person on a boat. Anybody heard of this?

Actually it’s a circus term used in the Flea Circus.
See the fleas dancing on the head of a pin.
Hear ye hear ye , come watch the world famous flea circus perform.
Only a dollar.

Then again only a person with a pinheaded size brain would attend.... so the tent was filled , hahahaha

[Searles]

Jib headed or pin headed Refers to the ordinary narrow top mainsail ,as still used by most mono hull cruisers but subject to outher interpretation at will .⛵️⚓️

[hpeer]

I guess a lot of us are still in lock down and bored?

[StuM]

Originally Posted by thomm225

So much for the "experts" on CF!

Maybe it's because it's a cruisers forum and not a racer's forum that so few people actually knew it referred to the head/top of the mainsail.

It was a pretty common term used amongst us beach cat racers as we moved to square top mains in the 1990's.

This may come as a surprise to you, but words can be used in more that one context. The term "pinhead" long predates it's use to describe a traditional marconi mainsal. That usage didn't come into being until the advent of square tops as an alternative.

Most of use are very familiar with a "pinhead sail", but this thread is specifically about a person being called a pinhead. Nothing to do with sails (or beach cats).

[StuM]

Originally Posted by doublewide

I thought "pinhead" was a combination of microcephaly beach cat racer and arrogance. It's an unfortunate combination.

There, FIFY

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

I’m only 43!!!!!

Soemone else who counts in Hexadecimal?

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by StuM

Soemone else who counts in Hexadecimal?

That would be 2B

[grantmc]

Originally Posted by capt jgw

That's the way I heard it. Pinheads were carnival freaks in the 1930's, suffering from microencephaly often due to in utero malnutrition. Somewhat common in the Depression era. Their small brains caused their skulls to actually be pointed along with mental deficiency.
That's not the only term we got from the carnivals. A "Geek" was not a tech fan, was a freak that bit the heads off chickens. Entertainment was weird back then.
Wait a minute, entertainment's weird now too, just in a different way.

There was a famous movie made in the 30's called Freaks that featured several 'pinheads'. It's a terrific and poignant film effectively showing that everyone, irrespective of their physical or mental deformity, disorder or disablement is worthy and deserving of humility. In fact some of the 'freaks' themselves demonstrate a better understanding of humanity than some able bodied people.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xgpbea

Originally Posted by Chris Cringle

... With time and experience, the pinhead could hope to be promoted to "master baiter".

A master baiter, something we all aspire to master.

[DMF Sailing]

Originally Posted by hpeer

I guess a lot of us are still in lock down and bored?

^ This!