When are nautical terms better, and when are they not?

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

Even for non-boaters, using nautical terms has a potential benefit for some people: it disassociates the topic from things they know and are used to in their land life, so they're less likely to revert to default behaviors, etc. that they're used to, but may not be applicable to the boat.

Worth a discussion on its own. Hmmmmmm

[Don C L]

There's a scene in here where they are sailing and he says "veer left!" That's about as nautical as I get too. And there is this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Urhw_kPDkoo

...haven't we all wondered the same thing?

[DDabs]

when I have to explain what the galley is, I die a little inside every time

[DDabs]

Originally Posted by dfelsent

Snatch block brings a few laughs.

And at least for me it’s a saloon. Not a salon.

i'm your huckleberry.

[wingssail]

When I started sailing the cool people avoided the use of sailing terms. They said, "drive" instead of "take the helm", and I copied their cool style. People who used sailing terms were "uncool".

But over the years some terminology grew on me because exactness helped prevent mistakes. "Starboard" instead of "right", for example.

Now, on our own boat we insist on a few terms which reduce mistakes. For example, "tension" and "ease" as in "tension the foreguy" instead of "take up the slack". The person hearing may only hear, "slack" and the line goes the wrong way.

But one non-nautical way of labeling lines has worked over the years: Our halyards are color coded, "blue" "red" "green", "black", etc, so when the foredeck says "tension blue" or "ease red" there is no mistaking or confusion about what they mean.

We've had a few great sailors come aboard and complain about that, but when you have new people who might not know a jib halyard from a foreguy, it reduces errors.

[Wotname]

Front and back...
Fore and aft...
Bow and stern...
Transom...

Are all quite different unless you are three sheets to the wind.

And where is abaft the beam (rhetorical question).

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by DDabs

when I have to explain what the galley is, I die a little inside every time

Your boat it man-powered? (When I Googled "galley boat" this is the first thing that came up.)

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by wingssail

When I started sailing the cool people avoided the use of sailing terms. They said, "drive" instead of "take the helm", and I copied their cool style. People who used sailing terms were "uncool".

But over the years some terminology grew on me because exactness helped prevent mistakes. "Starboard" instead of "right", for example.

Now, on our own boat we insist on a few terms which reduce mistakes. For example, "tension" and "ease" as in "tension the foreguy" instead of "take up the slack". The person hearing may only hear, "slack" and the line goes the wrong way.

But one non-nautical way of labeling lines has worked over the years: Our halyards are color coded, "blue" "red" "green", "black", etc, so when the foredeck says "tension blue" or "ease red" there is no mistaking or confusion about what they mean.

We've had a few great sailors come aboard and complain about that, but when you have new people who might not know a jib halyard from a foreguy, it reduces errors.

"Trim" can be tricky. Generally it means to tighten a sheet, but it can also be a more general request to adjust a sail properly, as in "to adjust trim."

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by dfelsent

Snatch block brings a few laughs....

The first time I "got" that was at about 58, when I asked my wife to hand me one. She thought it was a coarse, off-color joke of some sort. I had learned the term on my grandfathers knee 50-odd years before and didn't see the humor for 0.6 seconds. That's just what you call an opening block, even on the farm or logging (which was the context I learn from).

[Bill Seal]

Strangely, rudder commands are always "Left Rudder or Right Rudder". Possibly because the tiller goes opposite from a wheel.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by wingssail

But one non-nautical way of labeling lines has worked over the years: Our halyards are color coded, "blue" "red" "green", "black", etc, so when the foredeck says "tension blue" or "ease red" there is no mistaking or confusion about what they mean.

We've had a few great sailors come aboard and complain about that, but when you have new people who might not know a jib halyard from a foreguy, it reduces errors.

This one makes perfect sense to me. Even if they're highly skilled, it removes the requirement for a new person to know what lines are led where, etc. before being told to do something.

[JBP]

Instead of "Ready about/hard a'lee", when our dog has a particularly flatulant day, we use "Prepare to break wind/cutting loose". Everyone understands and has a little laugh.

I've heard (from unreliable sources) that Port Pilots use left/right instead of port/starboard because they can't be sure the crew knows port/ starboard.

[Nord Sal]

After (adj.) vs. Aft (adv.)


There's no aft cabin, it's an after cabin. One goes aft from the fore deck to reach the after deck.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Nord Sal

After (adj.) vs. Aft (adv.)

There's no aft cabin, it's an after cabin. One goes aft from the fore deck to reach the after deck.

In fact, according to OED (and that is not a source I would argue with regarding English usage):

aft
adverb: aft



at, near, or toward the stern of a ship or tail of an aircraft.

1. "Travis made his way aft"

adjective: aft


situated at, near, or toward the stern of a ship or tail of an aircraft.
"the aft cargo compartment"


aftercabin
noun:

historical Nautical
The cabin in the part of a ship nearer the stern, typically used to accommodate the captain or other senior officers.

(That said, I have seen "after cabin" in publisher style guides.)

aft-cabin or aft cabin:
noun:

The cabin in the part of a ship nearer the stern, typically used to accommodate the captain or other senior officers.


("Aft cabin" in the style guides I have.)

---


So yes, it can be aft cabin (two words, sometimes hyphenated). It can also be aftercabin (one word or two words). But never afterberth.

That several style guides and dictionaries disagree means it is unresolved and that there are several correct usages. Not much point in being pedantic, only consistent on your boat or within a publication.

Some nomenclature is like that.

[Tayana42]

My sole complaint is that I poured my soul into refinishing my sole. It was a solo job. Got too much varnish on the soles of my shoes.I t was slo work, but after much soul searching it was solong ago that I barely remember. So long for now.