Other Important Nautical Terms and Expressions

[Salty Dog]

EIGHT BELLS

Aboard ships, bells are
struck to designate hours of being on Watch. Each watch
is four hours in length. One bell is struck after first
half-hour has passed, two bells after one hour has passed,
three bells after an hour and a half, four bells after two
hours, and so forth up to eight bells are struck at
completion of four hours. Practice of using bells stems
from days of sailing ships. Sailors couldn't afford to have
own time pieces and relied on Ship's bells to tell time.
Ship's boy kept time by using half-hour glass. Each time
sand ran out, he would turn glass over and ring appropriate
number of bells.

[Salty Dog]

EYES OF THE SHIP

Most early ships had heads of
mythological monsters or patrons carved in the bow;
hence, terms ‘Figurehead’, ‘The Heads’ and this term
followed from eyes of figures placed there. Large "eyes"
are still painted on Bows of Chinese junks. Sailors also
believe that these ‘eyes’ help them and their ship through
storm by magically seeing right of way. See Eye, Occulus.

[Salty Dog]

FIDLER’S GREEN

Undersea paradise heaven
for sailors with chorus girls, green grass, fiddlers play,
wine flows and unlimited amounts of free rum and
tobacco. Where sailors hoped they would go when they
died ashore and where ‘mates not permitted’. The
opposite of Davy’s Jones Locker.

[Salty Dog]

FILIBUSTER

1) Name for robbers, gun runners
and Buccaneers who seized islands off the Spanish
American coasts and used them as bases for piracy.
People wh engaged in war with a country with whom their
own country was at peace. From the Dutch ‘vrjbuiter’,
freebooter or pirate and which becomes ‘filibustero’ in
Spanish. 2) Unorthodox delaying action of one who
attempts to obstruct passage of legislation or bill through
government by prolonged or endless speech making.

[Salty Dog]

FISH OR CUT BAIT

Demand that someone should take
definite stand, get on with job, get out of way or take
action instead of procrastinating, or else stop trying and
give somebody else chance to act. From commercial
fishing whose crew duties would be to fish or cut bait.
From someone in choice fishing spot being told to stop
fooling around, either drop line in water and fish or cut the
bait from line and let another take their place.

[Roland]

[Rusty Edge]

[Salty Dog]

Good job, yes they rang the same bell. Very common.

[Rusty Edge]

Well, actually those course notations were kept on a slate in the binnacle, the log was kept below.

[Salty Dog]

FLEET ADMIRAL

Five star Admiral, a rank only used in time of war.

[Salty Dog]

FLOGGING A DEAD HORSE

1) Difficulty of getting the crew to do any extra work during this first
‘unpaid’ month at sea. To mark end of ‘Dead Horse’
month, Crew would make an canvas effigy of horse
stuffed with straw and parade it around Decks with great
pomp and ceremony, sometimes collecting money from
passengers. Then with great noise and celebration, horse
would be hoisted to end of Yard, cut down and dropped in
to Sea. This often occurred in Horse Latitudes. See Dead
Horse. 2) Exercise in futility.

[Salty Dog]

FLYING BRIDGE

High steering position, usually
above normal wheelhouse of power cruiser. Added set of
controls above level of normal control station for better
visibility. Usually open, but may have a collapsible top for
shade. AKA flybridge.

[Salty Dog]

FLYING DUTCHMAN

1) Fabled Dutch sailor condemned to sail seas until judgement day, after trying and failing to round Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn
against strong winds. 2) Ghostly ship is considered bad
omen by sailors who think they see it. Any mariner who
sees it will die within the day. Cursed spectral ship sailing
back and forth on its endless voyage, with ancient
white-hair crew crying for help while hauling at her sail.
It inspired Samuel Taylor Coleridge to write classic "The
Rime of the Ancient Mariner". 3) Superstition that any
mariner who sees this ghost ship will die within day.

[Salty Dog]

FOOTLOOSE

1) Sails on certain
Vessels, like barges, which were allowed to hang loose
and were not lashed to the (non existent) boom and thus
not as properly shaped. These sails were more difficult to
control. 2) Also footloose and fancy free for human
behavior.

[Salty Dog]

FORECASTLE

1) Raised and protected
platform at Bow like castle, often armored ‘fighting
castle’, for archers and musketeers. 2) Foredeck or upper
Deck of ship or boat forward of Foremast or Forward part
of Main Deck. 3) Forward portion, below Decks of
Vessel or cabin located Forward of the main Mast and
traditionally used for housing Forward Crew’s living
Quarters. From old ships when wooden castles were built
on the forward and after parts main Deck from which
archers and other fighting men could shoot arrows and
throw spears, rocks, etc. AKA Fo’c’s’l. See Pavisade.