E X P L A N A T IO N of the N A U T IC A L TERMS
cot generally underilood which occur in this Work.
A■ B B m B tn o J . BACK,i the.fituatiqn of the fail's when; their, fyrfajaes, .are .flatted.
agaiuft thp, mails by the force «rf .Af f l E l {lggj| fails
lie taken aback, when they are brought into this fituation, either by a
fuddqn change of the wind, or by an alteration in the ihip s courfe.
They'arc laid abafk,{ to. effefl an imntftdiate. retreat,. rvithout turning to
the right or.le/t; in,order to avoid fpme danger, , ,
ABAFT, the hinder part of a Ihip.
AFT, , behinds or, near t)je.,ftern of the, ihip. .
ANCHOR, the principal are the ibeet anchor, the t'cii bower and the
fraall .lwiyer, Thi?Jj M*?er
anchors,_are the ftream anchor, the hedge anchor, and the grappling. ,
- AWNING, a, ranppy. pf canyafSj.jCxtendipg. over, the decks of a ihip
in hot weather.
- AZIMUXH-Compass, an inftrument employed to difeover the mag-
netical,azimuth or amplitude of any heavenly objeA. .This operation
is performed at fea, to find the exadl variation of the^maghetical needle,
1 B.
To BALANCE, to contrail a fail into‘ a narrower compafs, in' a
ftorm, by retrenching or folding up a part* of it at one dorher.
BEAMS, ftrong thick pieces of timber, flretching acrofs the ihip
from fide to fide, to fuppor.t the decks', an‘d retain the'fides' at their proper
diftance. On ihe,weather beam, is‘on tfie wiaihef fide'of ftiifttp. ^
To BELAY, to fatten a rope bjr winding it feveral' tittifes round i
cleat, delaying-pin, or kevel.
BENDING «ƒ*//, fattening it to its yard or flay.
BIGHT, the double part of a rope wheh'it is folded, m coritradiflinc-
tion to the end.
Big h t , is alfo .a fmall bay between two points of land. -
BULGE, or Bilge, that part ojf* the floor of a Ihip, bn athe^ fide of
the keel, which approaches nearer to an horizontal than to a perpendi-
‘ ?td'2 *......