Parts of a Yacht and Sailing Terms

Prerequisites

None. This is the first lesson to read before joining a yacht for the RYA Competent Crew course. You do not need any sailing experience, only a willingness to learn some new words. By the end of the first morning aboard, the skipper will be using most of the terms below, and the course goes much more smoothly if they already sound familiar.

Related lessons: Living Aboard and Watch Systems covers how to live and cook aboard, Points of Sail and Steering explains how the sails drive the boat, and Knots and Ropework covers the ropes in detail. This lesson gives you the vocabulary for all of them.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson you should be able to:

• Name the main parts of a sailing yacht's hull and deck (RYA Competent Crew syllabus: Knowledge of sailing terms and parts of a boat, her rigging and sails).
• Describe the standing and running rigging and say what each part does.
• Name the parts and edges of a sail and the controls used to set it.
• Use direction and position words correctly: port, starboard, forward, aft, windward, leeward, abeam, on the bow and on the quarter.
• Understand everyday sea terms used in orders on deck.
• Find and recognise the main below-deck systems: engine, seacocks, bilge pumps, electrics, gas and heads.

RYA Syllabus Map

Why the Words Matter

Sailing has its own language, and newcomers often think it is jargon for its own sake. It is not. On a moving boat in wind and noise, an order has to be short and impossible to misunderstand. "Ease the port jib sheet" names exactly one rope and one action. "Let that rope on the left out a bit" depends on which way the speaker is facing and which of the six ropes on the left they mean.

The other reason is safety. If the skipper shouts "Watch the boom!" you need to know instantly which heavy metal pole is about to swing across the cockpit at head height. Learning the words is the first piece of seamanship.

A good tip is to learn the terms in groups, walking around the boat on the first day and touching each item as you name it. Most instructors run exactly this tour on the first morning.

The Hull

The hull is the body of the boat: the watertight shell that floats. Most modern cruising yachts are made of glass-reinforced plastic (GRP, often called fibreglass); some are steel, aluminium or wood.

Ends and sides

• Bow: the front of the boat. The pointed end.
• Stern: the back of the boat. Many modern yachts have a wide, open stern with a bathing platform (or transom step) and a boarding ladder.
• Transom: the flat or near-flat surface across the stern.
• Port: the left-hand side when you face the bow. Its navigation light is red. A simple memory aid: port and red are both shorter words than starboard and green, and "there is a little red port left in the bottle."
• Starboard: the right-hand side when you face the bow. Its navigation light is green.
• Topsides: the sides of the hull above the waterline.
• Waterline: where the water meets the hull when the boat is floating at rest.
• Freeboard: the height from the waterline to the deck edge. High freeboard keeps the deck drier but makes it harder to get back aboard from the water or a tender.
• Bilge: the lowest part of the inside of the hull, where any water collects. "Check the bilges" means lift the floorboards and look.

Underwater parts

• Keel: the fin under the hull that stops the boat being blown sideways and carries the ballast (heavy lead or iron) that keeps her upright. A typical 10 to 12 metre cruising yacht has a keel carrying 2 to 3 tonnes of ballast, about a third of her total weight. Common types are the fin keel (a single deep fin), bilge keels or twin keels (two shallower fins, which let the boat sit upright on a drying mooring), and lifting keels.
• Draught: the depth of the boat below the waterline, usually measured to the bottom of the keel. A typical 11 metre yacht draws around 1.8 to 2.0 metres. The skipper must know the draught to avoid running aground.
• Rudder: the vertical blade at the stern that steers the boat. It only works when water is flowing past it, which is why a boat with no way on (not moving through the water) cannot be steered.
• Skeg: a small fixed fin in front of some rudders, protecting and supporting them.
• Propeller (prop) and shaft or saildrive: the engine drives the propeller either through a shaft emerging from the hull at an angle, or through a saildrive leg that drops vertically through the hull. Ropes in the water near the stern can wrap round the prop, so keep sheets and lines on board when motoring.

Size words

• LOA (length overall): the full length of the hull.
• Beam: the maximum width. "Abeam" (see below) comes from this word.
• Displacement: the weight of the boat, equal to the weight of water she pushes aside.

On Deck

Around the edge

• Deck: the top surface you walk on. Many decks have a non-slip pattern; teak decks are slippery when wet with dew.
• Toe rail: a low lip along the deck edge, useful for bracing a foot when the boat heels.
• Guardrails (lifelines): the wires running around the deck edge at about knee to thigh height, usually in two rows on yachts over about 8 metres. They are held up by stanchions (vertical posts). Guardrails help stop you falling over the side but are not strong enough to clip a harness to. Never sit on them or lean your weight on them.
• Pulpit: the strong stainless steel frame around the bow.
• Pushpit: the frame around the stern. The ensign staff, the danbuoy and the horseshoe lifebuoy are often fitted here.
• Jackstays: strong lines or flat webbing tapes running fore and aft along each side deck, specifically for clipping your harness tether to. Clip on before you leave the cockpit in rough weather or at night.
• Side decks: the narrow walkways either side of the coachroof.

Fittings for ropes

• Cleat: a fitting with two horns used to make a rope fast. There are mooring cleats at bow, stern and amidships.
• Fairlead: a fitting that guides a rope cleanly over the deck edge and stops it chafing.
• Winch: a geared drum used to pull in heavily loaded ropes such as sheets and halyards. It turns clockwise. A winch handle fits in the top to give more power; it is always removed and stowed after use so it cannot fly out or be lost overboard.
• Self-tailing winch: a winch with a jaw on top that grips the rope so one person can wind and pull in at once.
• Clutch (rope clutch or jammer): a lever fitting on the coachroof that grips a rope. Halyards and reefing lines usually run through clutches. Never open a loaded clutch without first putting the rope round a winch and taking the load, or it can run away violently.
• Block: the sailing word for a pulley.
• Track and car: a metal rail with a sliding fitting that moves a block fore and aft or side to side. The genoa car sets the angle of the headsail sheet; the traveller lets the mainsheet move across the boat.

The cockpit and coachroof

• Cockpit: the recessed working and seating area, usually at the stern, where the helm is.
• Helm: the steering position, and also the person steering ("the helm"). Smaller yachts use a tiller (a lever attached to the top of the rudder); larger yachts use a wheel. With a tiller, push the tiller away from the way you want to go; a wheel turns like a car's steering wheel. This is covered fully in Points of Sail and Steering.
• Binnacle: the pedestal in front of the wheel that carries the steering compass and often the engine controls and chartplotter.
• Cockpit locker: a storage space under the cockpit seats for fenders, lines, buckets and the like.
• Coachroof: the raised roof over the cabin. Ropes from the mast are usually led back along it to the cockpit.
• Sprayhood (dodger): the folding canvas shelter at the front of the cockpit over the companionway.
• Bimini: a sun awning over the cockpit.
• Companionway: the entrance and steps from the cockpit down into the cabin, closed by a sliding hatch and washboards (removable boards). Always climb up and down facing the steps.
• Hatch: an opening in the deck, which you should never stand on (some are slippery and not designed to take weight). The forehatch is the large one at the bow.
• Anchor locker and windlass: the anchor chain lives in a locker in the bow and is raised by an electric or manual winch called a windlass. Keep fingers and feet clear of the chain and the gypsy (the toothed wheel) at all times.

The Rig

The rig is the mast and everything that holds the sails up. It is divided into standing rigging (fixed) and running rigging (adjustable).

Mast and boom

• Mast: the tall vertical spar. On a 10 to 12 metre yacht it is typically 14 to 16 metres above the water. Remember this when passing under bridges and power lines.
• Boom: the horizontal spar along the bottom of the mainsail. It pivots at the gooseneck on the mast. When the boat gybes (turns her stern through the wind), the boom swings across the cockpit with great force, which is why the shout "Gybe-oh!" means heads down.
• Spreaders: short horizontal struts part-way up the mast that hold the shrouds out and give them a better angle. Signal and courtesy flags fly from the spreaders.
• Masthead: the top of the mast, usually carrying the wind instruments, VHF aerial, tricolour or anchor light and a wind indicator such as a Windex.

Standing rigging

These stainless steel wires hold the mast up and are not normally adjusted while sailing.

• Forestay: from the top (or near the top) of the mast to the bow. The headsail is attached to it.
• Backstay: from the masthead to the stern.
• Shrouds: the side wires from the mast to the deck on each side, attached to chainplates. Cap shrouds go to the masthead; lower shrouds attach lower down.
• Rigging screws (bottlescrews): threaded fittings at the bottom of each wire for adjusting tension, locked with split pins that are usually taped over. Damaged tape can tear sails and skin, so report any loose tape.

A broken shroud or forestay can bring the mast down, so if you hear a bang aloft or see a slack wire, tell the skipper at once.

Running rigging

These are the ropes used to hoist and control the sails. Each has its own name, and on most yachts they are colour coded.

• Halyard: a rope that hoists a sail up the mast (main halyard, genoa halyard, spinnaker halyard). Remember: halyards haul yards up.
• Sheet: a rope that controls the angle of a sail to the wind. There is a mainsheet and a pair of headsail sheets (port and starboard). A sheet is never a sail.
• Kicker (vang): pulls the boom down to keep the mainsail flat and stop the boom lifting.
• Topping lift: holds the end of the boom up when the mainsail is lowered.
• Outhaul: pulls the bottom corner of the mainsail back along the boom.
• Reefing lines: pull down part of the mainsail to make it smaller in strong wind.
• Furling line: rolls the headsail around the forestay on a roller reefing (furling) system.
• Preventer: a line rigged from the end of the boom forward to stop an accidental gybe when running downwind.

The Sails

Most cruising yachts are sloops: one mast, one mainsail and one headsail.

The two main sails

• Mainsail (main): the sail behind the mast, attached along the mast and the boom. Many charter yachts have in-mast furling, which rolls the main inside the mast, or slab reefing with lazyjacks and a stack pack bag on the boom.
• Headsail: the sail in front of the mast, set on the forestay. A large headsail that overlaps the mast is a genoa; a smaller one is a jib. Most cruisers have a roller furling genoa that can be partly rolled to reduce its size.
• Spinnaker or cruising chute (gennaker): a large, lightweight, colourful sail used for sailing downwind in light airs. Usually handled only with experienced crew.

Parts of a sail

Every triangular sail has three corners and three edges.

Memory aid: the luff is the leading edge, the leech is the trailing edge. The halyard pulls the head up; the sheets attach to the clew.

Other sail words:

• Battens: stiff strips in pockets in the mainsail leech that support its shape.
• Telltales: short ribbons or wool on the sail that show how the air is flowing. They are your guide to trimming, covered in Points of Sail and Steering.
• Reef points and cringles: reinforced eyes and small ties used when reefing.

Directions and Positions

Sailors give directions relative to the boat, not to the person speaking, so that everyone means the same thing whichever way they are facing.

Along the boat

• Forward: towards the bow. "Go forward" means go towards the bow.
• Aft: towards the stern.
• Amidships: the middle of the boat, either along her length or across her width. "Helm amidships" means centre the wheel or tiller.
• Fore and aft: running along the length of the boat.
• Athwartships: running across the boat.
• On deck, below, aloft: on the deck, inside the cabin, up the mast.
• Inboard and outboard: towards the centre of the boat, or beyond her sides.

Relative bearings

When reporting another boat, a buoy or anything else, you describe where it is relative to the bow using these zones:

You can also give a relative bearing in degrees measured clockwise from the bow: a ship "red 30" is 30 degrees on the port bow; "green 90" is abeam to starboard. Some instructors prefer degrees; most cruising skippers use the bow, beam and quarter words. A good report is "Ship on the starboard bow, about two miles, crossing left to right."

Wind words

• Windward: the side the wind is coming from. Also called the weather side.
• Leeward (pronounced loo-erd): the side away from the wind. The lee side.
• Upwind and downwind: towards and away from where the wind comes from.
• Port tack and starboard tack: a boat is on starboard tack when the wind blows over her starboard side (and so her boom is out to port). This matters for the collision rules between sailing vessels, covered in the COLREGs lessons.
• Heel: the sideways lean of a sailing boat. 15 to 20 degrees is normal and comfortable for most cruisers; much more and she is overpowered and should be reefed.
• Head to wind: the bow pointing straight into the wind; the sails flap and the boat stops.

A practical rule: always throw things overboard (washing-up water, for instance) to leeward, and always be sick to leeward. Doing it to windward teaches the lesson quickly.

Everyday Sea Terms

These are the words you will hear in orders. Most have a precise meaning.

Handling ropes

• Make fast: secure a rope, usually to a cleat.
• Ease: let a rope out gradually under control. The opposite is trim, sheet in or harden up.
• Let go (or cast off): release a rope completely. Only do it when told.
• Take a turn: put the rope round a winch or cleat once or twice so the friction helps hold it.
• Surge: let rope slip slowly round a winch or cleat while keeping control.
• Tail: pull the free end of a rope coming off a winch while someone else winds.
• Coil and stow: coil the tail neatly and secure it so it can run freely when next needed.
• Bitter end: the very end of a rope or the anchor chain.
• Slack and taut: loose and tight.
• Belay: make fast. "Belay that" also means "cancel that order."

Manoeuvres and the boat

• Tack (go about): turn the bow through the wind so the sails cross to the other side. The call sequence is "Ready about", reply "Ready", then "Lee-oh."
• Gybe: turn the stern through the wind. The boom crosses sharply.
• Bear away: turn away from the wind. Luff up or head up: turn towards it.
• Make way, under way, way on: under way means not anchored, made fast to the shore or aground. Making way means actually moving through the water. A boat with no way on cannot be steered.
• Making sternway: moving backwards.
• Fend off: push the boat away from an obstruction, ideally with a fender, not hands or feet between boats.
• Fender: an inflatable cushion hung over the side to protect the hull alongside.
• Warps or mooring lines: the lines used to moor: bow line, stern line and springs (lines running diagonally that stop the boat moving fore and aft). These are covered in Berthing and Boat Handling.
• Alongside: lying next to a pontoon, wall or another boat.
• Knot: one nautical mile per hour. A nautical mile is 1852 metres, about 15 per cent longer than a land mile. A typical 11 metre cruiser sails at 5 to 7 knots.
• Cable: one tenth of a nautical mile, about 185 metres.
• Fathom: 6 feet (1.83 metres), still seen on old charts.

Calls and replies

On deck, an order is answered so the skipper knows it was heard. A good habit is to repeat the key words: "Ease the main" answered with "Easing the main." If you have not understood, say so immediately. Saying "What?" is far safer than guessing.

Shouts to know at once:

• "Man overboard!" Point at the person and never stop pointing. Covered in Man Overboard Recovery.
• "Duck!" or "Boom!" Get your head down now.
• "Stand by" Get ready for the next order.
• "Hold on!" A big wave or sudden movement is coming.

Below-Deck Systems

Below decks the yacht is a small house with plumbing, electrics, gas and an engine, all in a moving, damp space. You do not need to maintain these systems as Competent Crew, but you must recognise them and know the safety rules. Domestic use is covered in Living Aboard and Watch Systems.

Accommodation names

• Saloon: the main living cabin, with table and seating.
• Galley: the kitchen.
• Heads: the toilet and washroom compartment.
• Chart table: the navigation desk, usually near the companionway, with the VHF radio, instruments and switch panel.
• Berths: beds. A forepeak or V-berth is in the bow; quarter berths or aft cabins are under the cockpit. Lee cloths are canvas sheets that stop you rolling out of a saloon berth at sea.
• Bulkhead: a wall inside the boat. Deckhead: the ceiling. Sole: the floor.
• Lockers: cupboards. Everything goes in a locker at sea; nothing is left loose.

The engine

Most yachts have a small diesel inboard engine of 20 to 60 horsepower, usually under the companionway steps. As crew you may be asked to do or help with the daily checks, remembered as WOBBLES (Water, Oil, Belts, Bilges, Leaks, Electrics, Sea-water strainer) and covered fully in Engine Checks and Maintenance. When the engine is running, the exhaust should spit cooling water out of the stern. If there is no water coming out, tell the skipper straight away, as the engine will overheat.

Seacocks and through-hull fittings

A seacock is a valve on a pipe that passes through the hull below or near the waterline: engine cooling water inlet, heads inlet and outlet, sink drains, and the depth and speed transducers. A typical yacht has 6 to 12. Each should have a softwood bung tied next to it for emergencies. The lever is usually open when it lies along the pipe and closed when it is across the pipe. Know where they are; if water comes into the boat, a failed seacock or hose is one of the first things to check.

Bilge pumps

Every yacht has at least one manual bilge pump (usually operated from the cockpit with a removable handle) and often an electric bilge pump with an automatic float switch. Find the handle on the first day. The skipper may ask you to pump the bilge each morning and to report how many strokes it took: a sudden increase means a new leak.

Electrics

A yacht runs on 12 volt batteries charged by the engine alternator, shore power or solar panels. The main battery isolator switch turns everything off. The switch panel at the chart table has breakers for navigation lights, instruments, pumps and so on. Battery power is precious at sea: switch lights off when not needed. When connected to shore power (230 volt in a marina), treat it with the same care as mains at home, and never handle the cable with wet hands.

Gas

Most yachts cook on LPG (butane or propane), stored in a sealed locker that drains overboard, with a shut-off valve at the bottle and often a solenoid switch at the galley. LPG is heavier than air and sinks into the bilge where a spark can ignite it. The full safety routine is in Living Aboard and Watch Systems; the short version is to turn gas off at the bottle when not in use and never leave a lit cooker unattended.

Water and heads

Fresh water is carried in tanks of typically 150 to 400 litres and is pumped to the taps by an electric pump. Use it sparingly. The marine toilet (heads) pumps sea water in and waste out through seacocks or into a holding tank; it blocks easily, so nothing goes in that has not been eaten first, apart from a little toilet paper. Ask for a demonstration on day one.

Safety equipment locations

Before sailing, the skipper will show you the lifejackets, fire extinguishers, fire blanket (near the galley), first aid kit, flares, liferaft and VHF radio. Make a mental map. In an emergency nobody has time to search.

Worked Example

It is the first morning of your Competent Crew course in Lymington. The skipper says: "Before we slip, take the fenders in on the port side, then go forward and take the slack out of the furling line. When I say, ease the bow line round the cleat and let go."

Translate that into actions:

1. Fenders port side: the left-hand side looking forward. Untie them from the guardrail, not the stanchion bases, and stow them in the cockpit locker.
2. "Go forward": walk towards the bow along the side deck, one hand for yourself and one for the boat.
3. Furling line: the line that rolls the genoa. Pull gently until it is snug but not unrolling the sail.
4. Bow line round the cleat: the mooring line from the bow. Take it off the figure-of-eight it is made fast with, keep one turn round the cleat so you can hold the load, and ease it as the boat moves.
5. "Let go": slip it off the cleat and bring it aboard, coiling it so it does not trail in the water near the propeller.

Out in the Solent, the skipper asks for a report on a large ship. You see it on the left, about halfway between straight ahead and directly sideways. Your report: "Ship on the port bow, about three miles, heading left." Its red light at night would show you were looking at its port side.

Common Mistakes

• Using left and right. They change meaning whenever someone turns round. Use port and starboard every time, even ashore by the end of the week.
• Confusing sheets and halyards. Pulling a halyard when asked to trim a sheet can drop or jam a sail.
• Leaning on guardrails or clipping on to them. They are not designed to take your weight in a fall; clip on to jackstays or strong points.
• Opening a loaded clutch or uncleating a loaded rope without a turn on a winch. It can strip skin off your hands in a fraction of a second.
• Standing in a bight (loop) of rope. If the rope comes under load it can trap your foot or ankle.
• Leaving the winch handle in the winch. It can be kicked overboard or spin round under load.
• Not answering orders. Silence leaves the skipper unsure if anyone heard.

Summary

• The hull has a bow, stern, port and starboard sides, a keel for stability and a rudder for steering.
• The deck has guardrails, jackstays (for clipping on), cleats, winches and clutches; the cockpit holds the helm.
• The rig is the mast and boom held up by standing rigging (forestay, backstay, shrouds) and controlled by running rigging (halyards hoist, sheets trim).
• Each sail has a head, tack and clew, and a luff, leech and foot.
• Directions are given relative to the boat: forward, aft, abeam, on the bow, on the quarter, windward and leeward.
• Orders use precise words: ease, trim, make fast, take a turn, let go. Always acknowledge them.
• Below decks, know the engine, seacocks, bilge pumps, electrics, gas, heads and the location of all safety equipment.

Check Your Understanding

1. You are facing the stern. Which side of the boat is on your left?

Answer: Starboard. Port and starboard are always defined facing the bow, so facing aft your left hand is on the starboard side.

1. What is the difference between a halyard and a sheet?

Answer: A halyard hoists a sail up the mast; a sheet controls the angle of the sail to the wind.

1. Name the three corners of a sail.

Answer: Head (top), tack (front bottom) and clew (back bottom).

1. Where would you clip your safety harness when going forward at night, and why not the guardrails?

Answer: To the jackstays or another designated strong point. Guardrails are not designed to take the shock load of a person falling.

1. A buoy is at right angles to the boat on the right-hand side. How do you report it?

Answer: "Buoy abeam to starboard" (or "green 90").

1. What does "ease the sheet" mean?

Answer: Let the sheet out gradually under control so the sail moves further out.

1. Why should you tell the skipper if there is no water coming out of the exhaust?

Answer: The engine's cooling water is not circulating, so it will overheat. The usual cause is a closed seacock or blocked strainer or failed impeller.

1. Which side is leeward and why does it matter when you throw washing-up water overboard?

Answer: Leeward is the side away from the wind. Throw things to leeward so the wind carries them away from the boat rather than back over you.

Further Reading

• RYA Competent Crew Handbook (G72): the official course book with illustrations of all parts of the boat.
• RYA Start Yachting (G25) for a broader introduction.
• On this site: Living Aboard and Watch Systems, Points of Sail and Steering, Knots and Ropework, Tender and Dinghy Work and Engine Checks and Maintenance.