Terms used throughout the blog:
·
3-, 4-,
5-, 6-, 7-Panel: The number of plywood panels making up the hull. A 3-panel
hull (John Wellsford's Mollyhawk) has 2 side panels and 1 bottom panel. Michalak's
LFH17 has 7-panels.
·
Aft:
towards the back of the boat.
·
Andersen
Mini Bailer: Available at Duckworks, [https://www.duckworks.com/product-p/ra554130.htm]
·
Back:
As the wind direction changes, the direction can shift counter-clockwise (back) or the new direction can shift
clockwise (veer) from the old
direction.
·
Broach:
As a boat is overtaken by waves, the stern of the boat rises and the boat
starts to slide down the front of the wave. If the bow of the boat 'digs' into
the back of the wave in front, the boat can suddenly turn (left or right) and
end up sideways, a 'broach', and possibly flip over.
·
Bow:
(Rhymes with "allow"). The front-end of a boat.
·
Bulkheads:
Vertical panels (typically water-proof) within the hull that divide the boat
into multiple sections.
·
Carvel
planked: Similar to lapstrake,
but rather than have the planks 'lap' over the next plank below, the plank edges
are glued/epoxied edge to edge as in strip
planking.
·
Car-top:
Carrying the boat on top of the car's roof rack.
·
Chine:
Looking at the hull from one end, the chine is the 'corner' where the bottom of
the hull intersects with the sides of the hull.
·
Chine
panel: The panel in the hull that replaces the 'corner' of the chine. It is
the panel on each side of the bottom panel in a 5-panel hull.
·
Coaming: Typically 3- to 5-inch (76- to 127-mm) high barriers to prevent water from washing off
the decks into the cockpit.
·
Cockpit:
The space in a boat that is typically used to operate the boat.
·
Crown:
the curve of a deck from one gunnel to the other gunnel.
·
Dagger-board:
Used in a sailboat to reduce the tendency of a sailboat to go sideways when the
wind is coming from the side. The Dagger-board trunk is the apparatus that
holds the board vertical yet allows the board to be moved up and down without
letting water into the hull.
·
Displacement:
The weight of the boat, plus everything in the boat (people, supplies,
equipment).
·
Double-ended:
A boat that is pointed at both ends, such as a canoe.
·
Drop-in
Rowing Unit: A rowing unit consisting of outriggers to provide span for the
oar locks, foot braces, and a rowing seat that slides on rails. An example is
the Piantedosi unit sold by CLC Boats and other vendors.
·
Flare:
In boats, 'flare' refers to the angle of the sides of the hull from the
vertical. A boat with no flare has sides that are vertical while a boat that
has sides that are angled out 30 degrees (such as a "dory") has a lot
of flare.
·
Floor
boards: Typically made from wood and rest on the bottom of the hull in
order to provide a small space between the bottom and where a person would
stand, sit and/or lie down.
·
Floatation:
That which keeps a boat from sinking when it is filled with water.
·
Foot
braces (also known as foot
stretchers): What the rower pushes against (with her/his feet) when rowing.
·
Fore:
means front, toward the bow of the boat.
·
Frame:
Various uses. In general, it is a set of 'sticks' that support either the deck
or the sides and bottom of the hull. The frame can become an integral part of the boat, or can be a support system for building the hull of the boat, but does not become part of the boat after the hull is constructed. The latter are also referred to as Forms.
·
Freeboard:
The vertical distance from the water to the gunnel at a given point.
·
Gunnel:
The strips of wood that define the 'sheer-line' at the top of the hull sides
(also known as gunwales).
·
Hatches:
the 'doors' that close off openings that are either in the decks or in the
bulkheads. They allow access to enclosed spaces in the boat and are typically water-proof
when closed.
·
Hull
speed: An approximation of the maximum speed (in knots) that an Oar Cruiser
(any 'displacement hull') can travel. The formula; speed in knots equals 1.34
times the square root of the water line length (WLL) in feet. It is the speed
at which the length (crest to crest) of the bow wave equals the WLL of the
boat. Going faster than hull speed means that the boat is attempting to climb
up the back of the bow wave. This article [http://antrimdesign.com/heavy-boats-light-boats-and-hull-speed.html]
has an excellent explanation.
·
Inwale:
The inner-most component of the 1, 2, or 3 pieces of wood that make up the
gunnel. If used with a second inwale, the two inwales can be thinner (lighter)
than just one, and they are typically separated by spacer blocks to create a
girder-like support for the edge of the hull.
·
Knot:
The nautical measure of speed; 1 knot equals 1.85 kilometers per hour and 1.15
miles per hour.
·
Lapstrake:
Construction of a boat hull in which each strake (plank) over laps the top of
the strake below.
·
Length of a boat (LOA): is the overall dimension from the bow to the stern.
·
Lines:
1. The drawn lines on the plans for the boat; as in "…keeps the underwater lines as designed." 2. "Lines" also refers to ropes used on
a boat; as in "…tie the bow line to
the cleat on the dock."
·
Load
waterline: The "line" on the hull made by the surface of the
water when the boat is 'loaded' (with people, supplies and equipment).
·
Midships:
In the middle of the boat.
·
Oar
Cruising: Using small, oar-powered boats to cruise in where
Small means you can either car-top or
trailer it by yourself,
Oar-powered means the
primary propulsion is rowing and
Cruise means you can sleep
in it and carry all the food and equipment you'll need for at least a week
without re-supplying.
·
Oar
locks: The "U"-shaped metal fittings that provide the pivot point
for the oars.
·
Outriggers:
In the context of row boats, outriggers are supports for the oar locks that
extend beyond the sides of the hull.
·
Reverse
Reading Compass: Available at Duckworks, [https://www.duckworks.com/product-p/rs-rrc.htm]
·
Rowing
seat: The support for the person rowing.
·
Seaworthy:
Refers to the ability of the boat (assuming a competent crew) to survive in
less than ideal weather conditions.
·
Sheer:
The top edge of the hull. Sometimes referred to as the sheer-line. The
sheer-line can be straight, curved with lowest point of the line about 2/3 back
from the bow of the boat, or it can be a 'reverse sheer' in which the ends of
the sheer-line are lower than the middle portion.
·
Skeg:
A fin attached to the bottom of the boat's centerline, typically starting at
the transom. Provides directional stability as the boat moves forward.
·
Skin
friction: As the hull moves, water applies frictional force to the hull surface
(skin) which slows the hull, taking energy to overcome.
·
Sneak
Box: One-person boats originally designed for hunting ducks (also known as
Duck Boats) in which the deck is fastened to the bottom of the hull at the
gunnel. The shape of the hull looks like the cross-section of a closed Clam.
·
SOF
(Skin-On-Frame): A hull that consists of a light frame over which a layer
of polyester or nylon water-proof cloth is attached.
·
Span:
The distance between oar locks, typically 50% of the oar length for fixed seat
rowing.
·
Splash
guard: A "V" shaped barrier attached to the deck to prevent water
washing over the deck from entering the cockpit. Typically used in low
freeboard hulls and with coamings.
·
Stem:
The (near) vertical piece of wood that joins the forward edges of the two (or more) side
panels of the hull.
·
Stern:
the back-end of a boat.
·
Strip
plank: A method of building the hull of a boat by attaching to frames
narrow (1- to 2-inches (25- to 51 mm)) strips of wood, glued edge to edge.
·
Tender:
For boats, it is how 'tippy' a boat is. A kayak is very tender. A garbage scow
is NOT tender, it's very stable.
·
Thwart:
A narrow (10- to 12-inches (254- to 305 mm)) seat used for sitting that goes
from one side of the hull to the other side. It typically also serves to
strengthen the hull by bracing the two sides of the hull.
·
Topsides:
The sides of a hull (verses the bottom and deck).
·
Transom:
A (near) vertical panel at the end of the hull to which the sides, chine and
bottom panels are attached, closing off the end(s) of the hull.
·
Trimmed:
(As in, "Cartoppers row well as long
as they're trimmed with one person…").
All the weights in the boat (people, equipment and supplies) are
distributed so that the boat remains 'level' side to side and end to end; i.e.,
that it is floating parallel to its designed "load waterline".
·
V-bottom:
A hull in which the end view of the hull's bottom forms a "V" (as
opposed to a 'flat bottom' or 'round bottom' hull.
·
Veer:
As the wind direction changes, the direction can shift counter-clockwise (back) or the new direction can shift
clockwise (veer) from the old
direction.
·
Wales:
The strips of wood on the inside of the hull at the sheer line. Often there are
two wales, the inner wale and the outer wale. These two wales
are also referred to as the inwales. The two wales are often
separated by a set of blocks so that the wales act as a girder to
strengthen the edge of the hull. A second (or third) strip of wood on the
outside of the hull at the sheer line is called the rub rail. The
terminology for these strips of wood vary by designer/region/country.
·
Water
Line Length, WLL, is length of boat at the waterline.
·
Water
Line Width, WLW, is width of the boat at the waterline at the widest point.
·
Waypoint:
A point on a chart or GPS screen that identifies the next location to be reached. Waypoints mark points on the chart/GPS screen which reflect the proposed passage of the boat.
·
Width
of the boat: is the dimension at the widest point on the hull that measures
from gunnel to gunnel.
·
Windage:
Exposure to the wind which results in 'wind resistance'.
·
WLL
is length of boat at the waterline.
·
WLL:WLW
is the ratio of these two dimensions. In general, the higher this ratio, the
faster the boat can move.
·
WLW
is width of the boat at the waterline at the widest point.
