A Call to Arms (43 page)

swivel-gun
A small cannon mounted on a swivel so that it can be fired in any direction.

tack
A sailing vessel's course relative to the direction of the wind and the position of her sails. On a “starboard tack,” the wind is coming across the starboard side. Also, the corner to which a rope is fastened to secure the sail.

taffrail
The rail at the upper end of a ship's stern.

tampion
A wooden stopper for the muzzle of a gun.

tholepin
or
thole
One of a pair of pegs set in a gunwale of a boat to hold an oar in place.

three sheets to the wind
Very drunk.

top
A platform constructed at the head of each of the lower masts of a ship to extend the topmast shrouds. Also used as a lookout and fighting platform.

topgallant
The third mast, sail, or yard above the deck.

top-hamper
A ship's masts, sails, and rigging.

topsail
The second sail above the deck, set above the course or mainsail.

touchhole
A vent in the breech of a firearm through which the charge is ignited.

tumblehome
The inward inclination of a ship's upper sides that causes the upper deck to be narrower than the lower decks.

waist
The middle part of a ship's upper deck between the quarterdeck and the forecastle.

wardroom
The messroom on board ship for the commissioned officers and senior warrant officers.

watch
A fixed period of duty on a ship. Watches are traditionally four hours long except for the two dogwatches, which are two hours long.

wherry
A rowboat used to carry passengers.

windward
Facing the wind or on the side facing the wind. Contrast
leeward.

xebec
A three-masted Arab corsair equipped with lateen sails. Larger xebecs had a square sail on the foremast.

yard
A cylindrical spar slung across a ship's mast from which a sail hangs.

yardarm
The outer extremity of a yard.

W
illiam C. Hammond is a literary agent and business consultant who lives with his three sons in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A lifelong student of history and a longtime devotee of nautical fiction, he sails whenever possible on Lake Superior and off the coast of New England.

The Naval Institute
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