Nautical Dictionary
O
O
Oscar, in the International Code of Signals (ICS) it means: "Man overboard." (often attached to the man overboard pole on boats).
With a sinister hoist, the semaphore flag.
Embedded Files
O! OR HO! An interjection commanding attention or possibly the cessation of any action.
O. The fourth class of rating on Lloyd's books for the comparative excellence of merchant ships. But insured vessels are rarely so low. ( See A.)
O.D.S. Operating Differential Subsidy: A direct subsidy paid to U.S.-flag operators to offset the high operating cost of U.S.-flag ships when compared to foreign-flag counterparts.
O.E.C.D. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The Maritime Transport Committee is part of this organization.
OAK. Quercus, the valuable monarch of the woods. “Hearts of oak are our ships,” as the old song says.
OAKUM [from the Anglo-Saxon æcumbe]. The state into which old ropes are reduced when they are untwisted and picked to pieces. It is principally used in caulking the seams, for stopping leaks, and for making into twice-laid ropes. Very well known in workhouses.—White Oakum. That which is formed from untarred ropes.
OAKUM-BOY. The caulker's apprentice, who attends to bring oakum, pitch, &c.
OAR-PROPULSION. The earliest motive power for vessels; it may be by the broadside in rowlocks abeam, by sweeps on the quarters fore and aft, or by sculling with one oar in the notch of the transom amidships. (See STERN-OAR.)
OAR, TO SHOVE IN AN. To intermeddle, or give an opinion unasked.
OAR. A slender piece of timber used as a lever to propel a boat through the water. The blade is dipped into the water, while the other end within board, termed the loom, is small enough to be grasped by the rower. The silver oar is a badge of office, similar to the staff of a peace-officer, which on presentation, enables a person intrusted with a warrant to serve it on board any ship he may set foot upon.— To boat the oars, is to cease rowing and lay the oars in the boat.— Get your oars to pass! The order to prepare them for rowing, or shipping them.
OARS! The order to cease rowing, by lifting the oars from the water, and poising them on their looms horizontally in their rowlocks.— Look to your oars! Passing any object or among sea-weed.— Double-banked oars (which see).
OARS. Wooden poles with broad blades rowed by hand to propel a small boat. You are said to "shove your oar in" when you join in conversation, or give an opinion without being asked.
OASIS. A fertile spot in the midst of a sandy desert.
OATH. A solemn affirmation or denial of anything, before a person authorized to administer the same, for discovery of truth and right. (See CORPORAL OATH.) Hesiod ascribes the invention of oaths to discord. The oath of supremacy and of the Protestant faith was formerly taken by an officer before he could hold a commission in the royal navy.
OAZE. Synonymous with the Ang.-Sax. wase when applied to mud. (See OOZE.)
OBEY. A word forming the fulcrum of naval discipline.
OBI. A horrible sorcery practised among the negroes in the West Indies, the infliction of which by a threat from the juggler is sufficient to lead the denounced victim to mental disease, despondency, and death. Still the wretched trash gathered together for the obi- spell is not more ridiculous than the amulets of civilized Europe.
OBLATE. Compressed or flattened.
OBLIGATION. A bond containing a penalty, with a condition annexed for payment of money or performance of covenants.
OBLIMATION. The deposit of mud and silt by water.
OBLIQUE ASCENSION. An arc between the first point of Aries and that point of the equator which comes to the horizon with a star, or other heavenly body, reckoned according to the order of signs. It is the sum or difference of the right ascension and ascensional difference.
OBLIQUE BEARINGS. Consist in determining the position of a ship, by observing with a compass the bearings of two or more objects on the shore whose places are given on a chart, and drawing lines from those places, so as to make angles with their meridians equal to the observed bearings; the intersection of the line gives on the chart the position of the ship. This is sometimes called the method of cross-bearings.
OBLIQUE SAILING. Is the reduction of the position of the ship from the various courses made good, oblique to the meridian or parallel of latitude. If a vessel sails north or south, it is simply a distance on the meridian. If east or west, on the parallel, and refers to parallel sailing. If oblique, it is solved by middle latitude, or Mercator sailing.
OBLIQUE STEP. A movement in marching, in which the men, while advancing, gradually take ground to the right or left.
OBLIQUE-ANGLED TRIANGLE. Any other than a right-angled triangle.
OBLIQUITY OF THE ECLIPTIC. The angle between the planes of the ecliptic and the equator, or the inclination of the earth's equator to the plane of her annual path, upon which the seasons depend: this amounts at present to about 23° 27'.
OBLONG SQUARE. A name improperly given to a parallelogram. (See THREE-SQUARE.)
OBO SHIP. A multipurpose ship that can carry ore, heavy dry bulk goods and oil. Although more expensive to build, they ultimately are more economical because they can make return journeys with cargo rather than empty as single-purpose ships often must.
OBSERVATION. In nautical astronomy, denotes the taking the sun, moon, or stars' altitude with a quadrant or sextant, in order thereby to find the latitude or time; also, the lunar distances.
OBSERVE, TO. To take a bearing or a celestial observation.
OBSIDIONAL CROWN. The highest ancient Roman military honour; the decoration of the chief who raised a siege.
OBSTACLES. Chains, booms, abattis, snags, palisades, or anything placed to impede an enemy's progress. Unforeseen hindrances.
OBTURATOR. A cover or valve in steam machinery.
OBTUSE ANGLE. One measuring above 90°, and therefore beyond a right angle; called by shipwrights standing bevellings.
OBTUSE-ANGLED TRIANGLE. That which has one obtuse angle.
OCCIDENT. The west.
OCCULTATION. One heavenly body eclipsing another; but in nautical astronomy it is particularly used to denote the eclipses of stars and planets by the moon.
OCCUPY, TO. To take military possession.
OCEAN WAYBILL. A document, issued by a shipping line to a shipper which serves as a receipt for the goods and evidence of the contract carriage.
OCEAN-GOING SHIP. In contradistinction to a coaster.
OCEAN. This term, in its largest sense, is the whole body of salt water which encompasses the globe, except the collection of inland seas, lakes, and rivers: in a word, that glorious type of omnipotent power, whether in calm or tempest: —“Dark, heaving, boundless, endless, and sublime, The image of Eternity.” In a more limited sense it is divided into—1. The Atlantic Ocean. 2. The Pacific Ocean. 3. The Indian Ocean. 4. The Southern Ocean.
OCHRAS. A Gaelic term for the gills of a fish.
OCTAGON. A geometrical figure which has eight equal sides and angles.
ODHARAG. The name of the young cormorant in our northern isles.
OE. An island [from the Ang.-Sax.] Oes are violent whirlwinds off the Faeroe Islands, said at times to raise the water in syphons.
OFERLANDERS. Small vessels on the Rhine and the Meuse.
OFF AND ON. When a ship beating to windward approaches the shore by one board, and recedes from it when on the other. Also used to denote an undecided person. Dodging off a port.
OFF AT A TANGENT. Going in a hurry, or in a testy humour.
OFF DUTY. An officer, marine, or seaman in his watch below, &c. An officer is sometimes put “off duty” as a punishment.
OFF SHE GOES! Means run away with the purchase fall. Move to the tune of the fifer. The first move when a vessel is launched.
OFF THE REEL. At once; without stopping. In allusion to the way in which the log-line flies off the reel when a ship is sailing fast.
OFF-HIRE CLAUSE. In a time charter, the owner is entitled to a limited time for his vessel to be off hire until such time as the vessel may be repaired or dry-docked.
OFF-LOAD. Discharge of cargo from a ship.
OFF-RECKONING. A proportion of the full pay of troops retained from them, in special cases, until the period of final settlement, to cover various expected charges (for ship- rations and the like).
OFF. The opposite to near. Also applied to a ship sailing from the shore into the open sea. Also, implies abreast of, or near, as “We were off Cape Finisterre.”—Nothing off! The order to the helmsman not to suffer the ship to fall off from the wind.
OFFAL. Slabs, chips, and refuse of timber, sold in fathom lots at the dockyards.
OFFENCES. Crimes which are not capital, but by the custom of the service come under the articles of war.
OFFICER OF THE DAY. A military officer whose immediate duty is to attend to the interior economy of the corps to which he belongs, or of those with which he may be doing duty.
OFFICER OF THE WATCH. The lieutenant or other officer who has charge of, and commands, the watch.
OFFICER. A person having some command. A term applied both in the royal and mercantile navies to any one of a ship's company who ranks above the fore-mast men.
OFFICERS' EFFECTS. The effects of officers who die on board are not generally sold; but should they be submitted to auction, the sale is to be confined entirely amongst the officers.
OFFICIAL LETTERS. All official letters which are intended to be laid before the commander-in-chief, must be signed by the officers themselves, specifying their rank under their signatures. All applications from petty officers, seamen, and marines, relative to transfer, discharge, or other subjects of a similar nature, are to be made through the captain or commanding officer. They ought to be written on foolscap paper, leaving a margin, to the left hand, of one-fourth of the breadth, and superscribed on the cover “On H. M. Service.”
OFFING. Implies to sea-ward; beyond anchoring ground.—To keep a good offing, is to keep well off the land, while under sail.
OFFSHORE SERVICE VESSELS. Special vessels employed in exploration for, development of or continuous production of, subsea oil and gas.
OFFWARD. The situation of a ship which lies aground and leans from the shore; “the ship heels offward,” and “the ship lies with her stern to the offward,” is when her stern is towards the sea.
OGEE. In old-pattern guns, the doubly curved moulding added, by way of finish, to several of the rings.
OGGIDENT. Jack's corruption of aguardiente [Sp.], a fiery and very unwholesome spirit.
OIL RECORD BOOK. A book or log kept by the master of an oil tanker wherein every discharge or escape of oil is recorded.
OIL TANKER. A ship designed for the carriage of oil in bulk, her cargo space consisting of several or many tanks. Tankers load their cargo by gravity from the shore or by shore pumps and discharge using their own pumps.
OIL-BUTT. A name for the black whale.
OILER. An unlicensed member of the engine room staff who oils and greases bearings and moving parts of the main engine and auxiliaries. Most of this work is now done automatically and the oiler merely insures it operates correctly.
OILLETS, OR [OE]ILLETS. Apertures for firing through, in the walls of a fort.
OITER. A Gaelic word still in use for a sand-bank.
OJANCO SNAPPER. A tropical fish of the Mesoprion family, frequenting the deep- water banks of the West Indies.
OKE. A Levant weight of 2-3/4 lbs., common in Mediterranean commerce.
OLD COUNTRY. A very general designation for Great Britain among the Americans. The term is never applied to any part of the continent of Europe.
OLD HAND. A knowing and expert person.
OLD HORSE. Tough salt-beef.
OLD ICE. In polar parlance, that of previous seasons.
OLD WIFE. A fish about 2 feet long, and 9 inches high in the back, having a small mouth, a large eye, a broad dorsal fin, and a blue body. Also, the brown long-tailed duck of Pennant.
OLD WOMAN'S TOOTH. A peculiar chisel for stub morticing.
OLD-STAGER. One well initiated in anything.
OLD-STAGERISM. An adherence to established customs; sea conservatism.
OLDSTERS. In the old days of cockpit tyranny, mids of four years' standing, and master's-mates, &c., who sadly bullied the youngsters.
OLERON CODE. A celebrated collection of maritime laws, compiled and promulgated by Richard C[oe]ur-de-Lion, at the island of Oleron, near the coast of Poitou, the inhabitants of which have been deemed able mariners ever since. It is reckoned the best code of sea-laws in the world, and is recorded in the black book of the admiralty.
OLICK. The torsk or tusk, Gadus callarias.
OLIVER. A west-country term for a young eel.
OLPIS. A classic term for one who, from a shore eminence, watched the course which shoals of fish took, and communicated the result to the fishers. (See CONDER.)
OMBRE. A fish, more commonly called grayling, or umber.
ON A BOWLINE. Close to the wind, when the sail will not stand without hauling the bowlines.
ON A WIND. Synonymous with on a bowline.
ON BOARD. Within a ship; the same as aboard.
ON DECK THERE! The cry to call attention from aloft or below.
ON EITHER TACK. Any way or every way; a colloquialism.
ON END. The same as an-end (which see). Top-masts and topgallant-masts are on end, when they are in their places, and sail can be set on them.
ON SERVICE. On duty.
ON THE BEAM. Implies any distance from a ship on a line with her beams, or at right angles with the keel.
ON THE BOW. At any angle on either side of the stem up to 45°; then it is either four points on the bow, or four points before the beam.
ON THE QUARTER. Being in that position with regard to a ship, as to be included in the angles which diverge from right astern, to four points towards either quarter.
ON-SHORE WINDS. Those which blow from the offing, and render bays uncomfortable and insecure.
ON. The sea is said to be “on” when boisterous; as, there is a high sea on.
ONAGER. An offensive weapon of the middle ages.
ONCIA. A gold coin of Sicily; value three ducats, or 10_s. 10_d. sterling.
ONCIN. An offensive weapon of mediæval times, consisting of a staff with a hooked iron head.
ONE O'CLOCK. Like one o'clock. With speed; rapidly. ONERARIÆ. Ancient ships of burden, with both sails and oars.
ONE-AND-ALL. A mutinous sea-cry used in the Dutch wars. Also, a rallying call to put the whole collective force on together.
ONE, TWO, THREE! The song with which the seamen bowse out the bowlines; the last haul being completed by belay O!
ONION-FISH. The Cepola rubescens, whose body peels into flakes like that vegetable. It is of a pale red colour.
OOMIAK. A light seal-skin Greenland boat, generally worked in fine weather by the women, but in bad weather by the men.
OPEN HAWSE. When a vessel rides by two anchors, without any cross in her cables.
OPEN ICE. Fragments of ice sufficiently separate to admit of a ship forcing or boring through them under sail.
OPEN LIST. One of a ship's books, which contains the whole of the names of the actual officers and crew, in order to regulate their victualling. The crew are mustered by the open list.
OPEN LOWER DECKERS, TO. To fire the lower tier of guns. Also said of a person using violent language.
OPEN ORDER. Any distance ordered to be preserved among ships, exceeding a cable's length.
OPEN PACK. A body of drift ice, the pieces of which, though very near each other, do not generally touch. It is opposed to close pack.
OPEN POLICY. Where the amount of the interest of the insured is not fixed by the policy, but is left to be ascertained by the insured, in case a loss shall happen.
OPEN RATES. Pricing systems that are flexible and not subject to conference approval. Usually applied to products in which tramps are substituted for liners.
OPEN REGISTRY. A term used in place of "flag of convenience" or "flag of necessity" to denote registry in a country which offers favorable tax, regulatory, and other incentives to ship owners from other nations.
OPEN ROADSTEAD. A place of hazard, as affording no protection either from sea or wind.
OPEN. The situation of a place which is exposed to the wind and sea. Also, applied in meteorology, to mild weather. Also, open to attack, not protected. Also, said of any distant visible object.
OPENING TRENCHES. The first breaking of ground by besiegers, in order to carry on their approaches towards a besieged place.
OPERATIONS. Field movements, whether offensive or defensive.
OPHIUCHUS. One of the ancient constellations, of which the lucida is Ras-al-ague, one of the selected nautical objects at Greenwich. This asterism is sometimes called Serpentarius, its Latin name, instead of its Greek.
OPINION. An experienced witness, who never saw the ship, yet may legally prove that from the description of her by another witness she was not sea-worthy.
OPOSSUM-SHRIMP. A crustacean, so named from its young being carried about in a sort of pouch for some little time after being hatched; the Mysis flexuosus of naturalists.
OPPIGNORATION. The pawning of part of the cargo to get money for the payment of the duty on the remainder.
OPPOSITE TACKS. Making contrary boards. Also, a colloquialism for cross purposes.
OPPOSITION. A celestial body is said to be in opposition to the sun when their longitudes differ 180°, or half the circumference of the heavens.
OPTICK. An old term for a magnifying-glass.
ORAGIOUS. An old term for stormy or tempestuous weather: —“The storme was so outrageous, And with rumlings oragious, That I did feare.”
ORAMBY. A sort of state-barge used in the Moluccas; some of them are rowed by 40, 80, or even, it is said, 100 paddles each.
ORARIÆ. Ancient coasting vessels.
ORB. The circular figure made by a body of troops.
ORBIT. The path described by a planet or comet round the sun.
ORBITAL. Relating to the orbit of a heavenly body.
ORC. Wrack or sea-weed, used as manure on some of the coasts of England.
ORCA. A classical name for a large voracious sea-animal, probably a grampus. Anglicized as ork or orc; thus in the second song of Drayton's strange Polyolbion —“The ugly orks, that for their lord the ocean woo.” And Milton afterwards introduces them —“An island salt and bare, The haunt of seals and orcs, and sea-mews clang.”
ORDER ARMS! The word of command, with muskets or carbines, to bring the butt to the ground, the piece vertical against the right side, trigger-guard to the front.—Open order and close order, are terms for keeping the fleet prepared for any particular man[oe]uvre.
ORDER OF BATTLE. The arranging of ships or troops so as to engage the enemy to the best advantage.
ORDER OF SAILING. See SAILING, ORDER OF.
ORDER-BOOK. A book kept for the purpose of copying such occasional successive orders as the admiral, or senior officer, may find it necessary to give.
ORDERLY OFFICER. In the army. See OFFICER OF THE DAY.
ORDERLY. The bearer of official messages, and appointed to wait upon superior officers with communications.
ORDERS IN COUNCIL. Decrees given by the privy council, signed by the sovereign, for important state necessities, independently of any act of parliament; but covered by an act of indemnity when it is assembled.
ORDERS. Societies of knights. (See KNIGHTHOOD.)
ORDINARY SEAMAN. The rating for one who can make himself useful on board, even to going aloft, and taking his part on a top-sail or topgallant-yard, but is not a complete sailor, the latter being termed an able seaman. It would be well if our merchant seamen consisted of apprentices and A.B.'s.
ORDINARY STEP. The common march of 110 paces in a minute.
ORDINARY. The establishment of the persons formerly employed to take charge of the ships of war which are laid up in ordinary at several harbours adjacent to the royal dockyards. These duties are now under the superintendent of the dockyard. Also, the state of such men-of-war and vessels as are out of commission and laid up.
ORDNANCE-HOY. A sloop expressly fitted for transporting ordnance stores to ships, and from port to port.
ORDNANCE. A general name for all sorts of great guns which are used in war. Also, all that relates to the artillery and engineer service.
ORE CARRIER. A large ship designed to be used for the carnage of ore.Because of the high density of ore, ore carriers have a relatively high center of gravity to prevent them being still when at sea, that is, rolling heavily with possible stress to the hull.
ORE-BULK-OIL CARRIER. A large multi-purpose ship designed to carry cargoes wither of ore or other bulk commodities or oil so as to reduce the time the ship would be in ballast if restricted to one type of commodity. This type of ship is sometimes called bulk-oil carrier.
ORE-OIL CARRIER. A ship designed to carry either ore or oil in bulk.
OREILLET. The ear-piece of a helmet. OREMBI. A small korocora (which see).
ORGUES. Long-pointed beams shod with iron, hanging vertically over a gateway, to answer as a portcullis in emergency.
ORIENT. The east point of the compass.
ORIFLAMME. The banner of St. Dennis; but the term is often applied to the flags of any French commander-in-chief.
ORIGIN. Merchant ships claiming benefit for importation, must obtain and produce certificates of origin, in respect to the goods they claim for. (See PRODUCTION.)
ORIGINAL ENTRY. The date at which men enter for the navy, and repair on board a guard-ship, or tender, where bedding or slops may be supplied to them, and are forwarded with them to their proper ships.
ORILLON. In fortification, a curved projection formed by the face of a bastion overlapping the end of the flank; intended to protect the latter from oblique fire; modern ricochet fire renders it of little consequence.
ORION. One of the ancient constellations, of which the lucida is the well-known nautical star Betelgeuze.
ORISONT. The horizon; thus spelled by our early navigators.
ORLOP-BEAMS, OR HOLD-BEAMS. Those which support the orlop-deck, but are chiefly intended to fortify the hold.
ORLOP. The lowest deck, formerly called “over-lop,” consisting of a platform laid over the beams in the hold of ships of war, whereon the cables were usually coiled, and containing some cabins as well as the chief store-rooms. In trading vessels it is often a temporary deck.
ORNAMENTS. The carvings of the head, stern, and quarters of the old ships.
ORNITHÆ. An ancient term for the periodical winds by which migratory birds were transported.
ORTHODROMIC. The course which lies on a meridian or parallel.
ORTHOGRAPHIC PROJECTION. The profile, or representation of a vertical section, of a work in fortification.
ORTIVE AMPLITUDE. The eastern one.
OS SEPIÆ. The commercial term for the sepia, or cuttle-fish bones.
OSCILLATING MARINE-ENGINE. A steam-engine where the top of the piston-rod is coupled with the crank, and the piston-rod moves backward and forward in the direction of the axis of the cylinder, while its extremity revolves in a circle with the crank.
OSCILLATING PUMP-SPEAR. A contrivance by which the pumps of a large vessel are worked, connected with a crank-shaft and fly-wheel, driven by handles in the same way as a winch.
OSMOND. The old term for pig-iron; a great article of lading.
OSNABURG. In commerce, a coarse linen cloth manufactured in Scotland, but resembling that made at Osnaburg in Germany.
OSPREY. The fish-hawk, Pandion haliætus; Shakspeare, in Coriolanus, says— “I think he'll be to Rome As is the osprey to the fish.”
OSTMEN. A corrupted form of Hoastmen.
OTSEGO BASS. Coregonus otsego, a fish of the American lakes.
OTTER-PIKE. The lesser weever, Trachinus draco; also called sea-stranger.
OTTOMITES. An old term for Turks. See Shakspeare in Othello.
OUNDING. Resembling or imitating waves; used by Chaucer and others.
OUSTER LE MER. The legal term for excuse, when a man did not appear in court on summons, for that he was then beyond the seas.
OUT OF COMMISSION. A ship where officers and men are paid off, and pennant hauled down.
OUT OF TRIM. A ship not properly balanced for fast sailing, which may be by a defect in the rigging or in the stowage of the hold.
OUT OF WINDING. Said of a plank or piece of timber which has a fair and even surface without any twists: the opposite of winding.
OUT OR DOWN. An exclamation of the boatswain, &c., in ordering men out of their hammocks, i.e. turn out, or your laniard will be cut.
OUT-AND-OUTER. An old phrase signifying thorough excellence; a man up to his duty, and able to perform it in style.
OUT-BOARD. The outside of the ship: the reverse of in-board.
OUT-BOATS. The order to hoist out the boats.
OUT-EARING CLEAT. This is placed on the upper side of the gaff, to pass the outer earing round from the cringle.
OUT-FLANK, TO. By a longer front, to overlap the enemy's opposite line, and thus gain a chance to turn his flank.
OUT-HAUL, OR OUT-HAULER. A rope used for hauling out the tack of a jib lower studding-sail, or the clue of a boom-sail. The reverse of in-haul.
OUT-HOLLING. Clearing tide-ports, canals, and channels of mud.
OUT-LICKER. A corruption of out-rigger (which see).
OUT-LIER. A word which has been often used for out-rigger, but applies to outlying rocks, visible above water.
OUT-OARS. The order to take to rowing when the sails give but little way on a boat.
OUT-PENSIONERS. Those entitled to pensions from Greenwich Hospital, but not admitted to “the house.”
OUT-PORTS. Those commercial harbours which lie on the coasts; all ports in the United Kingdom out of London. (See CLOSE-PORTS.)
OUT-RIGGER. A strong beam, of which there are several, passed through the ports of a ship, and firmly lashed at the gunwale, also assisted by guys from bolts at the water-line, to secure the masts in the act of careening, by counteracting the strain they suffer from the tackles on the opposite side. Also, any boom rigged out from a vessel to hang boats by, clear of the ship, when at anchor. Also, any spar, as the boomkin, for the fore-tack, or the jigger abaft to haul out the mizen-sheet, or extend the leading blocks of the main braces. Also, a small spar used in the tops and cross-trees, to thrust out and spread the breast backstays to windward. Also, a counterpoising log of wood, rigged out from the side of a narrow boat or canoe, to prevent it from being upset.
OUT-SAIL, TO. To sail faster than another ship, or to make a particular voyage with greater despatch.
OUTER TURNS AND INNER TURNS. The outer turns of the earing serve to extend the sail outwards along its yard. The inner turns are employed to bind the sail close to the yard.
OUTER-JIB. In sloops, where the head-sails are termed foresail-jib and outer-jib, if set from the foremast-head. It is now very common for ships to set two standing jibs, the stay and tack of the inner one being secured at the middle of the jib-boom.
OUTFIT. The stores with which a merchant vessel is fitted out for any voyage. Also, the providing an individual with clothes, &c.
OUTLANDISH. Foreign; but means with Jack a place where he does not feel at home, or a language which he does not understand.
OUTLET. The effluent or stream by which a lake discharges its water. Also applied to the spot where the efflux commences.
OUTREGANS. Canals or ditches navigable by boats.
OUTSIDE MUSTER-PAPER. A paper with the outer part blank, but the inner portion ruled and headed; supplied from the dock yards to form the cover of ships' books.
OUTSIDE PLANKING. Such are the wales, the plank-sheer, the garboard-strakes, and the like.
OUTWARD CHARGES. Pilotage and other dues incurred from any port: the reverse of inward charges.
OUTWARD. A vessel is said to be entered outwards or inwards according as she is entered at the custom-house to depart for, or as having arrived from, foreign parts.
OUTWORKS. Works included in the scheme of defence of a place, but outside the main rampart; if “detached,” they are moreover outside the glacis.
OUVRE L'[OE]IL. A mark on French charts over supposed dangers.
OVER AND UNDER TURNS. Terms applied to the passing of an earing, besides its inner and outer turns.
OVER-ANENT. Opposite to.
OVER-BEAR. One ship overbears another if she can carry more sail in a fresh wind.
OVER-BOYED. Said of a ship when the captain and majority of the quarter-deck officers are very young.
OVER-GUNNED. Where the weight of metal is disproportioned to the ship, and the quarters insufficient for the guns being duly worked.
OVER-INSURANCE. See RE-INSURANCE, and DOUBLE INSURANCE. OVERLAP. A designation of the hatches of a ship; planks in clinch-built boats. Points of land overlap a harbour's mouth at a particular bearing.—To overlap, to fay upon.
OVER-LOFT. An old term for the upper deck of a ship.
OVER-LOOKER. Generally an old master appointed by owners of ships to look after everything connected with the fitting out of their vessels when in harbour in England.
OVER-MASTED. The state of a ship whose masts are too high or too heavy for her weight to counter-balance.
OVER-PRESS, TO. To carry too much sail on a ship.
OVER-RAKE. When a ship rides at anchor in a head-sea, the waves of which frequently break in upon her, they are said to over-rake her.
OVER-RIGGED. A ship with more and heavier gear than necessary, so as to be top- hampered.
OVER-RISEN. When a ship is too high out of the water for her length and breadth, so as to make a trouble of lee-lurches and weather-rolls. Such were our 80-gun three-deckers and 44's on two decks, happily now no more.
OVER-RUNNING. (See UNDER-RUN.) Applied to ice, when the young ice overlaps, and is driven over.
OVER-SEA VESSELS. Ships from foreign parts, as distinguished from coasters.
OVER-SETTING. The state of a ship turning upside down, either by carrying too much sail or by grounding, so that she falls on one side. (See UPSET.)
OVER-SWACK. An old word, signifying the reflux of the waves by the force of the wind.
OVERBOARD. The state of any person or thing in the sea which had been in a ship.— Thrown overboard also means cast adrift by the captain; withdrawal of countenance and support.
OVERFALL. A rippling or race in the sea, where, by the peculiarities of bottom, the water is propelled with immense force, especially when the wind and tide, or current, set strongly together. (See RIPPS.)
OVERHAND KNOT. Is made by passing the end of a rope over its standing part, and through the bight.
OVERHAUL. Has many applications. A tackle when released is overhauled. To get a fresh purchase, ropes are overhauled. To reach an object, or take off strain, weather-braces are overhauled. A ship overhauls another in chase when she evidently gains upon her. Also, overhauls a stranger and examines her papers. Also, is overhauled, or examined, to determine the refit demanded.
OVERLAY DAYS. Days for which demurrage can be charged.
OVERSHOOT, TO. To give a ship too much way.
OVERSLAUGH. From the Dutch overslag, meaning the bar of a river or port. Also, in military parlance, the being passed over in the roster for some recurring duty without being assigned to it in turn.
OVERTONNAGING. A situation where there are too many ships generally or in a particular trade for the level of available cargoes.
OVERWHELM. A comprehensive word derived from the Ang.-Saxon wylm, a wave. Thus the old song —“Lash'd to the helm, should seas o'erwhelm.”
OWLER. An old term on our southern coast for smuggler. Particularly persons who carried wool by night, in order to ship it contrary to law.
OWN, TO. To be a proprietor in a ship.
OWNERS. The proprietors of ships. They are bound to perform contracts made by their masters, who are legally their agents.
OX-EYE. A small cloud, or weather-gall, seen on the coast of Africa, which presages a severe storm. It appears at first in the form of an ox-eye, but soon overspreads the whole hemisphere, accompanied by a violent wind which scatters ships in all directions, and many are sunk downright. Also, a water-fowl. Also, the smaller glass bull's eyes.
OXBOWS. Bends or reaches of a river.
OXYGON. A triangle which has three sharp or acute angles.
OXYRINCHUS. A large species of the skate family.
OYSE. An inlet of the sea, among the Shetlands and Orkneys.
OYSTER-BED. A “laying” of culch, that is, stones, old shells, or other hard substances, so as to form a bed for oysters, which would be choked in soft mud.
OYSTER-CATCHER, OR SEA-PYE. The black and white coast-bird, Hæmatopus ostralegus.
OZELLA. A Venetian coin both in gold and silver; the former being £1, 17_s. 4_d., and the latter 1_s. 7_d., in sterling value.
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