It is important to know the parts of the ship for safety reasons and to manage her most effectively. If you don’t know what to do when someone suddenly yells “get ready to maneuver” or “watch out for the boom!” you could get into trouble.

• Block: A nautical term, the equivalent of a pulley.
• Hook: The horizontal beam to which the bottom of an oblique sail is attached; it comes out aft. This is what you should watch out for when changing course. Hitting it can land a pretty good bump on your head.
• Nose: This is the name given to the front of the ship.
• Centreboard: This is a plate (usually made of fiberglass) attached to the keel in the construction of some ships and serves to balance the ship under sail.
• Ducking: Ropes are attached to them to keep them in place.
• Halyard: A tackle used to raise and lower sails.
• Hull: The body of a ship, including everything below deck.
• Cleaver: The sail on the bow of a ship. The cleaver helps propel the ship forward.
• Genoa: A foresail that is larger than the jib.
• Keel: The keel prevents the ship from wobbling from side to side (“drifting”) in the direction of the wind and stabilizes the ship.
• Leer: Leers and ropes. They are all over the ship. There is only one “rope” on the ship, the one that goes along the bottom of the mainsail.
• Mainsail:The main sail on the ship. The sail attached to the back of the mast.
• Mast: The mast is the huge vertical pole on which the sails are held. On some ships there is more than one.
• Bow fallein: Located on the bow of small boats. It is used to anchor the boat to the dock or to another boat.
• Rudder: The rudder is used to steer the boat. It is movable so that when you turn its wheel or lever, the rudder steers the boat on the course you want.
• Scot: A rig that helps to steer the sails.
• Spinnaker: Usually a brightly colored sail used when sailing upwind or perpendicular to the wind.
• Rods and battens: The ropes that keep the mast upright even in strong winds.
• Steeple: A term referring to the back of a ship.
• Rumpel: A lever attached to the rudder. Used to control the rudder.
• Transom: This is what we call the back of the ship. It is the back of the ship, perpendicular to the centerline.
• Wheel: The wheel is part of the rudder.
• Gate: The gate helps to steer the rudders. When the lifelines are wound on the gate, the sailor can turn the gate, which makes bringing the lifelines in easier.

Know the common terms used on the ship. In addition to those that designate different parts of the ship, there are terms used by sailors only at sea (or out to sea). The whole point of remembering port side and starboard is that starboard is to the right and left is to the left.

• LEFT: When you are facing the bow (the front of the ship), the port side is to the left.
• Starboard: To the starboard side when facing the bow.
• Upwind: As the name says, this is the downwind direction.
• Leeward: Proceeding against the wind.
• Tack: Tack is turning the bow of a ship through the wind so that the wind shifts from one side of the ship to the other. This is when you need to be mindful of the bow, as it will turn from one side of the ship to the other when you are tacking (you don’t want to be in its path).
• Forthwind: The opposite action of tacking, which means when you turn the stern of the ship through the wind, switching it from one side to the other. In strong winds, this is a more dangerous maneuver than luffing because you have to turn the ship out of the wind. You should learn to be careful with the boom while performing this maneuver, as there is a good chance of serious injury when it goes over the stern.
• Bringing: Turning the boat into the wind, with the sails starting to flap and the ship losing momentum.

Understand the navigation buoys. It is important to see and understand their meaning-they will let you know where the water is safer. In North America, on the way to shore, “red” buoys are most often left on the port side and “green” buoys on the starboard side. For most of the rest of the world, it’s just another detour.