What do port and starboard mean?
Port is the left-hand side of a boat and starboard is the right-hand side, both as you face the bow. They stay the same whichever way you yourself are facing.
What are the bow and stern of a boat?
The bow is the front of a boat and the stern is the back. Anything towards the bow is forward, and anything towards the stern is aft.
What do windward and leeward mean?
Windward is the side or direction the wind is coming from, and leeward (pronounced “loo-ard”) is the side or direction away from the wind. A boat’s sails normally lie on her leeward side.
What is the difference between a sheet and a halyard?
A halyard pulls a sail up the mast, and a sheet controls the angle of the sail to the wind once it is up. Pulling a sheet in is called sheeting in or trimming, and letting it out is easing.
What are ropes called on a sailboat?
Once a rope has a job on a boat it is usually called a line, and most lines have their own names: sheets, halyards, the outhaul, the kicker, mooring lines and so on. Rope is the general word for the material.
What is the boom on a sailboat?
The boom is the horizontal pole attached to the mast that holds out the bottom edge of the mainsail. It swings from side to side as the boat changes course, often at head height, so always know where it is.
What does the keel do on a sailboat?
The keel does two jobs: its weight stops the boat blowing over, and its shape stops her sliding sideways through the water, so the sideways pull of the sails is turned into forward motion.
What is the difference between a tiller and a wheel on a sailboat?
Both turn the rudder. A tiller is a handle fixed directly to the rudder and you push it the opposite way to the way you want to turn; a wheel turns the rudder through a mechanism and you turn it the way you want to go, like a car.
What is a sloop?
A sloop is a sailing boat with one mast and two sails: a mainsail behind the mast and a single headsail, usually a jib, in front of it. It is the commonest rig on modern yachts and many dinghies.
What is the difference between standing and running rigging?
Standing rigging is the fixed wire that holds the mast up: the forestay, backstay and shrouds. Running rigging is the moving rope used to hoist and control the sails, such as the halyards and sheets.