Boating and Sailing.pdf - Moja ladja

Freeboard
Waterline
Draft
Bow
Forward
Chines
Chapter 1: Welcome to the Wet and Wonderful World of Boating!
Amidships Aft
Length Overall
(LOA)
Beam
Inwale
Gunnel
Transom
(stern)
Waterline
Keel
The vocabulary of boaters
can be as confusing as
Russian at first, but it
becomes more familiar
after some time aboard.
Here are the basic terms to describe the various parts of most boats—use them as often as
you can, and soon they’ll be second nature:
◆ Aft. Toward the back part of the boat.
◆ Amidships. The middle part of the boat, between aft and forward.
◆ Beam. The width of a boat, usually measured at its widest point.
◆ Bow. Pronounced like “ow,” this is the pointy front end of a boat. (Most canoes
have two pointy ends. The one in front is the “bow.”)
◆ Chines. Where the bottom of a boat meets the sides.
◆ Draft. The distance from the waterline to the lowest point of the hull—the shallowest
depth in which a boat will float without any part touching bottom.
◆ Forward. Toward the front part of the boat.
◆ Freeboard. The distance from the waterline to the gunnels. (A taller freeboard
makes a boat more seaworthy.)
◆ Gunnel. The top of the hull, where the inner liner joins the outer hull. (It’s also
spelled “gunwale,” but still pronounced “gunnel.”)
◆ Inwale. The inner side of the gunnel.
◆ Keel. The part where the two halves of the bottom meet. Structurally, the main
center frame member of the hull. In sailing, the fin projecting from the bottom to
reduce leeway.
◆ Length overall (LOA). The distance from the tip of the bow to the end of the
stern.
◆ Stern or Transom. The squared-off back end of the boat.
◆ Waterline. Where the surface of the water meets the hull.
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