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GLOSSARY   

Abeam - At right angles to the centerline of the hulls.

Aft - In or near the stern. To the back or behind the boat.

Apparent Wind - To those aboard a boat in motion, the direction from which the wind appears to blow. The sum of the true

wind and the wind created by the boats forward motion. See the “Apparent Wind” section in this book.

Batten - A fiberglass strip inserted into a pocket in the sail to support the leach and provide shape.

Block - A seagoing pulley through which lines and sheets run.

Bow - The forward or front end of the boat.

Chainplate - A metal strip, connected to the hull or bridle wire, to which shrouds or forestay are attached.

Cleat - A device used to hold a sheet or line, such as a jib sheet cleat. (i.e. cam cleats, jam cleats, etc.).

Clew - The lower aft corner of the jib or mainsail.

Close-Hauled - Sailing upwind as close to the wind as possible (all sails trimmed in).

Downwind - Sailing with the wind or in the same direction as the wind(sails trimmed out). (2) To leeward.

Ease - To let out a sheet or line, as in easing out the sail.

Footing - Sailing to windward slightly below an optimum course (the opposite of pinching).

Furl - To roll up a sail, typically wound around the forestay.

Gudgeon - The fitting on the stern into which the rudder pin is inserted.

Halyard - A line to raise a sail. A main halyard for raising the main and a jib halyard for raising the jib.

Harden - To trim in the sheets (opposite of easing the sheets). To harden up is to sail closer to the wind.

Header - A wind shift that shifts toward the bow and thus makes you steer below your previous course to avoid luffing or losing

speed. Headers work against you when sailing upwind, but aid in downwind.

Head Off - To steer away from the wind or turn off the wind. The opposite of head up.

Head-To-Wind - With the bow headed into the wind. The boat will come to a stop and then back up.

Head Up - To steer the boat toward the wind. The opposite of head off.

Hobie - Means fast fun on the water.

Irons - A boat is in irons when it is pointing into the wind and unable to bear away on either tack

Jib - The triangular shaped front sail.

Jibe - Passing from one down wind tack to another by swinging the stern of the boat through the wind.

Lay - To sail a course that will clear a point of land, mark or buoy on the desired side. Also called “fetch”.

Layline - The line leading up to a windward mark along which you can sail an optimum close-hauled course and lay the mark, or

the line down to a leeward mark, along which you sail fastest to the mark.

Lazy Sheet - The windward jib sheet, which has no pressure on it. The leeward jib sheet bears the load.

Leech - The rear edge of the jib or mainsail

Leeward - The side of the boat that is down wind. (2) Away from the wind or down wind (such as a leeward boat).

Lift - A wind shift that shifts toward the stern and thus allows you to sail a higher course in order to maintain the same angle with

the wind. Lifts work against you when sailing downwind.

Line - Every rope used on a boat except a sheet or bolt rope

Luff - The forward edge of a sail. (2) to turn the boat toward or into the wind, to luff up. (3) a flapping sail.

Mainsheet - The line used to trim or adjust the mainsail.

Overlap - The positioning of two boats, in close proximity and on the same course, the bow of the boat astern extending past the

stern of the forward boat. Overlap can establish right-of-way.

Overstand - To sail farther past a mark or layline than is necessary before tacking for it or rounding it.

Pinch - To sail too close to the wind. Boat’s speed and power fall off greatly.

Pointing - A boat's level of efficiency in sailing to windward. (2) Sailing as close to the wind as the boat's design will allow. (3)

Sailing closer to the wind than another boat, is called pointing higher.

Port - The left side of a boat. Port and Starboard are important terms, as left and right can become confusing

Rake - The tilting of the mast forward or aft. Rake is used to move the sails center of effort, forward or aft.

Reach - All points of sailing between a beat (close-hauled) and a run (straight down wind)

Run - The point of sail with the wind directly behind the boat, a very slow way to sail downwind on a Cat.

Sheet - A line for controlling a sail or boom in relation to the wind

Sloop - A single-masted sailboat with a large mainsail and a single working jib

Snuffer-A spinnaker retrieval/launching system where a retrieval line is led through a long spinnaker bag and tied to the middle

of the spinnaker.

Spinnaker - a large triangular sail set on a long light pole and used when running before the wind

Stall - The slowing effect from sheeting the sails too tightly in relation to the wind direction or falling off (turning down wind)

without easing the sails. The leeward telltales will stop flowing to the rear.

Starboard - The right side of a boat

Starboard Tack - Sailing with the wind coming over the starboard side of the boat.

Stern - The rear end of a boat

Tack - To come about; to change the course of the boat by bringing the bows through the wind so that the wind is now on the

opposite side. (2) The relationship of a sailboat with respect to the wind. If the wind comes over the starboard side,

you’re on starboard tack; if the wind comes over the port side, you’re on port tack.

Telltale - A short piece of ribbon, plastic, yarn or feather attached to sails and/or shrouds for the purpose of reading wind

direction and for monitoring sail trim.

True Wind – The wind as provided by mother nature and felt when on stationary objects.

Traveler - A stern mounted, movable car, on a horizontal track, that is connected to the mainsheet for the purpose of controlling

the boom and sail trim; also used for fore-aft and inboard-out-board jib lead locations.

Unirig - A boat with only a mainsail, such as the Hobie 14 and 17.

Upwind - Sailing close-hauled toward the wind. (2) To windward

Weather - Indicating the side toward the wind, also known as windward; "to weather" is to windward

Weather Helm - The boat having a tendency to head into the wind if the tiller is released.

Windward - The side of the boat the wind hits first. (2) Sailing toward the wind. (3) A boat or object up wind.