Basic Sailboat Terms

Following are terms related to sailboats and their equipment. Go here for terms related to the act of sailing.

Auxiliary - A sailboat's engine, or a sailboat with an engine

Backstay - The (usually wire) cable from the stern to the masthead, helping support the mast

Ballast - The weight in a sailboat's keel (sometimes in a centerboard) that helps keep the boat from heeling too much

Batten - A (usually plastic) slat placed in a pocket in the mainsail to help it maintain good shape

Beam - The width of the boat at its widest point

Bitter end - The free end of a line

Block - A pulley-like device used on a boat, with a sheave around which a line runs; see photo here of mainsheet block and tackle on a small boat

Boom - The (usually horizontal) spar back from the mast to which the foot of a sail is attached; see photo here

Boom vang - A device that prevents the boom from rising (and in some types, from lowering)

Bow - The front section of the boat

Cat rig - A sailboat designed for using a mainsail only, with the mast usually located more forward than in a sloop

Centerboard - A thin keel-like structure that can be raised (usually rotated on a hinge up into a centerboard trunk in the hull); present on many sailboats without a fixed keel to prevent the boat from being blown sideways

Chock - A type of fairlead fitting through which an anchor rode or dock line passes, to reduce chafing

Cleat - A fitting around which a line is secured; see How to Tie a Cleat Hitch

Companionway - The entrance area and steps from the cockpit into a sailboat's cabin

Clew - The lower rear corner of a sail

Daggerboard - Like a centerboard, but raised and lowered vertically instead of rotating on a hinge

Daysailer - A (usually) small sailboat without a cabin larger enough for comfortable overnight cruising

Dinghy - A type of small sailboat; a small row or powered craft typically taken along when cruising in a larger sailboat

Displacement - The weight of a boat (equal to the weight of water the boat displaces)

Dodger - A spray shield (often of fabric, foldable or removable) at the front of the cockpit

Draft - The distance from a boat's waterline to the lowest part of its keel

Fender - A (usually rubber) bumper hung alongside to prevent the hull from rubbing against a dock or other structure

Foot - The bottom edge of a sail (compare to leach and luff)

Forestay - The (usually wire) cable from the bow to the masthead, helping support the mast

Forward - Toward the bow

Freeboard - The height of the deck above the water (the topsides section of the hull)

Gate - An opening in the lifelines for boarding the boat; also called gangway

Genoa - A large jib sail (the clew extends aft of the mast)

Gooseneck - The fitting that attaches the boom to the mast; see photo here of a small sailboat's gooseneck

Ground tackle - Collective term for a boat's anchor and anchor rode

Gunwale (sometimes gunnel) - the outer edge of the boat's deck and cockpit; also called the rail

Halyard - Line or wire used to hoist a sail; see photo here

Hank on - To attach a jib sail to the forestay with small snap hooks (called hanks)

Head - The bathroom of a boat; also the top corner of a sail

Helm - The means by which the sailboat is steered: the tiller or wheel

Jackline - A line, strap, or wire secured over the deck as an attachment point for the tether of a safety harness

Jib - The triangular sail attached to the forestay

Keel - The (usually permanent) lower section of a sailboat's hull that counteracts sideways movement and typically contains ballast

Lanyard - A short cord or line, often used to secure a piece of gear (knife, whistle, etc.) that might be dropped

Leech - The back edge of a jib or mainsail (compare to luff and foot)

Lifeline - A line or wire (often vinyl coated) all around the boat, held up with stanchions, to prevent falling overboard

Line - Any piece of rope used on a boat

Luff - The leading edge of a jib or mainsail (compare to leach and foot)

Mainmast - The mast, or the tallest mast of a sailboat with multiple masts

Mainsail - The sail affixed to and behind the mainmast

Mast - A tall vertical pole on a sailboat to support sails and rigging

Mast step - The support structure for the bottom of the mast

Mizzen - The smaller aft mast on a ketch or yawl; the mizzensail is affixed to and behind the mizzenmast

Multihull - A catamaran (two hulls) or trimaran (three hulls)

Outhaul - A fitting to adjust the tension of the foot of the mainsail on the boom

Padeye - A (usually metal) fitting with a loop or hoop to which other gear is attached

Pendant (sometimes pennant) - A short line attaching the bow of a boat to a mooring, or a short wire attached to a sail or halyard as an extension

PFD - Personal flotation device (such as a lifejacket or inflatable PFD)

Port - The left side of the boat (when facing forward); opposite of starboard

Preventer - A Line or other device used to prevent the boom from accidentally gybing from one side to the other

Pulpit - A (usually stainless steel) rail around the bow or stern typically at the height of the lifelines

Rail - the outer edge of the boat's deck and cockpit; also called the gunwale

Rig (or rigging) - The mast, boom, and associated equipment including stays, shrouds, sheets, and halyards

Rode - The line or chain between an anchor and the boat

Roller furler - A device by which a sail is rolled up, such as the jib rolling around a rotating forestay fitting

Rudder - An appendage below or on the boat's stern that is rotated (by moving the tiller or wheel) to steer the boat

Safety harness - Personal gear (a separate harness or may be built into a PFD) that attaches to a tether to keep the person on board

Sail ties - Short straps or pieces of line used to tie a lowered mainsail to the boom or secure a sail on deck

Schooner - A type of sailboat with two or more masts, the forward one being shorter than the main mast

Seacock - A valve fitting for closing an opening through the boat's hull (drains, water pipes, etc.)

Shackle - A (usually metal) fitting that secures two things together, such as a halyard shackle connecting to a sail

Sheet - The line used to let out or trim in a sail; on a sloop, a mainsheet and two jibsheets

Shroud - Wire or line stay from the deck or hull supporting the mast on each side

Sloop - A type of sailboat with one mast and two triangular sails (main and jib);

Sole - The floor of the cockpit or cabin

Spinnaker - A lightweight sail used downwind, often ballooning in front of the boat

Spreaders - Metal struts on the mast that hold the shrouds out from the mast for a better support angle

Stanchions - Short metal poles around the boat's perimeter that support the lifelines

Starboard - The right side of the boat (when facing forward); opposite of port

Stay - Wire or line from the deck or hull to support the mast; stays include the forestay, backstay, and shrouds (on the sides)

Tack - The bottom front corner of a sail

Telltales - Pieces of yarn or ribbons on the luff of a sail to help with trimming, or fastened to shrouds to show the wind direction

Tether - A short line or strap that runs between a safety harness and a point of attachment on the boat, to prevent going overboard

Tiller - A long handle connected to the rudder or rudder post on many sailboats for steering

Topping lift - A wire or line from the masthead that holds up the boom when the sail is lowered

Topsides - The area of outer hull above the waterline

Traveler - A fitting allowing the mainsheet attachment to the boat to be adjusted side to side

Vang - See Boom vang

Whisker pole - A pole used to hold out the jib when sailing off the wind

Winch - A drum-like device used to pull in lines under strain (halyards, sheets)

Windless - A heavy winch used with the anchor rode

Yawl - A type of sailboat with two masts, the aft one (mizzen) being behind the rudder post

Article courtesy of About.com