CALENDAR-TIME. On which officers' bills are drawn.
CALF. A word generally applied to the young of marine mammalia, as the
whale.--_Calf_, in the Arctic regions, a mass of floe ice breaking from
under a floe, which when disengaged rises with violence to the surface
of the water; it differs from a tongue, which is the same body kept
fixed beneath the main floe. The iceberg is formed by the repeated
freezing of thawed snow running down over the slopes, until at length
the wave from beneath and weight above causes it to break off and fall
into the sea, or, as termed in Greenland, to calve. Thus, berg, is
fresh-water ice, the work of years. The floe, is salt water frozen
suddenly each winter, and dissolving in the summer.
CALF, OR CALVA. A Norwegian name, also used in the Hebrides, for islets
lying off islands, and bearing a similar relation to them in size that a
calf does to a cow. As the Calf at Mull and the Calf of Man.
CALFAT. The old word for caulking. [_Calfater_, Fr.; probably from
_cale_, wedge, and _faire_, to make.] To wedge up an opening with any
soft material, as oakum. [_Calafatear_, Sp.]
CALIBER, OR CALIBRE. The diameter of the bore of a gun, cannon, shot, or
bullet. A ship's caliber means the known weight her armament represents.
CALIPASH. The upper shell of a turtle.
CALIPEE. The under shell of a turtle.
CALIVER. A hand-gun or arquebuss; probably the old name of the
matchlock or carabine, precursors of the modern fire-lock, or Enfield
rifle. (_See_ CALABASS.)
CALL. A peculiar silver pipe or whistle, used by the boatswain and his
mates to attract attention, and summon the sailors to their meals or
duties by various strains, each of them appropriated to some particular
purpose, such as hoisting, heaving, lowering, veering away, belaying,
letting go a tackle-fall, sweeping, &c. This piping is as attentively
observed by sailors, as the bugle or beat of drum is obeyed by soldiers.
The coxswains of the boats of French ships of war are supplied with
calls to "in bow oar," or "of all," "oars," &c.
CALLIPERS. Bow-legged compasses, used to measure the girth of timber,
the external diameter of masts, shot, and other circular or cylindrical
substances. Also, an instrument with a sliding leg, used for measuring
the packages constituting a ship's cargo, which is paid for by its
cubical contents.
CALL THE WATCH. This is done every four hours, except at the
dog-watches, to relieve those on deck, also by pipe. "All the watch," or
all the starboard, or the port, first, second, third, or fourth watches.
CALM. There being no wind stirring it is designated flat, dead, or
stark, under each of which the surface of the sea is unruffled.
CALM LATITUDES. That tropical tract of ocean which lies between the
north-east and south-east trade-winds; its situation varies several
degrees, depending upon the season of the year. The term is also applied
to a part of the sea on the Polar side of the trades, between them and
the westerly winds.
CALVERED SALMON. Salmon prepared in a peculiar manner in early times.
CALVE'S TONGUE. A sort of moulding usually made at the caps and bases of
round pillars, to taper or hance the round part to the square.
CAMBER. The part of a dockyard where cambering is performed, and timber
kept. Also, a small dock in the royal yards, for the convenience of
loading and discharging timber. Also, anything that curves upwards.--_To
camber_, to curve ship-planks.
CAMBER-KEELED. Keel slightly arched upwards in the middle of the length,
but not actually hogged.
CAMBOOSE. A form of _caboose_ (which see).
CAMELS. All large ships are built, at St. Petersburg, in a dockyard off
the Granite Quay, where the water is shallow; therefore a number of
camels or caissons are kept at Cronstadt, for the purpose of carrying
them down the river. Camels are hollow cases of wood, constructed in two
halves, so as to embrace the keel, and lay hold of the hull of a ship on
both sides. They are first filled with water and sunk, in order to be
fixed on. The water is then pumped out, when the vessel gradually rises,
and the process is continued until the ship is enabled to pass over the
shoal. Similar camels were used at Rotterdam about 1690.
CAME-TO. Brought to an anchor.
CAMFER. _See_ CHAMFER.
CAMISADO. A sudden surprise or assault of the enemy.
CAMOCK. A very early term for crooked timber.
CAMP. The whole extent of ground on which an army pitches its tents and
lodges. (_See_ DECAMP.)
CAMP, OR CAMP-OUT, TO. In American travel, to rest for the night without
a standing roof; whether under a light tent, a screen of boughs, or any
makeshift that the neighbourhood may afford.
CAMPAIGN. A series of connected operations by an army in the field,
unbroken by its retiring into quarters.
CAMPAIGNER. A veteran soldier.
CAMP-EQUIPAGE. _See_ EQUIPAGE.
CAMPER. _See_ KEMP.
CAMPESON. _See_ GAMBISON.
CAMP-FIGHT. _See_ ACRE.
CAN. A tin vessel used by sailors to drink out of.
CANAICHE, OR CANASH. An inner port, as at Granada in the West Indies.
CANAL-BOAT. A barge generally towed by horses, but furnished with a
large square-sail for occasional use.
CAN-BODIES. The old term for anchor-buoys, now can-buoys.
CAN-BUOYS. Are in the form of a cone, and therefore would countenance
the term cone-buoys. They are floated over sands and other obstructions
in navigation, as marks to be avoided; they are made very large, to be
seen at a distance; where there are several, they are distinguished by
their colour, as black, red, white, or chequered; &c.
CANCELLED TICKET. One rendered useless by some subsequent arrangement or
clerk's error. In either case the word "cancelled" is to be written
across in large characters, and due record made. The corner cut off
cancels good character, yet they are a certificate for time.
CANCER. The Crab; the fourth sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters
about the 21st of June, and commences the summer solstice.
CANDLE-BARK. A cylindrical tin box for candles.
CANE. The rattan (_Calamus rudentum_), is extensively used in the East
for rigging, rope, and cables. The latter have remained for years at the
bottom of the sea uninjured by teredo, or any destructive crustacea. The
cables, too, resist any but the sharpest axes, when used to connect logs
as booms, to stop the navigation of rivers.
CANEVAS. The old word for hempen canvas; but many races, even the
Chinese, make sails entirely of cane. The Americans frequently use
cotton, and term that cloth duck. In the islands of the South Pacific it
is made from the bark of various trees, grasses, &c.
CAN-HOOKS. They are used to sling a cask by the chimes, or ends of its
staves, and are formed by reeving the two ends of a piece of rope or
chain through the eyes of two flat hooks, and there making them fast.
The tackle is then hooked to the middle of the bight.
CANISTER SHOT. _See_ CASE-SHOT.
CANNIKIN. A small drinking-vessel.
CANNON. The well-known piece of artillery, mounted in battery on board
or on shore, and made either of brass or iron. The principal parts
are:--1st. The breech, together with the cascable and its button, called
by seamen the pommelion. The breech is of solid metal, from the bottom
of the concave cylinder or chamber to the cascable. 2d. The trunnions,
which project on each side, and serve to support the cannon, hold it
almost in equilibrio. 3d. The bore or caliber, is the interior of the
cylinder, wherein the powder and shot are lodged when the cannon is
loaded. The entrance of the bore is called the mouth or muzzle. It may
be generally described as gradually tapering, with the various
modifications of first and second reinforce and swell, to the muzzle or
forward end. (_See_ GUN.)
CANNONADE. The opening and continuance of the fire of artillery on any
object attacked. Battering with cannon-shot.
CANNON-PERER. An ancient piece of ordnance used in ships of war for
throwing stone shot.
CANNON-PETRONEL. A piece of ordnance with a 6-inch bore which carried a
24-lb. ball.
CANNON, RIFLED. Introduced by Captain Blakely, Sir W. Armstrong, and
others.
CANNON ROYAL. A 60-pounder of eight and a half inches bore. (_See_
CARTHOUN.)
CANNON-SERPENTINE. An old name for a gun of 7-inches bore.
CANOE. A peculiar boat used by several uncivilized nations, formed of
the trunk of a tree hollowed out, and sometimes of several pieces of
bark joined together, and again of hide. They are of various sizes,
according to the uses for which they are designed, or the countries to
which they belong. Some carry sail, but they are commonly rowed with
paddles, somewhat resembling a corn-shovel; and instead of rowing with
it horizontally, as with an oar, they manage it perpendicularly. In
Greenland and Hudson Bay, the Esquimaux limits of America, skin-boats
are chiefly in use, under the name of kaiack, oomiak, baidar, &c.
CANOPUS. The lucida of Argo Navis, and a Greenwich star. Also, a city of
classical importance, visited by the heroes of the Trojan war, the
reputed burial-place of the pilot of Menelaus, &c. But, as some ancient
places have been so fortunate as to renew their classical importance in
modern times, so this, under the modern name of Abukeir, has received a
new "stamp of fate," by its overlooking, like Salamis, the scene of a
naval battle, which also led to a decision of the fate of nations. In
this bay Nelson, at one blow, destroyed the fleet of the enemy, and cut
off the veteran army of France from the shores of Egypt. The Canopian
mouth of the Nile was the most westerly of all the branches of that
celebrated river.
CANOPY. A light awning over the stern-sheets of a boat.
CANT, TO. To turn anything about, or so that it does not stand square.
To diverge from a central right line. Cant the boat or ship; _i.e._ for
careening her.
CANT. A cut made in a whale between the neck and the fins, to which the
cant-purchase is made fast, for turning the animal round in the
operation of flensing.
CANTARA. A watering-place.
CANT-BLOCKS. The large purchase-blocks used by whalers to cant the
whales round under the process of flensing.
CANT-BODY. An imaginary figure of that part of a ship's body which forms
the shape forward and aft, and whose planes make obtuse angles with the
midship line of the ship.
CANTEEN. A small tin vessel for men on service to carry liquids. Also, a
small chest containing utensils for an officer's messing. Also, a kind
of sutling-house in garrisons.
CANTERA. A Spanish fishing-boat.
CANT-FALLS. _See_ SPIKE-TACKLE.
CANT-HOOK. A lever with a hook at one end for heavy articles.
CANTICK-QUOINS. Short three-edged pieces of wood to steady casks from
labouring against each other.
CANTING BALLAST. Is when by a sudden gust or stress of weather a ship is
thrown so far over that the ballast settles to leeward, and prevents the
ship from righting.
CANTING-LIVRE. _See_ CONSOLE-BRACKET.
CANT-LINE. Synonymous with _girt-line_, as to cant the top over the
lowermast-head.
CANTONMENTS. Troops detached and quartered in different towns and
villages near each other.
CANT-PURCHASE. This is formed by a block suspended from the
mainmast-head, and another block made fast to the cant cut in the whale.
(_See_ CANT-BLOCKS.)
CANT-RIBBONS. Those ribbons that do not lie in a horizontal or level
direction.
CANT-ROPE. _See_ FOUR-CANT.
CANT-SPAR. A hand-mast pole, fit for making small masts or yards, booms,
&c.
CANT-TIMBERS. They derive their name from being canted or raised
obliquely from the keel. The upper ends of those on the bow are inclined
to the stem, as those in the after-part incline to the stern-post above.
In a word, cant-timbers are those which do not stand square with the
middle line of the ship. They may be deemed radial bow or stern-timbers.
CANVAS [from _cannabis_, hemp]. A cloth made of hemp, and used for the
sails of ships. It is purchased in bolts, and numbered from 1 to 8,
rarely to 9 and 10. Number 1 being the coarsest and strongest, is used
for the lower sails, as fore-sail and main-sail in large ships. When a
vessel is in motion by means of her sails she is said to be under
canvas.
CANVAS-BACK DUCK. An American wild duck (_Fuligula valisneria_), which
takes this name from the colour of the back feathers; much esteemed as a
delicacy.
CANVAS-CLIMBER. A word used by Marston for a sailor who goes aloft;
hence Marina tells Leonine--
"And, clasping to a mast, endur'd a sea
That almost burst the deck, and from the ladder-tackle
Wash'd off a canvas-climber."
CAP. A strong thick block of wood having two large holes through it, the
one square, the other round, used to confine two masts together, when
one is erected at the head of the other, in order to lengthen it. The
principal caps of a ship are those of the lower masts, which are fitted
with a strong eye-bolt on each side, wherein to hook the block by which
the top-mast is drawn up through the cap. In the same manner as the top
mast slides up through the cap of the lower mast, the topgallant-mast
slides up through the cap of the top-masts. When made of iron the cap
used to be called a crance.--_To cap_ a mast-head is placing tarpaulin
guards against weather. The term is applied to any covering such as lead
put over iron bolts to prevent corrosion by sea-water, canvas covers
over the ends of rigging, &c. &c. Also, pieces of oak laid on the upper
blocks on which a vessel is built, to receive the keel. They are split
out for the addition of the false keel, and therefore should be of the
most free-grained timber. Also, the coating which guards the top of a
quill tube. Also, the percussion priming for fire-arms.--_Cap-a-pied_,
armed from head to foot.
CAP, TO. To puzzle or beat in argument. To salute by touching the
head-covering, as Shakspeare makes Iago's friends act to Othello. It is
now more an academic than a sea-term.
CAPABARRE. An old term for misappropriating government stores. (_See_
Marryat's _Novels_.)
CAPACISE. A corrupt form of _capsize_.
CAPACITY. Burden, tonnage, fitness for the service, rating.
CAPE. A projecting point of land jutting out from the coast-line; the
extremity of a promontory, of which last it is the secondary rank. It
differs from a headland, since a cape may be low. The Cape of Good Hope
is always familiarly known as "The Cape." _Cape_ was also used for a
rhumb-line.
CAPE, TO. To keep a course. How does she cape? how does she lie her
course?
CAPE FLY-AWAY. A cloud-bank on the horizon, mistaken for land, which
disappears as the ship advances. (_See_ FOG.)
CAPE-HEN. _See_ MOLLY-MAWK.
CAPELLA. The lucida of Auriga, and a nautical star.
CAPE-MERCHANT [_capo_]. An old name for super-cargo in early voyages, as
also the head merchant in a factory.
CAPE-PIGEON, OR CAPE-PETREL. A sea-bird which follows a ship in her
passage round the cape; the _Procellaria capensis_. (_See_ PINTADOS.)
CAPER. A light-armed vessel of the 17th century, used by the Dutch for
privateering.
CAPER CORNER-WAY. Diagonally.
CAPFUL OF WIND. A light flaw, which suddenly careens a vessel and passes
off.
CAPITAL OF A WORK. In fortification, an imaginary line bisecting its
most prominent salient angle.
CAPITANA. Formerly the principal galley in a Mediterranean fleet: the
admiral's ship.
CAPITULATION. The conditions on which a subdued force surrenders, agreed
upon between the contending parties.
CAPLIN, OR CAPELIN. A fish of the family _Clupeidae_, very similar to a
smelt; frequently imported from Newfoundland dried. It is the general
bait for cod-fish there.
CAP'N. The way in which some address the commanders of merchant vessels.
CAPON. A jeering name for the red-herring.
CAPONNIERE. In fortification, a passage across the bottom of the ditch,
covered, at the least, by a parapet on each side, and very generally
also with a bomb-proof roof, when it may be furnished with many guns,
which are of great importance in the defence of a fortress, as the
besieger can hardly silence them till he has constructed batteries on
the brink of the ditch.
CAPOTE. A good storm-coat with a hood, much worn in the Levant, and made
of a special manufacture.
CAPPANUS. The worm which adheres to, and gnaws the bottom of a ship, to
prevent which all ships should be sheathed with copper.
CAPPED. A ship making against a race or very strong currents.
CAPRICORNUS. The tenth sign of the zodiac, which the sun enters about
the 21st of December, and opens the winter solstice.
CAP-SCUTTLE. A framing composed of coamings and head-ledges raised above
the deck, with a top which shuts closely over into a rabbet.
CAP-SHORE. A supporting spar between the cap and the trestle-tree.
CAPSIZE, TO. To upset or overturn anything.
CAP-SQUARE. The clamp of iron which shuts over the trunnions of a gun to
secure them to the carriage, having a curve to receive one-third part of
the trunnion, the other two being sunk in the carriage; it is closed by
forelocks.
CAPSTAN, CABESTAN, CAPSTERN, CAPSTON, &c. A mechanical arrangement for
lifting great weights. There is a variety of capsterns, but they agree
in having a horizontal circular head, which has square holes around its
edge, and in these long bars are shipped, and are said to be "swifted"
when their outer ends are traced together; beneath is a perpendicular
barrel, round which is wrapped the rope or chain used to lift the anchor
or other great weight, even to the heaving a ship off a shoal. Now, in
most ships where a capstern is used to lift the anchor, the chain cable
is itself brought to the capstern. The purchase or lifting power is
gained by the great sweep of the bars. A perpendicular iron spindle
passes through the whole capstern, and is stepped into a socket on the
deck below the one on which it stands. In some cases capsterns are
double in height, so that bars may be worked on two decks, giving more
room for the men.
CAPSTAN, TO COME UP THE. In one sense is to lift the pauls and walk
back, or turn the capstan the contrary way, thereby slackening, or
letting out some of the rope on which they have been heaving. The sudden
order would be obeyed by surging, or letting go any rope on which they
were heaving. Synonymous to "Come up the purchase."
CAPSTAN, TO HEAVE AT THE. To urge it round, by pushing against the bars,
as already described.
CAPSTAN, TO MAN THE. To place the sailors at it in readiness to heave.
CAPSTAN, TO PAUL THE. To drop all the pauls into their sockets, to
prevent the capstan from recoiling during any pause of heaving.
CAPSTAN, TO RIG THE. To fix the bars in their respective holes, thrust
in the pins to confine them, and reeve the swifter through the ends.
CAPSTAN, SURGE THE. Is the order to slacken the rope which is wound
round the barrel while heaving, to prevent it from riding or fouling.
This term specially applies to surging the messenger when it rides, or
when the two lashing eyes foul on the whelps or the barrel.
CAPSTAN-BAR PINS. Pins inserted through their ends to prevent their
unshipping.
CAPSTAN-BARRING. An obsolete sea-punishment, in which the offender was
sentenced to carry a capstan-bar during a watch.
CAPSTAN-BARS. Long pieces of wood of the best ash or hickory, one end of
which is thrust into the square holes in the drumhead, like the spokes
of a wheel. They are used to heave the capstan round, by the men setting
their hands and chests against them, and walking round. They are also
held in their places in the drumhead holes, by little iron bolts called
capstan or safety pins, to prevent their flying out when the surging
overcomes the force of the men. Many men have been killed by this
action, and more by the omission to "pin and swift."
CAPSTAN-ROOM. _See_ ROOM.
CAPSTAN-STEP. (_See_ STEP OF THE CAPSTAN.) The men march round to the
tune of a fiddle or fife, and the phrase of excitement is, "Step out,
lads, make your feet tell."
CAPSTAN-SWIFTER. A rope passed horizontally through notches in the outer
ends of the bars, and drawn very tight: the intent is to steady the men
as they walk round when the ship rolls, and to give room for a greater
number to assist, by manning the swifters both within and without.
CAPTAIN. This title is said to be derived from the eastern military
magistrate _katapan_, meaning "over everything;" but the term _capitano_
was in use among the Italians nearly 200 years before Basilius II.
appointed his katapan of Apulia and Calabria, A.D. 984. Hence, the
corruption of the Apulian province into _capitanata_. Among the
Anglo-Saxons the captain was _schipp-hlaford_, or ship's lord. The
captain, strictly speaking, is the officer commanding a line-of-battle
ship, or a frigate carrying twenty or more cannon. A captain in the
royal navy is answerable for any bad conduct in the military government,
navigation, and equipment of his ship; also for any neglect of duty in
his inferior officers, whose several charges he is appointed to
regulate. It is also a title, though incorrectly, given to the masters
of all vessels whatever, they having no commissions. It is also applied
in the navy itself to the chief sailor of particular gangs of men; in
rank, captain of the forecastle, admiral's coxswain, captain's
coxswain, captain of the hold, captain of main-top, captain of fore-top,
&c.
CAPTAIN. A name given to the crooner, crowner, or gray gurnard (_Trigla
gurnardus_).
CAPTAIN OF A MERCHANT SHIP. Is a certificated officer in the mercantile
marine, intrusted with the entire charge of a ship, both as regards life
and property. He is in no way invested with special powers to meet his
peculiar circumstances, but has chiefly to depend upon moral influence
for maintaining order amongst his passengers and crew during the many
weeks or even months that he is cut off from appeal to the laws of his
country, only resorting to force on extreme occasions. Great tact and
judgment is required to fulfil this duty properly.
CAPTAIN OF A SHIP OF WAR. Is the commanding officer; as well the
post-captain (a title now disused) as those whose proper title is
commander.
CAPTAIN OF THE FLEET. Is a temporary admiralty appointment; he is
entitled to be considered as a flag-officer, and to a share in the
prize-money accordingly. He carries out all orders issued by the
commander-in-chief, but his special duty is to keep up the discipline of
the fleet, in which he is supreme. He is the adjutant-general of the
force, hoisting the flag and wearing the uniform of rear-admiral.
CAPTAIN OF THE HEAD. Not a recognized rating, but an ordinary man
appointed to attend to the swabs, and to keep the ship's head clean.
CAPTAIN OF THE HOLD. The last of the captains in rank, as a first-class
petty officer.
CAPTAIN OF THE PORT. The captain of the port is probably better
explained by referring to that situation at Gibraltar. He belongs to the
Board of Health; he controls the entries and departures, the berthing at
the anchorage, and general marine duties, but possesses no naval
authority. Hence, the port-captain is quite another officer. (_See_
PORT-CAPTAIN.)
CAPTAIN-GENERAL. The highest army rank.
CAPTAIN'S CLERK. One whose duty is strictly to keep all books and
official papers necessary for passing the captain's accounts at the
admiralty.
CAPTAIN'S CLOAK. The jocose name given to the last sweeping clause, the
thirty-sixth article of war:--"All other crimes not capital, and for
which no punishment is hereby directed to be inflicted, shall be
punished according to the laws and customs in such cases used at sea."
CAPTAIN'S GIG. _See_ GIG.
CAPTAIN'S STORE-ROOM. A place of reserve on the platform deck, for the
captain's wines and sea-stores.
CAPTIVE. A prisoner of war.
CAPTORS. The conquerors of and sharers in the proceeds of a prize.
Captors are not at liberty to release prisoners belonging to the ships
of the enemy. The last survivor is in law the only captor.
CAPTURE. A prize taken by a ship of war at sea; is the taking forcible
possession of vessels or goods belonging to one nation by those of a
hostile nation. Vessels are looked on as prizes if they fight under any
other standard than that of the state from which they have their
commission; if they have no charty-party, manifest, or bill of lading,
or if loaded with effects belonging to the king's enemies, or even
contraband goods. Whether the capture be lawful or unlawful, the insurer
is rendered liable to the loss.
CAR. A north-country word, denoting any swampy land surrounded by
inclosures, and occasionally under water.
CARABINEER. One who uses the carbine.
CARACK, CARRAK, OR CARRICK. A large ship of burden, the same with those
called galleons. Hippus, the Tyrian, is said to have first devised
caracks, and onerary vessels of prodigious bulk for traffic or offence.
CARACORA. A proa of Borneo, Ternate, and the Eastern Isles; also called
caracol by early voyagers.
CARAMOUSSAL. A Turkish merchant ship with a pink-stern.
CARAVEL, OR CARAVELA. A Portuguese despatch boat, lateen-rigged,
formerly in use; it had square sails only on the fore-mast, though
dignified as a caravela.
CARAVELAO. A light pink-sterned vessel of the Azores.
CARBASSE. _See_ KARBATZ.
CARBIN. A name in our northern isles for the basking shark.
CARBINE, OR CARABINE. A fire-arm of less length and weight than a
musket, originally carrying a smaller ball, though latterly, for the
convenience of the supply of ammunition, throwing the same bullet as the
musket, though with a smaller charge. It has been proper to mounted
troops since about A.D. 1556, and has been preferred to the musket as a
weapon for the tops of ships as well as boats.
CARCASS. An iron shell for incendiary purposes, filled with a very
fiercely flaming composition of saltpetre, sulphur, resin, turpentine,
antimony, and tallow. It has three vents for the flame, and sometimes is
equipped with pistol barrels, so fitted in its interior as to discharge
their bullets at various times.
CARCASS OF A SHIP. The ribs, with keel, stem, and stern-post, after the
planks are stripped off.
CARCATUS [from _caricato_, It.] A law-term for a freighted ship.
CARD. The dial or face of the magnetic compass-card.
"Reason the card, but passion is the gale."--_Pope._
Probably derived from _cardinal_.
CARDINAL POINTS. The general name by which the north, east, south, and
west rhumbs of the horizon are distinguished.
CARDINAL POINTS OF THE ECLIPTIC. The equinoctial and solstitial points;
namely, the commencement of Aries and Libra, and of Cancer and
Capricornus.
CARDINAL SIGNS. The zodiacal signs which the sun enters at the equinoxes
and solstices.
CARDINAL WINDS. Those from the due north, east, south, and west points
of the compass.
CAREEN, TO. A ship is said to careen when she inclines to one side, or
lies over when sailing on a wind; off her keel or carina.
CAREENING. The operation of heaving the ship down on one side, by
arranging the ballast, or the application of a strong purchase to her
masts, which require to be expressly supported for the occasion to
prevent their springing; by these means one side of the bottom, elevated
above the surface of the water, may be cleansed or repaired. (_See_
BREAMING.) But this operation is now nearly superseded by sheathing
ships with copper, whereby they keep a clean bottom for several years.
CAREENING BEACH. A part of the strand prepared for the purpose of a
ship's being grounded on a list or careen, to repair defects.
CARFINDO. One of the carpenter's crew.
CARGO. The merchandise a ship is freighted with.
CARGO-BOOK. The master of every coasting-vessel is required to keep a
cargo-book, stating the name of the ship, of the master, of the port to
which she belongs, and that to which she is bound; with a roll of all
goods, shippers, and consignees. In all other merchant ships the
cargo-book is a clean copy of all cargo entered in the gangway-book, and
shows the mark, number, quality, and (if measurement goods) the
dimensions of such packages of a ship's cargo.
CARICATORE. Places where the traders of Sicily take in their goods, from
_caricare_, to load.
CARINA. An old term, from the Latin, for the keel, or a ship's bottom.
The north-country term keel means an entire vessel: "So many keels
touched the strand." (_See_ KEEL.)
CARL, OR MALE HEMP. _See_ FIMBLE or FEMALE HEMP.
CARLE-CRAB. The male of the black-clawed crab, _Cancer pagurus_; also of
the partan or common crab.
CARLINE-KNEES. Timbers going athwart the ship, from the sides to the
hatchway, serving to sustain the deck on both sides.
CARLINES, OR CARLINGS. Pieces of timber about five inches square, lying
fore and aft, along from one beam to another. On and athwart these the
ledges rest, whereon the planks of the deck and other portions of
carpentry are made fast. The carlines have their end let into the beams,
called "culver-tail-wise," or scored in pigeon-fashion. There are other
carlines of a subordinate character.
CARLINO, OR CAROLINE. A small silver coin of Naples, value 4_d._
English. Ten carlini make a ducat in commerce.
CARN-TANGLE. A long and large fucus, thrown on our northern beaches
after a gale of wind in the offing.
CAROUS. A sort of gallery in ancient ships, which turned on a pivot. It
was hoisted to a given height by tackles, and thus brought to project
over, or into, the vessel of an adversary, furnishing a bridge for
boarding.
CARP. A well-known fresh-water fish of the Cyprinidae family, considered
to have been introduced into England in the time of Henry VIII.; but in
Dame Berner's book on angling, published in 1486, it is described as the
"daynteous fysshe" in England.
CARPENTER, SHIP. A ship-builder. An officer appointed to examine and
keep in order the hull of a ship, and all her appurtenances, likewise
the stores committed to him by indenture from the store-keeper of the
dockyard. The absence of other tradesmen whilst a ship is at sea, and
the numerous emergencies in which ships are placed requiring invention,
render a good ship's carpenter one of the most valuable artizans on
board.
CARPENTER'S CREW. Consists of a portion of the crew, provided for
ship-carpentry and ship-building. In ships of war there are two
carpenter's mates and one caulker, one blacksmith, and a carpenter's
crew, according to the size of the ship.
CARPENTER'S STORE-ROOM. An apartment built below, on the platform-deck,
for keeping the carpenter's stores and spare tools in.
CARPENTER'S YEOMAN. _See_ YEOMAN.
CARPET-KNIGHT. A man who obtains knighthood on a pretence for services
in which he never participated.
CARPET-MEN. Those officers who, without services or merit, obtain rapid
promotion through political or other interest, and are yet declared
"highly meritorious and distinguished."
CARR. _See_ CAR.
CARRAC, CARRACA, CARRACK, OR CARRICKE. A name given by the Spaniards and
Portuguese to the vessels they sent to Brazil and the East Indies;
large, round built, and fitted for fight as well as burden. Their
capacity lay in their depth, which was extraordinary. English vessels of
size and value were sometimes also so called.
CARRARA. The great northern diver, _Colymbus glacialis_.
CARREE. A Manx or Gaelic term for the scud or small clouds that drive
with the wind.
CARRIAGE OF A GUN. The frame on which it is mounted for firing,
constructed either exclusively for this purpose, or also for travelling
in the field. Carriages for its transport only, are not included under
this term. The first kind only is in general use afloat, where it
usually consists of two thick planks (called brackets or cheeks) laid on
edge to support the trunnions, and resting, besides other transverse
connections, on two axle-trees, which are borne on low solid wooden
wheels called trucks, or sometimes, to diminish the recoil, on flat
blocks called chocks. The hind axle-tree takes, with the intervention of
various elevating arrangements, the preponderance of the breech. The
second kind is adapted for field and siege work: the shallow brackets
are raised in front on high wheels, but unite behind into a solid beam
called the trail, which tapers downwards, and rests on the ground when
in action, but for travel is connected to a two-wheeled carriage called
a _limber_ (which see). Gun-carriages are chiefly made of elm for
ship-board, as less given to splinter from shot, and of oak on shore;
wrought-iron, however, is being applied for the carriages of the large
guns recently introduced, and even cast-iron is economically used in
some fortresses little liable to sudden counter-battery.
CARRICK. An old Gaelic term for a castle or fortress, as well as for a
rock in the sea.
CARRICK-BEND. A kind of knot, formed on a bight by putting the end of a
rope over its standing part, and then passing it.
CARRICK-BITTS. The bitts which support the ends or spindles of the
windlass, whence they are also called windlass-bitts.
CARRIED. Taken, applied to the capture of forts and ships.
CARRONADE. A short gun, capable of carrying a large ball, and useful in
close engagements at sea. It takes its name from the large iron-foundry
on the banks of the Carron, near Falkirk, in Scotland, where this sort
of ordnance was first made, or the principle applied to an improved
construction. Shorter and lighter than the common cannon, and having a
chamber for the powder like a mortar, they are generally of large
calibre, and carried on the upper works, as the poop and forecastle.
CARRONADE SLIDE. Composed of two wide balks of elm on which the
carronade carriage slides. As the slide is bolted to the ship's side,
and is a radius from that bolt or pivot, carronades were once the only
guns which could be truly concentrated on a given object.
CARRY, TO. To subdue a vessel by boarding her. To move anything along
the decks. (_See_ LASH AND CARRY, as relating to hammocks.) Also, to
obtain possession of a fort or place by force. Also, the direction or
movement of the clouds. Also, a gun is said to carry its shot so many
yards. Also, a ship carries her canvas, and her cargo.
CARRY AWAY, TO. To break; as, "That ship has carried away her
fore-topmast," _i.e._ has broken it off. It is customary to say, we
carried away this or that, when knocked, shot, or blown away. It is also
used when a rope has been parted by violence.
CARRYING ON DUTY. The operations of the officer in charge of the deck or
watch.
CARRYING ON THE WAR. Making suitable arrangements for carrying on the
lark or amusement.
CARRY ON, TO. To spread all sail; also, beyond discretion, or at all
hazards. In galley-slang, to joke a person even to anger; also riotous
frolicking.
CARRY THE KEG. _See_ KEG.
CARTE BLANCHE. In the service sense of the term, implies an authority to
act at discretion.
CARTEL. A ship commissioned in time of war to exchange the prisoners of
any two hostile powers, or to carry a proposal from one to the other;
for this reason she has only one gun, for the purpose of firing signals,
as the officer who commands her is particularly ordered to carry no
cargo, ammunition, or implements of war. Cartel also signifies an
agreement between two hostile powers for a mutual exchange of prisoners.
In late wars, ships of war fully armed, but under cartel, carried
commissions for settling peace, as flags of truce. Cartel-ships, by
trading in any way, are liable to confiscation.
CARTHOUN. The ancient cannon royal, carrying a 66-lb. ball, with a point
blank range of 185 paces, and an extreme one of about 2000. It was 12
feet long and of 8-1/2 inches diameter of bore.
CARTOUCH-BOX. The accoutrement which contains the musket-cartridges: now
generally called a pouch.
CARTOW. _See_ CART-PIECE.
CART-PIECE. An early battering cannon mounted on a peculiar cart.
CARTRIDGE. The case in which the exact charge of powder for fire-arms is
made up--of paper for small-arms, of flannel for great guns, or of sheet
metal for breech-loading muskets. For small-arms generally the cartridge
contains the bullet as well as the powder, and in the case of most
breech-loaders, the percussion priming also; in the case of some very
light pieces the shot is included, and then named a round of "fixed
ammunition;" and for breech-loading guns some sort of lubricator is
generally inclosed in the forward end of the cartridge.
CARTRIDGE-BOX. A cylindrical wooden box with a lid sliding upon a handle
of small rope, just containing one cartridge, and used for its safe
conveyance from the magazine to the gun--borne to and fro by
powder-monkeys (boys) of old. The term is loosely applied to the
ammunition pouch.
CARUEL. _See_ CARVEL.
CARVED WORK. The ornaments of a ship which are wrought by the carver.
CARVEL. A light lateen-rigged vessel of small burden, formerly used by
the Spaniards and Portuguese. Also, a coarse sea-blubber, on which
turtles are said to feed.
CARVEL-BUILT. A vessel or boat, the planks of which are all flush and
smooth, the edges laid close to each other, and caulked to make them
water-tight: in contradistinction to clinker-built, where they overlap
each other.
CARY. _See_ MOTHER CARY'S CHICKEN. _Procellaria pelagica_.
CASCABLE. That generally convex part of a gun which terminates the
breech end of it. The term includes the usual button which is connected
to it by the neck of the cascable.
CASCADE. A fall of water from a considerable height, rather by
successive stages than in a single mass, as with a cataract.
CASCO. A rubbish-lighter of the Philippine Islands.
CASE. The outside planking of the ship.
CASE-BOOK. A register or journal in which the surgeon records the cases
of all the sick and wounded, who are placed under medical treatment.
CASEMATE. In fortification, a chamber having a vaulted roof capable of
resisting vertical fire, and affording embrasures or loop-holes to
contribute to the defence of the place: without these it would be merely
a bomb-proof.
CASERNES. Often considered as synonymous with _barracks_; but more
correctly small lodgments erected between the ramparts and houses of a
fortified town, to ease the inhabitants by quartering soldiers there,
who are also in better condition for duty than if living in various
parts.
CASE-SHOT, COMMON. Called also canister-shot. Adapted for close quarters
if the enemy be uncovered. It consists of a number of small iron balls,
varying in weight and number, packed in a cylindrical tin case fitting
the bore of the gun from which it is to be fired. Burrel, langrage, and
other irregular substitutes, may be included under the term. Spherical
case-shot are officially called _shrapnel shell_ (which see).
CASHIERED. Sentenced by a court-martial to be dismissed the service. By
such sentence an officer is rendered ever after incapable of serving the
sovereign in any position, naval or military.
CASING. The lining, veneering, or planking over a ship's timbers,
especially for the cabin-beams; the sheathing of her. Also a bulk-head
round a mast to prevent the interference of cargo, or shifting
materials.
CASING-COVER. In the marine steam-engine is a steam-tight opening for
the slide-valve rod to pass through.