│ │Powder │ │Weight of│ Weight of │
│ Nature of the │ contained in│Weight of the │ the │ powder │
│ mortar. │ the chamber │ mortar. │ shell │ contained │
│ │ when full. │ │ when │ in the │
│ │ │ │ fixed. │ shell. │
├────────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼─────────┼───────────┤
│ │ lb. oz. pl.│Cwt. qu. lb.│ lb.│ lb. oz.│
│10 inch howitzer│ 12 0 0│ 31 2 26│ │ │
│13 inch mortar │ 30 0 0│ 81 2 1│ 198│ 7 0│
│10 inch mortar │ 12 0 0│ 34 2 11│ 93│ │
└────────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┴─────────┴───────────┘
The howitzer, fig. 18. is a sort of mortar, which is to be fixed
horizontally like a cannon; and has, like the cannon, a wheel-carriage.
These pieces, however, are very rarely used in the sea-service.
For an account of the elevation of the mortar, and flight of bombs
according to the different charges of powder, the reader is referred to
the article RANGE.
MOULD, _devers_, a thin flexible piece of timber, used by shipwrights,
as a pattern whereby to form the different curves of the timbers, and
other _compassing_ pieces, in a ship’s frame. There are two sorts of
these, namely, the bend-mould and hollow-mould: the former of these
determines the convexity of the timbers, and the latter, their concavity
on the outside, where they approach the keel, particularly towards the
extremities of the vessel. The figure, given to the timbers by this
pattern, is called their _bevelling_. See that article.
MOUNTED, _monté_, the state of being armed or equipped with a certain
number of cannon; expressed of a vessel of war.
MOUSE, _fusée_, a sort of knob, usually in the shape of a pear, wrought
on the outside of a rope, by means of spun-yarn, parsling, &c. as
described in the article _puddening_. It is used to confine some other
securely to the former, and prevent it from sliding along its surface.
These mouses are particularly used on the stays of the lower-mast, to
prevent the _eye_ from slipping up to the mast; a circumstance which
would render it extremely difficult to remove the stay from the
mast-head, when necessary.
MOUSING _a hook_, the operation of fastening a small cord, or line,
across the upper-part, from the point to the back thereof, in order to
prevent it from unhooking by the motion of the vessel, or otherwise.
MUSTERING, (_mousteren_, Dutch) the act of calling over a list of the
whole ship’s company, or any particular detachment thereof, who are
accordingly summoned to answer by their names on the occasion.
N.
NAVAL, of or belonging to a ship, or to the royal navy. Hence we say,
naval-stores, naval officers, &c.
NAVE-LINE, a sort of small tackle, depending from the head of the
main-mast and foremast, and fastened to the middle of the _parrel_
immediately behind the mast, and communicating with the gears. It is
used to keep the parrel directly opposite to the yard, and particularly
whilst hoisting or lowering, as it would otherwise hang under the yard,
and prevent it from being sufficiently _braced_.
NAVIGATION, (_navigation_, Fr.) the art of directing the movements of a
ship by the action of the wind upon the sails. See the article SAILING.
Navigation is then applied, with equal propriety, to the arrangement of
the sails, according to the state of the wind; and to the directing and
measuring a ship’s course by the laws of geometry; or it may comprehend
both, being then considered as the theory and practice thereof.
Since every sea-officer is presumed to be furnished with books of
navigation, in which that science is copiously described, it would be
superfluous to enter into a particular detail of it in this place. As it
would also be a fruitless task to those who are entirely ignorant of the
rules of trigonometry, it appears not to come within the limits of our
design: and those who are versed in that science generally understand
the principles of navigation already. It suffices to say, that the
course of a ship, and the distance she has run thereon, are measured by
the angles and sides of a right-angled plain triangle, in which the
hypothenuse is converted into the distance; the perpendicular, into the
difference of latitude; the base, into the departure from the meridian;
the angle, formed by the perpendicular and hypothenuse, into the course;
and the opposite angle, contained between the hypothenuse and base, into
its complement of the course.
The course of the ship is determined by the _compass_; and the
_log-line_, or a solar observation, ascertains the distance. Hence the
hypothenuse and angles are given, to find the base and perpendicular; a
problem well known in trigonometry.
That part of navigation, which regards the piloting or conducting a ship
along the sea-coast, can only be acquired by a thorough knowledge of
that particular coast, after repeated voyages. The most necessary
articles thereof are already described in the article COASTING: it is
sufficient to observe, that the bearings and distances from various
parts of the shore are generally ascertained in the night, either by
_light-houses_, or by the different depths of the water, and the various
sorts of ground at the bottom; as shells of different sizes and colours,
sand, gravel, clay, stones, ooze, or shingle. In the day, the ship’s
place is known by the appearance of the land, which is set by the
compass, whilst the distance is estimated by the master or pilot.
NAVY (from _navis_, Lat.) implies, in general, any fleet or assembly of
ships. It is, however, more particularly understood of the fleet of
vessels of war, that belong to a kingdom or state, to be employed either
in assaulting and destroying its enemies, or protecting its commerce,
and defending its coasts against hostilities or invasion.
The navy of Great-Britain, together with its civil and military
departments, is governed by the lord high-admiral, or the lords
commissioners for executing this office. It is divided into several
classes, or orders, in proportion to the size of the ships, &c. See the
article RATE.
If the only objects to be considered in the distribution of the navy,
into different rates, were to improve ship-building, and facilitate the
operations of the marine, it might appear expedient to multiply the
rates, much beyond their present number, which would oblige the
shipwrights to study the principles of their art with more diligence and
application. But the simplicity of the service in our dock-yards, and
the views of œconomy, which ought never to be neglected when they regard
important objects, has rendered it convenient to arrange the masts, the
yards, the sails, the rigging, and artillery, into six rates; which,
besides that of sloops of war, answers all the purposes of the navy. See
DOCK-YARDS.
NAVY is also the collective body of officers employed in his majesty’s
sea-service.
NEAPED, (from _nepflod_, Sax.) the situation of a ship which is left
aground on the height of a spring-tide, so that she cannot be floated
off till the return of the next spring. See TIDE.
NEEDLE, See the article COMPASS.
NETTING, a sort of fence, formed of an assemblage of ropes, fastened
across each other, so as to leave uniform intervals between. These are
usually stretched along the upper-part of a ship’s quarter, and secured
in this position by _rails_ and _stanchions_. See QUARTER.
NIPPERS, _garcettes de tournevire_, certain pieces of flat, braided
cordage, used to fasten the cable to the _voyal_ in a ship of war, when
the former is drawn into the ship by mechanical powers applied to the
latter.
These nippers are usually six or eight feet in length, according to the
size of the cable; and five or six of them are commonly fastened about
the cable and voyal at once, in order to be heaved in by the capstern.
Those which are farthest aft are always taken off, as the cable
approaches the main hatchway; and others are at the same time fastened
on, in the fore-part of the ship, to supply their places. The persons
employed to bind the nippers about the cable and voyal, are called
nipper-men: they are assisted in this office by the boys of the ship,
who always supply them with nippers, and receive the ends of those which
are fastened, to walk aft with them, and take them off at the proper
place, in order to return them to the nipper-men.
NITTLES. See KNITTLES.
NO NEARER! (_arrive!_) the command given by the pilot, or
quarter-master, to the helmsman, to steer the ship no higher to the
direction of the wind than the sails will operate to advance the ship in
her course. It is often abbreviated into _no near_, and sometimes into
_near_; and is generally applied when the sails shake in the wind. See
SHIVERING.
NO MAN’S LAND, _St. Aubinet_, a space between the after-part of the
belfrey and the fore-part of a ship’s boat, when the said boat is stowed
upon the booms, as in a _deep-waisted_ vessel. These booms are laid from
the forecastle nearly to the quarter-deck, where their after-ends are
usually sustained by a frame called the gallows, which consists of two
strong posts, about six feet high, with a cross piece, reaching from one
to the other, _athwart-ships_, and serving to support the ends of those
booms, masts, and yards, which lie in reserve to supply the place of
others carried away, &c. The space called _No man’s land_ is used to
contain any blocks, ropes, tackles, &c. which may be necessary on the
forecastle. It probably derives this name from its situation, as being
neither on the starboard nor larboard side of the ship, nor on the
_waiste_ or _forecastle_; but being situated in the middle, partakes
equally of all those places.
NORMAN, a name given to a short wooden bar, thrust into one of the holes
of the windlass in a merchant-ship, whereon to fasten the cable. It is
only used when there is very little strain on the cable, as in a
commodious harbour, when the ship is well sheltered from the wind and
tide.
NUTS _of the anchor_, two little prominencies, appearing like short
square bars of iron, fixed across the upper-part of the anchor-shank, to
secure the stock thereof in its place; for which purpose there is a
corresponding notch, or channel, cut in the opposite parts of the stock,
of the same dimensions with the nuts. See the article ANCHOR.
O.
OAKHAM, or OAKUM, the substance into which old ropes are reduced, when
they are untwisted, loosened, and drawn asunder. It is principally used
to drive into the seams, or intervals, between the planks of a ship, to
prevent the water from entering. See the article CAULKING.
_White_ OAKUM, is that which is formed of untarred ropes.
OAR, _rame_, (_are_, Sax.) a long piece of timber, flat at one end, and
round or square at the other, and which being applied to the side of a
floating-vessel, serves to make it advance upon the water.
That part of the oar which is out of the vessel, and which enters into
the water, is called the blade, or wash, _plat_; and that which is
within-board, is termed the loom, whose extremity, _manche_, being small
enough to be grasped by the _rowers_, or persons managing the oars, is
called the handle.
To push the boat or vessel forwards, by means of this instrument, the
rowers turn their backs forward, and, dipping the blade of the oar in
the water, pull the handle _forward_ so that the blade at the same time
may move _aft_ in the water: But since the blade cannot be so moved,
without striking the water, this impulsion is the same, as if the water
were to strike the blade from the stern towards the head: the vessel is
therefore necessarily moved according to this direction. Hence it
follows, that she will advance with the greater rapidity, by as much as
the oar strikes the water more forcibly. Thus it is evident, that an oar
acts upon the side of a boat or vessel like a lever of the second class,
whose fulcrum is the station, upon which the oar rests on the boat’s
_gunnel_. In large vessels, this station is usually called the
_row-port_; but in lighters and boats it is always termed the
_row-lock_.
_To ship the_ OARS, _armer_, is to fix them in the row-locks ready for
rowing.
OBSERVATION, the art of measuring the altitude of the sun or a star, in
order to determine the latitude, or the sun’s azimuth, &c.
OFF, an expression applied to the movement of a ship, when she sails out
from the shore towards the distant sea. When a ship is beating to
windward, so that by one board she approaches towards the shore, and by
the other sails out to sea-ward, she is said to stand off and on shore,
alternately. Hence,
OFFING, _largue_, _dehors_, implies out at sea; or at a competent
distance from the shore, and generally out of anchor-ground.
OFFWARD, the situation of a ship which lies aground, and leans off from
the shore.
OLERON, a name given to a code of general rules relating to naval
affairs, and formed by Richard I. when he was at the island of Oleron.
These have been frequently esteemed the most excellent sea-laws in the
world; and are still preserved in the black book of the admiralty.
OPEN, _debouclé_, the situation of a place which is exposed to the wind
and sea, with little or no shelter for shipping to anchor therein.
OPEN, _ouvert_, is also expressed of any distant object, to which the
sight or passage is not intercepted by something lying, or coming
between. Thus, to be open with any place, is to be opposite to it; as
the entry of a port, road, or haven.
OPENING, a passage, or streight, between two adjacent coasts or islands.
ORDINARY, _gardiens_, the establishment of the persons employed by the
government to take charge of the ships of war, which are _laid-up_ in
the several harbours adjacent to the royal dock-yards. These are
principally composed of the warrant-officers of the said ships, as the
gunner, boatswain, carpenter, deputy-purser and cook, and their
servants. There is besides a crew of labourers enrolled in the list of
the ordinary, who pass from ship to ship occasionally to pump, moor,
remove, or clean them, whenever it is necessary.
The term _ordinary_ is also applied, sometimes, to the ships themselves;
it is likewise used to distinguish the inferior sailors from the most
expert and diligent. Thus the latter are rated _able_ on the navy-books,
and have 1_l._ 4_s._ per month whereas those who are rated _ordinary_,
have only 19_s._ per month.
ORLOP, (_over-loop_, Dutch) _faux-pont_, a plat-form of planks laid over
the beams, in the hold of a ship of war, whereon the cables are usually
coiled, and the several officers store-rooms contained.
OVER-BOARD, the state of being thrown out of a ship, or boat, into the
water whereon she swims: also the act of falling from such a vessel into
the sea, &c. as, the ship sprung a leak, and obliged us to throw the
guns over-board; a heavy sea broke over the deck, and carried two of our
men over-board.
OVER-CAST-STAFF, _trebuchet_, a scale, or measure, employed by
shipwrights to determine the difference between the curves of those
_timbers_ which are placed near the greatest breadth, and those which
are situated near the extremities of the keel, where the floor rises and
grows narrower.
OVER-HAULING, _parcourir_, the act of opening and extending the several
parts of a _tackle_, or other assemblage of ropes, communicating with
blocks or _dead-eyes_. It is used to remove those blocks to a sufficient
distance from each other, that they may be again placed in a state of
action, so as to produce the effect required. See the article TACKLE.
OVER-HAULING, is also vulgarly expressed of an examination or inspection
into the condition of a person or thing.
OVER-MASTED, the state of a ship, whose masts are too high, or too
heavy, for the weight of her hull to counter-balance.
OVER-SETTING, _chavirer_, the act of turning any thing upside-down; also
the movement of a ship when she over-turns, _faire capot_, so that the
keel becomes above the water, and the masts under the surface.
OUT, _dehors_, an expression frequently used at sea, implying the
situation of the sails when they are _set_, or extended, to assist the
ship’s course; as opposed to _in_; which is also applied, in the
contrary sense, to signify that such sails are furled.
OUT-FIT, is generally used to signify the expences of equipping a ship
for a sea-voyage; or of arming her for war, or both together. See
FITTING-OUT.
OUT OF TRIM, _endormi_, the state of a ship when she is not properly
balanced for the purposes of navigation; which is either occasioned by
the size, or position of her masts and sails; or by the comparative
quantity, or arrangement of her cargo and ballast in the hold.
OUT-RIGGER, a strong beam of timber, of which there are several fixed on
the side of a ship, and projecting from it, in order to secure the masts
in the act of _careening_. See that article.
The outer ends of these beams are firmly lashed to a bolt in the ship’s
side beneath, by which they are enabled to support the mast, by
counteracting the strain it suffers from the effort of the careening
tackles; which being applied in the mast-head, draws it downwards, so as
to act upon the vessel with the power of a lever, whose fulcrum is in
her centre of gravity.
OUT-RIGGER is also a small boom, occasionally used in the _tops_ to
thrust out the breast-back-stays to windward, in order to increase their
tension, and thereby give additional security to the top-mast.
This boom is usually furnished with a tackle at its inner-end,
communicating with one of the topmast-shrouds; and has a notch on the
outer end to contain the back-stay, and keep it steddy therein. As soon
as the back-stay is drawn tight, by means of its tackle in the _chains_,
the out-rigger is applied aloft, which forces it out to windward, beyond
the circle of the top, so as to increase the angle which the mast makes
with the back-stay, and accordingly enable the latter the better to
support the former.
This machine is sometimes applied without any tackle; it is then thrust
out to its usual distance beyond the top-rim, where it is securely
fastened; after which the back-stay is placed in the notch, and extended
below.
OWNER, the proprietor of a ship, by whom she is freighted to the
merchant for a sea-voyage.
P.
PACKET, or PACKET-BOAT, (_paquet_, Fr.) a vessel appointed by the
government to carry the mail of letters, packets, and expresses from one
kingdom to another by sea, in the most expeditious manner. Thus the
packet-boats, under the direction of the post-master-general of
Great-Britain, carry the mails from Dover to Calais, from Falmouth to
Lisbon, from Harwich to Helvoetsluys, and from Parkgate to Dublin.
PADDLE, _pagaie_, (_pattal_, Welsh) a sort of oar used by the savages of
Africa and America to navigate their canoes. It is much shorter and
broader in the blade than the oars of a boat, and is equally employed in
rowing and steering. See the article CANOE.
PAINTER, _cableau_, (probably from _bindar_, Sax. to bind) a rope
employed to fasten a boat either along-side of the ship to which she
belongs, or to some wharf, key, &c. as occasion requires.
PALM, _paumet_, an implement used instead of a thimble in the exercise
of making and mending sails. It is formed of a piece of leather or
canvas, on the middle of which is fixed a round plate of iron, of an
inch in diameter, whose surface is pierced with a number of small holes,
to catch the head of the sail-needle. The leather is formed so as to
encircle the hand, and button on the back thereof, while the iron
remains in the palm; so that the whole strength of the hand may be
exerted to thrust the needle through the canvas, when it is stiff and
difficult to be penetrated in sewing.
PANCH, a sort of thick and strong mat, or texture, formed by
interweaving twists of rope-yarn as close as possible. It is chiefly
used to fasten on the outside of the yards, or rigging, to prevent their
surfaces from being rubbed by the friction of some other contiguous
object, particularly when the vessel is rocked by a tempestuous sea. See
also MAT.
PARBUCKLE, a contrivance used by sailors to _lower_ a cask or bale from
any height, as the top of a wharf or key, into a boat or lighter, which
lies along-side, being chiefly employed where there is no crane or
tackle.
It is formed by fastening the _bight_ of a rope to a post, or ring, upon
the wharf, and thence passing the two parts of the rope under the two
quarters of the cask, and bringing them back again over it; so that when
the two lower parts remain firmly attached to the post, the two upper
parts are gradually slackened together, and the barrel, or bale,
suffered to roll easily downward to that place where it is received
below. This method is also frequently used by masons, in lifting up or
letting down large stones, when they are employed in building; and from
them it has probably been adopted by seamen.
PARCELLING, certain long narrow slips of canvas, daubed with tar, and
frequently bound about a rope, in the same manner as bandages are
applied to a broken limb in surgery.
This is chiefly practised when the said rope is intended to be _served_,
at which time the parcelling is laid in spiral turns, as smoothly upon
the surface as possible, that the rope may not become uneven and full of
ridges. It is also employed to raise the _mouses_, which are formed on
the _stays_ and on the _voyal_ being firmly fastened by _marling_ it
from one end to the other.
PARCELLING a _seam_, is laying a shred of canvas upon it, and daubing it
over with melted pitch, both above and below the canvas.
PARLIAMENT-HEEL, the situation of a ship, when she is made to stoop a
little to one side, so as to clean the upper part of her bottom on the
other side, and cover it with a new composition; and afterwards to
perform the same office on that part of the bottom which was first
immersed. The application of a new composition, or _coat_ of stuff, on
this occasion, is called _boot-topping_. See that article.
PARREL, _racage_, (probably from _parallel_) a machine used to fasten
the sail-yards of a ship to the masts, in such a manner as that they may
be easily hoisted and lowered thereon, as occasion requires.
There are four different sorts of parrels, one of which is formed of a
single rope; another, of a rope communicating with an assemblage of
_ribs_ and trucks; a third, of a rope passing through several trucks,
without any _ribs_; and the fourth, of a _truss_, by which the yard may
be at any time slackened from the mast, or confined thereto as close as
possible.
The first of these, which is also the simplest, is formed of a piece of
rope, well covered with leather, or spun-yarn, and furnished with an eye
at each end. The middle of it being passed round the middle of the yard,
both parts of it are fastened together on the after-side of the yard,
and the two ends, which are equally long, are passed round the
after-part of the mast; and one of them being brought under, and the
other over the yard, the two eyes are lashed together with a piece of
spun-yarn on the fore-side thereof, whilst another lashing is employed
to bind them together, behind the mast, according to the manner
described in the article MARLING.
The second and most complicated are composed of ribs and trucks, the
former of which are long flat pieces of wood, having two holes near
their ends, _bigots_, as represented by fig. _a._ plate VIII. the
latter, _pommes_, are small globular pieces, _b_, with a hole through
the middle, of the same size with those of the ribs. Between every two
ribs are placed two trucks, of which one is opposite to the upper hole,
and the other to the lower holes of both ribs; so that the parrel-rope,
_bâtard_, which passes through the whole, unites them together like a
string of beads.
In order to fasten this machine _c_ more conveniently about the mast and
yard, so as to attach the latter to the former, the parrel-rope is
formed of two pieces, each of which are furnished with an eye at one
end, and both eyes lie on one side of the mast; that is to say, one
piece of the rope passes through the lower part of the parrel, and
thence under the yard, whilst the other comes through the upper part of
the parrel and over the yard, till both eyes meet on the fore-side of
the yard, where they are _joined_ together. The other two ends of the
parrel-rope are passed about the yard, and the hind part of the parrel
alternately, till the latter is sufficiently secured to the former. The
whole process is compleated by _marling_ the turns of the parrel-rope
together, so as to confine them close in the cavity, formed on the back
of the ribs, as expressed in the figure.
The third is nothing more than a single rope, with any number of trucks
thereon, sufficient to embrace the mast. These are calculated for the
cheeks of a _gaff_. See that article.