Sailor’s Dictionary
Every word you’ll hear around the club, explained in plain English. Terms are sorted roughly from “essential day-one vocabulary” to “you’ll hear it soon enough.”
Essential terms
- Luff (verb & noun)
- The front edge of the sail, and the act of letting the sail flap by heading toward the wind. “Luff up” means turn into the wind to spill power.
- Sheet
- A rope controlling the sail. “Sheet in” tightens, “ease the sheet” lets it out.
- Tack (noun)
- The side of the boat the wind is coming from — starboard tack or port tack.
- Tack (verb)
- Turning the bow through the wind to change tacks.
- Gybe
- Turning the stern through the wind to change tacks going downwind.
- Close-hauled
- Sailing as close to the wind as possible, with the sail sheeted in hard.
- Reaching
- Sailing across the wind (beam reach) — the happiest, most manageable point of sail.
- Running
- Sailing with the wind dead behind you.
- Windward / Leeward
- Windward is the side the wind blows onto first; leeward is the side sheltered from the wind. “Keep to windward of the pier” means stay on the windy side.
- Right of way
- Starboard tack has right of way over port tack.
Boat parts & fittings
- Hull
- The body of the boat.
- Daggerboard (centreboard)
- The blade lowered through a slot to stop sideways drift.
- Rudder & tiller
- The blade at the back that steers; the tiller is the arm that turns it.
- Tiller extension
- A long arm clipped to the tiller so you can steer while sitting forward.
- Mast, boom, gooseneck
- Mast = vertical spar; boom = horizontal spar; gooseneck = hinge where boom meets mast.
- Fittings
- The metal/plastic bits: cleats, blocks, gudgeons and pintles secure lines and parts.
- Outhaul & downhaul
- Lines that stretch the foot and luff of the sail for shape.
- Daggerboard case & pendant
- The slot in the hull and the rope attached to the daggerboard’s top for pulling it up/down.
- Bailer
- A scoop for emptying water out of the boat.
- Painter
- The bow rope used to pick up or tie the boat.
- Buoyancy bags
- Inflated bags that keep the hull from sinking and help it self-right.
- Gunwale
- The top edge or rim of the hull.
More advanced vocabulary
- Apparent wind
- The wind you feel while moving — a combination of true wind and boat speed. The Optimist uses apparent wind to sail closer than you’d think.
- True wind
- The wind actually blowing over the water, measured from a fixed point.
- Stay / shroud
- Wires supporting the mast — the Optimist usually has none! Its mast is unstayed (free-standing).
- In irons
- Dead head-to-wind after a failed tack, moving slowly backwards or sideways.
- Back the sail
- Push the boom against the wind to turn the bow — a rescue move when in irons.
- Heel
- The lean of the boat. A little heel is normal; too much spills water inside.
- Hike out
- Lean your weight out over the side to flatten the boat — the toe strap helps.
- Pointing
- Being able to sail close to the wind without stalling.
- Wake / wash
- Waves created by boats; steer to meet them at an angle, not broadside.
- Transit
- Using two fixed objects in line to find your direction.
- Starboard / Port
- Right / left of the boat facing forward — starboard & port, never “right” and “left” at sea.
- Knot
- A unit of speed: one nautical mile per hour (about 1.85 km/h).
Handy knot names
- Bowline — a fixed loop that never jams; used for the painter and halyards.
- Clove hitch — a quick adjustable hold when tying to a post.
- Figure-eight — a stopper knot at the end of a line.
- Reef knot — for joining two light lines in emergency.
Ask your instructor to show you the bowline — it’s the one knot every Optimist sailor truly owns.