NUN BUOY—A navigational buoy, conical in shape,
that marks the starboard side of a channel from
seaward. Even numbered and painted red.
OAKUM—Tarred hemp fiber used to caulk seams in
wooden decks and boats.
OOD—Officer of the deck.
OFFSHORE—Some distance off the shore, as
contrasted to inshore.
ON THE BEACH—Ashore; also applied to a Sailor
who is assigned to shore duty or is unemployed,
retired, or otherwise detached from sea duty.
OUTBOARD—Away from the centerline.
OVERBOARD—Over the side.
OVERHAND KNOT—Simplest of all knots; made
by passing one end of a line once around its
standing part.
OVERHAUL—(1) To repair or recondition. (2) To
overtake another vessel.
OVERHEAD—The underside of a deck forming the
ceiling of the compartment below. Never called a
ceiling.
PAINTER—Line used to make a boat fast by its bow.
When used under way, the painter causes the boat
to swing out from the side of the loop.
PARCEL—The act of wrapping a line with narrow
canvas strips to provide waterproofing or to build
up a symmetrical shape for further covering.
PARTY—A group having a common temporary
assignment or purpose, as a working party, a
line-handling party, or a liberty party.
PASSAGEWAY—A corridor used for interior
horizontal movement aboard ship.
PAY—Monthly salary.
PAY OUT—To feed out, or lengthen, a line.
PELORUS—A gyrocompass repeater used to take
bearings.
PIER—A structure extending from land out into the
water to provide a mooring for vessels.
PIER HEAD—Seaward end of a pier.
PIGSTICK—Small staff from which the commission
pennant is flown.
PILOTHOUSE—Enclosure on the bridge housing
the main steering controls.
PILOTING—Branch of the science of navigation in
which positions are determined by reference to
visible objects on the surface or by soundings.
PIPE—The act of sounding a particular call on the
boatswain’s pipe.
PITCH—Vertical rise and fall of a ship’s bow caused
by head or following seas.
PLAIN WHIPPING—A whipping made without
using a palm and needle.
POLLIWOG—A person who has never crossed the
equator.
PORT—To the left of the centerline when facing
forward.
PROTECTIVE DECK—See ARMORED DECK.
PROW—That part of the stem (bow) above the
waterline.
PURCHASE—A machine that’s a combination of one
or more blocks rove with a line or wire. When rove
with chain, called a chain fall.
P Y ROT E C H N I C S — A m m u n i t i o n c o n t a i n i n g
chemicals that produce smoke or a brilliant light
w h e n bu r n i n g ; u s e d f o r s i g n a l i n g o r f o r
illumination.
QUARTER—Area between dead astern and either
beam.
QUARTERDECK—Deck area designated by the
commanding officer as the place to carry out
official functions; the station of the OOD in port.
QUARTERMASTER—An enlisted assistant to the
navigator.
QUARTERS—(1) Stations for shipboard evolutions,
as general quarter, fire quarters, quarters for
muster. (2) Living spaces.
QUAY—(Pronounced key.) A solid structure along a
bank used for loading and off-loading vessels.
RADAR—A device that uses reflected radio waves to
detect objects.
RANGE—(1) The distance of an object from an
observer. (2) An aid to navigation consisting of two
objects in line. (3) A water area designated for a
particular purpose, as a gunnery range.
RAT GUARD—A hinged metal disk that can be
secured to a mooring line to prevent rats from
using the line to gain access to the ship.
AI-9
