Vocabulary: sailing

'Put/stick your oar in' = interfere uninvited. Homophone of 'or' and 'ore'.

• 1a long pole with a flat blade, used to row a boat

  He dipped the oars into the calm water.

British equivalent: 'rowlock'.

• 2a U-shaped fitting on the side of a boat that holds an oar in place

  The oar slipped out of the oarlock.

• an anchored float used as a navigation mark or for mooring

  A navigation buoy.

• the back end of a ship or boat (opposite: bow)

  The captain stood at the stern, watching the wake.

Also used as an adjective ("the upwind leg of the race"). Common in sailing: sailing upwind (toward the wind) requires tacking in a zigzag, unlike sailing downwind.

• in the direction from which the wind is blowing

  The boat tacked upwind toward the mark.

Distinct from "oar": paddles have one or two blades and are not anchored to the boat; oars are anchored. "Up the creek without a paddle" = in trouble.

• a short pole with a wide flat blade, used to propel a small boat

  He gripped the paddle and steered the canoe.

• the main body of a ship or boat, excluding masts, superstructure, and rigging

  Water was leaking into the hull below the waterline.

Catamarans (two hulls) and trimarans (three hulls) are the most common multihulls.

• a boat or ship with more than one hull

  The multihull skimmed across the bay far faster than a monohull.

• having more than one hull

  The race featured only multihulled sailboats.

• a rotating shaft with blades for propelling a ship or aircraft

  The boat's propeller was tangled in seaweed.

Covers many unrelated small-boat designs; modern racing skiffs (e.g. the 49er) are known for extreme speed and using a trapeze.

• a small, light boat, typically propelled by oars, a sail, or a small motor

  He rowed the skiff out to the mooring.

On a keelboat, ballast (often lead) is built into the keel to keep the boat upright and resist heeling.

• heavy material placed low in a ship or vehicle to improve stability

  The keel's ballast keeps the sailboat from capsizing.

"Keel over" (verb) = to fall over suddenly or collapse. "On an even keel" = in a stable, balanced state.

• the main structural beam running along the bottom of a boat's hull, providing stability

  The keel was damaged when the boat ran aground.

• a sailboat with a fixed keel and ballast for stability, as opposed to a dinghy

  The sailing club's keelboats are used for weekend races.

Pronounced "yot": notoriously tricky spelling. From Dutch jacht (hunt; chasing ship). Modern megayachts owned by billionaires can cost hundreds of millions.

• a medium-sized sailing or motor boat used for pleasure cruising or racing

  They sailed their yacht around the Mediterranean.

More literary than "sailor". Famous: Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (1798). NASA's Mariner space probes explored Mars and Venus.

• a sailor

  The mariner navigated by the stars.

• a specially designed harbor with moorings for pleasure yachts and small boats

  They moored their yacht at the marina.

Named after the Italian city of Genoa, where the design originated. A large jib that overlaps the mainsail, especially used for racing.

• a large jib that overlaps the mainsail, used especially in racing

  They switched to a genoa for the light-wind leg of the race.

"The cut of someone's jib": their general appearance or manner, from judging a ship's nationality by its jib sail's shape. A genoa is a large, overlapping type of jib.

• a triangular sail set forward of the mast, ahead of the mainsail

  They raised the jib as the wind picked up.

• an organized series of boat races, typically for sailboats or rowboats

  The harbor was crowded with spectators for the regatta.

Often just called a "lug". A boat rigged with lugsails is called a lugger.

• a four-sided sail hung from a yard that crosses the mast at an angle

  The little lugger carried two lugsails.

Traditional Arab sailing vessel, typically rigged with a lateen sail. Common in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf trade.

• a traditional lateen-rigged sailing vessel used in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean

  Fishermen sailed the dhow out at dawn.

From French "latine" (Latin), referring to the Mediterranean origin of the rig. Classic rig of the dhow.

• relating to a triangular sail set on a long yard at an angle to the mast

  The felucca's lateen sail caught the evening breeze.

• a small open boat, often rowed, inflated, or towed behind a larger vessel

  They rowed the dinghy ashore from the yacht.

"Without a rudder": figurative for lacking direction. Boats and aircraft both have rudders.

• a flat blade at the back of a boat or plane used for steering

  The rudder was damaged in the storm.

"At the helm" = in charge, in control.

1. a wheel or tiller used for steering a ship or boat

   The captain took the helm during the storm.

2. (figurative) a position of leadership

   She has been at the helm of the company for ten years.

A tiller steers directly by pivoting the rudder; a helm (wheel) steers indirectly through cables or a mechanism. Small sailboats typically use a tiller.

• a lever attached to a boat's rudder, used to steer by hand

  She pushed the tiller to turn the boat to starboard.