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ANCHOR WATCH —A group of persons
available to the OOD during the night for such
duties as heaving in or paying out the cable.
ANNUNCIATOR —A device, usually elec-
tromechanical, used to indicate or transmit
information. See Engine Order Telegraph.
ARMAMENT —The weapons of a ship.
ARMORED DECK —A deck, below the main
deck, that provides added protection to vital
spaces.
ASTERN —Directly behind a ship.
ATHWART —Across; at right angles to.
AUXILIARY —(1) Extra, or secondary, as
auxiliary engine. (2) A vessel whose mission is to
supply or support the combatant forces.
AVAST —Stop, as “Avast heaving.”
AYE AYE —Reply to a command or order,
meaning “I understand and will obey.”
BACK —(1) Togo backwards. (2) Act of the
wind in changing direction counterclockwise.
BACKSTAY —Piece of standing rigging
leading aft.
BAIL —(1) To rid a boat of water by dipping
it out. (2) A rigid member affording support at
two end points, as the bail (handle) of a bucket
or the support for an accommodation ladder.
BALLAST —Weight (solid or liquid) loaded
into a ship to increase stability.
BAR —A long, narrow shoal across a harbor
entrance.
BARBETTE —A heavily armored cylinder
extended downward from a gun turret to the
lowest armored deck to provide protection to the
turret below the gunhouse and the projectile- and
powder-handling crews.
BARGE —(1) A blunt-ended, flat-bottomed,
waterborne craft, usually non-self-propelled,
used to haul supplies or garbage. (2) A type of
motorboat assigned for the personal use of a flag
officer.
BARNACLES —Small shellfish that are found
attached to bottoms of vessels, pilings, and other
submerged structures.
BATTEN —(1) A long strip of steel wedged
against the edges of tarpaulins on a hatch to make
the hatch watertight. (2) Removable wood or steel
members used in a ship’s holds to keep cargo from
shifting.
BATTEN DOWN —The act of applying
battens to a hatch. Extended to mean the closing
of any watertight fixture.
BATTLE LANTERN —A battery-powered
lantern for emergency use.
BEAM —(1) The extreme breadth of a vessel.
(2) A transverse frame supporting a deck.
BEAR —The act of locating a particular point,
or bearing, as
“The lighthouse bears 0 45
degrees.”
BEAR A HAND —(1) Provide assistance, as
“Bear a hand with rigging this stage.” (2) Ex-
pedite, as in “Bear a hand with readiness for sea
reports.”
BEARING —The direction of an object from
an observer, measured in degrees clockwise from
a reference point. True bearing is the angular
difference between lines drawn from the observer
to true north and to the object; magnetic bearing
is the direction of the object measured on a
magnetic compass; relative bearing is the angle
between the ship’s head and the object.
BECKET —(1) An eye for securing one end of
a line to a block. (2) A rope eye on a cargo net,
( 3 ) S h o r t e n e d f o r m o f b e c k e t b e n d .
BECKET BEND —A knot used to tie two lines
together.
BELAY —(1) To secure a line to a fixed point,
(2) Order to disregard a previous order or to stop
an action, as “Belay the last order,” or “Belay
the small talk.”
BELOW —Downward, beneath, or beyond
something, as to lay below; below the flight deck;
below the horizon.
BEND —To join two lines together; the type
of knot so used.
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