Nearly everyone knows that the body of the boat is called the hull, but a great many people, even those who live by the sea or who are accustomed to the use of boats, know very little about the various parts of the hull or the proper names for the different portions of it.

The principal parts of a small boat’s hull are: the bow, the stern, the deck (if not an open boat); the keel, the thwarts, the bilge, the bottom, the topsides and the gunwales. Each of these is made up of various pieces or parts, and to portions of each different names are given. The bow is the forward end of the boat; the stern is the rear end; the deck is the portion on top or the part which covers the open portion; the keel is the very bottom piece which extends from bow to stern; the thwarts are the seats; the bilge is the bottom close to the keel on either side; the bottom proper is the portion between the keel and the sides of the boat; the topsides are the sides above the curve of the bottom; the gunwales are the upper edges of the topsides.

The extreme forward edge of the bow is known as the cutwater; the extreme end of the stern is known as the counter or transom; the curve from bow to stern, horizontally, is called the sheer; the sides above the water are known as freeboard; the inner edge of the decks when provided with a perpendicular edge is the combing; the open space within the edge of the decks is known as the cockpit; the extreme forward portion of the boat is called the peak; the central part of the craft is the waist; the forward part of the hull near the stem and below the water line is the entrance; the after part, on the sides beneath the water is the run. In every boat, no matter how large or small she may be, these parts are always the same.

The various parts used in building a boat are very numerous in some craft and are few in others, depending upon the size and model of the boat, but in every case similar parts have the same names and are used for the same purposes.

The upright piece, to which the sides are attached at the bow is the stem and when this is made in two parts, as is often the case on large boats, the outer piece is known as the false stem. This stem is attached to the keel by a knee and when a second piece is attached to the keel to thicken and strengthen it, the piece is called the keelson. At the stern the upright timber is called the sternpost and to this the transom, the broad flat piece at the end of the stern, is fastened. From the stem to the transom extends the planking, the plank next to the keel on each side being called the garboard strake and the ones at the top of the sides being known as top strakes, sheer strakes or upper strakes. From keel to the tops of the sides curved or bent pieces are fastened which are known as ribs and these are attached to the keel-piece and the decks by knees. Sometimes an inner lining is placed on top of the ribs to make the inside of the boat smooth and this is known as the ceiling while the pieces that extend across from side to side and which support the decks are called deck timbers. These are the principal parts found in every boat of round-bottomed construction, but in flat-bottomed boats there are no real ribs, no bilge nor garboard strakes, no keel and no real sternpost, owing to the form and method of construction.

In a flat-bottomed boat the bottom runs across from side to side without any bilge; the entire sides are practically freeboard; straight braces or timbers replace ribs; the keel is replaced by a false keel or rubbing strake and, except in large sized boats, the transom is held in position by the sides and bottom and no stern post is required.

In form and design the various parts of boats vary as much, or even more, than the boats themselves and there is an almost endless variety of bows, sterns, counters, etc., not to mention the forms of rudders, the variations in sheer, and other proportions of form, lines, run, freeboard, etc.

Even in one type of boat there may be a great many forms of bows or sterns in use, many designed merely to add to the appearance of the craft, others to add speed, others to make the boat drier, others to adapt it better to sailing or rowing, as the case may be; and still others to afford better facilities for using certain types of rig, gear or fishing-tackle.

The forms of bows and sterns are so numerous that to name or describe them all would require a volume, but they may all be grouped under a comparatively limited number of types, the others being merely modifications or combinations of these.

The commonest and most important forms of bows are as follows:

Straight bows, in which the stem is perpendicular to the keel; round bows, in which the stem is curved or rounded from keel to deck; clipper bows, in which the stem is concave or hollowed in outline; raking or dory bows in which the stem is set at an angle to the keel; whaleboat bows which are rounded or curved and are also at an angle; canoe bows which are like the round bows but more convex, and spoon bows which have no true stem but sweep in a gradual curve from the bottom of the boat to the deck.

Among the more typical sterns we find: Square or straight sterns, in which the sternpost is perpendicular and the counter is broad and flat; overhanging sterns, in which the counter is carried out beyond the sternpost and overhangs the water; dory sterns, in which the sternpost is at an angle and has a V-shaped counter; whaleboat sterns which are sharp and shaped like the bow; round sterns, in which the sides are carried around in a curve or half-circle with no transom; and sharp sterns or pinkey sterns which are sharp like the stern of a whaleboat, but instead of being curved are merely angular or perpendicular.

Each of these forms of bows and sterns possesses qualities which adapt it to one purpose more than another and in selecting a boat you should bear this in mind. Straight or round bows throw a larger bow wave than the whaleboat or clipper types and have a tendency to bury the bows in heavy seas; whaleboat or dory bows cut through the waves, but give great buoyancy or lifting power to the craft, thus preventing it from burying the forward part in the water; while spoon bows pound and slap in heavy seas and are principally of value for racing boats or for use in calm waters.

Even the sterns have an important effect upon a boat’s abilities and seaworthiness. A square stern will drag a great deal of water behind it when traveling rapidly and with a following sea is liable to take in water, or to be “pooped,” as the sailors would say. Round sterns with an overhang are also bad in a seaway and often make a boat slow in coming about or turning; transom sterns with an overhang are better, while the sharp-pointed pinkey or whaleboat sterns prevent a following sea from entering the boat and leave a clean wake, but owing to the fact that there is no overhang and that the entire height of the boat is brought broadside to the water when turning, they are not so quick in maneuvering as a stern with a good overhang. Perhaps the best all-around stern is one with a good overhang, a sharp run and a small counter: in other words, a sort of combination of the common overhand stern and the whaleboat type.

In the planking, boats vary a great deal, and there are many different methods of making the sides and bottom. Even boats of the same form, for the same uses and with the same style of bow and stern may be made in very different ways. One method is to place the planks so that the edges join and there is a uniform, smooth surface, with all the planks running from bow to stern. This is known as smooth-skin or carvel planking. Another style is to let the boards overlap slightly; this is known as clinker construction or lap-streak planking. Other boats are planked with very narrow strips fastened one above the other, edge to edge, while still others are covered with two or more layers of thin boards placed diagonally from keel to gunwales and known as diagonal planking. For light racing boats the latter type is admirable for it is strong, light, tight and stiff, but it is difficult to repair, it is expensive and for ordinary use has no advantages. Clinker-built boats are excellent when new, but a broken or injured plank is difficult to replace, leaks are hard to stop and it has no advantages over the carvel planking which is the commonest of all forms of boat-building.

Still another matter to be considered when selecting a boat is whether you should use a keel or a centerboard craft. Every boat, in order to sail well, must have a portion which projects below the bottom and which will prevent the craft from sliding sideways or making “leeway” on the water when the wind is from the side or when sailing against the wind. This projection may be a keel, which is an immovable portion of the boat itself; it may be a centerboard which is a board which can be raised or lowered at will from the center of the boat, or it may be a leeboard which is merely hung over the side opposite the wind and is shifted as the boat tacks or goes about.

Leeboards are clumsy makeshifts and while they are used on large vessels in some countries, as in Holland and Scandinavia, they are a great nuisance and very unsatisfactory on anything but canoes and rowboats which are sailed occasionally and on which either keels or centerboards would be inconvenient.

No one has yet decided definitely whether or not keels or centerboards are the better, although the matter has been discussed, tried and thrashed out for years. As a matter of fact each has its advantages and disadvantages, each is adapted to certain types of boats and to certain conditions and each has its adherents who have no faith in the other type.

Personally, I think the keel boat the better for deep water use where there is a likelihood of heavy weather and yet many of the Gloucester fishing-smacks and many yachts which have won ocean races are of the centerboard type. For shallow waters or where there are reefs, sandbars, shoals or mud-flats keel boats are a nuisance and centerboards are practically a necessity. Where boats are to be hauled on beaches centerboard boats are really the only kind to use, for keel boats will not stand upright and cut deeply into the sand. Flat-bottomed boats are nearly always of the centerboard type; whaleboats have centerboards, and yet catboats and other round-bottomed boats are made in both types.

Keel boats are roomier than those with centerboards for there is no space occupied by the centerboard and its case; they are less liable to capsize, and if made with the same proportions as centerboard boats they are as dry, seaworthy and handy. As a rule, however, the keel craft are much narrower and deeper than those equipped with centerboards and many of them are almost like a plank set on edge. These are stable enough, but they are wet, uncomfortable and hard to handle.

The advantages of the centerboard are that when sailing before the wind or when rowing the board may be lifted and much less resistance to the water will then result and consequently more speed may be gained. When in shallow water the centerboard may be raised or lowered according to the depth of the water, and if a sandbar or reef is struck little injury will result, as the board is free to move up when it strikes an obstruction, whereas a keel boat under the same conditions might be badly injured.

The objections to a centerboard are the difficulties in keeping the case and trunk of the board from leaking, the space it occupies, the necessity of raising or lowering it according to varying conditions and the slight, very slight, chance of losing the board and thus becoming helpless.

Centerboards are not confined to small boats as many think, but large coasting vessels and even three-masted schooners are often built with them, which proves that they have many great advantages. Some boats are built in a sort of combination keel and centerboard method, in which a moderate keel is provided and a centerboard is used as well, while within comparatively recent years the fin-keel type of boat has been evolved. In these the hull is proportioned like that of a centerboard boat but the keel is merely a large fin or sheet of metal carrying a mass of lead or iron at its lower edge. All things being equal, the best boat for ordinary use is the centerboard type and for small boats, or the amateur’s use, they are far superior to keel boats of any sort.

Most small boats are steered by means of a rudder and tiller, the rudder being a wooden or metal affair submerged at the stern and the tiller consisting of a handle at the rudder’s upper end. Some rudders are hung or fastened to the counter and can be easily taken off or “unshipped,” while others are under the counter and are fastened to the sternpost with the upper end coming up through the boat or the deck. There are various forms of rudders: some long and extending out for a considerable distance in the rear of the boat, and others high and narrow, but the purpose of all is the same and the rudder is always designed to present an area sufficient to swing the boat around readily or to steer it without using too great force. Large boats are usually steered by gears connecting the rudder to a wheel; as the handling of a tiller connected directly to the rudder of a large vessel would be a very difficult task indeed.

As, in order to turn a boat to the right, the tiller must be moved to the left, the terms used by sailors in steering boats are often confusing to landsmen. For example, if a sailor wants a boat turned to the left, or to port, as it’s called, he will say, “Starboard the helm,” or, in other words, push the tiller to the starboard or right-hand side, and vice versa. It is not so bad when steering with a tiller, but when steering with a wheel the beginner is very apt to do the wrong thing and turn the wheel to the right when he wants to go to the right and to the left, or port, when he wants to go to that direction, and to simplify matters many boats are now arranged so that the wheel is turned in the direction one really wants to go.

This makes it very easy when steering for oneself, but if someone is directing the course and sings out the orders in true sailor fashion the steersman has to remember and port his helm when he is told to starboard it and thus the confusion is just as bad as ever. For this reason the beginner should use a tiller if possible; for that matter, there is no advantage in a wheel in boats less than thirty or forty feet in length.

On every sailboat there are a certain number of appliances which are unfamiliar to landsmen but which you should become accustomed to before attempting to handle a boat. There are blocks, tackle, chocks, fairleaders, cleats, turnbuckles, eyebolts and travelers among the deck fittings. Each of these has its use and one should be perfectly familiar with them. Blocks are wooden or metal objects containing rollers or wheels known as sheaves through which ropes are run to enable them to be hauled tight without great friction. Cheek-blocks are half blocks which bolt or attach to a mast, spar, or other object. Sister-blocks have two sheaves, one above the other, in a single shell. Tail-blocks are blocks with a rope or hook at one end by which they may be hung to spars, etc. Snatch-blocks are blocks arranged so that one side may be opened to allow a rope to be passed over the sheave without running it through and there are patent-blocks which will hold a rope securely in any position by means of a grip.

Blocks and ropes together are known as tackles and the blocks used may be single, double, triple or fourfold, according to the number of sheaves they contain. A luff-tackle has a single and a double block with one end of the rope fast to the single block and the hauling end leading from the double block.

A gun-tackle consists of two single blocks with one end of the rope fast to the upper block and the hauling part passing down from the upper block.

A watch-tackle is a tackle used to haul the rope which is rove through another tackle and a whip-purchase has a single block only.

The purpose of the tackle is to increase one’s power and the more sheaves there are and the more times the rope is passed through the blocks the more the power obtained; but as in every case where power is increased, speed is lost and to hoist a sail with a tackle with several sheaves requires more time than to do the same work with a single-sheave block. For this reason the simplest tackle which will enable you to perform the work without undue exertion is the one you should use.

Fairleaders are sheaves or rollers which are screwed or bolted to the decks or other parts of the boat and through which ropes are run in order that the ropes may be carried around curves or at right angles. Chocks are metal or wooden appliances in the form of notches and are used where ropes pass over the edge of a boat to hold them in one position. Cleats are devices for holding a rope without tying it and are very useful and numerous on boats. They are either of metal or wood and by winding the rope over them it may be held securely and yet can be thrown off at a moment’s notice. Turnbuckles are metal arrangements for tightening ropes, wires or chains and have hooks or eyes at the ends with screw-threads which may be drawn together or separated by turning the central portion of the turnbuckle. On small boats they are seldom used, but on large and medium-sized craft they are very necessary. Eyebolts are eyes bolted or screwed in position and to them turnbuckles, ropes, blocks or other objects are fastened, while travelers are metal rods over which blocks, rings or things slide or “travel.” Travelers are usually placed at the stern of single-sailed boats for the tackle of the sheet, the rope which controls the sail, to slide on, and they are also used on masts for the sail to slide up and down upon when it is raised or lowered, as well as in many other places.

A great many people who have used boats or have traveled on them speak of a vessel’s rigging without knowing what the rigging really is. In the same way they speak of the “ropes” of a ship and while both terms may be correct in a way, yet to a sailor the terms would mean nothing definite. Rigging comprises all the ropes, sails, stays, halyards and in fact, everything above the decks which has anything to do with the sail plan or rig of a boat, but to sailors there are two definite types of rigging, even in the smallest craft. These are the standing rigging and the running rigging. The latter comprises only the various ropes, lines, etc., which move when the vessel is in use, while the standing rigging consists of all the permanent ropes, stays and other things which remain stationary. To enumerate the various individual parts of the standing and running rigging of a large vessel would require a great deal of space and would be of little value to the person who is interested only in small boats, but there are certain portions of the rigging which occur on every boat and which every boatman should know by heart.

As a matter of fact, there are very few “ropes” so-called, even on a full-rigged ship, for what appear as ropes to a landsman are known by specific names to sailors. Even on a small boat there are few ropes which are spoken of as such and nothing so loudly proclaims the landlubber as to speak of a stay, halyard or sheet as a “rope.”

The halyards are the ropes which hoist the sails and they vary in number and name according to the type of sails used. As a rule there are two to each sail and known as the throat halyards and peak halyards. (This refers only to fore-and-aft sails, see Chapter IV). The throat halyard being the one which hoists the edge of the sail nearest the mast, while the peak halyard raises the outer edge of the sail. Where sails have no gaff or piece of wood at the upper edge only one halyard is used.

The sheet is the line which is attached to the outer extremity of the sail and is controlled by the man sailing the boat and its purpose is to hold the sail in any desired position and to enable the sailor to pull the sail in or to let it out, according to the direction of the wind and the course sailed.

Downhauls are ropes used in pulling down sails and are just the opposite of halyards and on small boats they are seldom necessary. Topping lifts are ropes which lead from the masthead to the end of boom to support the latter when the sail is lowered and they are usually so arranged that they may be hauled up or let down to raise or lower or top the boom. Lazy jacks are light lines extending from the mast head, or near it, to the boom and are used to prevent the sail from falling or bagging loose when lowered. They are seldom used on very small boats. Brails are ropes extending to the after edge of the sail by means of which the sail may be gathered close to the mast ready for furling.

All these are parts of the running rigging while the standing rigging, in its simplest form, consists of stays which are ropes or wires stretched from the top of the mast to the hull to keep the mast in position, or which extend from the top of the mast to the bowsprit and from the bowsprit to the stem to keep the bowsprit in its proper place. The stays from the mast to the bowsprit are known as forestays and upon them small sails are run up or down which are known as jibs, forestaysails, etc. (Chapter IV). Many boats which do not have bowsprits or jibs nevertheless have forestays running from the top of the mast to the bow, to keep the mast in one position, while many boats with bowsprits have stays running from the end of the bowsprit to the sides of the boat, their purpose being to keep the bowsprit from bending sideways.

On large vessels the stays are very numerous and there are backstays to keep the masts from bending forward, stays between the masts and many other kinds of stays, but most of these are never necessary on small boats. If the boat has a topmast, however, there are always topmast-stays and usually backstays, the former being spread apart, where the topmast and lowermast join, by means of a wooden or metal crosspiece known as a spreader. So also on boats with a long bowsprit, or where a second piece known as a jib boom, extends beyond the bowsprit, there are stays known as bobstays which are spread down toward the water by means of a metal or iron piece known as the dolphin striker or martingale boom.

In mentioning these various parts of the rigging I have used the terms “masts,” “bowsprit,” etc., and while I suppose that nearly every reader will know what a mast and a bowsprit is, yet it may be well to add a few words about them and their names. The masts, of course, are the sticks which carry the sails and rigging, and if there are more than one used, the forward mast is always the foremast. The one back of this is the mainmast; the third from the bow is the mizzen, while in four-masted vessels there is the spanker mast or jigger mast. Where the front mast is very high and there is another very small mast at the stern the latter is also known as the jigger or mizzen and the forward mast becomes the mainmast. Masts may be made in one or more sections according to the rig of the vessel. If the mast is all in one piece it is known as a polemast and if another piece is placed above it this is known as the topmast, while in square-rigged vessels there are still other pieces known as topgallant masts, royal masts, etc.

The bowsprit is the stick which projects forward from the bow of a vessel and it may be either a pole bowsprit in one piece, or it may have a second piece attached to it and known as a jib boom, while on very large vessels there may be still a third part known as the flying jib boom. In addition to all these there are the various sticks or timbers which help spread the sails and which are known as spars, but as these vary in number and name according to the rig and sails used it is best to consider them in connection with the sails themselves.