A craftsman who creates items by heating, cutting, and shaping iron or steel.
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A pulley, consisting of a frame or shell which supports a sheave or roller, over which ropes are run. There are many kinds of blocks. Blocks with ropes run through them form a tackle.
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The layer of fat found under the skin of marine mammals like whales, porpoises and seals. It stores energy and serves as an insulator. Heated, it can be rendered or melted into oil.
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A blue and white porcelain design, introduced in England in 1780, based on a Chinese legend. It traditionally shows a house, willow trees, a bridge, and Chinese figures.
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Blueback charts were the names given to charts published by private chart makers in the 19th century such as Imray, Laurie, Norie and Wilson in Britain, and Blunt in the United States. They take their name from the reinforcing backing of heavy blue paper that these charts had, something not found on government charts.
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A migratory schooling fish species that ranges from Nova Scotia to Florida. It is a voracious fish, feeding on other species such as mackerel and herring. Found on the Maine coast in summer.
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Edmund M. Blunt
1770-1862. Publisher of nautical books and charts based in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Began publishing The American Coast Pilot in 1796 under the nominal authorship of a Captain Lawrence Furlong. Became publisher of Bowditch's New American Practical Navigator. After moving the business to New York in 1811, his work continued with his sons Edmund Blunt and George William Blunt. The former was also a surveyor for the Coast Survey, and after Alexander Dallas Bache became superintendent, a relationship developed that allowed the Blunts to publish data collected.
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A unit of measure used in the American timber trade. One board foot refers to a piece of unmilled wood 1 foot x 1 foot x 1 inch, or 144 cubic inches. Twelve board feet equal one cubic foot.
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A small watercraft used for transportation, fishing or recreation. Some boats are powered by sail, some by motor, and some by paddles or oars. A boat is small enough that it may be lifted onto a larger vessel. But submarines are also called boats. Different types of boats are designed and built for different purposes. Traditional boats may vary widely in size and style as they were developed by a local culture for work in a particular trade or region. Boat types that could be carried on ships could spread widely around the world.
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bos'n, bosunPronounced bo'son, the leading petty officer of the deck crew of a merchant ship, in charge of equipment and the crew.
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bos'n's lockerAlso Bos'n's Locker. A small compartment for tools and materials for repairing or making up rigging or cargo gear.
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"Bonita"A kind of fish.
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A long spar extending from the foot of a mast to hold or extend the foot of a sail.
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A port city in southwestern France.
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Scotch-IrishScottish families living in Northern Ireland. Also called Scotch-Irish. Many Maine settlers were from this group of people, who were known for their toughness and ability to live on the frontier.
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Boatswain's chair, bo'sun's chair
Pronounced bo’ sun’s. A swinging seat used in scraping and slushing (greasing) down the masts.
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A Federal fisheries subsidy, a grant to cod fishermen, from 1792 to 1866. The bounty was an annual allowance based on vessel tonnage paid to cod fishermen who were actively fishing for at least four months of the year. In Maine, its major effect was after about 1830, and it formed an important part of a cod fishing vessel's earnings. Amendments in 1819 encouraged the kinds of smaller vessels found in Maine.
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Forward part or head of a vessel.
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Nathaniel Bowditch
1773-1838. American scientist, captain, navigator and mathematician. During his voyages at sea, he recomputed many of the English navigational tables then in use. The task of revising these for publication was so great that Bowditch decide to write his own book, The New American Practical Navigator, published in 1802. It is still in use in a modern edition.
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Spar projecting forward from the stem of a sailing vessel, for the purpose of extending the head sails and keeping the sail plan balanced.
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Youngster serving on a merchant or fishing vessel in order to acquire the necessary training to become a sailor.
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Rope that controls the horizontal motion of the yards, or (verb) to swing or turn around the yards of a ship by means of the braces.
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A wall or other structure designed to protect a harbor or anchorage from the waves of the open sea.
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A rescue device consisting of a life buoy from which is suspended a canvas sling, similar in form to a pair of breeches, or pants, in which shipwrecked or disabled persons are hauled from a vessel to the shore or to another vessel by means of a rope and pulley between them.
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In fishing, the fish that are mature enough to actively breed and produce young. When the number of fish gets too low, the breed stock may not be enough to replenish the fishing population.
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Vessel with two masts; both square-rigged.
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Vessel with two masts; the fore mast square-rigged and after mast fore-and-aft rigged.
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A joint stock company that was granted a Royal charter in 1600 to challenge the Dutch-Portuguese spice trade monopoly and given a monopoly to trade with India. It was eventually transformed from a trading company to the ruler of India, until the British government took over India in 1858.
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The side of a vessel above the water line. Broadside can also refer to a printed notice.
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In this sense, brushing probably refers to fibers of used rope that can be rewoven into usable form for making beckets, or handles, for a sea chest.
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The town of Bucksville was established by Henry Buck, also founder of Bucksport, Maine. Buck moved to South Carolina in the 1820s to start lumber mills near the vast sources of cypress, pine and hardwoods. One of Buck's mills was in what became Bucksport, South Carolina. Sawmills in Bucksport and Bucksville produced 3 million board feet of lumber annually by 1850. Buck used his ships to transport lumber to Georgetown and Charleston in South Carolina; New York City; Boston; and even to other countries. Lumber from Buck's operations even went into the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. Buck took crews of Maine shipbuilders to Bucksville to work on building wooden vessels, but this operation only lasted a few years as the men wanted to return to Maine. The most well known vessel built in Bucksville was the ship Henrietta.
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Buenos AyresThe capital and largest city in Argentina.
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The wall enclosing the deck of a ship.
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A small boat used to ferry supplies to ships moored away from the shore.
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One of the lines hauling the foot of a sail above and forward of the yard for convenience in furling.
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A floating object designed for a special purpose often anchored to the sea bottom. Buoys range in size from large navigational buoys to lobster trap buoys.