Index to Volume Seven - The People - Dock Family Trees - Glossary . . .

Poop Deck - The raised deck at the stern (the back). [255]

Top Hamper - High superstructure, etc. [255]

Boat Deck - The deck on which the lifeboats are placed. [255]

NHP - Nominal Horse Power. [255]

Able Bodied Seaman - A merchant seaman qualified to perform all routine duties. [043]

All hands - Entire ship's company, both officers and enlisted personnel. [043]

Bark - Alternative spelling of barque. [043]

Batten down the hatches - To prepare for inclement weather by securing the closed hatch covers with wooden battens so as to prevent water from entering from any angle. [043]

Beaufort scale - The scale describing wind force devised by Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort in 1808, in which winds are graded by the effect of their force (originally, the amount of sail that a fully rigged frigate could carry). Scale now reads up to Force 17. [043]

Bilge - The compartment at the bottom of the hull of a ship or boat where water collects and must be pumped out of the vessel. [043]

Bitter end - The last part or loose end of a rope or cable. The anchor cable is tied to the bitts; when the cable is fully paid out, the bitter end has been reached. [043]

Black gang - The engineering crew of the vessel, i.e., crewmembers who work in the vessel '​s engine room, fire room, and boiler room, so called because they would be covered in coal dust during the days of coal-fired steamships. [043]

Boatswain or bosun - A non-commissioned officer responsible for the sails, ropes, rigging and boats on a ship who issues "piped" commands to seamen. [043]

Bottlescrew - A device for adjusting tension in stays, shrouds and similar lines. [043]