Pintle. The bolt by which a rudder is attached to the stern of a ship.
Quant. A pole used extensively in Holland and East Anglia for the purpose of propelling a craft along shallow waterways. (Greek κοντὸς, Latin contus, a pole.)
Race. A rapid current of disturbed water caused by the unevenness of the bottom of the sea, frequently found off headlands—e.g., St. Alban’s Head, Portland Bill, &c.
Rocker. The curvature of a piece or pieces of wood in a vessel’s structure.
Scuttle. To cause a ship to sink by making holes in her hull below the water-line.
Sheer. The curve of a vessel’s hull from bow to stern, or vice versâ.
Spinnaker. A light, triangular-shaped sail set on the side opposite to that on which the mainsail extends, and used when running before the wind.
Sprit, Spritsail. (1) In full-rigged ships the spritsail was a square-sail set on a yard below the bowsprit; now obsolete. (2) In fore-and-aft vessels the sprit is a spar used for stretching the peak of the sail, thus extending diagonally across the mast—as, for instance, in the case of a Thames barge (see Fig. 99).
Staysail. Usually triangular in shape, though in the seventeenth century sometimes rectangular, hoisted on a stay, between the masts or forward of the foremast.