reef—A low ridge of rock usually just below the surface of the water. (2) To reef a sail is to reduce the area spread to the wind by tying part of it into a restricted space.
reef point—See POINT.
revenue cutter—A ship operated by a government to prevent smuggling and otherwise to enforce the law.
ribs—The members which, with the keel, form the skeleton of a vessel.
riding lights—The lights a ship is required by law to carry at night while anchored.
rig—The manner in which the masts and sails of a vessel are fitted and arranged in connection with the hull.
rigging—The system of ropes on a vessel by which her masts and sails are held up and operated.
roadstead—A place of anchorage at a distance from the shore.
row—To propel a boat by means of oars is to row.
royal—In the built-up mast of a square-rigged ship the fourth section above the deck is the royalmast. Its complete name prefixes the name of the mast above which it rises, as fore royalmast. The sail on the royalmast is named accordingly, as fore royal. The royal yard is the yard from which the royal sail is spread.