sextant—The instrument in almost universal use at sea for measuring the altitude of the sun and other celestial bodies. From this the latitude and longitude may be worked out.
sheepshank—A knot. For illustration see page [193].
sheer—The straight or curved line that the deck line of a vessel makes when viewed from the side.
sheet—The rope attached to a sail so that it may be let out or hauled in as occasion may require.
ship—A term applied indiscriminately to any large vessel, but among seamen it means a sailing vessel with three masts on all of which square sails are set. For illustration see page [201].
shoal—A shallow place in the water.
shoot the sun—A bit of nautical slang, meaning to determine the altitude of the sun with a sextant.
shrouds—Strong ropes forming the lateral supports of a mast. Nowadays they are usually wire rope.
skiff—A small open boat. In different localities it is of different design. Occasionally fairly good-sized sailing vessels are called skiffs.
skipper—The master of a merchant vessel, called, by courtesy, captain ashore and always so at sea.