umiak—An open boat used by the Eskimos and some Northern Indians. It is made up of a frame covered with skins. Its size varies, but an average size would probably be in the neighbourhood of twenty feet in length.
vessel—From the French vaissel. A general term for all craft larger than a rowboat.
vinta—A Philippine name for one type of outrigger canoe.
waist—Actually that part of a vessel between the beam and the quarter. In old ships with sterns highly raised it was that portion forward of this raised section—that is, the section of the deck that was lower than the rest.
wake—The track a vessel leaves behind her on the surface of the water.
watch—To stand a watch on board ship is to be on duty for a given time, usually, but not always, for four hours.
water sail—A small sail sometimes set beneath the foot of a lower studding sail. Rare.
ways—An incline built for a working foundation on which to erect the hulls of ships. When the ship is ready to be floated, it is slid, generally stern first, from the ways into the water.
weather—As a nautical expression this term is applied to any object to windward of any given spot; hence, the weather side of a vessel is the side upon which the wind blows. A vessel is said to have weathered a gale when she has lived safely through it.
weigh—To lift the anchor from the bottom is to weigh anchor.