FIGHTING-WATER. Casks filled and placed on the decks, expressly for use in action. When the head was broken in, vinegar was added to prevent too much being taken by one man.
FIGHTS. Waste-cloths formerly hung about a ship, to conceal the men from the enemy. Shakspeare, who knew everything, makes Pistol bombastically exclaim—
"Clap on more sails: pursue, up with your fights."
Close fights, synonymous with close quarters.
FIGURE. The principal piece of carved work or ornament at the head of a ship, whether scroll, billet, or figure-head.
FIGURE-HEAD. A carved bust or full-length figure over the cut-water of a ship; the remains of an ancient superstition. The Carthaginians carried small images to sea to protect their ships, as the Roman Catholics do still. The sign or head of St. Paul's ship was Castor and Pollux.
FIGURE OF EIGHT. A knot made by passing the end of a rope over and round the standing part, up over its own part, and down through the bight.
FIGURE OF THE EARTH. The form of our globe, which is that of an oblate spheroid with an ellipticity of about 1⁄299.
FIKE. See [Fyke].
FILADIERE. A small flat-bottomed boat of the Garonne.