The Sailor's Word-Book / An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc.

by W. H. Smyth

FORE-MAST MAN. From "before the mast." A private seaman as distinguished from an officer of a ship.

FOREMOST. Anything which is nearer to the head of a ship than another.

FORE-NESS. An old term for a promontory.

FORE-PART of a Ship. The bay, or all before the fore-hatches.

FORE-PEAK. The contracted part of a vessel's hold, close to the bow; close forward under the lower deck.

FORE-RAKE. That part of the hull which rakes beyond the fore-end of the keel.

FORE-REACH, To. To shoot ahead, or go past another vessel, especially when going in stays: to sail faster, reach beyond, to gain upon.

FORERUNNER. A precursor, an avant-courier.

FORERUNNERS of the Log-line. A small piece of red bunting laid into that line at a certain distance from the log, the space between them being called the stray-line, which is usually from 12 to 15 fathoms, and is an allowance for the log to be entirely out of the ship's dead-water before they begin to estimate the ship's velocity, consequently the knots begin from that point. (See [Log-line].)

FORE-SAIL. The principal sail set on the fore-mast. (See [Sail].)