PAYING OUT. The act of slackening a cable or rope, so as to let it run freely. When a man talks grandiloquently, he is said to be "paying it out."
PAYMASTER. The present designation of the station formerly held by the purser; the officer superintending the provisioning and making payments to the crew.
PAY ROUND, To. To turn the ship's head.
PAY-SERJEANT, in the Army. A steady non-commissioned officer, selected by the captain of each company, to pay the subsistence daily to the men, after the proper deductions.
PEA-BALLAST. A coarse fresh-water sand used by ships in the China trade for stowing tea-chests upon.
PEA OR P.-JACKET. A skirtless loose rough coat, made of Flushing or pilot cloth.
PEAK. The more or less conical summit of a mountain whether isolated or forming part of a chain. Also, the upper outer corner of those sails which are extended by a gaff.
PEAK, To. To raise a gaff or lateen yard more obliquely to the mast. To stay peak, or ride a short stay peak, is when the cable and fore-stay form a line: a long peak is when the cable is in line with the main-stay.
PEAK DOWN-HAUL. A rope rove through a block at the outer end of the gaff to haul it down by.
PEAK HALLIARDS. The ropes or tackles by which the outer end of a gaff is hoisted, as opposed to the [throat-halliards] (which see).