PLENY TIDES. Full tides.
PLICATILES. Ancient vessels built of wood and leather, which could be taken to pieces and carried by land.
PLONKETS. Coarse woollen cloths of former commerce. (See statute 1 R. III. c. 8.)
PLOT, or Plott. A plan or chart. (See [Ichnography].)
PLOTTING. The making of the plan after an actual survey of the place has been obtained.
PLOUGH. An instrument formerly used for taking the sun's altitude, and possessed of large graduations. When a ship cuts briskly through the sea she is said to plough it.
PLUCKER. The fishing frog, Lophius piscatorius.
PLUG. A conical piece of wood to let in or keep out water, when fitted to a hole in the bottom of a boat.—Hawse-plugs. To stop the hawse-holes when the cables are unbent, and the ship plunges in a head-sea.—Shot-plugs. Covered with oakum and tallow, to stop shot-holes in the sides of a ship near the water-line; being conical, they adapt themselves to any sized shot-holes.
PLUMB. Right up and down, opposed to parallel.—To plumb. To form the vertical line. Also, to sound the depth of water.
PLUMBER-BLOCKS. These, in a marine steam-engine, are Y's, wherein are fixed the bushes, in which the shafts or pinions revolve.