POINT-BEACHER. A low woman of Portsmouth.
POINT-BLANK. Direct on the object; "blank" being the old word for the mark on the practice-butt.
POINT-BLANK FIRING. That wherein no elevation is given to the gun, its axis being pointed for the object.
POINT-BLANK RANGE. The distance to which a shot was reckoned to range straight, without appreciable drooping from the force of gravity. It varied from 300 to 400 yards, according to the nature of gun; and was measured by the first graze of the shot fired horizontally from a gun on its carriage on a horizontal plane. The finer practice of rifled guns is much abating the use of the term, minute elevations being added to the point-blank direction for even the very smallest ranges.
POINT BRASS OR IRON. A large sort of plumb for the nice adjustment of perpendicularity for a given line.
POINT-DE-GALLE CANOE. Consists of a single stem of Dúp wood, 18 to 30 feet long, from 11⁄2 to 21⁄2 feet broad, and from 2 to 3 feet deep. It is fitted with a balance log at the ends of two bamboo out-riggers, having the mast, yard, and sail secured together; and, when sailing, is managed in a similar way to the catamaran. They sail very well in strong winds, and are also used by the natives of the Eastern Archipelago, especially at the Feejee group, where they are very large.
POINTER. The index or indicator of an instrument.—Station pointer. A brass graduated circle with one fixed and two radial legs; by placing them at two adjoining angles taken by a sextant between three known objects, the position of the observer is fixed on the chart.
POINTER-BOARD. A simple contrivance for duly training a ship's guns.
POINTERS. Stout props, placed obliquely to the timbers of whalers, to sustain the shock of icebergs. All braces placed diagonally across the hold of any vessel, to support the bilge and prevent loose-working, are called pointers. Also, the general designation for the stars α and β in the Great Bear, a line through which points nearly upon the pole-star.
POINT-HOLES. The eyelet-holes for the points.