An Universal Dictionary of the Marine / Or, a Copious Explanation of the Technical Terms and Phrases Employed in the Construction, Equipment, Furniture, Machinery, Movements, and Military Operations of a Ship. Illustrated With Variety of Original Designs of Shipping, in Different Situations; Together With Separate Views of Their Masts, Sails, Yards, and Rigging. to Which Is Annexed, a Translation of the French Sea-terms and Phrases, Collected from the Works of Mess. Du Hamel, Aubin, Saverien, &c.

by William Falconer

BOMB. See the articles Mortar and Shell.

BOMB-VESSEL, a small ship particularly calculated to throw bombs into a fortress. They are said to be invented by M. Reyneau, and to have been first put in action at the bombardment of Algiers. Till then it had been judged impracticable to bombard a place from the sea. See a particular description of these ships in the article Ketch.

BOOM, estacade, barre, (from boom, a tree, Dutch) in marine fortification, a strong chain or cable, on which are fastened a number of poles, bars, &c. extending athwart the mouth of a harbour or river, to prevent the enemies ships of war from entering. It may be occasionally sunk, or drawn up to the surface of the water, by capsterns, and other mechanical powers.

Booms, boute dehors, certain long poles run out from different places in the ship to extend the bottoms of particular sails. Of these there are several sorts; as the jib-boom, studding-sail-booms, ring-tail-boom, driver-boom, main-boom, and square-sail-boom; the two last, however, are only appropriated to small ships of one or two masts. See Jib, &c.

BOOT-TOPPING, the act of cleaning the upper-part of a ship’s bottom, or that part which lies immediately under the surface of the water, and daubing it over with tallow, or with a coat or mixture of tallow, sulphur, resin, &c.

Boot-topping is chiefly performed where there is no dock, or other commodious situation for breaming or careening; or when the hurry of a voyage renders it inconvenient to have the whole bottom properly trimmed and cleansed of the filth which gathers to it in the course of a sea-voyage. It is executed by making the ship lean to one side, as much as they can with safety, and then scraping off the grass, slime, shells, or other material, that adheres to the bottom, on the other side, which is elevated above the surface of the water for this purpose, and accordingly daubed with the coat of tallow and sulphur. Having thus finished one side, they make the ship lean to the other side, and perform the same operation, which not only preserves the bottom from the worm, but makes the ship slide smoothly through the water. See Careen and Dock.

BORE. See the article Cannon.

BOTH SHEETS AFT, entre deux écoutes, the situation of a ship that sails right afore the wind, or with the wind right astern.

BOTTOM, carene, (botm, Sax. bodem, Belg.) as a sea-term, is either used to denote the bottom of a ship, or that of the water: thus in the former sense we say, a clean or a foul bottom; a British, French, or Dutch bottom: and in the latter sense, a rocky, sandy, or oozy bottom.

The bottom of a ship, as we have described in the article Naval Architecture, comprehends all that part which is under water when the ship is laden; the figure of it must therefore be determined by the qualities required in the ship, and the purposes for which the is designed.