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Z- P -
painted waterline
A painted line on the side of a boat at the waterline.
The color usually changes above and below the waterline, and the boat is painted
with special anti-fouling paint below the waterline.
painter
A line
attached to the bow
of a dinghy,
used to tie it securely or to tow it.
pan pan
An urgent message used on a radio
regarding the safety of people or property. A mayday
call is used when there is an immediate threat to life or property. A pan pan
situation may develop into a mayday situation. Pan pan and mayday messages have
priority on radio channels and should not be interrupted. In the case of a less
urgent safety message, the securite
signal is used.
parallel
Latitude
line.
passage
A journey from one place to another.
personal floatation
device, PFD
A device used to keep a person afloat. Also called a life
jacket, life
preserver or life
vest.
pier
A place extending out into the water where vessels may dock.
Usually made out of wood or cement.
pile, piling
A pole embedded in the sea bottom and used to support docks,
piers
and other structures.
pilot
An individual with specific knowledge of a harbor,
canal, river or other waterway, qualified to guide vessels through the region.
Some areas require that boats and ships be piloted by a licensed pilot.
piloting
The act of guiding a vessel through a waterway.
pinch
Steering a sailboat
too close to the eye of the wind, causing the sails to flap.
pitch
1) A fore
and aft
rocking motion of a boat.
2) How much a propeller
is curved.
3) A material used to seal cracks in wooden planks.
plot
To find a ship's actual or intended course
or mark a fix on a chart.
plow anchor
Also called a CQR
or coastal quick release anchor. An anchor that is designed to bury itself into
the ground by use of its plow shape.
point
1) To sail
as close as possible to the wind. Some boats may be able to point better than
others, sailing closer to the wind.
2) The named directions on a compass such as north, northeast, etc.
point of sail
The position of a sailboat
in relation to the wind. A boat with its head
into the wind is known as "head to wind" or "in irons." The
point of sail with the bow
of the boat as close as possible to the wind is called close-hauled. As the bow
moves further from the wind, the points of sail are called: close reach, beam
reach, broad reach and running.
The general direction a boat is sailing is known as its tack.
poop deck
A boat's aft
deck.
pooped
A wave that breaks over the stern
of the boat.
port
1) The left side of the boat from the perspective of a person at the stern
of the boat, looking toward the bow.
The opposite of starboard.
2) A place where ships go to dock.
3) A porthole. A window in the side of a boat, usually round or with rounded
corners. Sometimes portholes can be opened; sometimes they are fixed shut.
port tack
A sailboat
sailing
on a tack
with the wind coming over the port
side and the boom on the starboard
side of the boat. If two boats under sail are approaching, the one on port tack
must give way to the boat on starboard
tack.
porthole
A window in the side of a boat, usually round or with rounded corners. Sometimes
portholes can be opened; sometimes they are fixed shut.
pound
The action of a boat's bow
repeatedly slamming into oncoming waves.
pram
A type of dinghy
with a flat bow.
prevailing winds
The typical winds for a particular region and time of year.
preventer
A line
run forward
from the boom
to a secure fitting to prevent the boom from swinging violently when running.
prime meridian
The longitude
line at 0°, which runs through Greenwich, England.
prop
Slang for propeller.
propeller
An object with two or more twisted blades, designed to propel a vessel through
the water when spun rapidly by the boat's engine.
propeller shaft
The spinning shaft from the engine to which the propeller
is attached.
prow
The part of the bow
forward
of where it leaves the waterline.
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