Page 322 - Nicolaes Witsen & Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age
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Glossary
Shore (Schoor) A wooden pole for temporarily supporting the stem and stern while the ship i s being built.
Shroud (Hoofdtouw) A heavy rope that supports the mast laterally. Ratlines were rigged across the shrouds to facilitate climbing aloft.
Sill (Drumpel ) The lower edge of a gunport.
Skeg (Scheg) An extension of the sternpost, to straighten the aft side. Also part of the stem to act as a gripe or cutwater.
Snatch block (Kinnebaksblok) A single block with an opening in one cheek to receive the bight of a rope; it was attached to the foot of the foremast to tighten parts of the running rigging, if necessary.
Spall (Zwieping) A batten to temporarily connect parts of the scaffolding.
Steering stand (Stuurplecht) The covered location where the helmsman stands, usually forward of the captain’s cabin.
Stem (Voorsteven) The main structural element extending upward from the forward end of the keel. Boxing scarf, boxing of the stem (Kinnebak, lit.,
“jawbone”) The joint between keel and stem. Stern, tuck, transom (Spiegel ) The flat aft end of the
hull of a pinas.
Stern gallery (Galdery) A gallery built on both parts of the transom, sometimes open, sometimes closed, for the skipper’s toilet.
Stern timbers (Hekstutten) Vertical parts attached to the stern in an early stage of construction to indicate the shape of the upper aft part of the ship.
Sternpost (Achtersteven) A more or less vertical timber placed aft on the keel.
Stock, keel block (Stapelblok) One of the wooden blocks on which the keel rests while the ship is being built.
Stopwater (Scheinagel ) A hole drilled through the faying surfaces of a scarf, filled with moss, and plugged at both ends with dowels,a technique for making the scarf watertight.
Spirketing (Wegering) bulwark.
Plank to the inside of the
Spline (Rey, rij) A flexible batten for drawing curved lines and taking measurements while planking.
Spritsail topmast (Blinde steng) A small vertical topmast on the bowsprit that carried the spritsail topsail; a typical feature of seventeen-century ships.
Spritsail yard (Blinde ra) Yard on the bowsprit, carrying the spritsail.
Spritsail topsail yard (Bovenblinde ra) Yard on the spritsail topmast, carrying the spritsail topsail.
Spur of the beakhead (Uitlegger) The basic assembly of the Dutch beakhead, consisting of two curved beams (upper and lower) separated by a carved trail board (Kam) and ending in the figurehead.
Stay (Stag) Rigging component that serves as a forward support of a mast.
(Steeker) A frame timber aft; specifically, a futtock with an S-shaped curve.
Strake (Gang) Strut (Stander)
the scaffolding.
A row of planks running from fore to aft. Support underneath the putlog; part of
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Studding sail (Lijzeil ) Auxiliary sail to be hoisted on the end of a yard.
Sweep (Luiwagen) Support for the tiller.
Tack (Hals) Part of the rigging that pulls the lower
corners of the lower sails forward.
Tarpaulin (Presenning) Tarred sailcloth used for sealing hatches and other openings and for making mast collars. Pap-doeken (lit., “drenched cloths”) was possibly a synonym for “tarpaulins.”