G L O S S A R Y     of common wooden boat design/construction words.

A - I         J - Z

Juliett Joint - The junction of two pieces of wood or veneer. Butt Joint - An end joint formed by abutting the squared ends of two pieces. Because of the inadequacy in strength of butt joints when glued, they are not generally used. Edge Joint - The place where two pieces of wood are joined together edge to edge, commonly by gluing. The joints may be made by gluing two squared edges as in a plain edge joint or by using machined joints of various kinds, such as tongue-and-grooved joints. Scarf Joint - An end joint formed by joining with glue and mechanical fastenings the ends of two pieces that have been tapered or beveled to form a sloping plane surface, to the same length in both pieces. In some cases, a step or hook may be machined into the scarf to facilitate alignment of the two ends, in which case, the plane is discontinuous and the joint is known as a stepped or hooked scarf joint or scarf joint with nib. End Joint - The place where two pieces of wood are joined together end to end, commonly by scarfing and gluing. Lap Joint - A joint made by placing one piece partly over another and bonding the overlapped portions. Starved Joint - A glued joint that is poorly bonded because insufficient quantity of glue remained in the joint. Starved joints are caused by the use of excessive pressure or insufficient viscosity of the glue, or a combination of these, which result in the glue being forced out from between the surfaces to be joined. This term should only apply to epoxy glues. Joints made with other waterproof or water resistant glues like resorcinol and urea-formaldehyde (brown glue) should be starved for maximum strength.

Kilo Keelson - An inner keel usually laid over the floors and through bolted to the keel. Kerf, Kerfing - To cut or make a channel with a saw blade. Kiln Dried - As in timber, refers to forced hot air circulation through a chamber to dry the wood. King Plank - The centerline plank of a deck. Knee - See Hanging Knee. Knot - That portion of a branch or limb which has been surrounded by subsequent growth of the wood of the trunk or other portion of the tree. As a knot appears on the sawed surface, it is merely a section of the entire knot, its shape depending upon the direction of the cut.

Lima Lapstrake - See Clench Planking. Limber - A hole allowing the free passage of water from one area to another. Lignum Vitae - A hardwood used for deadeyes and propeller shaft bearings.

Mike Making Iron - A large caulking iron used to drive oakum into plank seams. Mast Partners - Carlins between deck beams to strengthen the area where the mast passes through the deck. Molding - Measurement of a plank or timber from inboard to outboard, i.e., parallel to the plane in which the member lies; opposed to siding measured at right angles to such plane. Thus, the molding of a frame is measured in the thwartship direction while that of a stern piece is its cross sectional dimension fore and aft.

November Nib - The squared off end of a tapered piece such as a scarf. Noble Metal - A metal most resistant to deterioration due to galvanic action; the cathodic material.

Oscar Oakum - A caulking material of tarred fibers.

Papa Partner - Stiffening or supporting pieces fitted in way of the passage of a mast through a deck. See Mast Partners. Paying - The filling of the seam with seam putty, pitch, tar, or other type of seam sealant after caulking it. Pitch Pocket - An opening extending parallel to the annual growth rings containing, or that has contained, pitch, either solid or liquid. Plank - Strips of wood that form the "skin" of a boat; strakes. Plank Sheer - See Capping. Preservative - Any substance that for a reasonable length of time is effective in preventing the development and action of wood-rotting fungi; borers of various kinds and harmful insects that deteriorate wood. Prick Post - An outer post supporting an outboard rudder.

Quebec Quarter Knees - Lateral brackets similar to the breast hook used to join the sheer shelf or clamps to the transom. Quartersawed Lumber - Another term for Edge-Grained Lumber.

Romeo Rabbet - A longitudinal channel or groove in a member which received another piece to make a joint. Racking - Two or more structural members working and becoming loose; structural deformation of the transverse section of a ship's hull. A vessel is said to be racked if, when viewed end on, it appears to be leaning or tilting over to one side. Symptoms of racking generally appear at the junction of the frames with the beams and floors. Resorcinol - A formaldehyde resin to which a powder hardener is added to form a strong water resistant wood glue. Rib - See Frame.

Sierra Sampson Post - Any post well attached to the vessels structure to take excessive loads; used as a bitt. Scantling - The dimensions of all structural parts used in building a boat. A full scantling vessel is of maximum required structural dimensions. Scarf (scarph) (n) - A joint by which the ends of two structural pieces of timber are united so as to form a continuous piece; a lapped joint made by beveling off, notching or otherwise cutting away the sides of two timbers at ends, and bolting, riveting, or strapping them together so as to form one continuous piece without increase in sectional area at the joint. Scarf (v) - To join the ends of two timbers so as to form a continuous piece in appearance; the joining of wood by sloping off the edges and maintaining the same cross section throughout the joint. Scupper - A pipe or tube leading down from a deck and through the hull to drain water overboard. Shake - A separation along the grain, the greater part of which occurs between the rings of annual growth. Sheer, Sheer Line - The intersection of the deck and the hull; the longitudinal sweep of the deckline from the stem to the sternpost upward at the ends in traditional designs, and downwards at the ends in reverse-sheer designs. Sheer Strake - The top or uppermost plank in a hull. Shelf - Line of timbers bridging and thus stiffening frames but chiefly for supporting the end of the deck beams. Shipworm - A misnomer for the wood boring mollusk Teredo which feeds on wood cellulose. Another but different marine borer, the Limnorae, is also misnamed shipworm. Siding - Generally the sawn or planed thickness of the planks or timbers from which wood members are shaped or cut. See Molding. Sister - As in sister frame or sister keelson. A member attached to or laid alongside an original member to strengthen it, either as an original construction technique or as a repair. Spiling - The edge curve in a strake of planking. Split - A separation of the wood with the grain due to the tearing apart of the wood cells. Spline - As in spline planking. A thin tapered strip of wood glued and hammered into carvel plank seams which have become enlarged and spill caulking internally. Stain - A discoloration in wood that may be caused by such diverse agencies as micro-organisms, metal, or chemicals. The term also applies to materials used to impart color in wood. Stealer - In the shell planking toward the ends of a vessel a strake introduced as a single continuation of two tapering strakes. One of (usually the shorter or narrower of) the two planks which are butted into a single plank as double continuation or as the short piece notched into a larger plank to add width not available on one board. Stern Frame - The frame work around the inside of the transom. Stopwater - A softwood dowel driven across a lap, scarf, or butt joint in the backbone structure or elsewhere, to prevent seepage of water into the hull; any contrivance to accomplish this purpose. Strake - One of the rows or strips of planking constituting the surface of the hull. Strip Planking - Carvel construction where each plank is edge nailed to the adjacent planks.

Tango Taffrail - A timber rail around the aft deck of a vessel. Treenail - (Trunnel) A wood dowel used as a fastening; often fitted with a wedge in the dowel end to hold it in place. Dense wood such as locust is used for the dowel.

Uniform Victor Whiskey Wane - A defective edge or corner of a board caused by remaining bark or a beveled end. Warp - Any variation from a true or plane surface. Warp includes bow, crook, cup and twist or any combination thereof. Weathering - The mechanical or chemical disintegration and discoloration of the surface of wood caused by exposure to light, action of dust and sand carried by winds and alternate shrinking and swelling of the surface fibers with the variation in moisture content brought by changes in the weather. Weathering does not include decay. Welt - A strip of wood fastened over a flush joint or seam for strengthening purposes; a seam batten. Wicking - A caulking material such as oakum or cotton , used to wrap a fastening in order to protect it from moisture. Worm Shoe - A non-structural piece of wood placed at the bottom of the keel to protect the keel from marine borers.

X-Ray Yankee Zulu A - I         J - Z Marine Waypoints Nautical Glossary - Most complete Nautical Glossary I have found to date.