Glossary Aft  – towards the stern Backstay  – back wire keeping the mast up Boom  – horizontal stick hanging off the mast Bow  – pointy bit at the front the boat Bowline  – a useless knot that sailors insist on using  for everything Cleat  – a metal horn around which a rope is wrapped  to  secure  it Clew  – one of the bottom corners of a sail, often  attached to a  sheet Cunningham  – a secret bit of rope that you’ll never  need to touch Cabin  – lump in the middle you sleep in Fore  – towards the bow Foresail  or  Jib  – the ‘little’ sail in front of the mast  (sometimes known as a genoa, ‘jennie’ etc)  Forestay  – front wire keeping the mast up Gybe  – to change directions by putting the back of  the boat through the wind (see  tack ) Halyard  – a rope for raising or lowering a sail Hard on  – sailing close to the wind; pulling a sail in  tight; what the skipper gets when he outmanoeuvres  another boat Head  – the top corner of a sail Helmsman  – person steering Jammer  – a mechanical device used to stop a rope  from moving, activated by a lever on top Jib sheets  – two ropes for controlling the jib, one on  either side of the mast Keel  – big heavy fin-thing on the bottom of the boat  that keeps it from flipping over Lazy sheet  – the inactive or unloaded rope on a sail,  the loose one that’s doing nothing (see working sheet  for comparison) Leech  – the back edge of a sail Luffing  – when the front edge of a sail flaps Luff  – the front edge of a sail, also when a sail flaps  or ‘lifts’ at this edge it is “luffing” Main sheet  – rope for controlling the mainsail Mainsail  or  Main  – the big sail behind the mast Make fast  – to  secure  a rope, to stop it moving Mast  – tall vertical stick in the middle of the boat Port  – to the left as you face the bow of the boat Rigging  – ropes and wires on a boat Rudder  – a movable fin at the back that steers the  boat, connected to a wheel or tiller for steering Scope  – the amount of rope you let out when  anchoring, as a ratio to the depth of water (e.g. 5:1) Secure  – to control the loose end of a rope, usually  by wrapping it around a cleat or tying it off Sheet  – a rope for controlling a sail Sidestay  – a side wire on the mast to keep it up Skipper  – the boss, the big cheese, the chef, the  head honcho. Often the owner of the boat. Spar  – a stick to with sails (e.g. the boom or mast) Starboard  – to the right as you face the bow Stern  – blunt bit at the back Tack  – 1. the attitude of the boat to the wind based  on the direction the wind is coming from (i.e. a boat is  either on “port tack” or “starboard tack”); 2. to  change directions putting front of the boat through  the wind (see  gybe ); 3. the bottom edge of a sail Take in –  to pull in a  sheet Tiller  – a stick for steering, more fancy than a wheel Topping lift  – a rope for raising a  spar  (the  boom ) Working sheet  – the active or loaded rope on a sail,  the tight one that’s holding all the pressure (see  lazy  sheet  for comparison)