9.3
Marina A place, essentially a dock area, where small
recreational craft are kept; usually where
floats or piers as well as service facilities are
available.
M AY DAY A radio distress call from the French
“m’aidez” (help me); SOS in Morse Code.
Mooring Commonly the anchor chain, buoy space,
pennant, etc., by which a boat is permanently
anchored in one location.
Motor A source of mechanical power.
Motorboat Any watercraft 65 feet or less in length
propelled by machinery, whether or not
such machinery is the principal source of
propulsion.
Navigation The art of conducting a ship from port to
port.
Nautical Mile 6,076.12 feet, or 1,852 meters, an
international standard; the geographical mile,
the length of one minute of latitude at the
equator, is 6,087.20 feet.
NMMA (National Marine Manufacturers Association)
NMMA is dedicated to creating, promoting,
and protecting an environment where
members can achieve financial success
through excellence in manufacturing, in
selling, and in servicing their customers.
NMMA Certified National Marine Manufacturers Association
Certication Program. An NMMA Certied
boat is 5 times safer than a non-certied
boat.
Nun Buoy A conical, red buoy bearing an even number
and marking the starboard side of a channel
from seaward.
Oar A long, wooden instrument with a flat blade
at one end used for propelling a boat.
Outboard (1) A propulsion unit for boats attached at
the transom; includes motor, drive shaft
and propeller; fuel tank and battery may be
integral or installed separately in the boat;
(2) Outside or away from a vessel’s hull;
opposite of inboard.
Outdrive A propulsion system for boats with an
inboard motor operating an exterior drive
with drive shaft, gears and propeller; also
called stern drive and inboard/outboard.
Overall Length The extreme length of a vessel, excluding
spars or rigging fittings. See LOA.
Painter A rope attached to the bow of a boat for
making it fast.
PFD Personal Flotation Device.
Hull The body of a boat.
Hypothermia A physical condition where the body loses
heat faster than it can produce it.
Inboard More toward the center of a vessel; inside; a
motor fitted inside the boat.
Inland Rules Rules of the road that apply to vessel
operation in harbors and certain rivers, lakes
and inland waterways.
Intracoastal (ICW) Bays, rivers and canals along the coasts
Waterways (such as Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts)
connected so that vessels may travel without
going into the open sea.
Jetty A structure, usually masonry, projecting out
from the shore; a jetty may protect a harbor
entrance.
Keel The permanently positioned fore and aft
backbone member of a boat’s hull.
Knot To bend a line. Also, a unit of speed equal to
one nautical mile (6,076.10 feet) an hour.
Launch (1) To put a vessel into the water;
(2) A small open powerboat mainly used for
transportation between a vessel and shore.
Lee The side opposite to that from which the
wind blows.
Leeward Situated on the side turned away from the
wind. Opposite of windward.
Leeway The amount a boat is carried sideways by the
wind’s force or current.
Limber Holes Drainage holes in the bilge timbers of a
vessel allowing water to run to a low point
for pumping out.
List (1) A continuous leaning to one side often
caused by an imbalance in stowage or a
leak into one compartment; (2) A light list
is a printed listing of aids to navigation in
geographical order or inclining of a vessel
toward the side.
LOA Length overall; the maximum length of a
vessel’s hull, excluding projecting spars
or rudder.
Locker A storage place, a closet.
Log A record or diary of a vessel’s journey.
Lubber’s Line A mark or permanent line on a compass that
shows the course of the boat.
Making Way Making progress through the water.
