Connecticut Boating Safety Course

ADDITIONAL TERMINOLOGY

Here are some additional terms that boaters should be familiar with before operating a boat:

• AFT near or at the stern of the boat.- near or at the sternrear portion of a vessel. of the boat.
• BEAMthe width of a boat, also the direction at right angles to the centerline of a vessel. - the width of a boat, also the direction at right angles to the centerline of a vesselany type of watercraft, including non-displacement craft and seaplanes used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water..
• BILGE the lowest point of a boat's interior hull. - the lowest point of a boat's interior hullthe body of a vessel..
• DRAFTthe vertical distance from the waterline to the lowest point of the keel; the minimum depth of water in which a vessel will float.- the vertical distance from the waterline to the lowest point of the keel; the minimum depth of water in which a vessel will float.
• FORWARDaboard a boat, the direction to the front, to the bow. - aboard a boat, the direction to the front, to the bow.
• FREEBOARDthe vertical distance between the top of the deck and the water line.- the vertical distance from the waterline to the gunwalethe upper edge of a vessel's side..
• KEEL the main structural member of a boat; its backbone; the lateral area beneath the hull that helps to provide stability and reduce the sideways drift of a boat. - the main structural member of a boat; its backbone; the lateral area beneath the hull that helps to provide stability and reduce the sideways drift of a boat.
• WATERLINEthe intersection of a boat's hull and the water's surface.- the intersection of a boat's hull and the water's surface.