Boating Dictionary

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There are currently 50 names in this directory beginning with the letter M.
Magnetic declination
Angular distance between the geographic North and the magnetic one
magnetic deviation
Difference between magnetic North and compass inclination; variation due to external elements, such as metal items near the compass; see also compass compensation
Magnetic needle
One of the two steel rhomboidal magnetic elements of a magnetic compass .
Main mast case
Point of the hull where the main mast terminal lays
Main royal sail
Yard and relative trapezoidal sail, located at the top of the mainmast, above the topgallant sail.
Mainmast
Main mast in multi-mast vessels. Main sail
Mainsail
Sail inserted on the mast or the boom, generally triangle-shaped.
Mainsail furler
Drum fixed to the mast which allows to roll, partially or totally, the mainsail
Mainsail traveller
Horizontal rail when the mainsail sheet carriage runs
Mainstay
A wooden or iron beam which supports a deck
Manhole
Opening in a bulkhead or in the deck wide enough to let a person pass through
Manrope
Wooden or metal handrail, generally mounted on the deck house
Marine signals
Lighhouses, lights, buoys which makes navigation safer
Maritime signaling
Combined cardinal-lateral system
Marline
Thin cable used for hand stitchings.
Marocchino
Cable which joins two mast heads
Mast
To fix a mast on its step
Mast foot
Terminal part at the base of the mast, usually on the relative mast-step
Mast head truck
Closure at the mast top
Mast partner
Hole in the deck where the mast passes through
Masting
L' Set of masts and stays of a boat
Match race
Regatta between two identical boats
Maximum loading
The highest wind intensity the sheets of a hoisted sail can bear
Mayday
Emergency signal indicating an extreme danger
Meltemi. Etesian wind
Summer northern widn which blows in the Aegean Sea.
Mercator projection
Type of projection of Earth's surface on maps
Mercatore.
Belgian geographer who invented the homonymous projection
Meridians
A great circle of the Earth passing through the poles and perpendicular to parallelsThe Greenwich meridian also serves as the basis for the world standard time zone system. (UMT)
Metacentric height
Distance between metacenter and barycenter. It indicates the boat's stability
Mike.
Term which represents ‚M‚ in the international phonetic alphabet..
Millibar.
Unit of measuremnt of the atmosperic pressure, equal to 1000 dynes per square centimeter.
Mistral
Wind which blows from North-West
Mistral.
One-design sailing board designed by E. Prade; Olympic class since 1996. it measures 3,.80x0.68 m; with a 6-square-meter-sail area
Mizzen
The smallest aftermost mast on a sailing vessel having more than one mast
Mizzen sail
Mainsail hoisted on the mizzen mast
Mizzen staysail
Sail above kitchen stack
Mizzen topgallant sail
Squaresail hoisted on the mizzen mast
Moderate wind
Longer and choppier waves.Degree 4 in Beaufort Scale
Moonraker, moonsail
A light squaresail set above a skysail
Moor - verb -
To come alongside a quay
Moor - verb -, mooring
To stop the boat by fixing it to a pier or a quay through some ropes or an anchor.
Moor tightly head and stern - verb -
To moor fore and aft, both to a pier and through anchors
Moore with two anchors ahead
Mooring which uses two anchors placed on the bottom laterally to the boat. The two anchoring lines are divided and they both leave from the bow fitting. Useful when weather is bad.
Mooring post
Heavy structure, generally made of cement, on the sea bottom provided with a ring to which a mooring chain is fixed
Mooring-post
Reference point located on the coast
Morse.
Telegraphic alphabet invented by Samuel Morse: it consists of a group of lines and points which represent all letters.
Motorsailer
A boat which includes the features of both sailing and motor boats
Move on
To move a boat at a sufficient speed to manoeuvre
MPS
Acronym of Multi Purpose Sail, an asymmetric sail similar to gennaker, used in cruises
Mustafà
Auxiliary rudder system. A mechanical instrument used on sailing boats to maintain a stable course in relation to wind.It is an authomatic pilot which doesn't use energy, which is important in long navigations.


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