How important is using the correct terminolgy.

[dunedin]

I have always felt use of nautical jargon and practical experience were often in inverse proportion.

And as others have noted, the most experienced race crews use very few words about their own boat - only about the wind and the other boats

Multi-masted square riggers are probably a reasonable exception (though coloured ropes and labelling would probably be an improvement)

 

[Bru]

I have always felt use of nautical jargon and practical experience were often in inverse proportion.

And as others have noted, the most experienced race crews use very few words about their own boat - only about the wind and the other boats

Surely that's because they just use very few words?

Everybody knows what to do and when to do it and what to do it with so there isn't much to be said?

 

[mjcoon]

Many types of jargon, as in sailing, medicine and many others have evolved over many years or centuries to provide a nationally or internationally-recognised set of terms to avoid ambiguity.

And evolving still; "granny bars" must be quite recent. And "push-pit" is a simple joke, maybe more PC than "taffrail". (Which I assume has some Welsh connotation, but I'm only guessing.)

Mike.

 

[glashen]

maybe more PC than "taffrail". (Which I assume has some Welsh connotation, but I'm only guessing.)

.

Word Origin
changed (through influence of rail) from earlier tafferel, from Dutch taffereel panel (hence applied to the part of a vessel decorated with carved panels), variant of tafeleel (unattested), from tafeltable

So apparently nothing un-PC about it, I think I shall call mine a taffrail from now on.

 

[oldbilbo]

I think it is quite important, and can save confusion. Taking it at its most basic, "Port" or "Starboard", are definite, whereas "Left" or "Right" depend on which way the person is facing.

You think we have problems with 'Turn port! No, you eedjit - turn left, then! ....Bloody 'ell, your other left...!" Consider the difficulties of teaching the likes of the Saudis and Omanis to do formation aerobatics, when a fair bit of the time they're upside down.

 

[Uricanejack]

Like most engineers I have allsorts of technical words I use and list some examples below:

Thingi, thingibob, whatsyacallit, dooberry and my all time favorite twaddle (as taught by a crusty Scots chemical engineer at ICI Mond on Teeside).

I sail with a Newfie. He refers to virtualy everything as a Chummy. Since Chummy applies to everything it can be confusing at first. If you sail with 2 Newfies they will both be fully conversant on which Chummies are which. The more I sail with Newfies the better I get at it.

 

[Uricanejack]

My Brother in Law a non sailor. Has given up me driving directions for years in Port and Starboard on the basis I don't apear to know left from right.

 

[Lakesailor]

Like many crews, we use joke-phrases often, such as "the blunt end", where I think the joke is mainly on ourselves.

It isn't. That in itself has become a nautical term.
If you were really laughing at yourselves you would say "back" and "front".

 

[Uricanejack]

I have heard the majority 75% or 85% of normal communication is non verbal. My numbers are probably wrong but most communication is non verbal. We see here and feel conversation the imagine what we think they said.

I sail with a lot of different people with different levels of knowledge and different expectations for the voyage.
As a former Instructor. Students want to learn to sail. Friends want to go sailing.
My wife enjoys sailing but has no interest in learning to sail. My kids are teenagers and have no interest in anything I say regardless of what we are doing.

I communicate differently depending upon the circumstance and who I am sailing with.
Knowing and understanding terminology give me the ability to communicate quickly and easily with other sailors.
When teaching sailing its important to teach the correct terminology. I am being paid to they expect it By learning it they become sailors able to communicate quickly and effectively with other sailors as they gain experience on other boats with other skippers and crews. By knowing terminology they appear knowledgeable and competent as crew and helps make there future skippers and crews first impressions favourable.
When teaching sailing I would often tell students the terminology was their to make life easier. It does not matter what they choose to use between themselves as long as their crew all new the same terminology.
To completely understand the process they should be able to explain it to a non sailor in general non nautical terms.

Friends sometimes are sailors sometimes not but want to learn others just want to relax enjoy the scenery with a glass of wine, beer, some wish to take part some don‘t. front back left right or kitchen works just fine. All will eventually want to know where the bathroom is.

As for communicating with wives and teenagers whether sailing or not. Good luck with that.

I was not an RYA instructor.

 

[johnalison]

It isn't. That in itself has become a nautical term.
If you were really laughing at yourselves you would say "back" and "front".

Nah. Back & front don't work. The point about "blunt end" is that it's a corny old joke and I reveal myself as a senile old buffer, which is not far from the truth.

 

[LittleSister]

"How important is using the correct terminolgy."

How important is using the correct spelling and a question mark? ;-)

 

[john_morris_uk]

One of my watch leaders on my recent sailing trip told me about a corporate race he'd taken part in using the sunsail fleet. One of the opposition skippers gave every novice crew a line and a number and just yelled for each number to haul in or let out. I was told it was very successful and the crew felt very proud to nearly win.

PS. I usually use the correct terminology, but we've taken to doing a double think process of going downstairs to the kitchen when we are upstairs steering and sailing the boat.

 

[trapezeartist]

Actually I think port, starboard, bow and stern are the most redundant terms. Left, right, front and back are perfectly unambiguous.

On the other hand, I can't think of any way of replacing halyard or sheet with anything less than a sentence. So terms like that are essential t ogood communication.

My wife is determined to be as non-nautical as possible, so when she is on board the boat consists of a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, a front bedroom, a back bedroom and (my favourite) a patio.

 

[lenseman]

And evolving still; "granny bars" must be quite recent. And "push-pit" is a simple joke, maybe more PC than "taffrail". (Which I assume has some Welsh connotation, but I'm only guessing.)

Mike.

taffrail (n.)

1814, alteration of tafferel "upper panel on the stern of a ship (often ornamented)" (1704), earlier, "a carved panel" (1620s), from Dutch tafereel "panel for painting or carving," dissimulation from *tafeleel, diminutive of tafel "table," from the general West Germanic borrowing of Latin tabula "slab, board" (see table (n.)). The word developed in Dutch from the custom of ornamenting the high, flat stern of old sailing ships; spelling and sense altered in English by influence of rail (n.).




.

 

[prv]

It's why keeping every rope on its own pin is important. Then it really does come down to calling things by their correct names.

Nope, counting pins is a recipe for cockups when things get put on the wrong pins or sometimes the pins themselves get shifted about in the rails. Pinrail diagrams for the ships exist, but their use is discouraged for this reason. Much better to learn distinguishing characteristics like "further up, further aft, further out", "clewlines and buntlines go through the leaderboards, each sail starts with a thicker clewline then a number of thinner buntlines", "topgallant and royal sheets go through lizards", "squaresail halyards have a block on deck", etc. Obviously many such rules only work on a particular ship, but it's still better than blindly counting "three from the left" or whatever.

Pete

 

[Daydream believer]

If i sail on someone else's boat or a stranger sails on mine then using the correct terminology is less confusing & saves time in difficult or in a "rush" situation & it is safer. Everyone knows what is meant. Unless they are in the " novice, just learning" stage, in which case the skipper has to assess the level of understanding & act accordingly

 

[Nostrodamus]

Most people who have sailed for a while will know the terminology anyway but "plonkers" who insist on using it at every opportunity really annoy me.
If they are real plonkers and start waffling on we just say "what's one of those?" and claim complete ignorance. It is amazing to see peoples faces trying to work out how you managed to get so far.
When we are asked what sort of boat we have the wife always says "One of those white plastic ones" and claims to not know anything else about it.
We have found that people we like tend to talk about other things other than sailing. They are the ones who when you meet them in the bar are not wearing any clothes that can identify them with sailing.
We are all different and does it matter what language you use as long as you understand.
As I said in another thread. It is like sex. There are correct words but they are never used unless you are seeing a doctor. Most people use numerous alternatives but they seem to get there in the end.

 

[Tony Cross]

As I said in another thread. It is like sex.

Sailing is like sex? Is that because it costs you a lot of money to do it, you rarely do it properly, and yet you can't help coming back for more?

 

[Nostrodamus]

Sailing is like sex? Is that because it costs you a lot of money to do it, you rarely do it properly, and yet you can't help coming back for more?

No,
Because it can get wet and messy, you need a good wipe down afterwards and you have to be careful the navigation doesn't go wrong and you end up in the muddy stuff.

 

[NealB]

Actually I think port, starboard, bow and stern are the most redundant terms. Left, right, front and back are perfectly unambiguous.

Except, of course, for the important point that 'left' and 'right' depend on whether you're facing 'forwards' 'or 'backwards', whereas 'port' and 'starboard' are clear and unambiguos.