This list of ship directions provides succinct definitions for terms applying to spatial orientation in a marine environment or location on a vessel, such as ''fore'', ''aft'', ''astern'', ''aboard'', or ''topside''.

Terms

* Abaft (preposition): at or toward the stern of a ship, or further back from a location, e.g. the mizzenmast is abaft the mainmast. * Aboard: onto or within a ship, or in a group. * Above: a higher deck of the ship. * Aft (adjective): toward the stern (rear) of a ship. * Adrift: floating in the water without propulsion. * Aground: resting on the

shore A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past a ...

or wedged against the sea floor. * Ahull: with sails furled and helm lashed alee. * Alee: on or toward the lee (the downwind side). * Aloft: the stacks, masts, rigging, or other area above the highest solid structure. * Amidships: near the middle part of a ship. * Aport: toward the port side of a ship (opposite of "astarboard"). * Ashore: on or towards the

or land. * Astarboard: toward the

starboard Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front). Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which are ...

side of a ship (opposite of "aport"). * Astern (adjective): toward the rear of a ship (opposite of "forward"). * Athwartships: toward the sides of a ship. * Aweather: toward the weather or windward side of a ship. * Aweigh: just clear of the sea floor, as with an anchor. * Below: a lower deck of the ship. * Belowdecks: inside or into a ship, or down to a lower deck. * Bilge: the underwater part of a ship between the flat of the bottom and the vertical topsides * Bottom: the lowest part of the ship's

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

. * Bow: front of a ship (opposite of "stern") * Centerline or centreline: an imaginary, central line drawn from the bow to the stern. * Fore or forward: at or toward the front of a ship or further ahead of a location (opposite of "aft") * Inboard: attached inside the ship. * Keel: the bottom structure of a ship's

. * Leeward: side or direction away from the wind (opposite of "windward"). * On deck: to an outside or muster deck (as "all hands on deck"). * On board: on, onto, or within the ship * Onboard: somewhere on or in the ship. * Outboard: attached outside the ship. * Port: the left side of the ship, when facing forward (opposite of "starboard"). * Starboard: the right side of the ship, when facing forward (opposite of "port"). * Stern: the rear of a ship (opposite of "bow"). * Topside: the top portion of the outer surface of a ship on each side above the waterline. * Underdeck: a lower deck of a ship. * Yardarm: an end of a

yard The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0.914 ...

spar below a sail. * Waterline: where the water surface meets the ship's hull. * Weather: side or direction from which wind blows (same as "windward"). * Windward: side or direction from which wind blows (opposite of "leeward").

Date of first use

* "Aboard": 14th century * "Aft": 1580 * "Outboard": 1694 * "Inboard": 1830 * "Belowdecks": 1897.

References

{{Sailing ship elements Nautical terminology Directions

Terms

Date of first use

See also

References