Below are some commonly used nautical terms and some unit conversion factors that are helpful to know.

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Nautical term  –  translation

AC – Alternating Current.

DC – Direct Current.

Valve – Faucet or valve.

Anti-fouling – Paint for underwater hull.

Portside – Left side of the ship (when looking in the ship’s direction of travel).

Starboard – Right side of the ship (when looking in the direction of the ship’s travel).

Hull penetration – A penetration through the hull of the ship for water outlet e.t.c.

Ground hoist – Anchor and anchor chain line.

Reserve Clutch – The ‘gearbox’. This reverses the direction of the rotation of the propeller to enable forward and reverse motion. Often the gerabox also contains a reduction: the engine turns at a higher speed than the propeller shaft.

Lensing – The act of getting / pumping / scooping water out of the boat.

Leeward – Where the wind blows to.

Windward side – Where the wind comes from.

Propeller – The propeller provides propulsion in the water.

R.p.m. – Revolutions per minute.

Rudder ‘on board’ – Maximum rudder angle.

Rudder stock – The shaft of the rudder blade.

Conversion factor – equals

1 HP (horsepower) – 0.735 kW (kilowatt).

1 Knot – 1 nautical mile per hour (=1.852 km/h)

1 Knot – 0.514 meters/second

1 Nautical mile – 1852 meters

1 kPa (kilo-Pascal) – 0.01 bar

1 Bar – 14.5 psi (pound/square inch)

1 Newton – 0.102 kgf (kilogram force)

1 ft – 0.3048 metres

1 yard – 0.9144 metres

1 inch – 25.4 mm (milimeter)

1 lb – 453.6 grams

1 lmp.gallon (UK) (=4qt) – 4.545 liters

1 US gallon – 3.785