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
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