Wooden objects coated with lacquer, the varnish being made from the sap of the lacquer tree of China and Japan, which forms a smooth, hard surface that was often inlaid with designs.
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Chinese artist. See Chinese art.
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A short rope or gasket used for fastening or extending rigging.
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PortLarboard is the old term for the left side of a ship when facing forward, now called port. The change to port was made official in 1844. The first mate's watch on a sailing ship was called the port or larboard watch.
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A narrow strip of wood used for latticework, such as on a lobster trap, or to support another surface, such as a plaster wall.
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Latitude is the measure of how far north or south one is from the equator. This angular measurement is given in degrees, minutes (1/60th of a degree), and seconds (1/60th of a minute) of arc. The nautical mile is set as the distance on the surface of the earth of 1 minute of arc, being an average of 6,080 feet. Thus, there are 60 nautical miles in one degree of latitude. Latitude lines are parallel around the globe; the equator is the 0° latitude line, the North Pole is at 90° North latitude, and the South Pole is at 90° South latitude. The "45th parallel" or the 45° North latitude line runs east-west through the middle of Maine.
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Lazarette hatch, lazarette, lazaret
A lazarette (also spelled lazaret) is a special area on a boat. A lazarette is usually a storage locker used for gear or equipment that a sailor or boatswain would use around the decks on a sailing vessel. It is typically found below the weather deck in the stern of the vessel and is accessed through a hatch from the main deck or through a doorway from below decks. The equipment usually stored in a lazarette would be spare lines and sails; sail repair equipment; line and cable splicing repair equipment; fenders; the bosun's chair; spare blocks; and tools.
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A means of finding the depth of water near coasts and probably the earliest device used by coastal navigators to facilitate safe navigation. It consists of a hemp line with a lead weight attached (about 7 pounds). A lump of tallow is pressed into a hollow at the base of the lead to bring up samples of the bottom: sand, mud, shingle, etc. The lead line is marked at specific intervals: 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 13, 15, 17, and 20 fathoms. Different kinds of marks are used so the leadsman can tell the depth even in the dark.
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In fishing, a line that can be fastened between the hook and the fishing line itself. Often made of wire to keep it from being cut.
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Downwind from the point of reference. The leeward side of a vessel is called the lee side.
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The distance a ship is set down to leeward (down wind) of her course by the action of wind or tide. A vessel can make a lot of leeway if a strong cross tide is running or if her keel is not long or deep enough to give her a good grip on the water and hold her up to the wind. The colloquial meaning implies extra room or space or catch-up time.
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Boards that are pinned together to form a half model of a vessel. After the model is carved, these boards can be separated and measured to loft the vessel's hull full-sized for construction.
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A large, flat-bottomed boat or barge used to transport goods over short distances, or to and from a cargo ship.
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The capital and largest city in Peru, located on the Pacific Coast.
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Calcium oxide (CaO), obtained from limestone, and used in mortars, plasters, cement, bleaching powder, and in making paper, glass, and steel.
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limerockA sedimentary rock consisting mostly of calcium carbonate, formed from fossilized skeletons of marine microorganisms and coral. Limestone is used as a building stone and to make lime.
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Crossing the lineNautical slang for the Equator.
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The contour outline of a vessel. Also, the term for ropes with a specific use.
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A floor covering made from burlap or canvas backing overlaid with a mixture of solidified linseed oil, gums, cork dust and/or wood flour, and pigment.
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An image produced by printing from a plane surface, such as stone or metal plate, on which the image to be printed is ink-receptive and the blank area is ink-repellant.
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An association of underwriters that originated with daily meetings of London Merchants in Edward Lloyd's Coffee House in London. It has a continuous history of marine underwriting since 1601. Lloyd's is also a center of maritime information about the daily movements of merchant ships and marine casualties, as well as being the leading international authority on the specifications of ships' strength of building and cargo capacity. Lloyd's List is a daily publication of shipping movements, and Lloyd's Register of Shipping is an annual publication giving a list of all merchant ships which have been built to the specifications laid down by Lloyd's Register of Shipping and their tonnage, power, and owners. Lloyd's Register of Yachts performs the same functions for yachts of the world.
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Homarus americanusAn edible crustacean, Homarus americanus refers to the species found in the North Atlantic.
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Boat used in the lobster fishery. Over time they have been rowing dories and peapods, sailing Hampton boats, and Friendship or Maine sloops. In the early 20th century they started to use gasoline engines, and these boats have evolved into the modern Maine lobster boat.
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Floating crate in which lobsters are kept temporarily.
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Organization based in Friendship, Maine dedicated to "sustaining a thriving lobster fishery through science and community." Programs include various educational programs, a juvenile lobster monitoring program, and a sonar tracking project.
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A body of water that is enclosed by a fence in which lobsters can be temporarily kept, generally awaiting a better price or shipping. Some buyers have created large tanks to serve as artificial lobster pounds.
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Black Locust, Robinia pseudoacacia
A tree that produces a strong hard wood used in ship building, primarily for "trunnels," or tree nails. Rot resistant, it is not native to Maine but has been introduced.
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laying off; laying downA large building for drawing full-sized patterns and laying out wooden pieces for a vessel. As a verb, to loft is to draw the lines of the vessel on the floor of the mold loft.
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loftsmenA shipyard worker who lays down the ship's lines taken from plans supplied by the drawing office.
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logbook1. Short for logbook, a document required to be kept by merchant and naval vessels. In the log must be recorded specific information relating to the navigation of the ship, the organization of her crew, and other activities on board. It contains weather conditions, courses, speeds, punishments, illnesses, and deaths. 2. A device to measure a ship's speed through the water.
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Also called Virginia Company of London, an English stock company established in 1606 to establish colonies in America. One of two identical companies, the other being the Plymouth Company. Responsible for establishing Jamestown.
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The largest boat carried aboard a sailing ship.
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Large boards used for building.
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Longitude lines around the globe run north-south, and measure position east or west of a reference line. In 1884 an international conference agreed that the reference line would be the Greenwich Meridian, the longitude line that runs north-south through the observatory in Greenwich, England, outside of London. Maine's longitude ranges from 67° to 71° West longitude. While there are approximately 60 nautical miles per degree of longitude at the equator, that distance diminishes to nothing at the poles, where all of the longitude lines converge. Longitude was not easily measured until chronometers became available.
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long-line, trawl lineIn fishing, a longline is a line suspended by buoys and weighted down onto which smaller lines (gangings) with baited hooks are fastened. Modern monofilament long lines can extend for miles and have thousands of hooks. Older long lines were called trawls and were around 1800 feet long.
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A system of long-range navigation invented during World War II, in which pulsed signals sent out by 2 pairs of radio stations are used to determine the geographical position of a ship or airplane. It is maintained today as a backup to GPS.