• Wabanaki Confederation

    Penobscot, Maliseet, MicMac, Passamaquoddy, and Abenaki Natives, who formed a confederation in the 18th century.

  • Waggoner
    Waggoner was a generic 17th century and early 18th century term for sea charts, derived from Waghenaer, the first publisher's name.
  • Waghenaer, Lucas Janszoon
    Lucas Janszoon Waghenaer

    c.1534-1606. Dutch pilot and cartographer. Based on his 25 years of experience as a pilot and opportunities to examine numerous rutters and manuscript charts, he was able to compile the first effective set of navigational charts published 1584-85 under the title Spiegel der Zeevaerdt or Mirror of the Sea. It covered the waters of the North Sea and the Baltic and included sailing directions. Translated into English in 1588. His charts became so popular in England that they were called "Waggoners."

  • Waldo Patent
    Land grant or patent also known as the Muscongus Patent. In 1630, John Beauchamp and Thomas Leverett obtained a grant of 36 square miles of land extending from the Muscongus River (Medomack) to the Penobscot Bay north to Hampden. It conveyed exclusive trading rights; about 1720 it passed into the hands of the Waldo family of Boston.
  • Waldo, Samuel
    Samuel Waldo
    1696-1759. Merchant, land speculator and soldier, born in Boston, one of the propietors of Maine.Waldo was one of the generals at the capture of Louisbourg. He sucessfully recruited German immigrants to area between 1740 and 1753.
  • Walker patent log
    Walker's Harpoon Log
    A patent log is a self-recording device consisting of a rotator towed behind a ship. The number of revolutions of the rotator in a certain time period could be used to calculate the speed of a ship. Thomas Walker was widely associated with the development of the modern patent log. His "Harpoon" log with dials incorporated in the outer casing of the rotator was patented in 1861, and his famous "Cherub" log was introduced in 1884. By this time engineering development had allowed revolutions of the rotator astern to be transmitted accurately to an inboard register. These were also called taffrail logs.
  • War of 1812
    1812-1814. War declared on Great Britain by the United States. Objectives were several, including plans to "liberate" Canada. Maritime reasons were based on British practices during the Napoleonic Wars: protect American seafarers from being impressed (forcibly drafted) into the British Navy and retribution for ships captured as neutral carriers. Its end was inconclusive. Americans achieved success in single ship combat at sea and in privateering, but once the British Navy could devote full force to America after the defeat of Napoleon it could blockade and raid the American shore at will. The last battles fought, including Andrew Jackson's defense of New Orleans, happened after peace was signed.
  • Watch
    A portion of the ship's crew on duty at a given time to run the vessel.
  • Waymouth, George
    George Waymouth

    c.1585-c.1612. English ship captain and explorer, and student of mathematics, navigation and ship building. In 1602 he led an unsuccessful voyage in search of the Northwest Passage, exploring the area between Greenland and Labrador. After returning he wrote "The Jewell of Artes" a manuscript on navigation, shipbuilding and fortification presented to King James I. He was hired to lead an expedition to explore Massachusetts in the area Gosnold had discovered but was blown north to Monhegan. He spent a month exploring the Penobscot area, just missing Samuel Champlain. Kidnapping five natives, he returned to England. The account of the voyage, "A True Relation of the most prosperous voyage made this present year 1605" was written by James Rosier who had been hired to chronicle the voyage. Penobscot Marine Museum produced a film and exhibit about this in 2005.

  • Ways
    A wooden ramp used to slide a ship into the water.
  • Weevil
    A member of the beetle family that eats grain, fruit, or nuts. Weevily flour was flour into which weevils had gotten; weevils also got into prebaked ship's biscuit or hard tack.
  • Weigh
    To raise or lift the anchor in readiness to sail.
  • Weir
    A fence-like structure placed in water and usually constructed of stakes and brush to form one or more enclosures into which fish are led and trapped.
  • Wet well
    On a fishing boat a well or tank exposed to the sea, in which live catch can be carried.
  • Wherry
    On the Maine coast a wherry is a transom-sterned rowing boat with a flat bottom board as a keel. A special variety was developed for the salmon fishery.
  • Whip
    A rope led through a single block or pulley which offers no mechanical advantage but changes the rope's direction, or a type of overhand sewing stitch.
  • White oak
    The white oak tree is found from Maine to Minnesota and south to Florida, but is most common in Middle Atlantic states. Its wood is rot-resistant and thus prized by ship and boat builders for keels and frames. In Maine it is less common than red oak.
  • White pine
    A fast-growing pine tree with white wood and smooth gray bark. Often used for ships' masts in the past.
  • Wigwam
    A hut of the Native Americans of the Great Lakes region and eastward, typically having an arched framework of poles overlaid with bark, rush mats, or hides.
  • Winch
    A motor-driven or hand-powered drum used for hoisting or hauling. A chain or rope is wound around the drum and the other end attached to the load. Hand winches typically use cranks or wheels to turn them. A capstan is a large vertical winch while a windlass is a large horizontal winch.
  • Windjammer
    Once a derisive term used by steamship sailors who looked scornfully at the old fashioned square-rigged sailing ships. Now a term used to describe any large sailing ship of any type.
  • Windlass
    A machine for lifting the anchor. Similar to the capstan but on a horizontal shaft.
  • Windward
    The direction from which the wind blows.It is used as a point of reference in designating a movement or a location.
  • Winged topsails
    Sails that are spread to both sides of the mast.
  • Woodcut
    A relief printing surface consisting of a wooden block with a design cut into the surface. It is inked and then paper is pressed on the surface to transfer the design.
  • Woolies
    Pictures stitched in wool on fabric, often made by a sea captain.
  • Worming
    Running a small line up a rope, following the lay of the line.
  • Worsted
    Woolen yarn, or cloth woven from woolen yarn.
  • Wright, Edward
    Edward Wright
    1561-1615. English mathematician and cartographer. Edward Wright's world map of 1599, published in 1600, coupled with his 1599 book "Certaine Errors in Navigation" corrected errors in Mercator's projections so that rhumb lines appear as straight lines. It led to the adoption of the Mercator projection by navigators, creating charts on which courses could accurately be plotted. His book laid out methods for creating such charts. His work would have been known by early New England explorers like Gosnold, Pring, Waymouth and Smith.