A sailing boat has three groups of parts: the hull (casco), the deck and cockpit (cubierta and bañera) and the rig (aparejo), which is the mast, the boom, the sails and every wire and line that holds them up or moves them. Here is each part with its English name, its Spanish name and what it does, so that you can follow a conversation on the pontoons of Vigo in either language.
The hull: bow, stern, keel and rudder
The hull is the body of the boat, sealed so that water stays out. It can be open, as on a dinghy, or covered by a deck, as on a yacht. Its two ends are the bow at the front and the stern at the back, and its two sides are port and starboard, which have a guide of their own.
| English | Spanish and what it is |
|---|---|
| Bow | Proa: the front of the boat |
| Stern | Popa: the back of the boat |
| Hull | Casco: the body of the boat |
| Keel | Quilla: runs along the bottom of the hull and keeps the boat stable |
| Rudder | Timón: the hinged blade at the back of the boat, below the waterline, used to steer |
| Tiller | Caña: the lever that fits into the head of the rudder and moves it |
| Draught | Calado: how deep the boat sits, from the waterline to its lowest point |
The Spanish dictionary of the Real Academia Española defines quilla as the piece, of wood or iron, that runs from stern to bow along the bottom of the boat and on which the whole frame rests. Irish Sailing describes the keel as the long, heavy fin on the bottom of the boat that sticks down into the water and acts as a counterweight to the mast. For the length and the width of a boat, see eslora and manga in our guide to the basic sailing words.
Deck and cockpit: where the crew works
The deck (cubierta) is the horizontal surface on the outside of the boat, like a floor; a boat can have several. On smaller boats the open space where the tiller or the wheel usually sits is the cockpit (bañera), and it is from there that the sheets of the mainsail and the jibs are handled.
| English | Spanish and what it is |
|---|---|
| Hatch | Escotilla: a large opening in the deck, to put cargo into the boat and take it out |
| Cleat | Cornamusa: a T-shaped fitting where you tie a line off with a few turns |
| Winch | Winche: a drum that turns both ways and multiplies the force you put on a line |
The rig: mast, boom and the wires that hold them
The rig (aparejo) is the general name for the masts (arboladura), the sails and all the lines and wires that go with them. It splits in two: the standing rigging (jarcia firme), the wires and lines that keep the mast in place and do not move during a manoeuvre, and the running rigging (jarcia de labor), the lines that do move.
| English | Spanish and what it is |
|---|---|
| Mast | Mástil: the vertical spar that carries the sails |
| Boom | Botavara: the horizontal spar, hinged to the mast, that holds the bottom of the mainsail |
| Shroud | Obenque: a wire or line that holds the mast from the side |
| Forestay | Estay de proa: a wire that holds the mast in the fore-and-aft direction, from the front |
| Backstay | Backstay or estay de popa: the stay that holds the mast from behind |
| Chainplate | Cadenote: the fitting where the standing rigging joins the hull |
Shrouds hold the mast from the sides and stays hold it fore and aft. The Spanish glossary of the National Institute of Qualifications (INCUAL, part of the Ministry of Education) lists the shroud, the stay and the backstay together as the standing rigging, and says that through the chainplates they pass the force of the sails to the hull and even to the keel.
Sails and lines: what each one does
Most sailing boats, dinghies included, have two principal sails. The mainsail (vela mayor) is the large sail attached to the mast and the boom that gives most of the power. The headsail at the front comes in several types, each with its own name. The jib (foque) is a triangular sail set on the forestay, with little or no overlap with the mainsail. The genoa (génova) is a triangular headsail big enough to overlap the mainsail, and DIMAR calls it the most common sail on cruising and racing yachts.
A triangular sail has named edges and corners:
| English | Spanish and what it is |
|---|---|
| Luff | Grátil: the edge fixed to the mast or to the stay, the leading edge of the sail |
| Leech | Baluma: the edge the wind escapes from |
| Foot | Pujamen: the bottom edge, which sits horizontally |
| Head | Puño de driza: the top corner of a triangular sail |
| Clew | Puño de escota: the bottom corner at the back, where the sheet attaches |
On a boat most ropes are not called ropes: the Spanish glossary defines cabo as any of the ropes used on a vessel, and in English sailors say line. Two lines have names of their own. A halyard (driza) hoists and lowers a sail, or a flag. A sheet (escota) attaches to the clew of a sail and controls its angle to the wind. Any line that is neither a sheet nor a halyard is simply a line.
Hoisting and trimming the mainsail
- The main halyard attaches to the top of the sail. You haul it to hoist the sail up the mast.
- The mainsheet attaches to the end of the boom and controls the angle of the mainsail to the boat and to the wind.
- To trim in is cazar: you pull the sheet in. To ease out is arriar: you let it go.
How hard the wind blows decides how much sail you carry. It is all in our guides to the Beaufort scale and to windward and leeward.
From the dictionary to the pontoon
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Where these definitions come from
The English definitions follow the glossary of sailing terms of Irish Sailing. The Spanish ones follow the 2011 glossary of rigging terms for sport and recreational boats of INCUAL, the National Institute of Qualifications of the Spanish Ministry of Education; the maritime glossary of DIMAR, the maritime authority of Colombia; and, for quilla, the dictionary of the Real Academia Española. Usage varies a little between countries and boat types.
Common questions
What are the main parts of a sailing boat?
Three groups: the hull (bow, stern, keel and rudder), the deck and cockpit (hatches, cleats and winches) and the rig (mast, boom, sails, and the wires and lines that hold them up or move them).
What is the difference between a sheet and a halyard?
A halyard hoists and lowers a sail; it attaches to the top of the sail and runs up the mast. A sheet attaches to the lower corner of a sail and controls its angle to the wind. In Spanish they are driza and escota.
What is the difference between a shroud and a stay?
Both are wires that hold the mast in place and form part of the standing rigging. Shrouds (obenques) hold the mast from the sides; stays (estays) hold it fore and aft, the forestay from the front and the backstay from behind.
Do sailors say rope or line?
On a boat most ropes are called lines (cabos in Spanish). Two have names of their own, the sheet and the halyard, and any line that is neither is simply a line.
What are the front and the back of a boat called?
The front is the bow (proa) and the back is the stern (popa). Looking from stern to bow, the left side is port (babor) and the right side is starboard (estribor).