When building worlds that either center or contain seagoing vessels, it is important to use the correct terminology. While far from comprehensive, below you will find a short collection of seafaring terminology to help you better build your world.

• Adrift: floating with the current or wind
• Aft: at or near the stern
• Aground: when a ship is touching the ground underwater
• Amidships: the center of the ship
• Astern: behind the ship
• Ballast: weights placed low in the ship to provide stability
• Bearing: the direction of the boat or other object
• Berth: a place in a harbor to dock a boat or a sleeping place for a crewmember or passenger within a boat.
• Bulkhead: a wall in a boat that partitions spaces
• Cable: unit of measurement for distance: 1 cable = 0.1 sea miles = 185 meters = 200 yards
• Cleat: a fastening used to tie a rope around
• Course: the direction of a ship
• Draft: the distance between the waterline and the lowest point of the keel
• Fathom: unit of measurement for depth: 1 fathom = 6 feet = 1.83 m
• Hatch: an opening or door in the deck leading to the interior
• Headway: forward movement of the boat
• Jury: a temporary fix or device to replace lost or damaged gear
• Keel: the backbone of the ship
• Lanyard: a short rope or string attached to an object
• Leeward: away from the wind
• List: a lean of the boat in the water due to unequal weight between sides
• Port: the left side of the ship when facing forward
• Starboard: the right side of the ship when facing forwards
• Tack: a turn through the wind so that it blows on the opposite side of the sails
• Tide: the rise and fall of the ocean
• Trim: to change the angle of the sails
• Underway: when a ship is not made fast to the shore, at anchor, or aground.
• Wake: the disturbed water astern of a ship
• Windward: towards the wind

If you are struggling with what to name your vessel, see Naming Ships and Vessels