FARTHEL. An old word for furling sails. Also, a burden, according to Shakspeare in Hamlet; and a weight, agreeably to the depositions of the "Portingalls" before Sir Francis Drake, in re the great carrack's cargo in 1592; there were "ijc fardells of synamon:" of this famous prize the queen reserved to herself the lion's share.

FASCINES. Faggots of brush or other small wood, varying according to the object in view and the material available, from about 6 to 9 inches in diameter, and from 6 to 18 feet in length, firmly bound with withes at about every 18 inches. They are of vast use in military field-engineering.

FASH. An irregular seam. The mark left by the moulds upon cast bullets. (Short for fashion—ship-fashion, soldier-fashion.)

FASHION-PIECES. The fashion of the after-part of a ship, in the plane of projection. They are the hindmost timbers in the run of a ship, which terminate the breadth, and form the shape of the stern; they are united to the stern-post, and to the end of the wing-transom by a rabbet.

FASKIDAR. A name of the Cataractes parasiticus, or Arctic gull.

FAST. A rope, cablet, or chain by which a vessel is secured to a wharf; and termed bow, head, breast, quarter, or stern fasts, as the case may be.

FAST AGROUND. Immovable, or high and dry.

FAST AND LOOSE. An uncertain and shuffling conduct.

FASTENINGS. "Let go the fasts!" throw off the ropes from the bollards or cleats. Also used for the bolts, &c., which hold together the different parts of a ship.

FASTNESS. A strong post, fortified by nature and art.

FAST SAILER. A ship which, in nautical parlance, "has legs."

FAST STAYING. Quick in going about.

FAT, or Broad. If the tressing in or tuck of a ship's quarter under water hangs deep, or is overfull, they say she has a fat quarter.

FATHER. The dockyard name given to the person who constructs a ship of the navy.

FATHER-LASHER. A name of the scorpius or scorpion, Cottus scorpius, a fish about 9 inches long, common near rocky coasts.[290]

FATHOM [Anglo-Saxon, fædm]. The space of both arms extended. A measure of 6 feet, used in the length of cables, rigging, &c. , and to divide the lead (or sounding) lines, for showing the depth of water. —To fathom, is to ascertain the depth of water by sounding.

To conjecture an intention.

FATHOM-WOOD. Slab and other offal of timber, sold at the yards, by fathom lots: cubic measurement.

FATIGUE-PARTY. A party of soldiers told off to any labour-duty not strictly professional.

FAULCON. A small cannon. (See Falcon.)

FAUN. Anglo-Norman for a flood-gate or water-gate.

FAUSSEBRAYE. In fortification, a kind of counterguard or low rampart, intended to protect the lower part of the main escarp behind it from being breached, but considered in modern times to do more harm than good to the defence.

FAVOUR, To. To be careful of; also to be fair for.—"Favour her" is purely a seaman's term; as when it blows in squalls, and the vessel is going rap-full, with a stiff weather-helm and bow-seas, "favour her boy" is "ease the helm, let the sails lift, and head the sea." So, in hauling in a rope, favour means to trust to the men's force and elasticity, and not part the rope by taking a turn on a cleat, making a dead nip. A thorough seaman "favours" his spars and rigging, and sails his ship economically as well as expeditiously.

FAY, To. To fit any two pieces of wood, so as to join close and fair together; the plank is said to fay to the timbers, when it lies so close to them that there shall be no perceptible space between them.

FAY FENA. A kind of Japanese galley, of 30 oars.

FEALTY. Loyalty and due devotion to the queen's service.

FEARN. A small windlass for a lighter.

FEAR-NOUGHT. Stout felt woollen cloth, used for port-linings, hatchway fire-screens, &c. The same as dread-nought.

FEATHER. (See Swine's or Swedish Feather.) It is used variously. (See also Full Feather and White Feather.)

FEATHER, To Cut a. When a ship has so sharp a bow that she makes the spray feather in cleaving it.

FEATHER AN OAR, To. In rowing, is to turn the blade horizontally, with the top aft, as it comes out of the water. This lessens the resistance of the air upon it.

FEATHER-EDGED. A term used by shipwrights for such planks as are thicker on one edge than the other.

FEATHERING-PADDLES. (Morgan's patent.)

FEATHER-SPRAY. Such as is observed at the cut-water of fast steamers, forming a pair of wing feathers.

FEATHER-STAR. The Comatula rosacea, one of the most beautiful of British star-fishes.

FEAZE, To. To untwist, to unlay ropes; to teaze, to convert it into oakum.[291]

FEAZINGS. The fagging out or unravelling of an unwhipped rope.

FECKET. A Guernsey frock.

FECKLESS. Weak and silly.

FEEDER. A small river falling into a large one, or into a dock or float. Feeders, in pilot slang, are the passing spurts of rain which feed a gale.

FEEDING-GALE. A storm which is on the increase, sometimes getting worse at each succeeding squall. When a gale freshens after rain, it is said to have fed the gale.

FEEDING-PART OF A TACKLE. That running through the sheaves, in opposition to the standing part.

FEED OF GRASS. A supply of any kind of vegetables.

FEED-PUMP. The contrivance by which the boilers of a steamer are supplied with water from the hot-well, while the engines are at work.

FEED-WATER. In steamers, the water which supplies the boiler.

FEEL THE HELM, To. To have good steerage way, carrying taut weather-helm, which gives command of steerage. Also said of a ship when she has gained head-way after standing still, and begins to obey the helm.

FEINT. A mock assault, generally made to conceal a true one.

FELL, To. To cut down timber. To knock down by a heavy blow. Fell is the Anglo-Saxon for a skin or hide.

FELL-HEAD. The top of a mountain not distinguished by a peak.

FELL IN WITH. Met by chance.

FELLOES [from felly]. The arch-pieces which form the rim or circumference of the wheel, into which the spokes and handles are fitted.

FELLOW. A sailor's soubriquet for himself; he will ask if you "have anything for a fellow to do?"

FELLS. Upland levels and mountainous tracts.

FELT. Stuff made of wool and hair. Patent felt is saturated with tar, and used to place inside the doubling or sheathing of a vessel's bottom. Employed also in covering the boilers and cylinders of steam-engines.

FELUCCA. (See Luntra.) A little vessel with six or eight oars, frequent in the Mediterranean; its helm may be applied in the head or stern, as occasion requires. Also, a narrow decked galley-built vessel in great use there, of one or two masts, and some have a small mizen; they carry lateen sails.

FEN. Low tracts inundated by the tides, capable, when in a dry state, of bearing the weight of cattle grazing upon them; differing therein from bog or quagmire. When well drained, they form some of the best land in the country.

FENCE. A palisade. Also, the arm of the hammer-spring of a gun-lock.

FENCIBLES. Bodies of men raised for limited service, and for a definite period. In rank they are junior to the line and royal marines, but senior to yeomanry or volunteers.

FENCING. The art of using the small-sword with skill and address.

FEND. An aphæresis from defend; to ward off.[292]

FEND OR FENDER BOLTS. Made with long and thick heads, struck into the outermost bends or wales of a ship, to save her sides from hurts and bruises.

FENDER-PILES. In a dock, &c.

FENDERS. Two pieces of oak-plank fayed edgeways against the top-sides, abreast the main hatchway, to prevent the sides being chafed by the hoisting of things on board. They are not wanted where the yard-tackles are constantly used. Also, pieces of old cable, or other materials, hung over the side to prevent it from chafing against a wharf; as also to preserve a small vessel from being damaged by a large one. The fenders of a boat are usually made of canvas, stuffed, and neatly painted.

FEND OFF, To. In order to avoid violent contact, is, by the application of a spar, junk, rattans, &c., to prevent one vessel running against another, or against a wharf, &c. Fend off, with the boat-hook or stretchers in a boat.—Fend the boat, keep her from beating against the ship's side.

FERNAN BAG. A small ditty-bag, often worn by sailors, for holding tobacco and other things. They have applied the term to the pouches in monkeys' cheeks, where they carry spare food.

FERRARA. A species of broadsword, named after the famous Spanish sword-smith, Andrea Ferrara.

FERRIAGE. An old right of the admiralty over all rivers between the sea and the first bridges.

FERRY. A passage across a river or branch of the sea by boat.

FERRY-BOATS. Vessels or wherries duly licensed for conveying passengers across a river or creek.

FETCH, To. To reach, or arrive at; as, "we shall fetch to windward of the lighthouse this tack."

FETCH HEAD-WAY or Stern-way. Said of a vessel gathering motion ahead or astern.

FETCHING THE PUMP. Pouring water into the upper part in order to expel the air contained between the lower box and that of the pump-spear. (See Pump.)

FETCH OF A BAY or Gulf. The whole stretch from head to head, or point to point.

FETCH WAY, To. Said of a gun, or anything which escapes from its place by the vessel's motion at sea.

FETTLE, To. To fit, repair, or put in order. Also, a threat.

FEU-DE-JOIE. A salute fired by musketry on occasions of public rejoicing, so that it should pass from man to man rapidly and steadily, down one rank and up the other, giving one long continuous sound.

FEZ. A red cloth skull-cap, worn by the people of Fez and Morocco, and in general use amongst Mediterranean sailors.

F.G. The initials on a powder cask, denote fine grain.

FICHANT. In fortification, said of flanking fire which impinges on the face it defends; that is, of a line of defence where the angle of defence is less than a right angle.[293]

FID. A square bar of wood or iron, with a shoulder at one end, used to support the weight of the top-mast when erected at the head of the lower mast, by passing through a mortise or hole at the lower end of the former, and resting its ends on the trestle-trees, which are sustained by the head of the latter; the fid, therefore, must be withdrawn every time the mast is lowered; the topgallant-mast is retained at the head of the top-mast in the same manner. There is also a patent screw fid, which can be removed after hauling taut the mast rope, without having first to lift the mast. (See Mast. ) A fid is also a conical pin of hard wood, of any size from 10 inches downwards, tapering to a point, used to open the strands of a rope in splicing: of these some are large, for splicing cables, and some small, for the bolt-ropes of sails, &c.

Fid is improperly applied to metal of the same shape; they are then termed marling-spikes (called stabbers by sail-makers—which see). Also, the piece of oakum with which the vent of a gun is plugged. Some call it the vent-plug (which see). Also, colloquially used for a quid or chew of tobacco, or a small but thick piece of anything, as of meat in clumsy carving.

FIDDED. When a mast has been swayed high enough the fid is then inserted, and the mast-rope relieved of the weight.

FIDDLE. A contrivance to prevent things from rolling off the table in bad weather. It takes its name from its resemblance to a fiddle, being made of small cords passed through wooden bridges, and hauled very taut.