Traditional Royal Navy nickname for the Royal Marines.

When a sailor is drafted to a warship at the last minute, just before she sails.

The force which tends to restore a ship to equilibrium once a heel has altered the relationship between her centre of buoyancy and her centre of gravity.

Telling sea stories. Referring to lamps slung from the deckhead which swing while at sea. Often used to indicate that the story teller is exaggerating.

The underwater section of a vessel beneath the waterline, normally not visible except when in drydock.

On or above the deck, in plain view, not hiding anything.

Toward the stern, relative to some object ("abaft the fore hatch")

A relative bearing of greater than 90 degrees from the bow. e.g. "two points abaft the port beam."

An imperative to leave the vessel immediately, usually in the face of some imminent danger.

'On the beam', a relative bearing at right angles to the centerline of the ship's keel.