CORE

SEAMANSHIP
INSTRUCTOR
PRE STUDY GUIDE
DRAFT 04 - MAY 2009

Name

Unit / District

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 Introduction
To achieve the standard of Adult Core Seamanship Instructor you need to
complete the weekend qualifying course. This guide contains important self
study that you must complete prior to the course. The material is elementary an
you should be able to learn it from this guide, it would be useful if you could find
someone in your Unit or District with a basic knowledge of Seamanship to help
you out with any parts that you find tricky. The contents of this guide will not
normally be taught during the qualifying course. Your knowledge of the material
in this guide will be assessed at the beginning of the course, this will include a
practical bends and hitches test.

There is a check list on this page for you to tick off as and when you feel
confident with each item.

Contents of This Guide

Bends and Hitches 
Reef Knot
Figure of Eight Knot
Round Turn and Two Half Hitches
Clove Hitch
Sheet Bend
Bowline

General Ropework
Elementary Safety Rules
Coiling
Faking
Cheesing

General Sea Terms

Principal Parts of a Ship
Miscellaneous Parts Of A Ship
Miscellaneous Sea Terms
Bearings

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 Bends and Hitches
Reef Knot
Used as a common tie for two ropes of equal thickness.

Figure of Eight Knot

Used to prevent a rope from un-reeving through an eye or block.

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Round Turn and two Half Hitches
Used for securing a rope to a ring or spar.(e.g. Boats headrope to a ring of a
buoy).

4
Clove Hitch
Used to secure a rope to a rail, spar or similar fitting.

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Sheetbend
Used to join two ropes of unequal thickness, or to secure to an eye.

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Bowline
Used for making a temporary eye in a rope, a lifeline around the body or for
bending a heaving line to a mooring line.

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General Ropework
Elementary Safety Rules

Seaman's Knife This should be regarded as a seaman's best friend. It

should be worn on a lanyard round the waist and stowed in
the back pocket of the trousers. It is a tool, not a weapon;
the end of the blade should be rounded, not pointed, and
the blade should be sufficiently deep and thick to cut
without bending. The edge of the blade should be
sharpened like a chisel to avoid wearing away the thickness
and strength of the blade and the hinge should be kept
lightly oiled.

Safety of Tools When working up a height or over the side, ensure that
tools are secured with a lanyard to a fixture, rigging or
around the body. This is a common sense precaution to
avoid possible injury to personnel below or the loss of tools.

Rings Never wear finger rings, they may snag on broken strands.

Lookout Always keep a good lookout above and remain alert to what
is happening above you. If avoidable, never stand below an
object that is being lowered or hoisted.

Chafe This is damage caused by the rubbing of a rope around a

sharp or rough object or edge. Always be alert for it and
take steps to prevent or minimise it.

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Never Stand in a Bight

Never Stand Underneath a Hoist

Never Stand in a Coil

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Coiling - To Coil a Small Line in the Hand
When coiling in the right hand the rope should be held with the right thumb
pointing towards the end; and when coiling in the left hand the thumb should
point towards the main part of the rope. It will be necessary to give each coil a
slight twist so that it sits properly, if this is not done the rope will kink as it is
coiled.

Faking - To Fake Down a Rope

A rope, which may have to run out quickly, should be faked down in as long
fakes as space allows. When faked, a rope does not acquire as many turns as
when coiled, and it will therefore run out with less chance of becoming snarled.
Care should be taken that each loop at the end of a fake is laid under that
immediately preceding it to ensure a clear run.

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Cheesing – To Cheese a Rope
When a neat stow is required for a short end of rope, it may be cheesed down.
This method should never be used when the rope will be required to run quickly
through a block (i.e. a pully).

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 General Sea Terms

Principal Parts Of A Ship

The Hull The main body of the

ship.

Hull

Bow Curved surface of the

Hull either side of the
Stem. Bow

Stem The very front end of the

Hull

Stem

Quarter Curved surface of the

Hull either side of the
Stern.

Stern The very back end of the

Hull.

Amidships Surface of the Hull

between the Bow and
Stern Amidships
the Quarter
Quarter

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Forward Direction towards the
front of the ship. Starboard Side

Forward
Aft Direction towards the
back of the ship.

Starboard Right hand side of the

Side ship when facing
forward. Aft
Port Side
Port Side Left hand side of the
ship when facing
forward.

Fore and Aft The line joining the

Centre Line middles of the Stem to Fore and Aft Centre Line
Stern.

Fore and Aft Any line which runs

Line lengthways in the ship
from end to end
parallel to the Fore and
Aft Centre Line.
A Fore and Aft Line

Deck Any surface underfoot or the floor of a compartment.

Upperdeck The highest complete deck (except in aircraft carriers) usually

incorporating the Forecastle and Quarterdecks on modern flush-
decked ships.
Lowerdeck The area inside the Hull normally reserved for accommodation.

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Forecastle Deck in the fore part of
the ship above the
bow.

Waist Deck in the middle of

the upperdeck,
between the
Quarterdeck and the
Forecastle.
Waist Fo’cstle
(Fore Castle)

Quarterdeck Deck in the after part of

the ship.

Quarter
Deck

Beam The greatest width of

the Hull.

Athwartships Direct across the ship

from side to side.
Beam

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.

Miscellaneous Parts Of A Ship

Bridge Part of the ship from where it would be controlled (by the Captain
in normal circumstances).
Brow A narrow platform placed between ship and shore for embarkation
and disembarkation.
Gangway The position in the Ship's side by which the ship is entered or left.
Also describes a passageway in a ship and sometimes used to
describe the Brow.
Galley Ship's kitchen.
Heads Ship's toilets.
Hatch An opening in the deck to give access to the compartment below.
Ladder Structure allowing vertical access.
Deckhead The ceiling of a compartment.
Bulkhead Walls of a compartment or structure.
Draught The depth of the vessel, at its lowest point, below the waterline.

Miscellaneous Sea Terms

Adrift Broken away or no longer attached or driven at random by wind

and tide. Also meaning late.
Awash Flooded or level with the surface of the sea.
Way Movement or momentum through the water, e.g. Headway - a
forward movement, sternway - a backward movement.
Belay To make fast or attach to, e.g. Belay a rope to a cleat. Also
meaning to stop or cancel.
Shipshape Seaman like in appearance, tidy or ready to use .

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Bearings
Bearing A bearing is the direction of an object given with relation to a
point of reference. In Naval term the common points of
reference are North (a Compass Bearing), or the heading of the
ship (a Relative Bearing).
Compass This gives the direction of an object in relation to north. It is
Bearing normally given as a number of degrees between 000 and 359.
North is designated as 000 and angles are worked out clockwise
from north with East being 090, South being 180 and West being
270. Compass bearing are always given in three digits using
leading zeros if required. E.g. 005, 045, 135.
Compass bearings can also be specified in terms of cardinal
points, the simple ones being North, East, South and West.
There other points in between but they are not covered here.
Relative Direction of an object relative to the direction that the ship is
Bearing heading. It can be given in terms of a part of the ship or as an
angle from the front of the ship.
If given as an angle from the front it will specify a side of the ship
and a number of degrees between 0 and 180. The side is
specified as either red (port) or green (starboard). Angles are
given without leading zeros. E.g. Red 5, Red 45, Red 135.

Starboard Beam
Starboard
Starboard
Bow
Quarter

Ahead

Astern

Port
Port Quarter
Bow
Port Beam

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