Parts of the Banshee Dinghy

A guide to "dinghy-speak." Position the cursor over an item for more details. Click a "magnifying glass" to zoom for a tighter view within a new window. Have a little fun with the "Sailing Crossword Puzzle."

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HIN (Hull Identification #) Info

Dinghy Parts Vocabulary

Term	Description & "example of use (sometimes)"
aft	toward the rear or stern of the boat. "Move aft quick-- huge wave on the bow!"
autobailer	a mechanism that (when open and boat is underway) drains water from the cockpit. In the Banshee these are installed in the floor of the cockpit near the daggerboard well. "(sigh) We weren't quick enough... I wish this boat had an autobailer."
bail	a sturdy steel strap on the aft portion of the mast base to which the boom is connected.
bailer	a bucket or scoop used to remove water from the cockpit. "You weren't quick enough... Get out the bailer."
batten pocket	a sleeve (open on the leech edge) on the mainsail into which a batten is inserted.
batten	a stiff, thin, lightweight strip of material (usually fiberglass) used to extend the leech of the sail beyond the roach line.
beam	measurement at the widest point of the boat. Also a direction port or starboard perpendicular the the centerline. "The Banshee beam is 4'11"."
becket	pin on a block to which a line or shackle may be attached. "I wish I'd ordered a fiddleblock with a becket!"
block	nautical term for pulley.
boom	the spar that extends the foot of the mainsail. "Coming about... get ready to duck under the boom."
boom (or topping) lift	a line connecting aft portion of boom to the mast.
bow	the pointed forward portion of the hull. "Move aft quick-- huge wave on the bow!"
cam cleat	a mechanical device having two moveable "jaws" that secure a sheet. This device allows for quick release when pulled upward and released. The Banshee mainsheet cleat is a cam cleat. "Why didn't I buy a fiddleblock with a cam cleat!!?"
centerline	an imaginary line from bow to the center of the stern.
clam cleat	a mechanical device having notched converging side walls that secure a sheet. Allows for quick release when pulled and released. The outhaul cleat on the Banshee boom is a clam cleat.
cleat	device used to secure lines/sheets. "Please cleat the halyard."
clevis pin	a connecting pin. A true clevis pin is a shaft with a flat head and an opening across the bottom of the shank that a ringding is inserted into. Several styles of connecting pins are available. Most sailors favor the quick release push-pin style. The Banshee boom goosneck is connected to the mast bail via a clevis pin. "Dang, I lost yet another ringding from a clevis pin."
clew	the lower aft corner of the mainsail. The clew is located where the leech and the foot intersect. "Hang onto the clew while I connect the rudder, will ya? That outhaul line is seriously lashing me."
cockpit	the interior of the boat -- where all your gear gets wet! "Strap that cooler into the cockpit... the wind is picking up."
cunningham	a line connected to the tack used to extend the luff of the mainsail downward toward the deck. "Haul down on the cunningham-- the luff is slack."
daggerboard	the removable "keel" of your Banshee. Normally made of mahogany. The daggerboard makes sailing at an angle to the wind direction possible. The blunt edge of the daggerboard faces forward. "Pull up the daggerboard... we can only afford a foot or two draft here."
daggerboard well	Also called the "trunk" or daggerboard slot. Narrow opening that daggerboard is inserted into.
daggerboard stop	Wood strips on each side of the top of the daggerboard. The stops prevent the daggerboard from being lowered too deeply into the well... they also serve as good handholds for raising the daggerboard.
deck	top of the hull. Includes flat area surrounding the mast and the gunwales. "The wind has completely died. Could you stand on the deck and mast rock us home?"
donut	Slang for the "mast well gasket." "Stop twirling that thing on your finger-- or do you plan to fish for a donut?"
doubleblock	a pair of pulleys arranged side-by-side.
draft	the depth your boat in the water. Your draft varies from a few inches to up to as much as 38" as the Banshee is outfitted with a moveable (and removable) daggerboard and a kick-up rudder. "The tide is out-- out draft is rudder deep."
eyestrap	a stainless steel strap riveted or through-bolted to the boom, mast, deck or thwart. Eyestraps are most frequently connecting points for blocks. "We need a new eyestrap for the halyard block."
fiddleblock	a double block designed with an over and under arrangement. Fiddleblocks are usually designed to include a built in jam or V cleat. Some even have cam cleats. "I wish I'd ordered a fiddleblock with a becket!"
foot	the lower edge of the mailsail paralleling the boom. The foot of the sail is between the clew and the tack. "Boy, it's blowing! Look at the room tween the boom and the foot!"
forward	toward the front or bow of the boat. "Quick, move forward there's a wave on our stern!"
freeboard	distance from waterline to rail of the bow. "What's IN that cooler? Our freeboard is close to zero!"
gooseneck	a universal joint between boom and mast. The gooseneck attaches to the bail of the mast. "Man! If I had a vang, I wouldn't have busted the gooseneck!"
grommet	a stainless steel ring within the clew, tack, or head of the mainsail. Used to connect a control line. "Don't pull so hard on the cunningham... the tack grommet is about to pull free."
gudgeon	a stainless steel strip attached to the outer wall of the transom. Mates with the pins (pintels) of the rudderhead.
gunwale	upper surface of a cockpit sidewall.
halyard	a line used to raise the head of the mainsail to the top of the mast. "Use a bowline to tie the head of the mainsail to the halyard."
head	topmost corner of the mainsail. The head lies at the intersection of the luff and the leech. "The head is a foot short of the topmast block. Hoist that halyard!"
hiking strap	a wide, flattened (sometimes padded) strap that is positioned between the interior transom wall and the daggerboard well. Used to anchor the helmsmans feet while "hiking out" (leaning outside the cockpit to windward). Hiking prevents the boat from heeling (leaning over onto a rail) keeps the hull as flat as possible when sailing on a reach.
hull	body of the boat. The "hull only" weight of the Banshee is appox. 120 pounds.
inspection port	a circular access portal on the forward wall of the cockpit. Allows for access to the mast step pin and the interior of the hull. "What was that cracking sound? Open the inspection port and peek at the mast well, okay!?"
jam cleat	another term for a clam cleat. "Careful Skipper! The oulhaul is about free of the jam cleat!"
kicking stick	another term for the tiller extension. "I was hiking out so far I could barely hold onto the ball-end of the kicking stick!"
kicking strap	another term for hiking strap.
leech	the aft edge of the mainsail. Lies between the clew and the head. "The leech was flagging like mad and we stalled head-to-wind."
LOA (length overall)	the measurement from bow to stern. "The Banshee LOA is 13'0"."
LOW (length on waterline)	the measurement from bow to stern on the waterline.
luff	the leading edge of the mainsail. The luff lies between the tack and the head. "That Banshee bird is pecking at the luff!"
mainsail	Aft sail on a boat with one mast.
mainsheet	the control line connecting thwart to boom. "The mainsheet was tangled around my ankles when we gybed AND SO... we took a quick refreshing dip."
mast	the spar (sail support structure) that extends the leading edge (or luff) of the sail. "The Banshee has a two piece mast that assembled is about 21' in length."
mast sleeve	the tunnel forming the leading edge of the mainsail when both top and bottom access points are open. The mast is inserted into the bottom-most opening. Mainsails with a sleeve design use a halyard to hoist the mainsail. "Pull the bottom of the mainsail sleeve onto the top of the mast base when rigging."
mast sock	the tunnel forming the leading edge of the mainsail when the top of the tunnel is closed. The mast is inserted into the bottom-most opening. "Mainsails with a mast sock design do not require a halyard."
mast well	a cylindrical cavity in the deck of the boat that the base of the mast rests within. "There's no donut in your mast well! No wonder we heard a cracking noise!!!"
mast well gasket	a rubber ring that slips onto the base of the mast. Acts as a buffer between the mast and the fiberglass deck of your Banshee. Also called a "donut." "You forgot to slip your mast well gasket onto the mast base. That cracking noise we heard was your mast well!!!"
mast well step pin	bolt located in the bottom of the mast well. Notches on the bottom of the mast base straddle this pin to prevent the mast from rotating. "If you hear something sliding around inside the hull and air cells it might be your step pin."
outhaul	the control line used to extend the foot of the mainsail. The outhaul is secured to the boom. "Ease the outhaul a bit-- I don't think the boom is supposed to snake like that!"
outhaul slider	a C-shaped metal connector designed to slip onto the outhaul T track. The purpose of this piece is to minimize distance bewteen the boom and the foot of the sail. "I think the slider is reversed on the outhaul track. There is a kink in the clew."
outhaul "T" track	a T shaped quide track on the upper-aft portion of the boom. Mates with the outhaul slider. "I think the outhaul slider is reversed on the outhaul track. There is a kink in the clew."
painter	a line used in securing your boat dockside or to accept a tow.
pintel	a stainless steel pin located on the forward edge of the rudderhead. The rudders pintels are inserted into the transom gudegons to mate transom and rudder assembly. "It's quite difficult to insert the pintels into the transom gudgeons when the boat is rocking."
port	when facing forward the left side of the boat. "I feel a breeze-- turn to port."
preventer	a device used to "prevent" loss. A bungee cord connecting tiller and transom is commonly used to prevent the loss of the rudder assembly in a capsize.
quickpin	a version of a clevis pin allowing fast insertion or removal. Quickpins do not use ringdings.
rail	the edge of the boat where deck and hull meet. "She'll right... hang onto the rail and lean back on the daggerboard."
retaining clip	a device often used on a pintel to prevent separation from the gudegon. "Which is less frustrating, using a preventer or a retaining clip on your rudder?"
ringding	a ring shaped stainless steel wire most often used with a clevis pin. "Anybody got a spare ringding?"
roach	(or roach line) an imaginary straight line between clew and head of the mainsail. Sail battens extend the leech of the mainsail beyond the roach line.
rubrail	an strong but elastic material bonded to the rails of your boat to protect it from dockside impacts.
rudder	a control surface located behind the transom. Used to steer your Banshee. "Push the tiller to the left and the rudder goes right."
rudderhead	a metal housing that connect rudder, tiller, and transom. The Banshee rudderhead is designed to allow the rudder to "kick-up" or hinge rearward upon striking bottom while sailing.
shackle	usually a "D" shaped stainless steel band that closes with a connecting pin. Most sailors favor a "captive pin" design. Shackles are most often used to connect blocks to spars. "ARRRAGGGAH! I can't get this shackle into this outhaul track slider!"
sheet	sailing-speak for a rope. "Pull the sheet in- and put the wind on the rail, I'm hungry!"
spar	a device used to extend the mainsail. Both the boom and the mast are spars. "Haul down on the vang unil that spar bends a little."
starboard	when facing forward the right side of the boat. "Oops... not port. I meant turn to starboard."
step	portion of the hull that the mast rests upon. Also used as a verb to describe mating mast and hull... as in "Could you help me step the mast?"
stern	the aft portion of the hull. "Quick, move forward there's a wave on our stern!"
swiveling camcleat	a mainsheet control device that rotates appox. 270 degrees on a flat plane.
tack	the forward-lower corner of the mainsail. The tack is located where the luff and foot converge. "Don't pull so hard on the cunningham... the tack grommet is about to pull free."
thwart	structure connecting gunwales and the daggerboard well. "The mainsheet block and the mainsheet cam cleat are loacted on the thwart."
tiller	the steering lever extending from the rudder into the cockpit. "The Banshee tiller moves both left, right and upward (unless you use a strong preventer!)."
tiller extension	the metal rod connected to the forward extremity of the tiller. "Holding onto the tiller extension allows one to steer while hiking out."
transom	the aft wall of your Banshee. "The weakest link in the Banshee design is its transom."
trunk	the daggerboard well and thwart
V cleat	usually a deck cleat used for securing cunningham or halyard.
vang	(or boom vang) a boom control system using a line with pulleys to minimize upward movement when sailing on a reach, broad reach, or a run. "Man! If I had a vang, I wouldn't have bent the gooseneck!"
waterline	line where the water and hull meet. "Who packed the cooler? Our rail is on the waterline!"