Aloft

Aloft

This list of ship directions explains dozens of related terms such as fore, aft, astern, aboard, or topside. For background, see below: Origins.

• abaft: at or toward the stern of a ship, or further back from a location.
• aboard: onto or within a ship, or in a group.
• above: a higher deck of the ship.
• aft: toward the stern of a ship.
• adrift: floating in the water without propulsion.
• aground: resting on the shore or wedged against the sea floor.
• ahull: with sails furled and helm lashed alee.
• alee: on or toward the lee (the downwind side).
• aloft: the stacks, masts, rigging, or other area above the highest solid structure.
• amidships: near the middle part of a ship.
• aport: toward the port side of a ship (opposite of "astarboard").
• ashore: on or towards the shore or land.
• astarboard: toward the starboard side of a ship (opposite of "aport").
• astern: toward the rear of a ship (opposite of "forward").
• athwartships: toward the sides of a ship.
• aweather: toward the weather or windward side of a ship.
• aweigh: just clear of the sea floor, as with an anchor.
• below: a lower deck of the ship.
• belowdecks: inside or into a ship, or down to a lower deck.
• bilge: the underwater part of a ship between the flat of the bottom and the vertical topsides
• bottom: the lowest part of the ship's hull.
• bow (or stem): front of a ship (opposite of "stern")
• centerline: an imaginary, central line drawn from the bow to the stern.
• fore or forward: at or toward the front of a ship or further ahead of a location (opposite of "aft")
• inboard: attached inside the ship.
• keel: the bottom structure of a ship's hull.
• leeward: side or direction away from the wind (opposite of "windward").
• on deck: to an outside or muster deck (as "all hands on deck").
• on board: somewhere on board the ship.
• outboard: attached outside the ship.
• port: the left side of the ship, facing forward (opposite of "starboard").
• starboard: the right side of the ship, when facing forward (opposite of "port").
• stern: the rear of a ship (opposite of "bow").
• topside: on the ship's main weather deck.
• underdeck: a lower deck of a ship.
• yardarm: an end of a yard spar below a sail.
• waterline: where the water surface meets the ship's hull.
• windward: side or direction from which wind blows (opposite of "leeward").