=bonnet=—A narrow strip of canvas laced to the foot of sails on small vessels to increase their area in light winds. More common in mediæval times than now. =boom=—The spar at the foot of a fore and aft sail. There are other booms for other uses, such as a _boat boom_—a spar projecting from the side of a ship and to which small boats floating in the water are made fast when the ship is at anchor. =bow=—The front end of a vessel. The _port bow_ is the left side of the front end, and the _starboard bow_ is the right side. =bowline=—A knot. For illustration see page 193. =bowsprit=—The spar projecting from the bow of a ship and to which the fore stays are led from the foremast. It is a highly important part of a sailing ship’s rigging, but when used on power-driven ships, as it often is on steam yachts, it is more decorative than necessary. =boxing the compass=—Repeating the points of the compass in order, starting from any point. =brace=—Ropes on a square-rigged ship leading to the ends of the yards and used for the purpose of setting the yard at the proper angle to the mast are called _braces_. =breaker=—A small water barrel. =breakers=—Waves that curl over and break because of shallow water. =breakwater=—An artificial bank or wall of any material built to break the violence of the sea and create a sheltered spot. =bridles=—Several lines leading from a larger line to distribute the strain on an object to which they are attached. =brig=—A vessel with two masts (fore and main) both of them square rigged. For illustration see page 201. =brigantine=—Same as a brig except that it has a fore and aft mainsail. For illustrations see page 201. =broadside=—The firing of all the cannon on one side of a warship at the same moment. =bulkhead=—A partition of almost any material. Nowadays steel bulkheads are most common. Their purpose is to divide the ship, generally laterally, into separate compartments that, in the highest designs, are watertight. =bulwarks=—A parapet around the deck of a vessel, serving to guard passengers, crew, and cargo from the possibility of being swept overboard. =bumboat=—A small harbour boat allowed to visit ships in port and supply the sailors with various articles. =buoy=—A floating marker intended as a guide or a warning. Buoys have been more or less standardized, but in many different parts of the world similar shapes and colours still stand for different things. =cabin=—A habitable apartment on shipboard. =cable=—The rope or chain by which a ship’s anchor is held. =calking=—Stuffing the seams of wooden ships with oakum. =can buoy=—A buoy which shows above water the form of a cylinder. =canoe=—A light boat propelled by paddles. Sometimes sails are also used. =capstan=—A kind of windlass sometimes found on ships, and used principally for raising the anchor.