_Bowline-knot._ (See PLATE 5 and page 49.) BOWSE. To pull upon a tackle. BOWSPRIT. (Pronounced _bo-sprit_.) A large and strong spar, standing from the bows of a vessel. (See PLATE 1.) BOX-HAULING. Wearing a vessel by backing the head sails. (See page 75.) BOX. _To box the compass_, is to repeat the thirty-two points of the compass in order. BRACE. A rope by which a yard is turned about. _To brace a yard_, is to turn it about horizontally. _To brace up_, is to lay the yard more fore-and-aft. _To brace in_, is to lay it nearer square. _To brace aback._ (See ABACK.) _To brace to_, is to brace the head yards a little aback, in tacking or wearing. BRAILS. Ropes by which the foot or lower corners of fore-and-aft sails are hauled up. BRAKE. The handle of a ship's pump. BREAK. _To break bulk_, is to begin to unload. _To break ground_, is to lift the anchor from the bottom. _To break shear_, is when a vessel, at anchor, in tending, is forced the wrong way by the wind or current, so that she does not lie so well for keeping herself clear of her anchor. BREAKER. A small cask containing water. BREAMING. Cleaning a ship's bottom by burning. BREAST-FAST. A rope used to confine a vessel sideways to a wharf, or to some other vessel. BREAST-HOOKS. Knees placed in the forward part of a vessel, across the stem, to unite the bows on each side. (See PLATE 3.) BREAST-ROPE. A rope passed round a man in the chains, while sounding. BREECH. The outside angle of a knee-timber. The after end of a gun. BREECHING. A strong rope used to secure the breech of a gun to the ship's side. BRIDLE. Spans of rope attached to the leeches of square sails, to which the bowlines are made fast. _Bridle-port._ The foremost port, used for stowing the anchors. BRIG. A square-rigged vessel, with two masts. An _hermaphrodite brig_ has a brig's foremast and a schooner's mainmast. (See PLATE 4.) BROACH-TO. To fall off so much, when going free, as to bring the wind round on the other quarter and take the sails aback. BROADSIDE. The whole side of a vessel. BROKEN-BACKED. The state of a vessel when she is so loosened as to droop at each end. BUCKLERS. Blocks of wood made to fit in the hawse-holes, or holes in the half-ports, when at sea. Those in the hawse-holes are sometimes called _hawse-blocks_. BULGE. (See BILGE.) BULK. The whole cargo when stowed. _Stowed in bulk_, is when goods are stowed loose, instead of being stowed in casks or bags. (See BREAK BULK.) BULK HEAD. Temporary partitions of boards to separate different parts of a vessel. BULL. A sailor's term for a small keg, holding a gallon or two. BULL'S EYE. (See page 53.) A small piece of stout wood with a hole in the centre for a stay or rope to reeve through, without any sheave, and with a groove round it for the strap, which is usually of iron. Also, a piece of thick glass inserted in the deck to let light below.