Nautical Terms

It’s Smokin’ – It’s blowing so hard that the wind blows the tops of the waves off, creating the look of smoke

It’s rippin – The tide is really running strong. Also called “Running like a river”

Sea Brothers: the crew are all brothers at sea; sea brothers

Sea Papa: the Captain

Captain is also called Cap, Skip, Skipper, Captain Sir

Winnebagos: Really big crab

Juvies: Young, undersize crab

Girls: Female crab

Line’s Popping: When pulling hard, the line pops in the block, making a very loud report, similar to a machine gun

Wheel: Propeller

Screw: Propeller

Twin Screw: A boat with 2 main engines and 2 screws

Twin Screw her around; Spinning a twin screw vessel within her own length, done by having one engine forward, one reverse, and the rudder hard over.

Line: Fisherman call rope, line (rope is for cowboys & mountaineers!)

Floating Line: Crab line is naturally buoyant and in slack water, will float on the surface.

Sinking Line: Also called leaded line is line built to sink, usually placed just below the buoys, to avoid having floating line.

Line in the wheel: When line floats up under the boat and gets stuck in the wheel(s). This can be a very bad thing, as enough line in the wheel will prevent the wheel from turning, rendering the vessel compromised in maneuverability, or completely incapacitated.

Half Bars: Pots half full of crab

Suitcases: Pots completely full of crab.

Sorting table: Large stainless or aluminum table that the crab are dumped into to be sorted & measured.

Launching rack: Hydraulically controlled mechanism for setting pots.

Dogs: Hydraulically controlled hooks that hold the pot in the rack

Hydros: Hydraulics

Wheelhouse: also called Pilot house, bridge, where the boat is operated from

Binos: Binoculars

Buoy flash: When you’re searching for the buoys and you think you see them but you don’t.

Set the hook: Set the anchor

Pick the hook: pick the anchor

Going with it; Having the seas at your stern, also called traveling with a following sea.

Run: Traveling between two points, such as “We have a 2-hour run to the next string”

Jog: Keeping the boat in gear at low RPMS when your goal is to stay in the same area. The crew will often jog at night on watch.

Wheelwatch: Also called “watch”. A designated amount of time that a crewman is “at the wheel” (in control of the boat).

Watch Alarm: An automatic timer set by the captain which counts down from 20 minutes then beeps and has to be manually reset. If not reset withing 1 minute, it will sound the General Alarm

Hard Balls: Also called Hard Floats or Trawl Floats, rigid plastic buoys 45 inches in circumference which always maintain positive buoyancy.

Bags: Inflatable buoys which actually get compressed under water and lose their buoyancy.

Greenhorn: New, inexperienced deckhand

Tide is Flooding: Going into high tide

Tide is Ebbing: Going into low tide

Note on tides: The tide Floods from the larger body of water to the smaller, and ebbs from the smaller body of water to the larger, so the Flood Tide is northerly from the Pacific into the Bering and the Ebb tide is opposite. Important to know when your factoring current, however islands (which there are many of in the Aleutians) can affect currents locally

Aleutian Stare: The vacant look a fisherman gets after months at sea

The Illusions: Another name for the Aleutians, as you can be in the Aleutians for days and not see them due to fog, weather or lack of daylight.