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aback - Wind on the wrong side of the sails.

abaft - Toward the rear of the boat, behind the boat.

abeam - At a right angle to the length of the boat.

abreast - Off the side, even with the boat.

admeasure - Formal measurement of a boat for documentation.

admiralty law - The law of the sea.

adrift - Floating free with the currents and tide, not under control.

aerodynamic - Having a shape that that is not adversely affected by wind flowing past it.

aft, after - Toward the stern (rear) - of the boat.

after bow spring line - A mooring line fixed to the bow of the boat and leading aft where it is attached to the dock. This prevents the boat from moving forward in its berth. Its opposite, the forward quarter spring line, is used to keep the boat from moving aft in its berth.

aground - When a boat is in water too shallow for it to float in, i.e: the boat's bottom is resting on the ground.

aid to navigation - Any fixed object that a navigator may use to find his position, such as permanent land or sea markers, buoys, radiobeacons, and lighthouses.

amas - The outboard hulls of a trimaran.

anchor bend - A type of knot used to fasten an anchor to its line.

anchor light - A white light, usually on the masthead, visible from all directions, used when anchored.

anchor locker - A locker used to store the anchor rode and anchor.

anchor windlass - A windlass used to assist when raising the anchor.

anchor - 1 - A heavy metal object designed such that its weight and shape will help to hold a boat in its position when lowered to the sea bottom on an anchor rode or chain. See kedge, lightweight, mushroom, and plow anchors. 2 - The act of using an anchor.

anchorage - A place where a boat anchors, usually an established and marked area.

anemometer - A device that measures wind velocity.

aneroid barometer - A mechanical barometer used to measure air pressure for warnings of changing weather.

astern - Toward the stern of a vessel, or behind the boat.

athwart, athwartships - Lying along the ship's width, at right angles to the vessels centerline.

auxiliary - A second method of propelling a vessel. On a sailboat this could be a engine.

aweigh - To raise an anchoranchor off the bottom.