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Boating Glossary of Terms

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T-top: Short, aluminum tower with overhead canvas to protect the helm.
tack: The lower corner of a sail. Also, each leg of a zigzag course.
tender: See dinghy.
through-hull: A fitting or object that goes all the way through a hull.
tiller: A bar connected to the rudder and used to steer the boat.
tiller handle outboard: A small, outboard motor that uses a handle fitted with engine controls to steer instead of a steering wheel.
tongue jack: Adjustable jack on the trailer tongue that raises and lowers the coupler.
tongue weight: The measurement of trailer weight when loaded with a boat on the hitch ball.
topsides: The hull above the waterline. Also, everything above deck as opposed to below deck.
tow rating: Maximum weight a vehicle is rated to tow.
trailer tongue: Forward portion of a trailer where the coupler is mounted.
trailer winch: Device that uses a crank and cable to assist in launching and retrieving a boat.
transducer: An electronic sensing device mounted in a boat's bilge or at the bottom of the transom to provide data for a depth sounder.
transom: The rear section of the hull connecting the two sides.
transom shower: A plastic hose and shower head located near the transom that draws from a fresh water supply.
trawler: A pleasure boat more than 25 feet in length with a displacement hull.
trim: The way a boat floats in relation to the horizon, bow up, bow down or even. Also, to adjust a boat's horizontal running angle by directing the outboard or stern drive's thrust up or down. Also, to set a sail in correct relation to the wind.
trim tabs: Hydraulically adjusted horizontal plates located on the bottom of the transom that control the trim angle of a boat at speed.
trimaran: A type of boat with three side-by-side hulls, the center of which is usually larger with crew accommodations.
trolling: To fish by towing an array of baited lines or lures behind the boat.
true wind: Direction and velocity of wind as measured on land, distinct from apparent wind.
tuna tower: Tall aluminum tower used for spotting fish in the distance, often equipped with a second set of helm controls.
two-cycle engine: A gasoline- or diesel-powered internal combustion engine that takes two cycles or strokes of the piston to complete its power phase. Also called two-stroke engine.

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