DICTIONARY OF

Forge 144 Foxon's Log
Forge. To force. Sometimes applied to forcing a vessel over a shoal. Forge Ahead. To go
ahead by extra effort.
Forge Over. To force a vessel over a shoal. Forge Test. Applied to rivets. Head is heated
and then hammered until diameter is 2 ½ times that of shank. There must be no cracking
around edge.
Fork Beam. Half beam supporting a deck in way of a hatch.
Forming. Shaping a beam, frame, or other member, to exact form required.
'Forties.' Fishing ground off S.W. coast of Norway. Has an almost uniform depth of 40
fathoms.
'Forty Thieves.' Forty line of battle ships built, by contract, for Admiralty during
Napoleonic wars. They were, more or less, failures.
Forward. Towards or at the bows. Fore part of a vessel.
Fothering. Closing small leaks in a vessel's underwater body by drawing a sail, filled with
oakum, underneath her.
Fottinger Clutch. Hydraulic clutch in gearing of Bauer Wach turbine to propeller shaft.
Used for smoothing out variations in torque.
Foul. To entangle, obstruct, or collide with.
Foul Anchor. Anchor when foul of its own cable. Sometimes said when anchor is foul of an
obstruction on bottom.
Foul Berth. Anchorage in which there is not room to swing at change of tide.
Foul Ground. Sea bottom in which sunken wrecks or other obstructions may cause anchor
to become foul.
Foul Hawse. Having two cables out and one across, or foul of, the other.
Foul Water. Area of water containing menaces to navigation.
'Foulweather Jack.' Name given to Admiral Sir John Norris (1660-1748) and Vice-Admiral
Hon. John Byron (1723-86) both of whom were singularly unfortunate in the weather their
ships experienced.
Foul Wind. Wind blowing from direction a vessel wishes to sail, or in a direction that may
set her into danger.
Founder. To fill with water and sink.
Fourcant. Four-stranded rope.
Four Cycle. Applied to oil engines in which the operations of charging, compression,
ignition and scavenging are done in four piston strokes.
Four-Point Bearing. Direction of an observed terrestrial object when bearing is 45° from
ship's course. Distance to position when object is abeam is equal to distance off when
abeam.
Four S's. Four matters to have in mind before sailing. They are, steering gear, side-lights,
side ports, stowaways.
Fox. Made by laying up three or more yarns and smoothing them down.
Foxon's Log. Early 19th century towed spiral log made of wood.