DICTIONARY OF

Calendar Month. Interval between any given date and 00 hrs. of the same date in the
following month.
Calibration. Determination of error, if any, between the value indicated by an instrument
and the actual value that it should indicate.
California Current. Name used in U.S.A. for 'Mexico Current.'
Caliper. Pair of bowed legs, working on a common pivot, used for measuring internal or
external diameters of circular items. Size of chain cable is measured with it.
Calk.* Old astrological word for the calculating of a horoscope. 2. Old spelling of 'Caulk'.
Call. Small whistle, of a special type, used by boatswains' mates - occasionally by a
commissioned boatswain - in Royal Navy when passing orders or piping the side. Call Boy.
Junior rating in Royal Navy whose duty is to repeat all orders piped by boatswain's mate.
Callipers. Calipers.
Callippic Cycle. Period of 27,759 days, or 940 lunations, being approximately 76 years.
New and full Moons occur on same day and date -within about 6 hours. Calculated by
Callippus (Greek), about 350 B.C., as an improvement on Metonic Cycle.
Call Sign. Group of Morse signs allotted to a ship, or shore station, for identification
purposes.
Calm. Absence of wind. No agitation of sea surface.
Calorie. Amount of heat necessary to raise temperature of one gramme of pure water
through one degree Centigrade.
Calorific Value. Number of heat units obtained by complete combustion of unit amount
of fuel. Generally expressed as number of British Thermal Units (B.T.U.) per Ib. of fuel.
Calorimeter. Apparatus for determining specific heat of a substance by finding how much
heat is lost or gained when its temperature is changed in standardized circumstances.
Calving. Breaking away of a mass of ice from a glacier or iceberg. Cam. Projection on
wheel or curved plate when shaped to give an alternating or eccentric movement to another
member that is in contact.
Camber. Arched form of a deck or beam to shed the water. Standard camber for weather
decks is l/50th of vessel's breadth. 2. Recess, in masonry of a dock entrance, for a sliding
caisson to enter when entrance is opened. 3. Small tidal dock, originally for discharge of
timber, now used for loading or discharging and for embarkation and disembarkation from
small boats.
Camber Keel. Keel so shaped that its depth increases as it approaches the forward and
after ends.
Camel. Hollow vessel of iron, steel or wood, that is filled with water and sunk under a
vessel. When water is pumped out the buoyancy of camel lifts ship. Usually employed in
pairs. Very valuable aid to salvage operations. At one time were usual means of lifting a
vessel over a bar or sandbank. Were used in Rotterdam in 1690.
Cam Shaft 66 Canoe Rig
Cam Shaft. Shaft carrying a cam.