Glossary of Terms – Skeena History

Glossary of Terms related to Sternwheelers

Courtesy of Joseph F. MacDonald, MacDonalds Steamboats & Steamships of the Pacific Northwest

anchor ring- see ring bolt

ballast- weight, not cargo, placed in a vessel’s holds, to give her stability.

belay- to secure or make fast.

bollard- post or other fixture on wharf or boat for securing ropes or cable hawser to.

bower anchor- the principal or bow anchor.

breast line- or cable, used to hold a steamer from being swept sideways by the current, while rounding a point or gravel bar until she was headed on a proper course. Also used to avoid being carried onto submerged bars or rocks and keeping the vessel in the proper channel in narrow places.

breeches-buoy- a device that carried a person between vessels or vessel and shore.

bucket- the paddles on a sternwheeler that catch the water as the wheel is turned and propels the ship forward.

bulwark- a solid wall enclosing the perimeter of the main deck.

cabin deck- also known as the saloon deck, the deck above the main deck on the vessel.

capstan- a steam powered winch/windlass set in the prow on the main deck.

condensing steam engine- steam is vented into separate chambers and cooled into liquid form for reuse.

crank- arm or lever rotating the paddlewheel shaft.

cylinder- the chamber in a steam engine where steam pressure acts on a piston, causing it to move back and forth. This motion is then transferred via the pitman(s) to the cranks that turn the shaft which hold the buckets that form the paddlewheel.

deadhead- a tree or log floating in the river or lake, which endangered passage.

deadman- in the absence of a tree or rock, a large timber with cross logs would be buried on the bank or sand bar as an anchor and a line or cable would be attached to enable the vessel to use it as breast line in river rapids.

doctor engine- small steam engine used to supply water to the boilers and pumping out the bilge.

double-ender- a plank that ran from steamboat to the river or lake bank for loading wood, passengers and cargo.

down river- towards the mouth of the river, usually with the current.

draft/draught- depth of water required to float a vessel.

engine room telegraph- a signaling device, a dial, bell or gong to signal orders to the engine room from the officer on the bridge or pilot house relating to speed and direction. The sternwheelers used bells and gongs.

fender- a piece of timber, a bundle of rope, or old tires hung over the side of a vessel to lesson the shock and prevent chafing between the vessel, the wharf or other vessels.

freeboard- the distance between the surface of the water and the main deck. On sternwheelers the lateral extension
of the main deck beyond the deck housing.

gantries- parallel erections above the deck for loading or unloading a cargo vessel.

grasshoppering- a method to free sternwheelers from grounding. Two long wooden spars carried in vertical
position against the front housing on main deck, would be lifted by use of a coon and lowered into the water. A
large block and tackle would be hooked to the top of the spar and onto the bow of the vessel with the line attached to
the capstan and tighten. This would force the spar down into the river bottom and lift the bow of the vessel,
allowing water to flow under or slide the bow sideways.

hawser- a heavy rope or cable that is used when mooring or towing a vessel.

heaving line- a small diameter rope, attached to a heavy line, thrown to someone standing on the wharf, shore or
vessel affixing the heavier line or cable for securing the vessel.

helmsman- a crew member, who steers the vessel as instructed by an officer.

hog-chain- iron rods slanting down to the bow and stern and securing the keelson fore and aft. Sternwheelers with their shallow draft hulls were built like a bridge truss to give the vessel strength along its length. The sternwheeler hull tended to “hog” (arch up in the center), thus causing the stern and the wheel to settle into the water. The hog chain kept this from happening. If a vessel lost her hog chain, they said, “it broke its back”.

hog cables- steel or iron chains or cables used for the same purpose as the “hog chains”.

hogposts– uprights on either die of the kingposts. Attached to bow and stern

hurricane/Texas deck- the usually short deck above the saloon (passenger) deck and below the wheelhouse, on a river steamer.

keel- a ship structural element stretching along the bottom center-line of the hull from the bow to the stern.

keelson- a metal or wooden beam attached to the upper side of a boat.

kingpost- a vertical post generally secured to the base of the hull midway between the bow and stern. It rose above
the decks and supported the upper ends of the hog chain or cables.

line or lining- a cable 2/4 or 7/8 of inch with hook attached to one end. The cable was attached to a tree, rock or deadman to pull the vessel with the use of steam capstan forward or sideward.

maindeck- the upper most weatherproof deck. On sternwheelers the main deck was top of the hull and contained the boiler and engine works, as well as space to carry freight.

marine railway– cradles that run on track into the water to lift a vessel out for repairs etc.

mate- one of the officers under the captain. He was usually in charge of the deckhands.

monkey rudders- a set of rudders mounted behind the sternwheel which gave the ship much more maneuverability on a river.

pilot- a person licensed to take a vessel into and out of a port or river for a fee. A licensed person responsible for navigating a vessel.

pilot-house- usually the top most small house above the Texas deck where the wheel for steering the vessel and the helmsman is located.

pinnace- a small boat carried by a large vessel used as a tender.

pitman- a large arm that connects between the steam cylinders and the cranks that turn the shaft of the sternwheel, propelling the ship.

ring bolt- a hole is drilled into a rock and then a steel rod is cemented into the hole. A ring is attached to the steel rod. The ring was used for tieing a boat up to or for pulling a boat up through rapids or other difficult areas.

rudder- a vertical horizontal blade or blades at the stern of a vessel used to direct the vessel, when in motion. On a sternwheeler the rudders were between the stern and sternwheel. Also see monkey rudders.

shaft- a rotating core of the paddle wheel driven by cranks for transmitting motion to the buckets.

sheer- the curvature of the hull from the prow to stern. In the speeder sternwheelers there was a pronounced rise in the bow and stern.

shielding box– a cover over the paddlewheels to keep the water and sand/gravel spray off the vessel and passengers.

ship chandler- a person or firm that provides provisions and supplies to vessels.

shipwright- a person whose occupation is to build and repair vessels.

sounding pole- a pole eighteen feet long with increments of one foot marked for determining the depth of water.

sternwheeler- a vessel propelled by a large after wheel with buckets driven by two steam engines operating at right angles to each other. Some small sternwheelers had a single engine, which was geared to operate two cranks. The aft wheel had these advantages: it was easy to repair being built of wood, it could be easily balanced, it was behind the boat out of the way of snags and floating logs, it could travel forward or backward with little difficulty, it made the boat easy to control as the rudders were in the water flow, it was part of the hog-chain support system and it was best suited for river transportation. If grounded on a sandbar, it could sometimes free itself by reversing the paddlewheel to churn water beneath the hull, loosening the sand and helping the boat back off. In northern areas where heavy ice was formed, the sternwheeler would be taken out of the water and placed on ways during the winter months. In the spring the boat would be caulked before being placed back in the water.

strake– rail of wood or metal pates around the outside of the main deck

Texas or hurricane deck- the usually short deck above the saloon (passenger) deck and below the wheelhouse, on a river steamer.

turnbuckle– on the hogchains to adjust bow or stern if sagging or sway-backing occured.

upper-works– that portion of vessels above the waterline, when fully loaded.

up river- towards the source of the river, usually against the current.

wheelhouse- see pilot house

winch- see capstan

ways- wooden timbers upon which vessels are built, repaired or in the case of the frozen north stored in the winter, usually in a boat yard.

wood scows- a barge used to transport freight or cord wood for steamboats to areas that lack wood supplies.

wooding up- a contractor would cut and store cord wood at landings along the water ways. On the Skeena going up stream, a steamer would have to stop several times to “wood up”. Wood camps were located every 30 miles apart along the waterways.

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