Cambrian Academy
aux: auxiliary
BHP: brake horse power
blrs: boiler
CBE: Commander of the British
Empire
cu: cubic
Eng: engine
Fcsle: Forecastle
ft: feet/foot
fwd: forward, for'ard
g: gross
GRT: gross registered tonnage
hp: horse power
h p: high pressure
in: inch
IHP: indicated horse power
kn/kts: knots
l p: low pressure
Ltd: Limited
m: metre
m p: medium pressure
max: maximum
NHP: nominal horse power
PRCA: President, Royal Cambrian
Academy
Painters in Watercolors
quad: quadruple
RA: Royal Academy
RHP: registered horse power
RI: Royal Institute
R/n: Renamed
rpm: revolutions per minute
RSMA: Royal Society of Marine
Artists
SHP: shaft horse power
SS Co: Steamship Company
S.S. Co: Steam Ship Company
T: tons/tonnage
Displacement Tonnage: The standard method of measuring warships. Displacement tonnage is the volume of water displaced by a vessel, the weight of the water displaced being equal to the weight of the object displacing it.
Forecastle: Originally, a built-up structure comprising several decks in the forward part of the ship, from which archers or gunners could fire into an enemy ship. ( A sterncastle aft served the same function.) In more modern usage, the forecastle was the crew's quarters in the forward part of a ship.
Horsepower: A measure of mechanical power. A vessel's horsepower is measured in various ways, depending on the type of engine. The power of a steam engine is expressed as indicated horsepower (IHP), the work of the steam in the cylinder, or nominal horsepower (NHP), an expression of power derived by formula. Steam turbines are measured by shaft horsepower (SHP), the power at the crankshaft as indicated by a torsion meter. Diesel engines are often measured by brake horsepower (BHP), determined by a brake attached to the shaft coupling. Effective horsepower (EHP) is the actual work done by an engine propelling a vessel.
Knot: A unit of measure used to express the speed of a ship in nautical miles per hour. One international nautical mile is defined as 6,076.1155 feet, or approximately 1.15 statute (land) miles. A know is generally taken to mean a rate of speed, and some argue that "knots per hour" is an incorrect expression. Many ship's logs records speed in knots per hour.
Liner: A passenger steam - or motorship that runs on an established route, such as between Europe and the United States.
Mast: A vertical pole or spar from which sails are set. In a square-rigged vessel, masts are often composed of separate sections: lower mast, top mast, topgallant mast, and royal mast. Masts are named, from bow to stern: formast, mainmast, mizzen mast, and jigger mast. In some five masted vessels, the middle mast is called, simply, a middle mast. Driver and spanker masts are also found on six masted vessels.
Packet: The generic name for a ship that sails in regular service between two ports.
Quadruple Expansion Engine: A steam engine in which the steam expands through four cylinders.
Rudder: A device hung on the centerline at teh stern and used to turn a vessel.
Tonnage: In merchant ships, tonnage is usually an expression of a ship's capacity or volume. One ton is now generally understood to equal 100 cubic feet.
Gross Register Tonnage (GRT): Is the whole cubic capacity of all enclosed spaces of a ship, including the entire room under the deck from stem to sternpost as well as that of the poop or bridge house, a forecastle, or any other formation.
Net Register Tonnage (NRT): Is the capacity under deck available for stowing cargo only, and not including engine room spaces, passenger accommodations, or crew spaces.
Deadweight Tonnage (DWT): Is a measure of the weight of a vessel's cargo. This is determined by calculating the volume of water displaced by a vessel when "light" and when full of cargo. Because the water displaced is equal to the weight of the object displacing it, the difference in displacement figures is equal to the weight of the cargo. Deadweight tonnage is usually used only in reference to bulk cargo carriers such as oil tankers.
Triple Expansion Engine: A steam engine in which the steam expands gradually and successively through three cylinders. Steam is first supplied to a high-pressure cylinder, then it passes into an intermediate-pressure cylinder at a lower pressure and finally into a low-pressure cylinder.
