Glossary
Deckhand Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential deckhand terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key deckhand vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in deckhand training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Ballast
- Weight used to stabilize a vessel.
- Bow and stern
- The front and back of a vessel.
- Bowline
- A knot that forms a fixed loop.
- Chipping
- Removing rust before painting.
- Cleat and bitt
- Fittings used to secure lines.
- Facing up
- Connecting a towboat to barges.
- Hitch
- A work rotation aboard.
- Lock
- A chamber that raises or lowers vessels between water levels.
- Man overboard
- A person falling into the water.
- MMC
- Merchant Mariner Credential.
- Mooring line
- A rope used to tie a vessel to a dock.
- Muster
- Assembling crew for drills or emergencies.
- Port and starboard
- Left and right when facing forward.
- Tow
- A group of barges pushed or pulled by a tug.
- Watch
- A scheduled period of duty.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Deckhand practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Deckhand training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.