dolphin striker en · NOUN
Meanings
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A near-vertical spar between the bowsprit and martingale
I ordered the Captain of the forecastle, to run out on the bowsprit with the end of a two inch at once, and throw a running bowline knot over his shoulders, and by-and-by, when he broke adrift from the dolphin striker, we hauled him in by the head; and the same night or next morning, I had a good beefsteak cut off him near his tail, and a capital one it was, too, you would hardly have known it from the regular beef.
1846, Jack's Life at Sea: By an Old Irish Captain of the Head., page 366:meanwhile some of the sailors, with an imitative flying fish, get to that part of the vessel just under the bowsprit, called “the dolphin striker,” and with a bottle midway to their bait, they suddenly jerk it out of the water, to imitate the flying fish.
1844, William Graeme Rhind, The Creation: A Series of Letters from a Father to His Children:An iron band with studs for the martingale and back ropes to be fitted to is frequently used on the dolphin striker.
1865, Sir George Strong Nares, Seamanship, page 71:The dolphin striker is slung near the cap; and the sprit-sail gaffs near the rigging by "jaw ropes,” and supported at their ends by lifts from the bowsprit cap.
1857, John McNeill Boyd, A Manual for Naval Cadets, page 173:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| dolphin strikers | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Translations (3)
pl delfiniak (spar) · ota صقال (spar) · it pennaccino (spar)