Three sheets to the wind!

i love the fact you showed that pic of kevin cosnter. :twisted:

I don’t know to what extent all this stuff is documented, but a sheet does mean a sail, and at least one common reason why a line would be called a “sheet” is it is short for “sheet line”. For example, since the line itself is not really thing thing that is important to the ships movement, they would just refer to it as the sheet which it is meant to pull.

Halyard, by contrast, is the line that hauls the yard, which happens to be the arm that holds the sheet. So when you haul or lower the yard, you are perforce hauling up or lowering the sheet.

So, when you are three sheets to the wind, it is the sail that is to the wind.

I feel this strongly because frankly, the reference to a line being “to the wind” is a weak one. The line is more likely to be referred to as loose or some such, rather than “to the wind”.

Now, I’m not the philologist in the house, but that whole “line to the wind” thing just strikes me as a touch awkward.

Example —
http://www.layline.com/category/528

Well shiver me timbers. I had the sheets confused with the shroud lines. Abandon ship! Lubber at the helm! AAAaaaaugh!

That’s Kiefer Sutherland, not Kevin Costner.

wow… thats what i ment. Its kinda funny that I could get those two people mixed up.

roachmeistercom, on a ship they call the lines “sheets”.. and the term comes from sailors…. so if sailors (not regular people, but SAILORS) refer to lines as “sheets” and sails as sails.. then the expression would have been .. “three sails to the wind”.. but it isn’t.. it’s “three sheets to the wind”… that’s why we know it refers to the lines.. not the sails. Land folk, like us, think it refers to the sails because we don’t “speak their language” :-)

LOL!

I surely am pleasantly surprised to see you found this crazy comment.

It’s funny to me that the etymology of sheet as it relates to the sheet lines still seems to support my idea though…

[Origin: 1300-50; ME shete, shortening of OE scéatlīne, equiv. to scéat(a) lower corner of a sail (see sheet1) + līne line1, rope; c. LG schote]

scéatlīne is a sheetline meaning the line that is attached to the lower corner of the sail (Sheet).

Etymology is very confusing…. Thanks for playing along though. It will always niggle at the back of my mind, but you have done the most any normal person could do to allay my doubts about this phrase!

I’m… relatively stubborn. “So what ALL sailors say so??? That doesn’t make it right!” :shock: Yeah, I’m pretty bad.

Marina,

We are going to make a sailor out of you yet. __/)__ :mrgreen:
Loved the video. In fact my good friend Capt. Richard Rodriguez at the blog posted this video today.

http://captrichardrodriguez.blogspot.com/2008/04/nautical-terms-three-sheets-to-wind.html

Richard’s blog covers subjects relating to the maritime industry and regular boating. Currently there is concern discussions about the US largest ferry system is in trouble. Capt. Richard has had articles posted on about the Whaling demonstration issues. And much more.

~~ ___ /) __~~

oops that got all screwed up. :sad: Sorry folks. Can’t fix it. :sad:

Here is another nautical term for you. Can you tell me what “marry the lines” means and its origin? We always marry the lines in Port. Also another is Starboard, can you tell me what that means and where it comes from?

rrrrr…..make “me” look like a Rock Star teacher. :lol:

I really wanted to agree with you, roachmeistercom. Those were my miss-perceptions, too. Debunking perceptions and assumptions with knowledge can be painful. I remembered the <a href=”http://www.cga.edu/display.aspx?id=2558″<Coast Guard Academy’s sailing ship and looked it up. The picture shows 3 masts and many sails. So, I guess I’m going to say, “Lesson learned.”

I love the beginnings of the video, and i agree, Intelligence is Sexy

ropes are like lines or untied in a submarina…lions are naughty and arty, not sheets….port it—random lesson—fun,fun,:-(:-))=)

Quote
“Basically, I no longer work for anything but the sensation I have while working.” – Albert Giacometti sculptor…sail on :lol: have bonus day :smile: {[rum]}

Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other functions where sturdiness is required. It is also popularly used as a painting surface, typically stretched, and on fashion handbags and shoes. :razz: :mrgreen: :roll: Alan Holdsworth band playing “3 sheets to the wind” …I say-”How deep is the water”? And I got to know and sew with the tow…”land I see”! The farmer and hands too; read the map, before it was lost. And wills the germination to make more plans for seasons and sails.

:roll: A sail might look flat when lying on the floor but once it’s hoisted, it becomes a three-dimensional, curved surface, in essence an airfoil.

In order for *[a sail to be [*"built"*], it has to be designed in a number of elements (or panels) which are cut and sewn together to form the foil. In older days, this was rightfully considered an art which was later complemented (and arguably overshadowed) by technology….Great random and I request a {[REMIX]}- like an up-dated mash of old and Knew+new+… :grin: PS —Marina(the boathouse :lol: )…Sails have been made from cloth for all of recorded history. Typically sails were made from flax (linen), hemp or cotton in various forms …Relient K – Sloop John B

listen to this beat-nik intro…JOHN CASH…the grEAt

Slop chest – A ship’s store of merchandise, such as clothing, tobacco, etc., maintained aboard merchant ships for sale to the crew.
[Slush] – Greasy substance obtained by boiling or scraping the fat from empty salted meat storage barrels, or the floating fat residue after boiling the crew’s meal. In the Royal Navy the perquisite of the cook who could sell it or exchange it (usually for alcohol) with other members of the crew. Used for greasing parts of the running rigging of the ship and therefore valuable to the master and bosun.[ANCHOR cable] (knot Rope)Eye think U R smArt- HotForWords! My Sense of smell, yells for the frozen pot of water: Three sheets to the wind!
…[R O P E]…Sheet – A rope used to control the setting of a sail in relation to the direction of the wind. The sheets are drying on the line; as my mother worked her natural resourced ways and means! ARAB word of fabric[shEEt]…

Reef
1. Reef: To temporarily reduce the area of a sail exposed to the wind, usually to guard against adverse effects of strong wind or to slow the vessel.
2. Reef: Rock or coral, possibly only revealed at low tide, shallow enough that the vessel will at least touch if not go aground. …from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_nautical_terms#S …Sensimilla Street—Kermit and Big Bird getting stoned! …you’ll love this video :lol: SAIL intended to generate thrust by being placed in a wind

I thought it had something to do with being windy!
:lol: