em. It also means farther forward;
as, the galley is _afore_ the bitts.--_Afore_, the same as _before_ the
mast.--_Afore the beam_, all the field of view from amidship in a right
angle to the ship's keel to the horizon forward.

AFORE THE MAST. _See_ BEFORE THE MAST.

AFOUNDRIT. An archaism of _sunk_ or _foundered_.

AFRAID. One of the most reproachful sea-epithets, as not only conveying
the meaning being struck with fear, but also implies rank cowardice.
(_See_ AFEARD.)

AFT--a Saxon word contradistinctive of _fore_, and an abbreviation of
_abaft_--the hinder part of the ship, or that nearest the stern.--_Right
aft_ is in a direct line with the keel from the stern.--_To haul aft a
sheet_ is to pull on the rope which brings the clue or corner of the
sails more in the direction of the stern.--The mast _rakes aft_ when it
inclines towards the stern.

AFT-CASTLE. An elevation on the after-part of our ships of war, opposed
to forecastle, for the purpose of fighting.

AFTER. A comparative adjective, applied to any object in the hind part
of a ship or boat; as, the _after_-cabin, the _after_-hatchway,
&c.--_After_ sails, yards, and braces--those attached to the main and
mizen masts. Opposed to _fore_.

AFTER-BODY. That part of the ship's hull which is abaft the midships or
dead-flat, as seen from astern. The term is, however, more particularly
used in expressing the _figure_ or _shape_ of that part of the ship.
(_See_ DEAD-FLAT.)

AFTER-CLAP. Whatever disagreeable occurrence takes place after the
consequences of the cause were thought at an end; a principal
application being when a ship, supposed to have struck, opens her fire
again. This is a very old English word, alluding to unexpected events
happening after the seeming end of an affair; thus Spenser, in "Mother
Hubbard's Tale"--

"And bad next day that all should readie be,
But they more subtill meaning had than he:
For the next morrowes mede they closely ment,
For feare of _after-claps_, for to prevent."

AFTER-END. The stern of a ship, or anything in her which has that end
towards the stern.

AFTER-FACE. _See_ BACK OF THE POST.

AFTER-GUARD. The men who are stationed on the quarter-deck and poop, to
work the after-sails. It was generally composed of ordinary seamen and
landsmen, constituting with waisters the largest part of the crew, on
whom the principal drudgery of the ship devolved. At present the crews
of ships-of-war are composed c