cockbill

The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea | 2006 | 695 words | Copyright

cockbill, or a-cockbill.
1. An anchor is said to be cockbilled or a-cockbill when hung vertically by its ring stopper from a timberhead or cathead ready for use, or, temporarily, during the recovery process.

2. Yards of a square-rigger are said to be cockbilled, or a-cockbill, when they are canted to their maximum vertical angles as they are in the merchant navies as a sign of mourning. They were canted in opposite directions on each mast and the ends of the spanker gaff and boom were lowered.

3. The yards of a square-rigger are sometimes ‘cockbilled’ to reduce the overall width of the rigging when the ship has to lie alongside a warehouse or transit the locks of a canal.

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