prime, to

The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea | 2006 | 700+ words | Copyright

prime, to, in general nautical terms, to make something ready for immediate use. A lead was primed before taking a sounding by inserting a piece of tallow or soft soap into the cavity at its end so that as it struck the bottom it would pick up sand, shells, or small stones to give a navigator information about the nature of the bottom. In the days of hand pumps on board, the pump was primed by having water poured into the barrel so that the leather washers would take up firmly on the lining of the barrel. Muzzle-loading guns in sailing warships were primed by piercing the cartridge with a priming iron to expose the powder, and a pinch of gunpowder, or later a quill firing-tube, was then inserted in the vent hole. When used as an adjective the term ‘a prime seaman’ meant someone who was fully trained and able to hand, reef, and steer.

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