fair

The Sailor's Word-Book

A general term for the wind when favourable to a ship's course, in opposition to contrary or foul; fair is more comprehensive than large, since it includes about 16 points, whereas large is confined to the beam or quarter, that is, to a wind which crosses the keel at right angles, or obliquely from the stern, but never to one right astern. (See large and scant.)


♦ Fair, in ship-building, denotes the evenness or regularity of a curve or line.

♦ To fair, means to clip the timbers fair.

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