I originally bought Ansted's extremely comprehensive dictionary of nautical terms in an effort to be able to comprehend all the jargon used so knowlegeably by Patrick O'Brian in his wonderful Aubrey/Maturin series. Since then, I find myself just reading it for the fun of it. First published in 1920, it still contains all of the 18th and 19th century terminology used in relation to the sailing, construction, and uses of wooden sailing vessels. It is enhanced by superbly detailed drawings of all aspects of sailing ships and boats. I highly recommend this book.

My review refers to the 1977 version of the 2nd edition...