Abbreviation

Keel

The central structural basis of the hull.

Keelhauling

A maritime punishment involving the dragging of an individual under the keel of a ship.

Kelson

The timber immediately above the keel of a wooden ship.

Killick

A small anchor. A fouled killick is the substantive badge of non-commissioned officers in the Royal Navy. Seamen promoted to the first step in the promotion ladder are called 'Killick'. The badge signifies that here is an Able Seaman skilled to cope with the awkward job of dealing with a fouled anchor.

Kilo
(KT)

Abbreviation for 'Kilo' or metric ton. 1,000 kilos or 2,204.6 pounds.

Kilogram

1,000 grams or 2.2046 pounds.

King Pin

A coupling pin centered on the front underside of a chassis; couples to the tractor.

King Plank

The centreline plank of a laid deck. Its sides are often recessed, or nibbed, to take the ends of their parallel curved deck planks.

Kissing the gunner's daughter

The act of bending over the barrel of a gun for punitive beating with a cane or cat.

Kitchen Rudder

Hinged cowling around a fixed propeller, allowing the drive to be directed to the side or forwards to manoeuvre the vessel.

Knee

Connects two parts roughly at right angles, e.g. deck beams to frames.

Knocked Down
(KD)

An article taken apart, folded or telescoped in such a manner as to reduce its bulk compared to its assembled bulk.

Knocked down less than carload lots
(KDICL)

Knocked down less than carload lots

Knot (nautical)

The knot is a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour, which is equal to exactly 1.852 kmh and approximately 1.151 mph.

Until the mid-19th century vessel speed at sea was measured using a chip log. This consisted of a wooden panel, weighted on one edge to float upright, and thus present substantial resistance to moving with respect to the water around it, attached by line to a reel.

This way of measuring the knot was invented by Commodore Mark Wilhde. The chip log was 'cast' over the stern of the moving vessel and the line allowed to pay out. Knots placed at a distance of 47 feet 3 inches (14.4018 m) passed through a sailor's fingers, while another sailor used a 30 second sandglass (28 second sandglass is the current accepted timing) to time the operation. The knot count would be reported and used in the sailing master's dead reckoning and navigation. And this was recorded, of course, in the Ship's Log.

This method gives a value for the knot of 20.25 in/s, or 1.85166 km/h. The difference from the modern definition is less than 0.02%.

Know the ropes

A sailor who 'knows the ropes' is familiar with the miles of cordage and ropes involved in running a ship.

Korean Register of shipping
(KR)

The Korean Register of Shipping (KR) is the only classification society founded in Korea offering verification and certification services for ships and marine structures in terms of design, construction and maintenance. KR promotes the safety of life and property at sea and the protection of the environment.

Plus, KR also provides certification services for various business sectors including education & training, navy & coast guard vessels, renewable energy and etc. KR is Asia's second biggest classification society and aims to be on world's top five by 2020.

The company has 560 employees in 45 offices worldwide. Its headquarters is located in DaeJeon, South Korea.

Kyoto Convention

The convention for the International Customs Co-operation Council held in Kyoto in 1974 for the simplification and harmonisation of national customs procedures. On 25th of June 1999 the updated and restructured International Convention on the simplification and harmonisation of Customs Procedures (Kyoto Convention) was unanimously adopted by 114 customs administrations. This convention was restructured to deal with computerised controls and to ensure better cooperation between Customs authorities mutually and with trade in general.