stern sheets

American  

plural noun

Nautical.

1. the after part of an open boat, occupied by the person in command or by passengers.

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stern sheets British  

plural noun

1. nautical the part of an open boat near the stern

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Etymology

Origin of stern sheets

First recorded in 1475–85

Example Sentences

Seated in the stern sheets were small King Victor Emmanuel and large Queen Elena of Italy, swathed in pearls.

From Time Magazine Archive

Half-an-hour later he appeared, to all intents and purposes, to be lying in the stern sheets fast asleep.

From The Nameless Island A Story of some Modern Robinson Crusoes by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)

The two men shook hands again; then proudly John Vance stepped into the boat, and unmanacled sat there in the stern sheets.

From Yankee Ships and Yankee Sailors: Tales of 1812 by Barnes, James

I waded out in the water and set the cage in the stern sheets.

From Latitude 19 degree A Romance of the West Indies in the Year of Our Lord Eighteen Hundred and Twenty by Crowninshield, Mrs. Schuyler

There were eighteen in all, for the stern sheets were seen to be crowded.

From Yankee Ships and Yankee Sailors: Tales of 1812 by Barnes, James