stake boat

American  

noun

1. an anchored boat to which barges or other boats are temporarily moored.

2. an anchored boat used as a turning point in races.

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Etymology

Origin of stake boat

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Up the river the wind, cold after rain, was blowing hard when the two shells jumped away from the stake boat.

From Time Magazine Archive

As the Washington boys backed their shell into position, the official in the stake boat for lane three reached out a hand and laid hold of their stern.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

In each stake boat, an official sat ready to hold the stern of the shell assigned to that lane until the starting pistol was fired.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

A gun was fired from the flagship warning the crews to start for the stake boat.

From The Battleship Boys' First Step Upward or, Winning Their Grades as Petty Officers by Patchin, Frank Gee

"He will pull us all down at this rate," muttered Redman, as the Emma left the stake boat.

From In School and Out or, The Conquest of Richard Grant. by Optic, Oliver