steerageway

Thus it lost headway sufficiently so that the seas caused it to drift back, without its coming about or losing all steerageway.

With her small area of exposed sail and with the wind buffeting her, she had halted and paid off, lacking steerageway.

As the other approached, Harry shut off the power of the engines, checking them to little more than steerageway.

He held her nose up to the open sea, allowing her only steerageway, the gale slithering off her flattened sail.

I rigged up a sail out of the oar and the canvas spray shield, but there wa'n't wind enough to give us steerageway.