v. [f. BOX v.1 13 + HAUL.] To veer a ship round on her heel, when it is impracticable to tack or make a great sweep. ‘The helm is put a-lee, the head-yards braced flat aback, the after-yards squared, the drivers taken in, and the head-sheets hauled to windward; when she begins to gather stern-way the helm is shifted and sails trimmed.’ Smyth, Sailor’s Word-bk. Hence Box-hauling vbl. sb.
1769. Falconer, Dict. Marine (1789), Box-hauling is generally performed when the ship is too near the shore to have room for veering in the usual way.
