SHEEP-SHANK. A kind of hitch or bend, used to shorten a rope

temporarily. (See PLATE 5 and page 50.)

SHEER, or SHEER-STRAKE. The line of plank on a vessel's side, running

fore-and-aft under the gunwale. Also, a vessel's position when riding

by a single anchor.

SHEET. A rope used in setting a sail, to keep the clew down to its

place. With square sails, the sheets run through each yard-arm. With

boom sails, they haul the boom over one way and another. They keep down

the inner clew of a studdingsail and the after clew of a jib. (See

HOME.)

SHEET ANCHOR. A vessel's largest anchor: not carried at the bow.

SHELL. The case of a block.

SHINGLE. (See BALLAST.)

SHIP. A vessel with three masts, with tops and yards to each. (See

PLATE 4.) To enter on board a vessel. To fix anything in its place.

SHIVER. To shake the wind out of a sail by bracing it so that the wind

strikes upon the leech.

SHOE. A piece of wood used for the bill of an anchor to rest upon, to

save the vessel's side. Also, for the heels of shears, &c.

SHOE-BLOCK. A block with two sheaves, one above the other, the one

horizontal and the other perpendicular.

SHORE. A prop or stanchion, placed under a beam. To _shore_, to prop

up.

SHROUDS. A set of ropes reaching from the mast-heads to the vessel's

sides, to support the masts.

SILLS. Pieces of timber put in horizontally between the frames to form

and secure any opening; as, for ports.

SISTER BLOCK. A long piece of wood with two sheaves in it, one above

the other, with a score between them for a seizing, and a groove around

the block, lengthwise.

SKIDS. Pieces of timber placed up and down a vessel's side, to bear any

articles off clear that are hoisted in.

SKIN. The part of a sail which is outside and covers the rest when it

is furled. Also, familiarly, the sides of the hold; as, an article is

said to be stowed _next the skin_.

SKYSAIL. A light sail next above the royal. (See PLATE 2.)

SKY-SCRAPER. A name given to a _skysail_ when it is triangular.

SLABLINE. A small line used to haul up the foot of a course.

SLACK. The part of a rope or sail that hangs down loose.

_Slack in stays_, said of a vessel when she works slowly in tacking.

SLEEPERS. The knees that connect the transoms to the after timbers on

the ship's quarter.

SLING. To set a cask, spar, gun, or other article, in ropes, so as to

put on a tackle and hoist or lower it.

SLINGS. The ropes used for securing the centre of a yard to the mast.

_Yard-slings_ are now made of iron. Also, a large rope fitted so as to

go round any article which is to be hoisted or lowered.

SLIP. To let a cable go and stand out to sea. (See page 90.)

SLIP-ROPE. A rope bent to the cable just outside the hawse-hole, and

brought in on the weather quarter, for slipping. (See page 90.)

SLOOP. A small vessel with one mast. (See PLATE 4.)

SLOOP OF WAR. A vessel of any rig, mounting between 18 and 32 guns.

SLUE. To turn anything round or over.

SMALL STUFF. The term for spunyarn, marline, and the smallest kinds of

rope, such as ratline-stuff, &c.

SNAKE. To pass small stuff across a seizing, with marling hitches at

the outer turns.

SNATCH-BLOCK. A single block, with an opening in its side below the

sheave, or at the bottom, to receive the bight of a rope.

SNOTTER. A rope going over a yard-arm, with an eye, used to bend a

tripping-line to in sending down topgallant and royal yards in vessels

of war.

SNOW. A kind of brig, formerly used.

SNUB. To check a rope suddenly.

SNYING. A term for a circular plank edgewise, to work in the bows of a

vessel.

SO! An order to 'vast hauling upon anything when it has come to its

right position.

SOLE. A piece of timber fastened to the foot of the rudder, to make it

level with the false keel.

SOUND. To get the depth of water by a lead and line. (See page 85.) The

pumps are _sounded_ by an iron _sounding rod_, marked with a scale of

feet and inches.

SPAN. A rope with both ends made fast, for a purchase to be hooked to

its bight.

SPANKER. The after sail of a ship or bark. It is a fore-and-aft sail,

setting with a boom and gaff. (See PLATE 2.)

SPAR. The general term for all masts, yards, booms, gaffs, &c.

SPELL. The common term for a portion of time given to any work.

_To spell_, is to relieve another at his work.

_Spell ho!_ An exclamation used as an order or request to be relieved

at work by another.

SPENCER. A fore-and-aft sail, set with a gaff and no boom, and hoisting

from a small mast called a _spencer-mast_, just abaft the fore and main

masts. (See PLATES 2 and 4.)

SPILL. To shake the wind out of a sail by bracing it so that the wind

may strike its leech and shiver it.

SPILLING LINE. A rope used for spilling a sail. Rove in bad weather.

SPINDLE. An iron pin upon which the capstan moves. Also, a piece of

timber forming the diameter of a made mast. Also, any long pin or bar

upon which anything revolves.

SPIRKETING. The planks from the water-ways to the port-sills.

SPLICE. (See PLATE 5 and page 44.) To join two ropes together by

interweaving their strands.

SPOON-DRIFT. Water swept from the tops of the waves by the violence of

the wind in a tempest, and driven along before it, covering the surface

of the sea.

SPRAY. An occasional sprinkling dashed from the top of a wave by the

wind, or by its striking an object.

SPRING. To crack or split a mast.

_To spring a leak_, is to begin to leak.

_To spring a luff_, is to force a vessel close to the wind, in sailing.

SPRING-STAY. A preventer-stay, to assist the regular one. (See STAY.)

SPRING TIDES. The highest and lowest course of tides, occurring every

new and full moon.

SPRIT. A small boom or gaff, used with some sails in small boats. The

lower end rests in a becket or snotter by the foot of the mast, and the

other end spreads and raises the outer upper corner of the sail,

crossing it diagonally. A sail so rigged in a boat is called a

_sprit-sail_.

SPRIT-SAIL-YARD. (See PLATE 1.) A yard lashed across the bowsprit or

knight-heads, and used to spread the guys of the jib and flying

jib-boom. There was formerly a sail bent to it called a _sprit-sail_.

SPUNYARN. (See page 44.) A cord formed by twisting together two or

three rope-yarns.

SPURLING LINE. A line communicating between the tiller and tell-tale.

SPURS. Pieces of timber fixed on the bilge-ways, their upper ends being

bolted to the vessel's sides above the water. Also, curved pieces of

timber, serving as half beams, to support the decks where whole beams

cannot be placed.

SPUR-SHOES. Large pieces of timber that come abaft the pump-well.

SQUARE. Yards are _squared_ when they are horizontal and at right

angles with the keel. Squaring by the lifts makes them horizontal; and

by the braces, makes them at right angles with the vessel's line. Also,

the proper term for the length of yards. A vessel has square yards when

her yards are unusually long. A sail is said to be very square on the

head when it is long on the head.

_To square a yard_, in working ship, means to bring it in square by the

braces.

SQUARE-SAIL. A temporary sail, set at the fore-mast of a schooner or

sloop when going before the wind. (See SAIL.)

STABBER. A PRICKER.

STAFF. A pole or mast, used to hoist flags upon.

STANCHIONS. (See PLATE 3.) Upright posts of wood or iron, placed so as

to support the beams of a vessel. Also, upright pieces of timber,

placed at intervals along the sides of a vessel, to support the

bulwarks and rail, and reaching down to the bends, by the side of the

timbers, to which they are bolted. Also, any fixed, upright support; as

to an awning, or for the man-ropes.

STAND BY! An order to be prepared.

STANDARD. An inverted knee, placed above the deck instead of beneath

it; as, _bitt-standard_, &c.

STANDING. The _standing part_ of a rope is that part which is fast, in

opposition to the part that is hauled upon; or the main part, in

opposition to the end.

The _standing part_ of a tackle is that part which is made fast to the

blocks and between that and the next sheave, in opposition to the

hauling and leading parts.

STANDING RIGGING. (See page 43.) That part of a vessel's rigging which

is made fast and not hauled upon. (See RUNNING.)

STARBOARD. The right side of a vessel, looking forward.

STARBOWLINES. The familiar term for the men in the starboard watch.

START. To _start a cask_, is to open it.

STAY. To tack a vessel, or put her about, so that the wind, from being

on one side, is brought upon the other, round the vessel's head. (See

TACK, WEAR.)

_To stay a mast_, is to incline it forward or aft, or to one side or

the other, by the stays and backstays. Thus, a mast is said to be

_stayed_ too much forward or aft, or too much to port, &c.

_Stays._ Large ropes, used to support masts, and leading from the head

of some mast down to some other mast, or to some part of the vessel.

Those which lead forward are called _fore-and-aft stays_; and those

which lead down to the vessel's sides, _backstays_. (See BACKSTAYS.)

_In stays_, or _hove in stays_, the situation of a vessel when she is

_staying_, or going about from one tack to the other.

STAYSAIL. A sail which hoists upon a stay.

STEADY! An order to keep the helm as it is.

STEERAGE. That part of the between-decks which is just forward of the

cabin.

STEEVE. A bowsprit _steeves_ more or less, according as it is raised

more or less from the horizontal.

The _steeve_ is the angle it makes with the horizon. Also, a long,

heavy spar, with a place to fit a block at one end, and used in stowing

certain kinds of cargo, which need be driven in close.

STEM. (See PLATE 3.) A piece of timber reaching from the forward end of

the keel, to which it is scarfed, up to the bowsprit, and to which the

two sides of the vessel are united.

STEMSON. A piece of compass-timber, fixed on the after part of the

apron inside. The lower end is scarfed into the keelson, and receives

the scarf of the stem, through which it is bolted.

STEP. A block of wood secured to the keel, into which the heel of the

mast is placed.

_To step a mast_, is to put it in its step.

STERN. (See PLATE 3.) The after end of a vessel. (See BY THE STERN.)

STERN-BOARD. The motion of a vessel when going stern foremost.

STERN-FRAME. The frame composed of the stern-post transom and the

fashion-pieces.

STERN-POST. (See PLATE 3.) The aftermost timber in a ship, reaching

from the after end of the keel to the deck. The stem and stern-post are

the two extremes of a vessel's frame.

_Inner stern-post._ A post on the inside, corresponding to the

_stern-post_.

STERN-SHEETS. The after part of a boat, abaft the rowers, where the

passengers sit.

STIFF. The quality of a vessel which enables it to carry a great deal

of sail without lying over much on her side. The opposite to _crank_.

STIRRUPS. Ropes with thimbles at their ends, through which the

foot-ropes are rove, and by which they are kept up toward the yards.

STOCK. A beam of wood, or a bar of iron, secured to the upper end of

the shank of an anchor, at right angles with the arms. An iron stock

usually goes with a key, and unships.

STOCKS. The frame upon which a vessel is built.

STOOLS. Small channels for the dead-eyes of the backstays.

STOPPER. A stout rope with a knot at one end, and sometimes a hook at

the other, used for various purposes about decks; as, making fast a

cable, so as to overhaul. (See CAT STOPPER, DECK STOPPER.)

STOPPER BOLTS. Ring-bolts to which the deck stoppers are secured.

STOP. A fastening of small stuff. Also, small projections on the

outside of the cheeks of a lower mast, at the upper parts of the

hounds.

STRAND. (See page 43.) A number of rope-yarns twisted together. Three,

four or nine strands twisted together form a rope.

A rope is _stranded_ when one of its strands is parted or broken by

chafing or by a strain.

A vessel is _stranded_ when she is driven on shore.

STRAP. A piece of rope spliced round a block to keep its parts well

together. Some blocks have iron straps, in which case they are called

_iron bound_.

STREAK, or STRAKE. A range of planks running fore and aft on a vessel's

side.

STREAM. The _stream anchor_ is one used for warping, &c., and sometimes

as a lighter anchor to moor by, with a hawser. It is smaller than the

_bowers_, and larger than the _kedges_.

_To stream a buoy_, is to drop it into the water.

_Stretchers._ Pieces of wood placed across a boat's bottom, inside, for

the oarsmen to press their feet against, in rowing. Also, cross pieces

placed between a boat's sides to keep them apart when hoisted up and

griped.

STRIKE. To lower a sail or colors.

STUDDINGSAILS. (See PLATE 2.) Light sails set outside the square sails,

on booms rigged out for that purpose. They are only carried with a fair

wind and in moderate weather.

SUED, or SEWED. The condition of a ship when she is high and dry on

shore. If the water leaves her two feet, she sues, or is sued, two

feet.

SUPPORTERS. The knee-timbers under the cat-heads.

SURF. The breaking of the sea upon the shore.

SURGE. A large, swelling wave.

To _surge_ a rope or cable, is to slack it up suddenly where it renders

round a pin, or round the windlass or capstan.

_Surge ho!_ The notice given when a cable is to be _surged_.

SWAB. A mop, formed of old rope, used for cleaning and drying decks.

SWEEP. To drag the bottom for an anchor. Also, large oars, used in

small vessels to force them ahead.

SWIFT. To bring two shrouds or stays close together by ropes.

SWIFTER. The forward shroud to a lower-mast. Also, ropes used to

confine the capstan bars to their places when shipped.

SWIG. A term used by sailors for the mode of hauling off upon the bight

of a rope when its lower end is fast.

SWIVEL. A long link of iron, used in chain cables, made so as to turn

upon an axis and keep the turns out of a chain.

SYPHERING. Lapping the edges of planks over each other for a bulkhead.

TABLING. Letting one beam-piece into another. (See SCARFING.) Also, the

broad hem on the borders of sails, to which the bolt-rope is sewed.

TACK. To put a ship about, so that from having the wind on one side,

you bring it round on the other by the way of her head. The opposite of

_wearing_.

A vessel is on the _starboard tack_, or has her _starboard tacks on

board_, when she has the wind on her starboard side.

The rope or tackle by which the weather clew of a course is hauled

forward and down to the deck.

The _tack_ of a fore-and-aft sail is the rope that keeps down the lower

forward clew; and of a studdingsail, the lower outer clew. The tack of

the lower studdingsail is called the _outhaul_. Also, that part of a

sail to which the tack is attached.

TACKLE. (Pronounced _tay-cle_.) A purchase, formed by a rope rove

through one or more blocks.

TAFFRAIL, or TAFFEREL. The rail round a ship's stern.

TAIL. A rope spliced into the end of a block and used for making it

fast to rigging or spars. Such a block is called a _tail-block_.

A ship is said to _tail_ up or down stream, when at anchor, according

as her stern swings up or down with the tide; in opposition to

_heading_ one way or another, which is said of a vessel when under way.

TAIL-TACKLE. A watch-tackle. (See page 54.)

TAIL ON! or TALLY ON! An order given to take hold of a rope and pull.

TANK. An iron vessel placed in the hold to contain the vessel's water.

TAR. A liquid gum, taken from pine and fir trees, and used for

caulking, and to put upon yarns in rope-making, and upon standing

rigging, to protect it from the weather.

TARPAULIN. A piece of canvass, covered with tar, used for covering

hatches, boats, &c. Also, the name commonly given to a sailor's hat

when made of tarred or painted cloth.

TAUT. Tight.

TAUNT. High or tall. Commonly applied to a vessel's masts.

_All-a-taunt-o._ Said of a vessel when she has all her light and tall

masts and spars aloft.

TELL-TALE. A compass hanging from the beams of the cabin, by which the

heading of a vessel may be known at any time. Also, an instrument

connected with the barrel of the wheel, and traversing so that the

officer may see the position of the tiller.

TEND. To watch a vessel at anchor at the turn of tides, and cast her by

the helm, and some sail if necessary, so as to keep turns out of her

cables.

TENON. The heel of a mast, made to fit into the step.

THICK-AND-THIN BLOCK. A block having one sheave larger than the other.

Sometimes used for quarter-blocks.

THIMBLE. An iron ring, having its rim concave on the outside for a rope

or strap to fit snugly round.

THOLE-PINS. Pins in the gunwale of a boat, between which an oar rests

when pulling, instead of a rowlock.

THROAT. The inner end of a gaff, where it widens and hollows in to fit

the mast. (See JAWS.) Also, the hollow part of a knee.

The _throat_ brails, halyards, &c., are those that hoist or haul up the

gaff or sail near the throat. Also, the angle where the arm of an

anchor is joined to the shank.

THRUM. To stick short strands of yarn through a mat or piece of

canvass, to make a rough surface.

THWARTS. The seats going across a boat, upon which the oarsmen sit.

THWARTSHIPS. (See ATHWARTSHIPS.)

TIDE. To _tide up or down_ a river or harbor, is to work up or down

with a fair tide and head wind or calm, coming to anchor when the tide

turns.

TIDE-RODE. The situation of a vessel, at anchor, when she swings by the

force of the tide. In opposition to _wind-rode_.

TIER. A range of casks. Also, the range of the fakes of a cable or

hawser.

The _cable tier_ is the place in a hold or between decks where the

cables are stowed.

TILLER. A bar of wood or iron, put into the head of the rudder, by

which the rudder is moved.

TILLER-ROPES. Ropes leading from the tiller-head round the barrel of

the wheel, by which a vessel is steered.

TIMBER. A general term for all large pieces of wood used in

ship-building. Also, more particularly, long pieces of wood in a curved

form, bending outward, and running from the keel up, on each side,

forming the _ribs_ of a vessel. The keel, stem, stern-posts and timbers

form a vessel's outer frame. (See PLATE 3.)

TIMBER-HEADS. (See PLATE 3.) The ends of the timbers that come above

the decks. Used for belaying hawsers and large ropes.

TIMENOGUY. A rope carried taut between different parts of the vessel,

to prevent the sheet or tack of a course from getting foul, in working

ship.

TOGGLE. A pin placed through the bight or eye of a rope, block-strap,

or bolt, to keep it in its place, or to put the bight or eye of another

rope upon, and thus to secure them both together.

TOMPION. A bung or plug placed in the mouth of a cannon.

TOP. A platform, placed over the head of a lower mast, resting on the

trestle-trees, to spread the rigging, and for the convenience of men

aloft. (See PLATE 1.)

To _top_ up a yard or boom, is to raise up one end of it by hoisting on

the lift.

TOP-BLOCK. A large iron-bound block, hooked into a bolt under the lower

cap, and used for the top-rope to reeve through in sending up and down

topmasts.

TOP-LIGHT. A signal lantern carried in the top.

TOP-LINING. A lining on the after part of sails, to prevent them from

chafing against the top-rim.

TOPMAST. (See PLATE 1.) The second mast above the deck. Next above the

lower mast.

TOPGALLANT MAST. (See PLATE 1.) The third mast above the deck.

TOP-ROPE. The rope used for sending topmasts up and down.

TOPSAIL. (See PLATE 2.) The second sail above the deck.

TOPGALLANT SAIL. (See PLATE 2.) The third sail above the deck.

TOPPING-LIFT. (See PLATE 1.) A lift used for topping up the end of a

boom.

TOP TIMBERS. The highest timbers on a vessel's side, being above the

futtocks. (See PLATE 3.)

TOSS. To throw an oar out of the rowlock, and raise it perpendicularly

on its end, and lay it down in the boat, with its blade forward.

TOUCH. A sail is said to _touch_, when the wind strikes the leech so as

to shake it a little.

_Luff and touch her!_ The order to bring the vessel up and see how near

she will go to the wind.

TOW. To draw a vessel along by means of a rope.

TRAIN-TACKLE. The tackle used for running guns in and out.

TRANSOMS. (See PLATE 3.) Pieces of timber going across the stern-post,

to which they are bolted.

TRANSOM-KNEES. Knees bolted to the transoms and after timbers.

TRAVELLER. An iron ring, fitted so as to slip up and down a rope.

TREENAILS, or TRUNNELS. Long wooden pins, used for nailing a plank to a

timber.

TREND. The lower end of the shank of an anchor, being the same distance

on the shank from the throat that the arm measures from the throat to

the bill.

TRESTLE-TREES. Two strong pieces of timber, placed horizontally and

fore-and-aft on opposite sides of a mast-head, to support the

cross-trees and top, and for the fid of the mast above to rest upon.

TRIATIC STAY. A rope secured at each end to the heads of the fore and

main masts, with thimbles spliced into its bight, to hook the stay

tackles to.

TRICE. To haul up by means of a rope.

TRICK. The time allotted to a man to stand at the helm.

TRIM. The condition of a vessel, with reference to her cargo and

ballast. A vessel is _trimmed_ by the head or by the stern.

_In ballast trim_, is when she has only ballast on board.

Also, to arrange the sails by the braces with reference to the wind.

TRIP. To raise an anchor clear of the bottom.

TRIPPING LINE. A line used for tripping a topgallant or royal yard in

sending it down.

TRUCK. A circular piece of wood, placed at the head of the highest mast

on a ship. It has small holes or sheaves in it for signal halyards to

be rove through. Also, the wheel of a gun-carriage.

TRUNNIONS. The arms on each side of a cannon by which it rests upon the

carriage, and on which, as an axis, it is elevated or depressed.

TRUSS. The rope by which the centre of a lower yard is kept in toward

the mast.

TRYSAIL. A fore-and-aft sail, set with a boom and gaff, and hoisting on

a small mast abaft the lower mast, called a _trysail-mast_. This name

is generally confined to the sail so carried at the mainmast of a

full-rigged brig; those carried at the foremast and at the mainmast of

a ship or bark being called _spencers_, and those that are at the

mizzenmast of a ship or bark, _spankers_.

TUMBLING HOME. Said of a ship's sides when they fall in above the

bends. The opposite of _wall-sided_.

TURN. Passing a rope once or twice round a pin or kevel, to keep it

fast. Also, two crosses in a cable.

_To turn in_ or _turn out_, nautical terms for going to rest in a berth

or hammock, and getting up from them.

_Turn up!_ The order given to send the men up from between decks.

TYE. A rope connected with a yard, to the other end of which a tackle

is attached for hoisting.

UNBEND. To cast off or untie. (See BEND.)

UNION. The upper inner corner of an ensign. The rest of the flag is

called the _fly_. The _union_ of the U.S. ensign is a blue field with

white stars, and the _fly_ is composed of alternate white and red

stripes.

_Union-down._ The situation of a flag when it is hoisted upside down,

bringing the union down instead of up. Used as a signal of distress.

_Union-jack._ A small flag, containing only the union, without the fly,

usually hoisted at the bowsprit-cap.

UNMOOR. To heave up one anchor so that the vessel may ride at a single

anchor. (See _Moor_.)

UNSHIP. (See SHIP.)

UVROU. (See EUVROU.)

VANE. A fly worn at the mast-head, made of feathers or buntine,

traversing on a spindle, to show the direction of the wind. (See DOG

VANE.)

VANG. (See PLATE 1.) A rope leading from the peak of the gaff of a

fore-and-aft sail to the rail on each side, and used for steadying the

gaff.

'VAST. (See AVAST.)

VEER. Said of the wind when it changes. Also, to slack a cable and let

it run out. (See PAY.)

_To veer and haul_, is to haul and slack alternately on a rope, as in

warping, until the vessel or boat gets headway.

VIOL, or VOYAL. A larger messenger sometimes used in weighing an anchor

by a capstan. Also, the block through which the messenger passes.

WAIST. That part of the upper deck between the quarter-deck and

forecastle.

_Waisters._ Green hands, or broken-down seamen, placed in the waist of

a man-of-war.

WAKE. The track or path a ship leaves behind her in the water.

WALES. Strong planks in a vessel's sides, running her whole length fore

and aft.

WALL. A knot put on the end of a rope. (See PLATE 5 and page 46.)

WALL-SIDED. A vessel is _wall-sided_ when her sides run up

perpendicularly from the bends. In opposition to _tumbling-home_ or

_flaring out_.

WARD-ROOM. The room in a vessel of war in which the commissioned

officers live.

WARE, or WEAR. To turn a vessel round, so that, from having the wind on

one side, you bring it upon the other, carrying her stern round by the

wind. In _tacking_, the same result is produced by carrying a vessel's

head round by the wind.

WARP. To move a vessel from one place to another by means of a rope

made fast to some fixed object, or to a kedge.

A _warp_ is a rope used for warping. If the warp is bent to a kedge

which is let go, and the vessel is hove ahead by the capstan or

windlass, it would be called _kedging_.

WASH-BOARDS. Light pieces of board placed above the gunwale of a boat.

WATCH. (See page 167.) A division of time on board ship. There are

seven watches in a day, reckoning from 12 M. round through the 24

hours, five of them being of four hours each, and the two others,

called _dog watches_, of two hours each, viz., from 4 to 6, and from 6

to 8, P.M. (See DOG WATCH.) Also, a certain portion of a ship's

company, appointed to stand a given length of time. In the merchant

service all hands are divided into two watches, larboard and starboard,

with a mate to command each.

A _buoy_ is said to _watch_ when it floats on the surface.

WATCH-AND-WATCH. The arrangement by which the watches are alternated

every other four hours. In distinction from keeping all hands during

one or more watches. (See page 167.)

_Anchor watch_, a small watch of one or two men, kept while in port.

WATCH HO! WATCH! The cry of the man that heaves the deep-sea-lead.

WATCH-TACKLE. (See page 54.) A small luff purchase with a short fall,

the double block having a tail to it, and the single one a hook. Used

for various purposes about decks.

WATER SAIL. A _save-all_, set under the swinging-boom.

WATER-WAYS. Long pieces of timber, running fore and aft on both sides,

connecting the deck with the vessel's sides. The _scuppers_ are made

through them to let the water off. (See PLATE 3.)

WEAR. (See WARE.)

WEATHER. In the direction from which the wind blows. (See WINDWARD,

LEE.)

A ship carries a _weather helm_ when she tends to come up into the

wind, requiring you to put the helm up.

_Weather gage._ A vessel has the _weather gage_ of another when she is

to windward of her.

A _weatherly ship_, is one that works well to windward, making but

little leeway.

WEATHER-BITT. To take an additional turn with a cable round the

windlass-end.

WEATHER ROLL. The roll which a ship makes to windward.

WEIGH. To lift up; as, to weigh an anchor or a mast.

WHEEL. The instrument by which a ship is steered; being a barrel,

(round which the tiller-ropes go,) and a wheel with spokes.

WHIP. (See page 54.) A purchase formed by a rope rove through a single

block.

_To whip_, is to hoist by a whip. Also, to secure the end of a rope

from fagging by a seizing of twine.

_Whip-upon-whip._ One whip applied to the fall of another.

WINCH. A purchase formed by a horizontal spindle or shaft with a wheel

or crank at the end. A small one with a wheel is used for making ropes

or spunyarn.

WINDLASS. The machine used in merchant vessels to weigh the anchor by.

WIND-RODE. The situation of a vessel at anchor when she swings and

rides by the force of the wind, instead of the tide or current. (See

TIDE-RODE.)

WING. That part of the hold or between-decks which is next the side.

WINGERS. Casks stowed in the wings of a vessel.

WING-AND-WING. The situation of a fore-and-aft vessel when she is going

dead before the wind, with her foresail hauled over on one side and her

mainsail on the other.

WITHE, or WYTHE. An iron instrument fitted on the end of a boom or

mast, with a ring to it, through which another boom or mast is rigged

out and secured.

WOOLD. To wind a piece of rope round a spar, or other thing.

WORK UP. To draw the yarns from old rigging and make them into

spunyarn, foxes, sennit, &c. Also, a phrase for keeping a crew

constantly at work upon needless matters, and in all weathers, and

beyond their usual hours, for punishment.

WORM. (See page 44.) To fill up between the lays of a rope with small

stuff wound round spirally. Stuff so wound round is called _worming_.

WRING. To bend or strain a mast by setting the rigging up too taut.

WRING-BOLTS. Bolts that secure the planks to the timbers.

WRING-STAVES. Strong pieces of plank used with the wring-bolts.

YACHT. (Pronounced _yot_.) A vessel of pleasure or state.

YARD. (See PLATE 1.) A long piece of timber, tapering slightly toward

the ends, and hung by the centre to a mast, to spread the square sails

upon.

YARD-ARM. The extremities of a yard.

YARD-ARM AND YARD-ARM. The situation of two vessels, lying alongside

one another, so near that their yard-arms cross or touch.

YARN. (See ROPE-YARN.)

YAW. The motion of a vessel when she goes off from her course.

YEOMAN. A man employed in a vessel of war to take charge of a

storeroom; as, boatswain's yeoman, the man that has charge of the

stores, of rigging, &c.

YOKE. A piece of wood placed across the head of a boat's rudder, with a

rope attached to each end, by which the boat is steered.

PART II.

CHAPTER I.

THE MASTER.

Beginning of the voyage. Shipping the crew. Outfit. Provisions.

Watches. Navigation. Log-book. Observations. Working ship. Day's work.

Discipline.

In the third part of this work, it will be seen that the shipmaster is

a person to whom, both by the general marine law of all commercial

nations and by the special statutes of the United States, great powers

are confided, and upon whom heavy responsibilities rest. The shipmaster

will find there what are his legal rights, duties and remedies as to

owner, ship and crew, and the various requirements as to the papers

with which he is to furnish his ship, and the observances of revenue

and other regulations.

It is proposed to give here, rather more, perhaps, for the information

of others than of the master himself, the ordinary and every-day duties

of his office, and the customs which long usage has made almost as

binding as laws.

There is a great difference in different ports, and among the various

owners, as to the part the master is to take in supplying and manning

the vessel. In many cases, the owner puts on board all the stores for

the ship's use and for the crew, and gives the master particular

directions, sometimes in writing, as to the manner in which he is to

dispense them. These directions are more or less liberal, according to

the character of the owner; and, in some cases, the dispensing of the

stores is left to the master's discretion. In other instances, the

master makes out an inventory of all the stores he thinks it expedient

to have put on board, and they are accordingly supplied by the owner's

order.

In the manner of shipping the crew, there is as great a difference as

in that of providing the stores. Usually, the whole thing is left to

shipping-masters, who are paid so much a head for each of the crew, and

are responsible for their appearance on board at the time of sailing.

When this plan is adopted, neither the master nor owner, except by

accident, knows anything of the crew before the vessel goes to sea. The

shipping-master opens the articles at his office, procures the men,

sees that they sign in due form, pays them their advance, takes care

that they, or others in their place, are on board at the time of

sailing, and sends in a bill for the whole to the owner. In other

cases, the master selects his crew, and occasionally the owner does it,

if he has been at sea himself and understands seamen; though a

shipping-master is still employed, to see them on board, and for other

purposes. In the ordinary course of short voyages, where crews are

shipped frequently, and there is not much motive for making a

selection, the procuring a crew may be left entirely to the agency of a

faithful shipping-master; but upon long voyages, the comfort and

success of which may depend much upon the character of a crew, the

master or owner should interest himself to select able-bodied and

respectable men, to explain to them the nature and length of the voyage

they are going upon, what clothing they will want, and the work that

will be required of them, and should see that they have proper and

sufficient accommodations and provisions for their comfort. The master

or owner should also, though this duty is often neglected, go to the

forecastle and see that it is cleaned out, whitewashed, or painted, put

in a proper habitable condition, and furnished with every reasonable

convenience. It would seem best that the master should have something

to do with the selection of the provisions for his men, as he will

usually be more interested in securing their good-will and comfort than

the owner would be.

By the master or owner's thus interesting himself for the crew, a great

deal of misunderstanding, complaint, and ill-will may be avoided, and

the beginning, at least, of the voyage be made under good auspices.

Unless the master is also supercargo, his duties, before sailing, are

mostly confined to looking after the outfit of the vessel, and seeing

that she is in sea order.

Everything being in readiness, the customhouse and other regulations

complied with, and the crew on board, the vessel is put under the

charge of the pilot to be carried out clear of the land. While the

pilot is on board, the master has little else to do than to see that

everything is in order, and that the commands of the pilot are

executed. As soon as the pilot leaves the ship, the entire control and

responsibility is thrown upon the master. When the vessel is well clear

of the land, and things are put into some order, it is usual for the

master to call all hands aft, and say something to them about the

voyage upon which they have entered. After this, the crew are divided

into watches. The watches are the divisions of the crew into two equal

portions. The periods of time occupied by each part of the crew, while

on duty, are also called watches.

There are two watches,--the larboard, commanded by the chief mate, and

the starboard, by the second mate. The master himself stands no watch,

but comes and goes at all times, as he chooses. The starboard is

sometimes called the captain's watch, probably from the fact that in

the early days of the service, when vessels were smaller, there was

usually but one mate, and the master stood his own watch; and now, in

vessels which have no second mate, the master keeps the starboard

watch. In dividing into watches, the master usually allows the officers

to choose the men, one by one, alternately; but sometimes makes the

division himself, upon consulting with his officers. The men are

divided as equally as possible, with reference to their qualities as

able seamen, ordinary seamen, or boys, (as all green hands are called,

whatever their age may be;) but if the number is unequal, the larboard

watch has the odd one, since the chief mate does not go aloft and do

other duty in his watch, as the second mate does in his. The cook

always musters with the larboard watch, and the steward with the

starboard. If there is a carpenter, and the larboard watch is the

largest, he generally goes aloft with the starboard watch; otherwise,

with the larboard.

As soon as the division is made, if the day's work is over, one watch

is set, and the other is sent below. Among the numerous customs of the

ocean, which can hardly be accounted for, it is one that on the first

night of the outward passage the starboard watch should take the first

four hours on deck, and on the first night of the homeward passage the

larboard should do the same. The sailors explain this by the old

phrase, that the master takes the ship out and the mate takes her home.

The master takes the bearing and distance of the last point of

departure upon the land, and from that point the ship's reckoning

begins, and is regularly kept in the log-book. The chief mate keeps the

log-book, but the master examines and corrects the reckoning every day.

The master also attends to the chronometer, and takes all the

observations, with the assistance of his officers, if necessary. Every

day, a few minutes before noon, if there is any prospect of being able

to get the sun, the master comes upon deck with his quadrant or

sextant, and the chief mate also usually takes his. The second mate

does not, except upon a Sunday, or when there is no work going forward.

As soon as the sun crosses the meridian, eight bells are struck, and a

new sea day begins. The reckoning is then corrected by the observation,

under the master's superintendence.

The master also takes the lunar observations, usually with the

assistance of both his officers; in which case, the master takes the

angle of the moon with the star or sun, the chief mate takes the

altitude of the sun or star, and the second mate the altitude of the

moon.

In regulating the hours of duty and sleep, the meal times, the food,

&c., the master has absolute power; yet the customs are very nearly the

same in all vessels. The hour of breakfast is seven bells in the

morning, (half after seven,) dinner at noon, and supper whenever the

day's work is over. If the voyage is a long one, the crew are usually

put upon an allowance of bread, beef, and water. The dispensing of the

stores and regulating of the allowance lies, of course, with the

master, though the duty of opening the casks, weighing, measuring, &c.,

falls upon the second mate. The chief mate enters in the log-book every

barrel or cask of provisions that is broached. The steward takes charge

of all the provisions for the use of the cabin, and keeps them in the

pantry, over which he has the direct control. The average of allowance,

in merchant vessels, is six pounds of bread a week, and three quarts of

water, and one pound and a half of beef, or one and a quarter of pork,

a day, to each man.

The entire control of the navigation and working of the ship lies with

the master. He gives the course and general directions to the officer

of the watch, who enters upon a slate, at the end of the watch, the

course made, and the number of knots, together with any other

observations. The officer of the watch is at liberty to trim the yards,

to make alterations in the upper sails, to take in and set royals,

topgallant sails, &c.; but no important alteration can be made, as, for

instance, reefing a topsail, without the special order of the master,

who, in such cases, always comes upon deck and takes command in person.

When on deck, the weather side of the quarter-deck belongs to him, and

as soon as he appears, the officer of the watch will always leave it,

and go over to leeward, or forward into the waist. If the alteration to

be made is slight, the master usually tells the officer to take in or

set such a sail, and leaves to him the particular ordering as to the

braces, sheets, &c., and the seeing all things put in place. The

principal manoeuvres of the vessel, as tacking, wearing, reefing

topsails, getting under way, and coming to anchor, require all hands.

In these cases, the master takes command and gives his orders in

person, standing upon the quarter-deck. The chief mate superintends the

forward part of the vessel, under the master, and the second mate

assists in the waist. The master never goes aloft, nor does any work

with his hands, unless for his own pleasure. If the officer of the

watch thinks it necessary to reef the topsails, he calls the master,

who, upon coming on deck, takes command, and, if he thinks proper,

orders all hands to be called. The crew, officers and all, then take

their stations, and await the orders of the master, who works the ship

in person, giving all the commands, even the most minute, and looks out

for trimming the yards and laying the ship for reefing. The chief mate

commands upon the forecastle, under the master, and does not go aloft.

The second mate goes aloft with the crew.

In tacking and wearing, the master gives all the orders, as to trimming

the yards, &c., though the chief mate is expected to look out for the

head yards. So, in getting under way, and in coming to anchor, the

master takes the entire personal control of everything, the officers

acting under him in their several stations.

In the ordinary day's work, however, which is carried on in a vessel,

the state of things is somewhat different. This the master does not

superintend personally; but gives general instructions to the chief

mate, whose duty it is to see to their execution. To understand this

distinction, the reader will bear in mind that there are two great

divisions of duty and labor on shipboard. One, the _working and

navigating of the vessel_: that is, the keeping and ascertaining the

ship's position, and directing her course, the making and taking in

sail, trimming the sails to the wind, and the various nautical

manoeuvres and evolutions of a vessel. The other branch is, the work

done upon the hull and rigging, to keep it in order, such as the making

and fitting of new rigging, repairing of old, &c.; all which, together

with making of small stuffs to be used on board, constitute the _day's

work and jobs_ of the crew. As to the latter, the master usually

converses with the chief mate upon the state of the vessel and rigging,

and tells him, more or less particularly, what he wishes to have done.

It then becomes the duty of this officer to see the thing accomplished.

If, for instance, the master tells the chief mate to stay the topmasts

more forward, the chief mate goes upon the forecastle, sets the men to

work, one upon one thing and another upon another, sees that the stays

and backstays are come up with, has tackles got upon the rigging,

sights the mast, &c. If the master sees anything which he disapproves

of, and has any preferences in the modes of doing the work, he should

call the officer aft and speak to him; and if, instead of this, he were

to go forward and give orders to the men, it would be considered an

interference, and indeed an insult to the officer. So with any other

work doing upon the ship or rigging, as rattling down, turning in and

setting up rigging, bending and unbending sails, and all the knotting,

splicing, serving, &c., and the making of small stuffs, which

constitute the _day's work and jobs_ of a vessel. If the chief officer

is a competent man, the master is not expected to trouble himself with

the details of any of these things; and, indeed, if he were to do so to

a great extent, it would probably lead to difficulty.

Where there are passengers, as in regular line of packet ships (or, as

they are familiarly called, _liners_,) between New York and Liverpool

or Havre, for instance, the master has even less to do with the day's

work; since the navigation and working of the ship, with proper

attention to his passengers, is as much as can reasonably be required

of him.

The master has the entire control of the cabin. The mates usually live

in a state room by themselves, or, if they live in the cabin, they yet

feel that the master is the head of the house, and are unwilling to

interfere with his hours and occupations. The chief mate dines with the

master, and the second mate looks out for the ship while they are

below, and dines at the second table. In the _liners_, however, the

mates usually dine together; the master looks out for the ship while

they are at dinner, and dines with his passengers at a later hour.

As the master stands no watch, he comes and goes as he pleases, and

takes his own hours for rest. In fine weather, he is not necessarily

much on deck, but should be ready at all times, especially in bad

weather, to be up at a moment's notice.

Everything of importance that occurs, as the seeing a sail or land, or

the like, must be immediately reported to the master. And in heaving-to

for speaking, the master takes the entire charge of working the vessel,

and speaks the other sail in person.

As will be found in the third part of this book, the master has the

entire control of the discipline of the ship, and no subordinate

officer has authority to punish a seaman, or to use force, without the

master's order, except in cases of necessity not admitting of delay. He

has also the complete direction of the internal arrangements and

economy of the vessel, and upon his character, and upon the course of

conduct he pursues, depend in a great measure the character of the ship

and the conduct of both officers and men. He has a power and influence,

both direct and indirect, which may be the means of much good or much

evil. If he is profane, passionate, tyrannical, indecent, or

intemperate, more or less of the same qualities will spread themselves

or break out among officers and men, which, perhaps would have been

checked, if not in some degree removed, had the head of the ship been a

man of high personal character. He may make his ship almost anything he

chooses, and may render the lives and duties of his officers and men

pleasant and profitable to them, or may introduce disagreements,

discontent, tyranny, resistance, and, in fact, make the situation of

all on board as uncomfortable as that in which any human beings can

well be placed. Every master of a vessel who will lay this to heart,

and consider his great responsibility, may not only be a benefactor to

the numbers whom the course of many years will bring under his command,

but may render a service to the whole class, and do much to raise the

character of the calling.

CHAPTER II.

THE CHIEF MATE.

Care of rigging and ship's furniture. Day's work. Working ship. Coming

to anchor. Getting under way. Reefing. Furling. Duties in port. Account

of cargo. Stowage. Station. Log-book. Navigation.

The chief mate, or, as he is familiarly called on board ship, _the

mate_, is the active superintending officer. In the previous chapter,

upon the duties of the master, it will be seen that, in all matters

relating to the care of and work done upon the ship and rigging, the

master gives general orders to the mate, who attends personally to

their execution in detail. Indeed, in the _day's work_ on board ship,

the chief mate is the only officer who appears in command. The second

mate works like a common seaman, and the men seldom know what is to be

done until they receive their orders in detail from the chief mate. It

is his duty to carry on the work, to find every man something to do,

and to see that it is done. He appoints the second mate his work, as

well as the common seamen theirs; and if the master is dissatisfied

with anything, or wishes a change, he should speak to the chief mate,

and let him make the change, and not interfere with the men

individually. It is also the duty of this officer to examine all parts

of the rigging, report anything of importance to the master and take

his orders, or, if it be a small and common matter, he will have the

repairs or changes made at his own pleasure, as a thing of course. He

must also see that there is a supply of small stuffs for the work, and

have them made up when necessary, and also that there are instruments

ready for every kind of labor, or for any emergency. In bad weather, he

must have spare rope, blocks, tackles, sennit, earings, &c., on hand;

or rather, see that they are provided, the more immediate care of these

things, when provided, belonging to the second mate.

From this description of a chief mate's duty, it will be seen that he

ought always to be not only a vigilant and active man, but also well

acquainted with all kinds of seaman's work, and a good judge of

rigging.

In the working of the ship, when all hands are called and the master is

on deck, the chief mate's place is on the forecastle, where, under the

general direction of the master, who never need leave the quarter-deck,

he commands the forward part of the vessel, and is the organ of

communication with the men aloft. In getting under way and coming to

anchor, it is his duty to attend to the ground tackle, and see

everything ready forward. The master, for instance, tells him to have

the ship ready for getting under way, and to heave short on the cable.

He then goes forward, orders all hands to be called, sees everything

secured about decks, tackles got up and boats hoisted in and lashed,

fish and cat tackles, pennant, davit, &c., and spare hawsers and rope,

in readiness, orders the men to the windlass, (the second mate taking a

handspike with the rest,) and stationing himself between the

knight-heads, looks out for the cable, ordering and encouraging the

men. When the cable is hove short, he informs the master, and, at the

word from him, orders the men aloft to loose the sails, and gives

particular directions to them when aloft, as to the sails, gaskets,

overhauling rigging, &c. The sails being loosed, he awaits the order

from the master, which would be addressed to him rather than to the

men, and has the windlass manned and the anchor hove up, giving notice

to the master as soon as it is a-weigh. When the vessel is under way,

the master begins to take more immediate control, ordering the yards to

be braced and filled, sail to be set, and the like. The chief mate also

sees to the catting and fishing of the anchors, to having the decks

cleared up and everything secured.

In coming to anchor, very nearly the same duty falls upon the chief

officer. He must see the anchors and cables ready for letting go, the

master ordering how much chain is to be overhauled. He must look out

that the boats are ready for lowering, the rigging clear for letting

go, hauling and clewing, and that spare hawsers, kedges, warps, &c.,

are at hand. If anything goes wrong forward, he alone is looked to for

an explanation. As the vessel draws in toward her anchoring ground, the

master gives all the orders as to trimming the yards and taking in

sail; and at all times, when on deck, has the entire charge of the man

at the helm, it being the mate's duty only to see that a good seaman is

there, and that the helm is relieved. As to the sails, the master will,

for instance, order--"Clew up the fore and main topsails!" The chief

mate then gives the particular orders as to lowering and letting go the

halyards, clewing down and up, overhauling rigging, &c. If both

topsails were taken in at once, the second mate would attend to the

main, unless the master should choose to look out for it himself. All

being ready for letting go, the master gives the order--"Let go the

anchor!" and the chief mate sees that it is done, has the chain payed

out, reports how much is out, sees that the buoys _watch_, and the

like. In furling the sails, the whole superintendence comes upon the

mate, as the master would probably only tell him to have them furled.

He has the rigging hauled taut, sends the men aloft, and, remaining on

deck and forward, he gives his orders to them while on the yards, as to

the manner of furling, and has the ropes hauled taut or let go on deck,

as may be necessary.

These instances may serve to show the distinctions between the duties

of master and mate in the principal evolutions of a vessel. While in

port, the chief mate has much more the control of the vessel than when

at sea. As there is no navigating or working of the vessel to be done,

the master has little to engage him, except transactions with merchants

and others on shore, and the necessary general directions to the mate,

as to the care of the ship. Beside the work upon the ship and rigging

while in port, the chief mate has the charge of receiving, discharging,

stowing and breaking out the cargo. In this he has the entire control,

under the general directions of the master. It is his duty to keep an

account of all the cargo, as it goes in and comes out of the vessel,

and, as he generally gives receipts, he is bound to great care and

accuracy. When cargo is coming in and going out, the chief mate will

stand in the gangway, to keep an account, and the second mate will be

down in the hold with some of the crew, breaking out, or stowing. The

stowage, however, should still be somewhat under the chief mate's

directions. While the master is on shore, the chief mate is necessarily

commander of the ship, for the time, and though the law will extend his

power proportionably for cases of necessity, yet, except in instances

which will not admit of delay, he must not attempt to exercise any

unusual powers, but should refer everything to the master's decision.

It will be seen, by the laws, that the mate has no right to punish a

man during the master's absence, unless it be a case in which delay

would lead to serious consequences.

While in port, the chief mate stands no watch at night, but he should

always be the first to be called in the morning, and should be up early

and order the calling of all hands. In cleaning the ship, as washing

down decks, &c., which is done the first thing in the morning, each

mate, while at sea, takes charge of it in his watch, in turn, as one or

the other has the morning watch; but in port, the second mate oversees

the washing down of the decks, under the chief mate's general orders.

While at sea, in tacking, wearing, reefing topsails, &c., and in every

kind of "all hands work," when the master is on deck, the chief mate's

place, as I have said, is forward. To give a further notion of the

manner of dividing the command, I will describe the evolution of

tacking ship. The master finds that the ship will not lay her course,

and tells the chief mate to 'see all clear for stays,' or 'ready

about.' Upon this, the chief mate goes forward, sends all hands to

their stations, and sees everything clear and ready on the forecastle.

The master asks, "All ready forward?" and being answered, "Ay, ay,

sir!" motions the man at the helm to put the wheel down, and calls out,

"Helm's a-lee!" The mate, answering immediately, "Helm's a-lee," to let

the master know he is heard and understood, sees that the head sheets

are let go. At "Raise tacks and sheets!" from the master, the mate, and

the men with him, let go the fore tack, while he looks after the

overhauling of the other tack and sheet. He also sees to letting go the

bowlines for "Let go and haul," and to getting down the head sheets

when the ship is about, and trims the head yards, calling out to the

men at the braces the usual orders, "Well the fore yard!" "Topsail

yard, a small pull!" "Topgallant yard, well!" &c. The master usually

trims the after yards.

In reefing topsails, the chief mate should not go aloft, but should

keep his place forward, and look out for the men on the yards. I am

aware that it has been the custom in some classes of vessels, as in the

New York liners, for the chief mate to take the weather earing of a

course, especially if a topsail or the other course were reefing at the

same time; yet this practice has never generally prevailed, and is now

going out of date. I think I may say it is the opinion of all, masters,

officers, and men, that it is better for the chief mate to remain on

deck. There is always a good deal to be looked after, ropes to be let

go or hauled, rigging to be cleared, and the like, beside the

importance of having some one to oversee the men on the different

yards; which the mate, standing at a little distance, can easily do. He

is also the organ of communication between the yards and the deck, and

can look after the reefing to more advantage than the master can upon

the quarter-deck, where he must stay to watch the helm and sails.

The chief mate is not required to work with his hands, like the second

mate and the seamen. He will, of course, let go and belay ropes, and

occasionally pull and haul with the men when working ship; but if there

is much work to be done, his time and attention are sufficiently taken

up with superintending and giving orders.

As to his duties as a watch-officer, it will be necessary to repeat the

explanations partly given in the chapter upon the master's duties. The

crew are divided equally into two watches, the larboard and starboard;

the larboard commanded by the chief mate, and the starboard by the

second mate. These watches divide the day between them, being on and

off duty every other four hours. This is the theory of the time, but in

fact, in nearly all merchant vessels, all hands are kept on deck and at

work throughout the afternoon, from one o'clock until sundown; and

sometimes, if there is a great deal to be done, as immediately before

making port, or after an accident, all hands may be kept throughout the

day. This is, however, justly considered hard usage, if long continued,

since it gives the men but little time for sleep, and none for reading,

or taking care of their clothes. Although all hands may be on deck and

at work during a day or a half day, yet the division of time is still

kept up. For instance, if it is the mate's watch from 8 A.M. to 12;

although all hands should be up from 12 to 5 or 6, yet from 12 to 4 the

starboard watch would be considered as 'the watch on deck,' and the

larboard again after 4; and so on; and during those hours the wheel

will always be taken by men belonging to the watch on deck, and if any

particular duty is ordered to be done by 'the watch,' that watch which

has a man at the helm, and which would have been the only one on deck

had not all hands been kept, would do the duty. But though this

division is kept up as to the crew and the helmsman, it is not so as to

the officers; for when all hands are on deck, the chief mate is always

the officer in command, to whichever watch the hour may properly

belong. He accordingly looks out for the ship, takes in and makes sail,

and trims the yards, when all hands are on deck at work, as much in the

hours of one watch as in those of the other, and he generally calls

upon the men of either watch indifferently to pull and haul. But if

only the starboard watch is on deck, though the chief mate should be on

deck also, yet he will not interfere with the duties of that watch, but

would leave the command of the vessel, and the weather side of the

quarter-deck, to the second mate. Of course, whenever the master comes

on deck, as I have said, in whosever watch it may be, or if all hands

are up, he takes the weather side of the quarter-deck, and is

considered as having charge of the ship; and the officer of the watch

would then give no order with reference to the helm, trimming the

yards, making sail, or the like, without a direction from the master.

It will be necessary to make some explanations as to the stations of

the chief and second mate. I have said that when all hands are called,

the chief mate's place is the forecastle, and the second mate's

amidships, or at the braces on the quarter-deck. This is only in

working ship with all hands; that is, in tacking, wearing, reefing,

coming to anchor, getting under way, &c. Whenever the work is done, and

the necessity for the officers' presence at these parts of the vessel

ceases, they return to their proper places on the quarter-deck. In a

man-of-war there is always a lieutenant of the watch on the weather

side of the quarter-deck, whatever work may be going forward, except in

the single case of all hands being called to work ship; but it is not

so in the merchant service. When the ordinary day's work is going

forward, the mates must be about the decks or aloft, like the petty

officers of a man-of-war; and it is only while no work is going

forward, as in bad weather, on Sundays, or at night, that the officer

of the watch keeps the quarter-deck. At these times he does so, and, if

the master is not on deck, does not leave it, except for a short time,

and for some necessary duty forward.

It will be seen in the third part of this book, that the law looks upon

the chief mate as standing in a different relation to the master from

that of the second mate or the men. He is considered a confidential

person, to whom the owners, shippers and insurers look, in some

measure, for special duties and qualifications. The master, therefore,

cannot remove him from office, except under very peculiar

circumstances, and then must be able to prove a justifiable cause. One

of these duties which the law throws upon him, is keeping the log-book.

This is a very important trust, as the log-book is the depository of

the evidence of everything that may occur during the voyage; and the

position of the ship, the sail she was under, the wind, &c., at any one

moment, may become matters of great consequence to all concerned. So it

is with reference to anything that may occur between the master or

officers and the crew. As to the manner of keeping the log, it is the

custom for each officer at the end of his watch to enter upon the

log-slate, which usually lies on the cabin table, the courses,

distances, wind and weather during his watch, and anything worthy of

note that may have occurred. Once in twenty-four hours the mate copies

from this slate into the log-book; the master, however, first seeing

the slate, examining it, and making any corrections or observations he

may choose. This practice of copying from the slate, which is first

submitted to the master, has led, in too many instances, to the mate's

becoming the mere clerk of the master, to enter on the log-book

whatever the latter may dictate. This is wrong. It is very proper that

the master should examine the slate, and suggest alterations as to the

ship's reckoning, &c., if necessary, but it is important to all

concerned, both to the owners, shippers and insurers, on shore, and the

crew of the vessel, that the independence of the mate, as the

journalist of the voyage, should be preserved. The master, from the

power of his office, can at all times make the situation of a mate who

has displeased him extremely disagreeable, and from this cause has

great indirect influence over him; the law and the custom should

therefore be strictly adhered to which rightly make the chief officer,

in this respect, in a manner the umpire between the master and the

crew, as well as between all on board and the parties interested on

shore.

The law also makes the chief mate the successor to the master, in case

the latter should die, or be unable to perform the duties of his

office; and this without any action on the part of the crew. It is

always important, therefore, that, to the practical seamanship and

activity necessary for the discharge of the proper duties of his

office, the mate should add a sufficient knowledge of navigation to be

able to carry the ship on her voyage in case anything should happen to

the master. Indeed, it has been doubted whether a vessel of the largest

class, upon a long voyage, would be seaworthy with no navigator on

board but the master.

Both the chief and second mates are always addressed by their surnames,

with _Mr._ prefixed, and are answered with the addition of _Sir_. This

is a requirement of ship's duty, and an intentional omission of it is

an offence against the rules and understanding of the service.

CHAPTER III.

SECOND AND THIRD MATES.

SECOND MATE.--Navigation. Station. Watch duties. Day's work. Working

ship. Reefing. Furling. Duties aloft. Care of ship's furniture. Stores.

Duties in port.

THIRD MATE.--Working ship. Day's work. Duties aloft--in port. Boating.

Stores.

The duties of the second mate are, to command the starboard watch when

the master is not on deck, and to lead the crew in their work. It is

not necessary that he should be a navigator, or even be able to keep a

journal, though he should know enough of navigation to keep the courses

and distances during his watch, and to report them correctly on the

slate. There are also many advantages in his being acquainted with

navigation and able to keep the log, as, in case of the chief mate's

meeting with any accident, or being removed from office. The second

mate, however, does not, by law, necessarily succeed to the office of

chief mate, as the chief mate does to that of master; but it lies with

the master for the time being to appoint whom he chooses to the office

of chief mate: yet, if the second mate is capable of performing the

duties of the office, he would ordinarily be appointed, as a matter of

course.

When the starboard watch alone is on deck, and the master is below, the

second mate has charge of the ship. When both watches are on deck, the

chief mate is officer of the deck, to whichever watch the time may

belong, according to the division of the hours. When the master is on

deck, he commands, in one watch as well as in the other. But the second

mate does not give up the charge of the vessel to the chief mate, if he

should happen to be on deck during the starboard watch, unless all

hands are up. While he has charge of the vessel in his watch, his

duties are the common ones of a watch officer; that is, to have an eye

to the helm, watch the weather, keep a general lookout round the

horizon, see to the trimming of the yards and making and taking in of

the light sails, give the master notice of anything important that

occurs, heave the log and keep an account of the winds, courses, rate

of sailing, &c., and enter the same on the slate at the end of the

watch. In these things the chief mate has no right to interfere, when

it is not his watch on deck. But in all matters connected with the

day's work and jobs, the second mate acts under the chief mate in his

own watch, as that department belongs peculiarly to the chief mate. In

working days, when the crew are employed about the ship and rigging, it

is usual for the chief mate to tell the second mate what to do in his

watch, and sometimes he remains on deck a few minutes to see to the

commencement of the work. And while day's work is going forward, during

the time that the chief mate has a watch below, as the second mate is

expected to do jobs like a common seaman, it is the custom for the

master to be on deck a good deal in the starboard watch and look after

the vessel. While work is going forward, the second mate is about decks

and aloft; but at other times, as at night, or on Sunday, or during bad

weather, when day's work cannot be kept up, his place is on the

quarter-deck; though still, he leaves it whenever anything is to be

done forward or aloft which requires the presence of a whole watch, as,

setting or taking in a lower or topmast studding-sail, or any of the

heavy sails.

When all hands are called to work ship, as in reefing, tacking,

wearing, getting under way, coming to anchor, &c., the second mate's

place is aft, at the fore and main braces and main and mizzen rigging;

and generally, in all ship's duty, the chief mate and larboard watch

belong forward, and the second mate and starboard watch aft. In tacking

ship, the second mate looks out for the lee fore and main braces, sees

them belayed to one pin and clear for letting go, lets go the main

braces at "Mainsail haul!" and the fore at "Let go and haul!" He also

steadies the weather braces as the yards come up. He then sees to

getting down the main tack, hauling out the main and mizzen bowlines,

hauling aft the main sheet, and, in short, has charge of all the duty

to be done upon the quarterdeck and in the waist.

In getting under way, the second mate takes a handspike at the windlass

with the men, the place which custom has assigned him being the

windlass-end. If anything is to be done with the braces while the men

are heaving at the windlass, it is his duty to attend to it, as the

chief mate must be looking out for the ground tackle.

In reefing, the second mate goes aloft with the men, and takes his

place at the weather earing. This is his proper duty, and he will never

give it up, unless he is a youngster, and not strong enough or

sufficiently experienced to lead the men on the yard. As soon as the

order is given to clew down for reefing, and the halyards are let go,

if there are hands enough to haul out the reef-tackles, he should go

aloft, see that the yard is well down by the lifts, and then lay out to

the weather yard-arm, and get his earing rove by the time the men are

upon the yard. He then hauls it out and makes fast. If both topsails

are reefed at once, he goes to the main; but if one sail is reefed at a

time, he goes with the men from one to the other, taking the weather

earing of each. He also goes aloft to reef a course, and takes the

weather earing of that, in the same manner. He is not expected to go

upon the mizzen topsail yard, as the mizzen topsail is a small sail,

and can be reefed by a few men, or by the light hands.

In furling sails, the second mate goes aloft to the topsails and

courses, and takes the bunt, as that is the most important place in

that duty. He is not expected to go upon the mizzen topsail yard for

any service, and though in bad weather, and in case of necessity, he

would do so, yet it would be out of the usual course. He might also, in

heavy weather, assist in furling a large jib, or in taking the bonnet

off; but he never furls a topgallantsail, royal, or flying jib. In

short, the fore or main topsail and the courses are the only sails

which the second mate is expected to handle, either in reefing or

furling. And, as I said before, if the sails are reefed or furled by

the watch, he leads the starboard watch on the main and maintopsail

yards, and the best man in the larboard watch leads them at the fore.

Although the proper place for the second mate on a yard, is the bunt in

furling, and the weather earing in reefing, and it is the custom to

give him a chance at them at first, yet he cannot retain them by virtue

of his office; and if he has not the necessary strength or skill for

the stations, it is no breach of duty in a seaman to take them from

him; on the contrary, he must always expect, in such a case, to give

them up to a smarter man. If the second mate is a youngster, as is

sometimes the case, being put forward early for the sake of promotion,

or if he is not active and ambitious, he will not attempt to take the

bunt or weather earing.

In the ordinary day's work done on shipboard, the second mate works

with his hands like a common seaman. Indeed, he ought to be the best

workman on board, and to be able to take upon himself the nicest and

most difficult jobs, or to show the men how to do them. Among the

various pieces of work constantly going forward on the vessel and

rigging, there are some that require more skill and are less

disagreeable than others. The assignment of all the work belongs to the

chief mate, and if the second mate is a good seaman, (by which sailors

generally understand a good workman upon rigging,) he will have the

best and most important of these allotted to him; as, for instance,

fitting, turning in and setting up rigging, rattling down, and making

the neater straps, coverings, graftings, pointings, &c.; but if he is

not a good workman, he will have to employ himself upon the inferior

jobs, such as are usually assigned to ordinary seamen and boys.

Whatever may be his capacity, however, he 'carries on the work,' when

his watch alone is on deck, under directions previously received from

the chief mate.

It is a common saying among seamen that a man does not get his hands

out of the tar bucket by becoming second mate. The meaning of this is,

that as a great deal of tar is used in working upon rigging, and it is

always put on by hand, the second mate is expected to put his hands to

it as the others do. If the chief mate were to take hold upon a piece

of work, and it should be necessary to put any tar on it, he might call

some one to tar it for him, as all labor by hand is voluntary with him;

but the second mate would be expected to do it for himself, as a part

of his work. These matters, small in themselves, serve to show the

different lights in which the duties of the officers are regarded by

all sea-faring men. There are, however, some inferior services, such as

slushing down masts, sweeping decks, &c., which the second mate takes

no part in; and if he were ordered to do so, it would be considered as

punishment, and might lead to a difficulty.

In working ship, making and taking in sail, &c., the second mate pulls

and hauls about decks with the rest of the men. Indeed, in all the work

he is expected to join in, he should be the first man to take hold,

both leading the men and working himself. In one thing, however, he

differs from the seamen; that is, he never takes the helm. Neither

master nor mates ever take the wheel, but it is left to the men, who

steer the vessel under the direction of the master or officer of the

deck. He is also not expected to go aloft to reeve and unreeve rigging,

or rig in and out booms, when making or taking in sail, if there are

men enough; but, as I have said, under ordinary circumstances, only

goes aloft to reef or furl a topsail or course. In case, however, of

any accident, as carrying away a mast or yard, or if any unusual work

is going on aloft, as the sending up or down of topmasts or topsail

yards, or getting rigging over the mast-head, sending down or bending a

heavy sail in a gale of wind, or the like, then the second mate should

be aloft to take charge of the work there, and to be the organ of

communication between the men aloft and the chief mate, who should

remain on deck, since he must superintend everything fore and aft, as

well as a-low and aloft. Sending up or down royal and topgallant yards,

being light work and done by one or two hands, does not call the second

mate aloft; but if the topgallant masts are to be sent down, or a

jib-boom rigged in bad weather, or any other work going on aloft of

unusual importance or difficulty, the second mate should be there with

the men, leading them in the work, and communicating with, and

receiving the orders from the deck.

During his own watch, if the master is not on deck, the second mate

commands the ship, gives his orders and sees to their execution,

precisely as the chief mate does in his; but, at the same time, he is

expected to lend a hand at every "all-hands rope."

There is another important part of the duties of a second mate; which

is, the care of the spare rigging, blocks, sails, and small stuffs, and

of the instruments for working upon rigging, as, marlinspikes, heavers,

serving-boards, &c. It is the duty of the chief mate, as superintendent

of the work, to see that these are on board, and to provide a constant

supply of such as are made at sea; but when provided, it is the second

mate's duty to look after them, to see them properly stowed away, and

to have them at hand whenever they are called for. If, for instance,

the chief mate orders a man to do a piece of work with certain

instruments and certain kinds of stuff, the man will go to the second

mate for them, and he must supply him. If there is no sailmaker on

board, the second mate must also attend to the stowing away of the

spare sails, and whenever one is called for, it is his duty to go below

and find it. So with blocks, spare rigging, strands of yarns, and any

part of a vessel's furniture, which an accident or emergency, as well

as the ordinary course of duty, may bring into play.

So, also, with the stores. It is his duty to see to the stowing away of

the water, bread, beef, pork, and all the provisions of the vessel; and

whenever a new cask or barrel of water or provisions is to be opened,

the second mate must do it. Indeed, the crew should never be sent into

the hold or steerage, or to any part where there is cargo or stores,

without an officer. He also measures out the allowance to the men, at

the rate ordered by the master. These latter duties, of getting out the

stores and weighing or measuring the allowance, fall upon the third

mate, if there is one, which is seldom the case in merchant vessels.

While in port, when cargo is taking in or discharging, the second

mate's place is in the hold; the chief mate standing at the gangway, to

keep account, and to have a general supervision. If the vessel is lying

at anchor, so that the cargo has to be brought on or off in boats, then

the boating duty falls upon the second mate, who goes and comes in the

boats, and looks after the landing and taking off of the goods. The

chief mate seldom leaves the vessel when in port. The master is

necessarily on shore a good deal, and the second mate must come and go

in the boats, so that the chief mate is considered as the ship-keeper.

So, if a warp or kedge is to be carried out, or a boat is lowered at

sea, as in boarding another vessel, or when a man has fallen overboard,

in all such cases the second mate should take charge of the boat.

When in port, the second mate stands no anchor watch, but is expected

to be on deck until eight o'clock, which is the hour at which the watch

is usually set. If, however, the ship is short-handed, he would stand

his watch; in which case it would probably be either the first or the

morning watch.

The second mate lives aft, sleeping in the cabin, if there are no

passengers, or else in a state room in the steerage. He also eats in

the cabin, but at a second table, taking charge of the vessel while the

master and chief mate are at their meals. In packet ships the two mates

generally eat together, by themselves, at an earlier hour than the

master and passengers.

THIRD MATE.--Merchant vessels bound on long voyages, upon which there

are many vicissitudes to be anticipated, sometimes carry a third mate;

but this is unusual; so much so, that his duties have hardly become

settled by custom. He does not command a watch, but belongs to the

larboard watch, and assists the chief mate in his duties. He goes aloft

with the larboard watch to reef and furl, as the second mate does with

the starboard, and performs very nearly the same duties aloft and about

decks. If he is a good seaman, he will take the earing and bunt on the

head yards, as the second mate does on the after yards; and in the

allotment of work he will be favored with the most important jobs, if a

good workman, otherwise, he will be put upon the work of an ordinary

seaman. He is not expected to handle the light sails. He stands no

helm, lives aft, and will look out for the vessel at mealtimes, if the

second mate dines with the master and chief mate. While in port, he

will be in the hold or in the boats, as he may be needed, thus dividing

the labor with the second mate. Perhaps his place would more properly

be in the boats, as that is considered more in the light of fatigue

duty. He also relieves the second mate of the charge of the stores, and

sees to the weighing and measuring of the allowances; and in his watch

on deck, he relieves the chief mate of the inferior parts of his duty,

such as washing decks in the morning, and looking after the boys in

clearing up the decks at night.

CHAPTER IV.

CARPENTER, COOK, STEWARD, &C.

CARPENTER.--Working ship. Seaman's work. Helm. Duty aloft. Work at his

trade. Station. Berth and mess. Standing watch.

SAILMAKER.--Seaman's work. Work at trade. Duty aloft. Standing watch.

Berth and mess. Station.

STEWARD.--Duty in passenger-ships. Care of cabin-table--passengers. In

other vessels--Master--mate. Aloft. About decks. Working ship.

COOK.--Berth. Standing watch. Care of galley and furniture. Working

ship. Duty aloft.

CARPENTER.--Almost every merchant vessel of a large class, or bound

upon a long voyage, carries a carpenter. His duty is to work at his

trade under the direction of the master, and to assist in all-hands

work according to his ability. He is stationed with the larboard or

starboard watch, as he may be needed, though, if there is no third

mate, usually with the larboard. In working ship, if he is an able

seaman, (as well as carpenter,) he will be put in some more important

place, as looking after the main tack and bowlines, or working the

forecastle with the mate; and if capable of leading his watch aloft, he

would naturally take the bunt or an earing. He is not expected to

handle the light sails, nor to go above the topsail yards, except upon

the work of his trade. If he ships for an able seaman as well as

carpenter, he must be capable of doing seaman's work upon the rigging

and taking his turn at the wheel, if called upon; though he would not

be required to do it except in bad weather, or in case the vessel

should be short-handed. If he does not expressly ship for seaman as

well as carpenter, no nautical skill can be required of him; but he

must still, when all hands are called, or if ordered by the master,

pull and haul about decks, and go aloft in the work usual on such

occasions, as reefing and furling. But the inferior duties of the crew,

as sweeping decks, slushing, tarring, &c., would not be put upon him,

nor would he be required to do any strictly seaman's work, except

taking a helm in case of necessity, or such work as all hands join in.

The carpenter is not an officer, has no command, and cannot give an

order even to the smallest boy; yet he is a privileged person. He lives

in the steerage, with the steward, has charge of the ship's chest of

tools, and in all things connected with his trade, is under the sole

direction of the master. The chief mate has no authority over him, in

his trade, unless it be in case of the master's absence or disability.

In all things pertaining to the working of the vessel, however, and as

far as he acts in the capacity of a seaman, he must obey the orders of

the officers as implicitly as any of the crew would; though, perhaps,

an order from the second mate would come somewhat in the form of a

request. Yet there is no doubt that he must obey the second mate in his

proper place, as much as he would the master in his. Although he lives

in the steerage, he gets his food from the galley, from the same mess

with the men in the forecastle, having no better or different fare in

any respect; and he has no right on the quarterdeck, but must take his

place on the forecastle with the common seamen.

In many vessels, during fine weather, upon long voyages, the carpenter

stands no watch, but "sleeps in" at night, is called at daylight, and

works all day at his trade. But in this case, whenever all hands are

called, he must come up with the rest. In bad weather, when he cannot

well work at his trade, or if the vessel becomes short-handed, he is

put in a watch, and does duty on deck, turning in and out with the

rest. In many vessels, especially those bound on short voyages, the

carpenter stands his watch, and, while on deck, works at his trade in

the day-time, if the weather will permit, and at night, or in bad

weather, does watch duty according to his ability.

SAILMAKER.--Some ships of the largest class carry a sailmaker, though

usually the older seamen are sufficiently skilled in the trade to make

and mend sails, and the master or chief mate should know how to cut

them out. As to the sailmaker's duty on board, the same remarks will

apply to him that were made upon the carpenter. If he ships for seaman

as well as sailmaker, he must do an able seaman's duty, if called upon;

and if he does not so ship, he will still be required to assist in

all-hands work, such as working ship, taking in and making sail, &c.,

according to his ability; and in bad weather, or a case of necessity,

he may be put with a watch and required to do ship's duty with the

rest. In all-hands work he is mustered with either watch, according to

circumstances, and the station allotted to him will depend upon his

qualities as a seaman; and, as with the carpenter, if he is a good

seaman, he would naturally have some more important post assigned to

him. He is not expected to handle the light sails, nor to go above the

topsail yards. Nor would the inferior duties of the crew, such as

tarring, slushing, and sweeping decks, be put upon him. In bad weather,

or in case of necessity, he may be mustered in a watch, and must do

duty as one of the crew, according to his ability. Sometimes he stands

no watch, and works at his trade all day, and at others he stands his

watch, and when on deck in the day time, and during good weather, works

at his trade, and at night, or in bad weather, does duty with the

watch. He usually lives in the steerage with the carpenter, and always

takes his food from the galley. He has no command, and when on deck,

belongs on the forecastle with the rest of the crew. In the work of his

trade, he is under the sole direction of the master, or of the chief

mate in the master's absence; but in ship's work he is as strictly

under the command of the mates, as a common seaman is.

STEWARD.--The duties of the steward are very different in packet ships,

carrying a large number of passengers, from those which are required of

him in other vessels. In the New York _liners_, for instance, he has

waiters or under-stewards, who do most of the labor, he himself having

the general superintendence of the department. It is his duty to see

that the cabin and state-rooms are kept in order; to see to the laying

and clearing of the tables; to take care of the dishes, and other

furniture belonging to them; to provide the meals, under the master's

direction, preparing the nicer dishes himself; to keep the general

charge of the pantry and stores for the cabin; to look after the cook

in his department; and, lastly, which is as important a part of his

duty as any other, to attend to the comfort and convenience of the

passengers. These duties, where there are many passengers, require all

his time and attention, and he is not called upon for any ship's duty.

In vessels which are not passenger-ships, he does the work which falls

to the under-stewards of the large packets: cleans the cabin and state

rooms, sets, tends and clears away the table, provides everything for

the cook, and has charge of the pantry, where all the table furniture

and the small stores are kept. He is also the body servant of the

master. His relation to the chief mate is somewhat doubtful; but the

general understanding is, that, although he waits upon him when at

table and must obey him in all matters relating to the ship's work, yet

he is not in any respect his servant. If the mate wishes any personal

service done, he would ask it, or make some compensation.

In these vessels, the steward must come on deck whenever all hands are

called, and in working ship, pulls and hauls about decks with the men.

The main sheet is called the steward's rope, and this he lets go and

hauls aft in tacking and wearing. In reefing and furling, he is

expected to go upon the lower and topsail yards, and especially the

mizzen topsail yard of a ship. No seamanship is expected of him, and he

stands no watch, sleeping in at night and turning out at daylight; yet

he must do ship's duty according to his ability when all hands are

called for working ship or for taking in or making sail. In these

things he must obey the mates in the same way that a common seaman

would, and is punishable for disobedience. The amount of ship's duty

required of him depends, as I have said, upon the number of passengers.

COOK.--The cook almost always lives in the forecastle, though sometimes

in the steerage with the steward. He stands no watch, sleeping in at

night, and working at his business throughout the day. He spends his

time mostly in the cook-house, which is called the 'galley,' where he

cooks both for the cabin and forecastle. This, with keeping the galley,

boilers, pans, kids, &c., clean and in order, occupies him during the

day. He is called with all hands, and in tacking and wearing, works the

fore sheet. He is also expected to pull and haul about decks in

all-hands work, and is occasionally called from his galley to give a

pull at a tackle or halyards. No seamanship can be required of him, but

he is usually expected to go upon a lower or topsail yard in reefing or

furling, and to assist according to his ability in working ship. In

regular passenger-ships, however, as he is more exclusively employed in

cooking, he is not required to do any duty about decks, except in a

case of necessity or of common danger. In some other vessels, too, if

strongly manned, neither the cook nor steward are sent upon the yards.

Yet it can, without doubt, be required of them, by the custom and

understanding of the service, to go upon a lower or topsail yard to

reef or furl.

If there are on board armorers, coopers, or persons following any other

trades, they take the same place and follow the same rules as to duty

that govern the carpenter and sailmaker. In the merchant service, when

'all hands' are called, it literally calls every one on board but the

passengers; excepting, as I have said, in the case of the cook and

steward of strictly passenger-ships. Those persons of whom any duty can

be required, who do not stand a watch, but sleep in at night and work

during the day, are called _idlers_. Beside turning out with 'all

hands,' the idlers are sometimes called up at night to help the watch

on deck in any heavy or difficult duty, when it is not desirable to

call the other watch, who may have had severe service. This is

allowable, if practised only in cases of necessity, and not carried to

an extreme.

CHAPTER V.

ABLE SEAMEN.

Grades of sea-faring persons. Able seamen. Ordinary seamen. Boys.

Shipping and rating. Over-rating. Requisites of an able seaman. Hand,

reef and steer. Work upon rigging. Sailmaking. Day's work. Working

ship. Reefing and furling. Watch duty. Coasters and small vessels.

Sea-faring persons before the mast are divided into three

classes,--able seamen, ordinary seamen, and boys or green hands. And it

may be remarked here that all green hands in the merchant service are

termed _boys_, and rated as such, whatever may be their age or size. In

the United States navy, an able seaman receives twelve dollars per

month, an ordinary seaman ten, and the boys, or green hands, from four

to eight, according to their strength and experience. In the merchant

service, wages are about the same on long voyages; but on voyages to

Europe, the West Indies, and the southern ports, they are considerably

higher, and very fluctuating. Still, the same proportion between the

classes is preserved, an ordinary seaman getting about two dollars less

than an able seaman, and the boys, from nothing up to two dollars less

than ordinary seamen, according to circumstances. A full-grown man must

ship for boy's wages upon his first voyage. It is not unusual to see a

man receiving boy's wages and rated as a boy, who is older and larger

than many of the able seamen.

The crews are not rated by the officers after they get to sea, but,

both in the merchant service and in the navy, each man rates himself

when he ships. The shipping articles, in the merchant service, are

prepared for so many of each class, and a man puts his name down and

contracts for the wages and duty of a seaman, ordinary seaman, or boy,

at his pleasure. Notwithstanding this license, there are very few

instances of its being abused; for every man knows that if he is found

incompetent to perform the duty he contracts for, his wages can not

only be reduced to the grade for which he is fitted, but that something

additional will be deducted for the deception practised upon all

concerned, and for the loss of service and the numerous difficulties

incurred, in case the fraud is not discovered until the vessel has got

to sea. But, still more than this, the rest of the crew consider it a

fraud upon themselves; as they are thus deprived of a man of the class

the vessel required, which makes her short-handed for the voyage, and

increases the duty put upon themselves. If, for instance, the articles

provide for six able seamen, the men expect as many, and if one of the

six turns out not to be a seaman, and is put upon inferior work, the

duties which would commonly be done by seamen will fall upon the five.

The difficulty is felt still more in the watches; as, in the case I

have supposed, there would be in one watch only two able seamen instead

of three, and if the delinquent was not a capable helmsman, the

increased duty at the wheel alone would be, of itself, a serious evil.

The officers also feel at liberty to punish a man who has so imposed

upon all hands, and accordingly every kind of inferior and disagreeable

duty is put upon him; and, as he finds no sympathy from the crew, his

situation on board is made very unpleasant. Indeed, there is nothing a

man can be guilty of, short of a felony, to which so little mercy is

shown on board ship; for it is a deliberate act of deception, and one

to which there is no temptation, except the gain of a few dollars.

The common saying that to hand, reef and steer makes a sailor, is a

mistake. It is true that no man is a sailor until he can do these

things; yet to ship for an able seaman he must, in addition to these,

be a good workman upon rigging. The rigging of a ship requires constant

mending, covering and working upon in a multitude of ways; and whenever

any of the ropes or yards are chafing or wearing upon it, it must be

protected by 'chafing gear.' This chafing gear consists of worming,

parcelling, serving, rounding, &c.; which requires a constant supply of

small stuffs, such as foxes, sennit, spunyarn, marline, and the like,

all which is made on board from condemned rigging and old junk. There

is also a great deal of new rigging to be cut and fitted, on board,

which requires neat knots, splices, seizings, coverings, and turnings

in. It is also frequently necessary to set up the rigging in one part

of the vessel or another; in which case it must be seized or turned in

afresh. It is upon labor of this kind that the crew is employed in the

'day's work' and jobs which are constantly carried forward on board. A

man's skill in this work is the chief test of his seamanship; a

competent knowledge of steering, reefing, furling, and the like, being

taken for granted, and being no more than is expected of an ordinary

seaman. To put a marlinspike in a man's hand and set him to work upon a

piece of rigging, is considered a fair trial of his qualities as an

able seaman.

There is, of course, a great deal of difference in the skill and

neatness of the work of different men; but I believe I am safe in

saying that no man will pass for an able seaman in a square-rigged

vessel, who cannot make a long and short splice in a large rope, fit a

block-strap, pass seizings to lower rigging, and make the ordinary

knots, in a fair, workmanlike manner. This working upon rigging is the

last thing to which a lad training up to the sea is put, and always

supposes a competent acquaintance with all those kinds of work that are

required of an ordinary seaman or boy. A seaman is generally expected

to be able to sew upon a sail, and few men ship for seamen who cannot

do it; yet, if he is competent in other respects, no fault can be found

with an able seaman for want of skill in sailmaking.

In allotting the jobs among the crew, reference is always had to a

man's rate and capacity; and it is considered a decided imputation upon

a man to put him upon inferior work. The most difficult jobs, and those

requiring the neatest work, will be given to the older and more

experienced among the seamen; and of this none will complain; but to

single out an able seaman and keep him at turning the spunyarn winch,

knotting yarns or picking oakum, while there are boys on board, and

other properly seaman's work going forward at the same time, would be

looked upon as punishment, unless it were temporarily, or from

necessity, or while other seaman were employed in the same manner.

Also, in consideration of the superior grade of an able seaman, he is

not required to sweep down the decks at night, slush the masts, &c., if

there are boys on board and at hand. Not that a seaman is not obliged

to do these things. There is no question but that he is, just as much

as to do any other ship's work; and if there are no boys on board or at

hand at the time, or from any other cause it is reasonably required of

him, no good seaman would object, and it would be a refusal of duty to

do so, yet if an officer were deliberately, and without necessity for

it, when there were boys about decks at the time, who could do the work

as well, to order an able seaman to leave his work and sweep down the

decks, or slush a mast, it would be considered as punishment.

In working ship, the able seamen are stationed variously; though, for

the most part, upon the forecastle, at the main tack or fore and main

lower and topsail braces; the light hands being placed at the

cross-jack and fore and main topgallant and royal braces. In taking in

and making sail, and in all things connected with the working of a

ship, there is no duty which may not be required of an able seaman; yet

there are certain things requiring more skill or strength, to which he

is always put, and others which are as invariably assigned to ordinary

seamen and boys. In reefing, the men go out to the yard-arms, and the

light hands stand in toward the slings; while in furling, the bunt and

quarters belong to the able seamen, and the yard-arms to the boys. The

light hands are expected to loose and furl the light sails, as royals,

flying jib and mizzen topgallant sail, and the men seldom go above the

cross-trees, except to work upon the rigging, or to send a mast or yard

up or down. The fore and main topgallant sails, and sometimes the

flying jib of large vessels, require one or more able seamen for

furling, but are loosed by light hands. In short, as to everything

connected with working ship, making and taking in sail, &c., one

general rule may be laid down. A seaman is obliged to obey the order of

the master or officer, asking no questions and making no objection,

whether the duty to which he is ordered be that which properly belongs

to an able seaman or not; yet as able seamen alone can do the more nice

and difficult work, the light hands, in their turn, are expected to do

that which requires less skill and strength. In the watch on deck at

night, for instance, the able and ordinary seamen steer the ship, and

are depended upon in case of any accident, or if heavy sails are to be

taken in or set, or ropes to be knotted or spliced; and in

consideration of this, if there is light work to be done, as coiling up

rigging about decks, holding the log-reel, loosing or furling a light

sail, or the like, the boys are expected to do it, and should properly

be called upon by the officer, unless from some circumstance it should

be necessary to call upon a man. Yet, as I have said before, if

ordered, the seaman must do the thing, under any circumstances, and a

refusal would be a refusal of his duty.

No man is entitled to the rate or wages of an able seaman, who is not a

good helmsman. There is always a difference in a ship's company as to

this duty, some men being more steady, careful, and expert helmsmen

than others; and the best quality cannot be required of every able

seaman; yet if, upon fair trial, in bad weather, a man is found

incapable of steering the ship, under circumstances not extraordinary,

he would be considered by all on board to have failed of his duty. It

should be remembered, however, that there are times when the very best

helmsman is hardly able to steer a ship, and if a vessel is out of trim

or slow in her motions, no skill can keep her close to her course.

An able seaman is also expected to do all the work necessary for

reefing, furling, and setting sail, to be able to take a bunt or

earing, to send yards and masts up and down, to rig in and out booms,

to know how to reeve all the running rigging of a ship, and to steer,

or pull an oar in a boat.

The standard of seamanship, however, is not so high in coasting vessels

and those of a smaller class bound upon short voyages, in which all the

work that is necessary upon the vessel or rigging is usually done when

in port by people hired from on shore. In such vessels many men ship

for able seamen, and are considered, upon the whole, competent, if they

are able-bodied, and can hand, reef, and steer, who perhaps would only

have shipped for ordinary seamen in vessels bound upon long voyages. In

all large class vessels, and in vessels of almost any class bound upon

long voyages, the standard of seamanship is very nearly what I have

before described.

CHAPTER VI.

ORDINARY SEAMEN.

Requisites. Hand, reef, and steer. Loose, furl, and set sails. Reeve

rigging. Work upon rigging. Watch duty.

An ordinary seaman is one who, from not being of sufficient age and

strength, or from want of sufficient experience, is not quite competent

to perform all the duties of an able seaman, and accordingly receives a

little less than full wages, and does not contract for the complete

qualities of an able seaman. There is a large proportion of ordinary

seamen in the navy. This is probably because the power of the officers

is so great upon their long cruises to detect and punish any

deficiency, and because, if a man can by any means be made to appear

wanting in capacity for the duty he has shipped to perform, it will

justify a great deal of hard usage. Men, therefore, prefer rather to

underrate than to run any risk of overrating themselves.

An ordinary seaman is expected to hand, reef, and steer, under common

circumstances, (which includes 'boxing the compass;') to be well

acquainted with all the running and standing rigging of a ship; to be

able to reeve all the studdingsail gear, and set a topgallant or royal

studdingsail out of the top; to loose and furl a royal, and a small

topgallant sail or flying jib; and perhaps, also, to send down or cross

a royal yard. An ordinary seaman need not be a complete helmsman, and

if an able seaman should be put in his place at the wheel in very bad

weather, or when the ship steered with difficulty, it would be no

imputation upon him, provided he could steer his trick creditably under

ordinary circumstances. In reefing or furling the courses and topsails,

an ordinary seaman would not take the bunt or an earing, if there were

able seamen on the yard; and perhaps, in the largest sized vessels, it

would not be expected of him to pass an earing, or make up the bunt of

a fore or main topsail or course in bad weather, yet he should know how

to do both, and should be able to take a bunt or earing on the mizzen

topsail yard, and on any topsail or lower yard of a small vessel.

It is commonly understood that an ordinary seaman need not be a workman

upon rigging. Yet there are probably few men capable of performing the

duties of an ordinary seaman, as above detailed, who would not be

somewhat acquainted with work upon rigging, and who could not do the

simpler parts of it, such as, serving and splicing small ropes, passing

a common seizing, or the like; and it is always expected that an

ordinary seaman shall be able to make all the hitches, bends, and knots

in common use: such as, two half-hitches, a rolling hitch, timber

hitch, clove hitch, common bend, and bowline knot. He would also be

thought deficient if he could not draw, knot, and ball up yarns, and

make spunyarn, foxes, and common sennit. Yet it is said that if he can

steer his trick, and do his duty creditably in working ship and taking

in and making sail, he is entitled to the rate and wages of an ordinary

seaman, though he cannot handle a marlinspike or serving-board.

The duty upon which an ordinary seaman is put, depends a good deal upon

whether there are boys or green hands on board or not. If there are, he

has a preference over them, as an able seaman has over him, in the

light work; and since he stands his helm regularly and is occasionally

set to work upon rigging with the men, he will be favored accordingly

in the watch and in common duty about decks. Yet the distinction

between ordinary seamen and boys is not very carefully observed in the

merchant service, and an ordinary seaman is frequently called upon for

boy's duty, though there are boys on board and at hand. If an officer

wished for some one to loose a royal, take a broom and sweep the decks,

hold the log-reel, coil up a rope, or the like, he would probably first

call upon a boy, if at hand; if not, upon an ordinary seaman; but upon

either of them indifferently, before an able seaman.

If there are no boys on board, the ordinary seamen do boy's duty; the

only difference being, that if they take their trick at the wheel, and

do other ordinary seaman's work, the able seamen are not so much

preferred over them, as over mere boys and green hands.

CHAPTER VII.

BOYS.

Requisites. Wages. Watch. Day's work. Working ship. Helm. Duties aloft

and about decks.

Boy is the term, as I have said before, for all green hands, whatever

may be their size or age; and also for boys, who, though they have been

at sea before, are not large and strong enough for ordinary seamen. It

is the common saying, that a boy does not ship to know anything.

Accordingly, if any person ships as a boy, and upon boy's wages, no

fault can be found with him, though he should not know the name of a

rope in the ship, or even the stem from the stern. In the navy, the

boys are divided into three classes, according to their size and

experience, and different duties are put upon them. In the merchant

service, all except able and ordinary seamen are generally upon the

same wages, though boys' wages vary in different voyages. Sometimes

they get nothing, being considered as apprentices; and from that they

rise to three, five, and sometimes eight dollars per month. Whatever

boys' wages may be, a person who ships for them for that voyage,

whether more or less, is rated as boy, and his duty is according to his

rate.

In the ordinary day's work, the boys are taught to draw and knot yarns,

make spunyarn, foxes, sennit, &c., and are employed in passing a ball

or otherwise assisting the able seamen in their jobs. Slushing masts,

sweeping and clearing up decks, holding the log-reel, coiling up

rigging, and loosing and furling the light sails, are duties that are

invariably put upon the boys or green hands. They stand their watches

like the rest, are called with all hands, go aloft to reef and furl,

and work whenever and wherever the men do, the only difference being in

the kind of work upon which they are put. In reefing, the boys lay in

toward the slings of the yard, and in furling, they go out to the

yard-arms. They are sent aloft immediately, as soon as they get to sea,

to accustom them to the motion of a vessel, and to moving about in the

rigging and on the yards. Loosing and furling the royals, setting

topgallant studdingsails and reeving the gear, shaking out reefs,

learning the names and uses of all the ropes, and to make the common

hitches, bends, and knots, reeving all the studdingsail gear, and

rigging in and out booms, and the like, is the knowledge first

instilled into beginners. There is a good deal of difference in the

manner in which boys are put forward in different vessels. Sometimes,

in large vessels, where there are plenty of men, the boys never take

the wheel at all, and are seldom put upon any but the most simple and

inferior duties. In others, they are allowed to take the wheel in light

winds, and gradually, if they are of sufficient age and strength,

become regular helmsmen. So, also, in their duties aloft; if they are

favored, they may be kept at the royals and topgallant sails, and

gradually come to the earing of a mizzen topsail. In work upon rigging,

however, a green hand makes but little progress beyond ropeyarns and

spunyarn, during his first voyage; since there are men enough to do the

jobs, and he can be employed to more advantage in the inferior work,

and in making and taking in light sails, steering in light winds, &c.;

a competent knowledge of which duty is sufficient to enable him to ship

for an ordinary seaman upon the next voyage. It is generally while in

the grade of ordinary seaman that the use of the marlinspike is

learned. Whatever knowledge a boy may have acquired, or whatever may be

his age or strength, so long as he is rated as a boy, (and the rates

are not changed during a voyage unless a person changes his ship,) he

must do the inferior duties of a boy. If decks are to be cleared up or

swept, rigging to be coiled up, a man is to be helped in his job, or

any duty to be done aloft or about decks which does not require the

strength or skill of a seaman, a boy is always expected to start first

and do it, though not called upon by name.

CHAPTER VIII.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Watches. Calling the watch. Bells. Helm. Answering. Stations. Food.

Sleep.

WATCHES.--A watch is a term both for a division of the crew, and for

the period of time allotted to such division. The crew are divided into

two watches, larboard and starboard; the larboard commanded by the

chief mate, and the starboard by the second mate. These watches divide

the time between them, being on and off duty, or, as it is termed, on

deck and below, every other four hours. If, for instance, the chief

mate with the larboard watch have the first night watch, from eight to

twelve, at the end of the four hours the starboard watch is called, and

the second mate takes the deck, while the larboard watch and the chief

mate go below until four in the morning. At four they come on deck

again, and remain until eight; having what is called the 'morning

watch.' As they will have been on deck eight hours out of the twelve,

while the starboard watch, who had the middle watch, from twelve to

four, will only have been up four hours, they are entitled to the watch

below from eight till twelve, which is called the 'forenoon watch

below.' Where this alternation of watches is kept up throughout the

twenty-four hours, four hours up and four below it is called having

"watch and watch." This is always given in bad weather, and when day's

work cannot be carried on; but in most merchant vessels, it is the

custom to keep all hands from one P.M. until sundown, or until four

o'clock. In extreme cases, also, all hands are kept throughout the day;

but the watch which has had eight hours on deck at night should always

be allowed a forenoon watch below, if possible.

The watch from four to eight, P.M., is divided into two half-watches of

two hours each, called _dog-watches_. The object of this is to make an

uneven number of watches, seven instead of six; otherwise the same

watch would stand during the same hours for the whole voyage, and those

who had two watches on deck the first night would have the same

throughout the trip. But the uneven number shifts the watches. The

dog-watches coming about sundown, or twilight, and between the end of a

day's work and the setting of the night watch, are usually the time

given for recreation,--for smoking, telling yarns, &c., on the

forecastle; things which are not allowed during the day.

CALLING THE WATCH.--As soon as eight bells are struck, the officer of

the watch gives orders to call the watch, and one of the crew goes to

the scuttle, knocks three times, and calls out in a loud voice, "All

the starboard (or larboard) watch, ahoy!" or, "All starbowlines, ahoy!"

or something of the kind, and adds, "Eight bells," or the hour;

usually, also, a question, to know whether he is heard, as, "Do you

hear the news there, sleepers?" Some one of the watch below must

answer, "Ay, ay!" to show that the call has been heard. The watch below

is entitled to be called in a loud and audible voice, and in the usual

manner; and unless called, they cannot be expected to come up. They

must also turn out at once and come on deck as soon as they are called,

in order that the other watch may go below, especially as they are

never called until the hour has expired, and since some minutes are

allowed for turning out, dressing, and getting on deck. The man whose

turn it is to take the helm goes immediately aft, and ought to be the

first on deck, as the two hours' duty at the helm at night is tedious,

and entitles a man to be speedily relieved. It is considered a bad

trait in a man to be slack in relieving the helm. The relieving the

helm is also the sign that the watch is changed, and no man is

permitted to go below until that has been done. It is a man's watch on

deck so long as one of his watch is at the wheel.

BELLS.--The time at sea is marked by bells. At noon, eight bells are

struck, that is, eight strokes are made upon the bell; and from that

time it is struck every half-hour throughout the twenty-four, beginning

at one stroke and going as high as eight, adding one at each half-hour.

For instance, twelve o'clock is eight bells, half past twelve is one

bell, one o'clock is two bells, half past one three bells, and so on

until four o'clock, which will be eight bells. The watch is then out,

and for half past four you strike one bell again. A watch of four hours

therefore runs out the bells. It will be observed, also, that even

bells come at the full hours, and the odd bells at the half-hours. For

instance, eight bells is always twelve, four, or eight o'clock; and

seven bells always half past three, half past seven, or half past

eleven.

The bells are sounded by two strokes following one another quickly, and

then a short interval; after which, two more; and so on. If it is an

odd number, the odd one is struck alone, after the interval. This is to

make the counting more sure and easy; and, by this means, you can, at

least, tell whether it is an hour or a half-hour.

HELM. Neither the master nor mates of a merchant vessel ever take the

helm. The proper helmsmen are the able and ordinary seamen. Sometimes

the carpenter, sailmaker, &c., if they are seamen, are put at the helm;

also the boys, in light winds, for practice. Each watch steers the ship

in its turn, and the watch on deck must supply the helmsman, even when

all hands are called. Each man stands at the helm two hours, which is

called his _trick_. Thus, there are two tricks in a watch. Sometimes,

in very cold weather, the tricks are reduced to one hour; and, if the

ship steers badly, in a gale of wind, two men are sent to the wheel at

once. In this case, the man who stands on the weather side of the wheel

is the responsible helmsman, the man at the lee wheel merely assisting

him by heaving the wheel when necessary.

The men in the watch usually arrange their tricks among themselves, the

officers being satisfied if there is always a man ready to take the

wheel at the proper time. In steering, the helmsman stands on the

weather side of a wheel and on the lee side of a tiller. But when

steering by tiller-ropes with no hitch round the tiller-head, or with a

tackle, as in a heavy gale and bad sea, when it is necessary to ease

the helm a good deal, it is better to stand up to windward and steer by

the parts of the tackle or tiller-ropes.

In relieving the wheel, the man should come aft on the lee side of the

quarter-deck, (as indeed he always should unless his duty lies to

windward,) go to the wheel behind the helmsman and take hold of the

spokes, so as to have the wheel in command when the other lets go.

Before letting go, the helmsman should give the course to the man that

relieves him in an audible voice, and the new man should repeat it

aloud just as it was given, so as to make it sure that he has heard

correctly. This is especially necessary, since the points and half

points are so much alike that a mistake might easily be made. It is the

duty of the officer of the watch to be present when the wheel is

relieved, in order to see that the course is correctly reported and

understood; which is another reason why the course should be spoken by

both in a loud tone. It is unseamanlike and reprehensible to answer,

"Ay, ay!" or, "I understand," or the like, instead of repeating the

course.

If a vessel is sailing close-hauled and does not lay her course, the

order is, "Full and by!" which means, by the wind, yet all full. If a

vessel lays her course, the order then is her course, as N.W. by W., E.

by S., and the like.

When a man is at the wheel, he has nothing else to attend to but

steering the ship, and no conversation should be allowed with him. If

he wishes to be relieved during his trick, it should not be done

without the permission of the officer, and the same form of giving and

repeating the course should be gone through, though he is to be absent

from the helm but a minute or two.

If an order is given to the man at the wheel as to his steering, he

should always repeat the order, distinctly, that the officer may be

sure he is understood. For instance, if the order is a new course, or,

"Keep her off a point!" "Luff a little!" "Ease her!" "Meet her!" or the

like, the man should answer by repeating the course or the order, as,

"Luff a little, sir," "Meet her, sir," &c., and should not answer, "Ay,

ay, sir!" or simply execute the order as he understands it. This

practice of repeating every, even the most minute order at the wheel,

is well understood among seamen, and a failure or refusal to do so is

an offence sometimes leading to disagreeable results.

If, when the watch is out and the other watch has been called, all

hands are detained for any purpose, as, to reef a topsail, to set

studdingsails, or the like, the helm should not be relieved until the

work is done and the watch ready to go below.

ANSWERING.--The rule has just been stated which requires a man at the

wheel to answer by repeating distinctly the order given him. The same

rule applies to some other parts of a seaman's duty, though to none so

strictly, perhaps, as to that. In tacking, where the moment of letting

go a rope or swinging a yard is very important, the order of the master

is always repeated by the officer on the forecastle. This enables the

master to know whether he is heard and understood, to repeat his order

if it is not answered at once, and to correct any mistake, or obviate

some of its consequences. The same may be said generally of every order

to the proper or instant execution of which unusual importance is

attached. If, for instance, a man is stationed by a rope to let it go

upon an order given, if an order is addressed to him which he supposes

to be for that purpose, he should answer, "Let go, sir!" and usually

adds, "All gone!" as soon as it is done. Green hands should bear in

mind that whenever an order is of a kind which ought to be repeated, it

must be so, without reference to a man's distance from the officer who

gives the order, but just as much if standing a few feet from him as if

at the mast-head, since, upon the whole, the chance of misapprehension

is not much less in one case than in the other.

The common run of orders, however, are sufficiently answered by the

usual reply of "Ay, ay, sir!" which is the proper seaman's answer,

where the repetition of the order is not necessary. But _some answer or

other should always be made to an order_. This is a rule difficult to

impress upon beginners, but the reasonableness of it is obvious, and it

is well understood among all seafaring persons; and even though an

officer should see that the man was executing his order, he still would

require, and has a right to demand a reply. The rule is as strictly

observed by the master and officers between themselves, as it is

required by them of the men; for the reason is the same. It is almost

unnecessary to say that the addition 'Sir' is always to be used in

speaking to the master or to either of the mates. The mates in their

turn use it to the master. 'Mr.' is always to be prefixed to the name

of an officer, whether chief or second mate.