BOARD--the side of a

vessel -; fm. the Old French bort, meaning ';edge, ship's side'. From this

reference word we get on board, out board, in board and boarding etc…

STARBOARD ;--the

right side of a vessel – slurring of "steering-board". Prior to the invention of

the modern rudder, an oar was hung over the right hand side of the ship in order

to steer. Indeed, the word rudder is a corruption of the old English word

rother, which simply means ‘oar or paddle’.

LARBOARD – the left

side of a vessel – slurring of "larder-board". Due to the need to keep the

vessel’s steering oar clear for manoeuvring, the left hand side of the ship was

put alongside the dock/wharf in order to load/off-load cargo or ‘larder’ the

ship – fm. the Latin word lardarium meaning ‘a room for storing

food’.

PORT – the left

side of a vessel – corruption of the French word portage, meaning ‘to

carry’, which you certainly had to do with all of the ship’s cargo. Same reason

as for larboard. Interestingly, all commercial harbours are historically called

‘ports’ because they’re places that sailors knew that they’d have to carry

something.

STERN – the

rearmost (blunt) end of a vessel – fm. the Norse word stjórn meaning

‘steering’. (Ref: STARBOARD)

BOW

– the front (pointy) end of a vessel – fm. the German

boog, meaning ‘shoulder’ or a ‘main branch of a tree’. A very stout piece

of timber was required to form the front of a vessel, due to the pounding it

took from the ocean, (more so if a ram was affixed there). The best part of a

tree for this job was then a main branch, or stem, for it’s strength and

flexibility. This led to the expression "from stem to stern".

HISTORIC NOTE -

: Vast forests were planted to produce

the desired woods required for shipbuilding – and the desired shapes (for

certain key pieces) were cultivated like giant bonsai trees.

Top

(top of

page)

DECK – a floor of

a ship. Originally, a canvas covering on a ship. Later, a solid surface serving

as a roof and floor. – fm. the Dutch word dec, meaning ‘covering, roof’

or dekken meaning ‘to cover’.

HEAD – the top of

a ship’s mast or rib. In the case of a rib, it would be a headpiece (or brace)

used to support something above it for strength.

DECKHEAD – today

it refers to the bottom of the deck above you (the ceiling), however it actually

refers to the rib braces supporting the entire deck (floor) above you. We refer

to the ship’s ribs as frames today.

BULKHEAD – a

barrier (wall) between separate compartments inside a ship. Originally, it was a

method of packing and securing loose cargo (something in bulk). Today it refers

to all internal and superstructure walls. A perfect example of ‘bulk-head’

packing is a warship’s ammunition magazine and how the individual shells are

stored.

HULL – the main

body of a ship, including the sides, bottom and deck but not the superstructure

or fittings. – fm. the Old English word hulu, meaning ‘seed shell or

fruit rind’.

HISTORIC

NOTE: – In ancient times

(pre-cannon), naval battles were little more than land battles fought on the

water. Ships would draw alongside each other and the soldiers would board (and

fight) like the infantry that they were or they’d ram each other. There was no

‘standing’ Navy per se, but ‘temporarily converted’ merchant ships, which had

been pressed into service. Indeed, the very word navy comes from the

Latin navis, which simply means ‘ship’. Eventually, advances in ship

design and weaponry meant that you didn’t have the luxury of time to convert

your merchant fleet into warships, a permanent class of warship was required.

FO"C"SLE – slurring of the word forecastle – the forward or bow

weather deck. In ancient times, merchant ships were pressed into service as

warships and would require a fighting conversion. This included the actual

building of an archery tower (a castle) on both the forward and after parts of

the ship. Most were constructed of light wood, for stability purposes, however

there are some historical cases of stone being employed. A quick way of writing

fo’c’sle is FX.

AFTERCASTLE – an

archaic reference to the after weather deck. Today this part of the ship is

called the Quarterdeck, however it is still written as AX (which can be

confusing, but this is the reason for it).

QUATERDECK – the

after weather deck. Literally a deck which ran 1/4th of the ships’

length from the stern. Traditionally, the position of command where the vessels’

master/captain would control the ship. He could best judge the wind and sea

direction from there, adjusting his sails and course accordingly.

Respect is always payed (salute or come briefly to

attention/doff cap) to the quarterdeck when boarding or leaving a ship as an

acknowledgment of the Captain’s authority (the Crown), however it has a more

ancient history.

Sailors are a superstitious lot, and the ocean is a

dangerous place, so they would erect a shrine to whichever god they hoped would

protect them. Of course, the most comfortable place on a sailing ship is at the

stern, so that’s where they placed the shrine and would pay homage to it

whenever they entered or left the ship. Interestingly, the vessel’s Master would

also act as their god’s priest (mess with the Captain and you mess with god!)

and this tradition has carried on to today. In particular, the performance of

marriage or burial at sea.

Top

(top of

page)

BRIDGE – the

command position of a modern, powered ship and a term that we have the stoker

trade to thank for. The first application of steam powered vessels involved

covered paddle-wheels amidships (port & starboard). The new maritime trade

of engineer (slang word of stoker is due to the shovelling of coal into

the furnace of the steam engine) had to do maintenance on these wheels and built

a bridge between them for ease of access. The Captain, on his quarterdeck, saw

that he could control this new powered vessel of his better from this bridge and

transferred his command position there. When it was later proven that screw

propellers are superior to paddle wheels (and that they’d solved the question of

piercing the hull with a propeller shaft without sinking the ship) the paddle

wheels were gone but the bridge remained.

HEADS – the

lavatory. Always pronounced in the plural. In the days of sail, the wind would

ideally come from astern or the quarters (45 degrees from astern). Therefore it

was prudent to go to the head of the ship (bow) to do your business (remembering

the saying "don’t piss into the wind"). You had a choice of which side of the

bow to use and this is why it’s referred to in the plural. (only the USN uses

the singular ‘head’)