What is Seamanship ?

Seamanship is the art of operating a ship or boat. It involves topics and development of specialised skills including: navigation and international maritime law; weather, meteorology and forecasting; watch keeping, ship-handling and small boat handling; operation of deck equipment, anchors and cables; rope work and line handling; communications; sailing; engines; execution of evolutions such as towing; cargo handling equipment, dangerous cargoes and cargo storage; dealing with emergencies; survival at sea and search and rescue; fire fighting.

The degree of knowledge needed within these areas is dependent upon the nature of the work and the type of vessel employed by a mariner. However, the practice of good seamanship should be the goal of all. The deep meaning of the word seamanship derives from the word seaman & ship. Thus it is the seaman who makes a good ship through his qualifications. Above all, Seamanship means Safety onboard and this is managed through continuous training and implementation of good working practices.

Often Seamanship is described as nothing but common sense.

Quarter gallery

A quarter gallery is an architectural feature of the stern of a sailing ship from  around the 16th to 19th century. Quarter galleries are a kind of balcony, typically placed on the side of the stern castle. A high, tower-like structure at the back of a ship that housed the officer's quarters. They function as a firing platform for the ship's marines and sharpshooters during boarding actions. The galleries also provided a structure that was ideally suited for attaching decoration and often bore carved wooden sculptures.

Captain's Mast

The "Captain's Mast" is a disciplinary event hailing from the age of sail where a ship's captain and other officers publicly shame and sentence sailors who have broken some rule in a manner severe enough to warrant public discipline but not enough to require a full legal proceeding. 

Before steam engines became standard in the nineteenth century the most efficient means of moving a ship across the sea was to harness the power of the wind by means of attaching a canvas sail to a wooden pole known as the mast. Larger ships would have several masts, and the number of masts as well as their configuration and the shapes of their many sails came to define the types of the various sailing ships, from the clipper to the man-o-war.

Sailor's lives depended on the function of these masts and sails, and much of the maintenance work needed to keep ships in working order involved these essential components of period vessels. It is no surprise then that they came to be a focal point of naval culture and a convenient meeting place for the crew when one was needed.

Under the Mainmast - Ceremonies for the Crew

The Captain's Mast appears to have come about as a result of the need to maintain discipline and to address the majority of the crew at once. Meetings of this nature were held under the mainmast, and eventually any crew meeting came to be known as a mast. The masts eventually began to be named according to the officiating officer's rank, and so there are admiral's masts and chaplain's masts.

The Captain's version was traditionally held prior to religious services and served as both a disciplinary event in front of the entire crew and as a forum where exemplary behavior could be praised or official news shared with the crew. Once it became so common to be held as a tradition, even as the vessels switched from sail to steam power the event was still held in a convenient meeting area, and given the same name.

How submarine work

A submarine or a ship can float because the weight of water that it displaces is equal to the­ weight of the ship. This displacement of water creates an upward force called the buoyant force and acts opposite to gravity, which would pull the ship down. Unlike a ship, a submarine can control its buoyancy, thus allowing it to sink and surface at will.

To control its buoyancy, the submarine has ballast tanks and auxiliary, or trim tanks, that can be alternately filled with water or air (see animation below). When the submarine is on the surface, the ballast tanks are filled with air and the submarine's overall density is less than that of the surrounding water. As the submarine dives, the ballast tanks are flooded with water and the air in the ballast tanks is vented from the submarine until its overall density is greater than the surrounding water and the submarine begins to sink (negative buoyancy). A supply of compressed air is maintained aboard the submarine in air flasks for life support and for use with the ballast tanks. In addition, the submarine has movable sets of short "wings" called hydroplanes on the stern (back) that help to control the angle of the dive. The hydroplanes are angled so that water moves over the stern, which forces the stern upward; therefore, the submarine is angled downward.

To keep the submarine level at any set depth, the submarine maintains a balance of air and water in the trim tanks so that its overall density is equal to the surrounding water (neutral buoyancy). When the submarine reaches its cruising depth, the hydroplanes are leveled so that the submarine travels level through the water. Water is also forced between the bow and stern trim tanks to keep the sub level. The submarine can steer in the water by using the tail rudder to turn starboard (right) or port (left) and the hydroplanes to control the fore-aft angle of the submarine. In addition, some submarines are equipped with a retractable secondary propulsion motor that can swivel 360 degrees.

When the submarine surfaces, compressed air flows from the air flasks into the ballast tanks and the water is forced out of the submarine until its overall density is less than the surrounding water (positive buoyancy) and the submarine rises. The hydroplanes are angled so that water moves up over the stern, which forces the stern downward; therefore, the submarine is angled upward. In an emergency, the ballast tanks can be filled quickly with high-pressure air to take the submarine to the surface very rapidly.

Port holes

The word "port hole" originated during the reign of Henry VI of England (1485). King Henry insisted on mounting guns too large for his ship and the traditional methods of securing these weapons on the forecastle and aftcastle could not be used.

A French shipbuilder named James Baker was commissioned to solve the problem. He put small doors in the side of the ship and mounted the cannon inside the ship. These doors protected the cannon from weather and were opened when the cannon were to be used. The French word for "door" is "porte" which was later Anglicized to "port" and later went on to mean any opening in the ship's side, whether for cannon or not.

Mediterranean Mooring

In some harbours where there is sufficient room to berth many ships alongside, ships may be obliged to berth at right-angles to a jetty, with their sterns secured to it by berthing lines and their anchors(s) laid out ahead.

This type of mooring can only be employed where there is a negligible range of tide, and is commonly used in Mediterranean ports; for this reason it is often called the Mediterranean (or Med) moor. 

The major considerations are to veer sufficient cable so that the ship can swing clear of other ships at the berth when leaving, to lay the anchors sufficiently far apart to make the ship more secure in wind, and to ensure the anchors do not foul those of other ships. 

In a shallow harbour it is recommended that a frigate veers about 4 shackles of cable on each anchor, and that cables are spanned with and included angle of about 50 degrees, so as to make the ship more secure in a wind. It is obvious, however, that to berth will not be safe if a gale blows from abeam.

If such weather is forecast it is advisable to put to sea or seek a sheltered anchor berth. Ships fitter with a single anchor can, in theory, carry out a Med moor; however, the single anchor will hold the bows steady only in benign weather conditions.

Why it is Port and Starboard side?

There are different explanations heard during my career in the navy.

Port side mean the left side when looking forward from the stern of the boat. Starboard means the right side when looking forward from the stern. Starboard is originally an anglo-saxon word literally meaning "right-side" or "right-board" and larboard is from the french baboard or the anglo-saxon bœc-bord. Anyway, there are discrepancies about what how port came from larboard, but basically it has stuck because larboard was too easily confused with starboard.

The another believe is, Centuries ago, what we now refer to as a rudder was lashed to the right side of the vessel. It was called a 'larboard.' When the vessel came into port, the captain didn't have much choice about which side to use since he could damage his steering gear if he had trouble. This must have led to term port side and larboard side..

Another interesting explanation is that Starboard was a walking board that hung off the right side of the boat. In the ancient days, navigators were depended on stars for navigational aid. The navigator of the ship used this Starboard to walk out where he could see the stars without the sails, masts and boat lights getting in the way. When the ship came in to Port, it could not port on the right side of the ship, or it would break the Starboard. So the left side of the ship was known as the Port side, and the right side was called the Starboard side.

Remember the lighting scheme of Port and Starboard? The Port light of an approaching vessel is RED; (Red Port wine). The red light tells you to give way to the other vessel. The Starboard light is GREEN which means you have right of way.

It is interesting to note that this practice carried over into aviation. Passengers almost always enter planes from the left, or port, side even though aircraft now have full sized doors on both sides

Sally Ship

"Sally ship" was not a ship but a method of loosening a vessel that ran aground from the mud holding her fast. In the days before sophisticated navigation equipment, ships ran aground much more often than today. A grounded ship could be freed with little or no hull damage if she could be rocked out of her muddy predicament. 


To free her, the order was given to "sally ship". The crew gathered in a line along one side and then ran from port to starboard and back and forth until the vessel began to roll. Often the rolling broke the mud's suction and she could be pulled free and gotten underway.

Why is the toilet onboard ship called the “head”?

The term comes from the days of sail, because wind would blow from the rear of the ship to the front. The bathroom would be located at the front, "Head", of the ship to carry the foul smell of excrement away from the crew.

On such old ships the “out house” was placed at the bow of the ship. These necessary rooms were placed in that forward area where the ship slanted inward to form the bow, which meant the toilet was above the ocean and not actually above the ship. Therefore, when nature called and you needed to use one of these facilities, you went forward to the bow or the “head“ of the vessel. Thus, the outhouse/toilet came to be called the "head".

Bulbous Bow

Bulbous bow available in many shapes and sizes, generally the bulb looks like a section of large diameter pipe with a domed end sticking out of the bow of the boat, underwater. Side bulbs, bilge bulbs, and even stern bulbs have been tried but the most consistent results have been achieved with bow bulbs. Today, to see a large ship without a bulbous bow is a rare sight indeed. Their results have been proven over countless thousands of deep ocean miles in all kinds of weather by all kinds of vessels.

So what's in it for you?

The benefit of a modern day bulbous bow will reduce your fuel consumption 12% to 15% giving you the equivalent greater range, or a slightly higher speed for the same power applied, whichever you choose to use. The greatest amount of benefit will be at the high end of the semi-displacement speed range, reducing as your speed decreases. At higher speeds wave making resistance accounts for the greater portion of the drag, and the slower you go proportionally more of the resistance is taken up by wetted surface drag. At low speed (around 6 knots and lower) the bulb will even cause an increase in drag because of it's greater wetted surface area. Luckily at that low speed the added power consumption is negligible and generally little time is spent in this speed range.

In addition, you will find increased sea keeping ability due to dampening of the pitching motion. When charging into head seas there is the chance of slamming the bulb on the troughs, but this is limited to a very narrow range of wave train and heading. A slight change in direction and/or speed will cure this ill-effect.

Origin of the word "Merchant Navy"

It was originated by King George V following their service in the First World War.

Merchant seafarer's primary job was to carry food grains, edible oil and cereals to the Royal Navy soldiers during the world war. They were not issued with any kind of arms and ammunition, as their primary job was to look after the Royal navy soldiers food supply only, not to fight the battle.

This Merchant Navy (MN) identification badge was issued to seaman on board British ships in January 1940.

The Merchant Navy name have been adopted in Britain in 1922, as part of King George V's formal acknowledgement of merchant seafarer's service and sacrifice during the First World War. That conflict cost the British Empire's merchant marine - as it was then better known - 2500 ships and 15000 seafarers.

During the First World War, merchant seafarers were not issued with any sort of identification badge, and as they did not wear uniforms many were made feel uncomfortable ashore. The issue of MN badges during the second World War was designed to indicate that the wearer was taking an active part in the war effort along with the Royal Navy.

Gundecking

In the modern Navy, falsifying reports, records and the like is often referred to as "gundecking." The origin of the term is somewhat obscure, but at the risk of gundecking, here are two plausible explanations for its modern usage. The deck below the upper deck on British sailing ships-of-war was called the gundeck although it carried no guns. This false deck may have been constructed to deceive enemies as to the amount of armament carried, thus the gundeck was a falsification. 

A more plausible explanation may stem from shortcuts taken by early Midshipmen when doing their navigation lessons. Each Mid was supposed to take sun lines at noon and star sights at night and then go below to the gundeck, work out their calculations and show them to the navigator. Certain of these young men, however, had a special formula for getting the correct answers. They would note the noon or last position on the quarter-deck traverse board and determine the approximate current position by dead reckoning plotting. Armed with this information, they proceeded to the gundeck to "gundeck" their navigation homework by simply working backwards from the dead reckoning position.

Mess

Mess.  From the Latin term "mensa" meaning tables.  "Mesa" is Spanish for table and "mes" in old Gothic means a dish.  The English word originally meant four, and at large meal gatherings diners were seated in fours.  Shakespeare wrote of Henry's four sons as his "mess of sons."  The word "mess" that suggests confusion comes from the German "mischen," meaning to mix. Messmates, are those who eat together.  Smythe's, Sailors' Word Book, yields the ditty, "Messmate before shipmate, shipmate before stranger, stranger before a dog."
     

Mess deck.  Eating area for the ship's crew.

Why are the two sides of a ship called PORT and STARBOARD ?

There are different explanations heard during my career in the navy.

Port side mean the left side when looking forward from the stern of the boat. Starboard means the right side when looking forward from the stern. Starboard is originally an anglo-saxon word literally meaning "right-side" or "right-board" and larboard is from the french baboard or the anglo-saxon bœc-bord. Anyway, there are discrepancies about what how port came from larboard, but basically it has stuck because larboard was too easily confused with starboard.

The another believe is, Centuries ago, what we now refer to as a rudder was lashed to the right side of the vessel. It was called a 'larboard.' When the vessel came into port, the captain didn't have much choice about which side to use since he could damage his steering gear if he had trouble. This must have led to term port side and larboard side..

Another interesting explanation is that Starboard was a walking board that hung off the right side of the boat. In the ancient days, navigators were depended on stars for navigational aid. The navigator of the ship used this Starboard to walk out where he could see the stars without the sails, masts and boat lights getting in the way. When the ship came in to Port, it could not port on the right side of the ship, or it would break the Starboard. So the left side of the ship was known as the Port side, and the right side was called the Starboard side.

Remember the lighting scheme of Port and Starboard? The Port light of an approaching vessel is RED; (Red Port wine). The red light tells you to give way to the other vessel. The Starboard light is GREEN which means you have right of way.

It is interesting to note that this practice carried over into aviation. Passengers almost always enter planes from the left, or port, side even though aircraft now have full sized doors on both sides

Why does the Navy use a fouled anchor insignia?

An anchor that is foul of the cable or chain is a symbol found in various Navy crests.  No one really knows why the anchor was used as a symbol for the chief petty officer. Many chiefs believe that it symbolizes the difficulty that they face everyday, but that is just a fanciful guess.

The device is on the cap of the most naval officers, the distinguishing device of a Chief Petty Officer, the collar device of midshipman, and on the cap badges of the British naval officers.  Many sailors regard the device a sign of poor seamanship.  Although, artistic to a civilian, it has been called a sailor's disgrace by some. 

The fouled anchor was first seen as an insignia of the Lord High Admiral of England, Lord Howard of Effignham, around 1588 during the Spanish Armada battle. More than 400 years later, the insignia is still the official seal for the admiral's office.

The fouled anchor insignia is just one example of how the British navy influenced the navies around the world.