Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg
I'm enjoying the book Master and Commander but I wish to goodness that it came with a glossary!
"...she would rather have her bottom hobnailed than coppered"? (Said about the ship.)
"...would rather pay her sides than paint them"?
"... some [of the crew] were wearing petticoat-breeches"?
"the Gut of Gibraltor"?
"puddening the topsail yard"?
"the gammoning of the bow-sprit"?
"the cylinders in the cable-tier"?
And those are on just pages 38-39!  |
Hmm, a coppered bottom was the sign of a "well found" ship.
Copper, the nemesis of Toredo worm, which is the nemesis of wooden boats.
She needs a hob-nailed bum? Must be a pig of a ship to handle.
Paying sides, was considered to be slacking on ships duties. Paying off a harbour inspector or ship seawothiness inspection.
Bad owners, or master.
Ask the Governator about these "girlie-men".
The Gut of Gibraltar? Don't know it, I
do know the Gut of Napoli.
Ah, dear old Napoli, the sewer of Europe, so some say.
Even the Neapolitan police won't go into the Gut. Shorty does.
The rest even I will have to check up on. Puddening, Gammoning, what cylinders, in what cable-tier?
Umm, would this be by a Non English national writer? Say by an American writer? Because there are some startling differences in the way we do and name things. An American trained sailor is completely lost for some time on one of our ships. Even when that ship is American built, and ostensibly identical to the US version. And vise versa.
Most of the world is trained "Admiralty Pattern", from the Royal Navy, BR (book of reference) 67 (2) The Admiralty Manual of Seamanship, Vols 1 to 3.
The Manual of Navigation, Vols 1 and 2.
And my personal favourite, good old BR 3003.
The Admiralty Manual of Marine Engineering. Vols 1 and 2.
There is even a condensed BR 67 version, for private boatmen called,
The Seaway code.
Sadly, America wrote a book called "Beauship", it's wrong. It causes people to be somewhat narrow in field of training, and they get hurt, if they have to temporarily do another job, outside their speciality.
BR 67, even teaches the correct way, to care for carpets and curtaining on board ship, or even at home for that matter.
It leaves no stone unturned in the training of men for a life at sea. The most hostile environment on the planet.
We won't even let some one who is a non-swimmer to sea.
Part of the basic seamanship test is to Bronze standard for life guards.
Must be able to swim, fully clothed, 100 metres or yards to an up turned life raft, right said raft, and get injured into the raft before the self.
No pass test, no able-seaman ticket. That simple.
Must be able to tie certain knots, hitches and bends. Without fail.
At night, pitch dark, in your sleep, behind your back, with only one hand. Well, alright, maybe not in your sleep, but a good seaman can and will,
(to show off a bit) tie a "bowline in the bight", a "man knot", used as a safety line or to haul injured people cradled in the twin loops it makes, with eyes closed, behind the back, and will ask if you want it left or right hand rove.
(Reference, "Ashley's Book of Knots", over 4,700 bends, knots and hitches at my last edition. Warning, credit card melt-down may result from the purchase of this item. Best taken on loan from local library).
Both myself, and younger brother can, to this day. So could Dad, and Pa and Grandpa. Sailors all. All the way back to the Tudor King, Henry the 8th.
There just has to be a scoundrel or two in that mob of ancestors.
