What was it like to be a sailor in the 1700s?

What was it like to be a sailor in the 1700s?

Sailors had to accept cramped conditions, disease, poor food and pay, and bad weather. Men working at sea had much to endure; cut off from normal life on shore for months, even years, they had to accept cramped conditions, disease, poor food and pay. Above all, they faced the daily dangers of sea and weather.

How much did sailors get paid in the 1700s?

However, there was also remarkable variety – across the seventeenth century, mariners earned between 5 and 55 shillings a month, specialists between 13 and 100 shillings, though in both cases there was predictable lumping around a median point.

How many people did it take to crew a ship?

A good-sized ship could carry five whaleboats and employ a crew of about 36 men, staying out for 3 or 4 years if necessary. A two-masted vessel usually having square sails on both masts and a for-and-aft sail on the rear mast. Brigs carried, on average, three whaleboats and employed a crew of about 22 men.

What is the hierarchy on a ship?

According to the vessel’s hierarchy, the deck officers are as follows: Master, Chief Officer, Second Officer, Third Officer and Deck Cadet (deck officer to be). The supreme authority on board a merchant vessel is the Master. The entire crew is under his command.

Did sailors bathe?

The crew was made to wash themselves at least once a week, which the sailors thought was very strange – they much preferred to keep ‘the body’s natural oils’, which they believed were essential for protection.

Did sailors eat rats?

Rats were a common pest on board ships and seamen often hunted them for entertainment and then ate them, reporting they tasted ‘nice and delicate… full as good as rabbits’. Another frequent pest were weevils, (a type of beetle) found in flour, biscuit and bread.

What did sailors do at night?

At night, seamen sleep in hammocks slung between beams or at least, half of them do. The crew is divided into two “watches” (teams). One watch sails the ship from 8pm to midnight, then sleeps for four hours while the other watch works.

How tall was a medieval ship?

Their average size ranged between 12 and 24 meters and they could carry 20 to 30 rowers, who were also warriors.

How many men are schooners?

Schooners, while a late comer to the “historic” rigs as far as ships go could usually get by with as few as 8 to 10. Fishing crews were usually about twice as large on a dory equipped vessel and some of the larger armed vessels carrying about the same compliment as a similar sized cutte.

How did pirates get fresh water?

Since desalinating sea water was not practical, fresh water was taken aboard in casks, but quickly developed algae and became slimy. Stagnant water was sweetened with beer or wine to make it palatable, which involved more casks and was subject to spoilage.

Were there any shipwrecks in the 1700s?

The list of shipwrecks in the 1700s includes ships sunk, foundered, grounded, or otherwise lost from 1700 to 1709. 1700 did not begin on 1 January! [Note 1] The 48-gun fourth rate exploded and sank in The Downs with the loss of 124 of the 128 crew on board. The frigate was reported lost while on a voyage from Batavia to Amboina.

What is the passenger and immigration lists bibliography 1538-1900?

“Passenger and Immigration Lists Bibliography, 1538-1900: Being a Guide to Published Lists of Arrivals in the United States and Canada”. Detroit: Gale Publishing Co., 1988. Compilation of ships for which lists have appeared in published literature.

What is the best bibliography of ship passenger lists?

Lancour, A. Harold. “A Bibliography of Ship Passenger Lists of Ships coming to North America, 1538-1825, Being a Guide to Published Lists of Early Immigrants to North America”. New York, New York Public Library, 1938. Contains bibliography of early passenger lists.

Where did the diagram of the topsail schooner come from?

The diagram opposite comes from the Observers Book of Ships by Frank E Dodman (c1950) and shows the masts and sails of a Topsail Schooner. The rope on these ships was mainly used for rigging, a skill that was usually undertaken by sailmakers and ropebenders.