Thread: Gunwhale... how is it said?

Originally Posted by Jedo_03

As a consequence, the ship could only tie up to the jetty on the opposite side - hence PORT-SIDE...
Jedo

i always thought it was called larboard until the 19th century. dont know when it changed but that was what i read somewhere

edit: just had a look at wiki and it states that port, "The term was not officially adopted by the Royal Navy until 1844"
and that whalers used it until 1850.
wikipeadia says : "The gunwale, (IPA /gʌnəl/ ) pronounced "gunnel" to rhyme with "tunnel", is a nautical term describing the top edge of the side of a boat."
it also says:"The word starboard comes from Old English steorbord, literally meaning the side on which the ship is steered. The old English term steorbord descends from the Old Norse words stýri meaning “rudder” and borð meaning “side of a ship”.

Originally Posted by Ashore

An interesting twist on the origin of star board , havent heard that one before. The story that usually goes around is that origionally vessels in the med used a streering oar and on the right side of the vessel was a star board, a board with the stars of the heavens painted on it so that they could steer by night, and became the star board side , as your vision was blocked when berthing you would dock the vessel on the left or port side,
In the days of sailing ships only the captian or pilot were allowed to take star sights use a sextant or other navigation instrument , or take a record of the ships position and this was to deter mutiny and was punashable in the british navy until early into the 1900's .


Rgds

My exGF did a huge amount of research on Port and Starboard. The steerboard seems to be the correct original version.

Port was originally "larboard" - from what I don't know - but it got ditched because it sounds a lot like starboard so led to confusion.

So port it became. Why? Because if your steerboard was on the starboard side it could be broken if you moored up to a wharf on the starboard side. So all boats came alongside to shore on their "Port" side.

In Dutch it's "Stuurbord" (Steerboard) and "Bakbord". Don't know what the latter means, I'll have to ask dad (Dutch merchant marine)
Also "boom" in Dutch means tree and "vang" means catch, so I reckon that's where we got "boomvang" from, after all, the Dutch gave English "Yacht" (Jacht) and Skipper (Schipper)

Mick

I thought that 'starboard' was derived from 'steering board' or the side the board used to steer the ship was lashed to. The other side was 'larboard' shortened from 'landing board' or the side that the board (aka gangplank) for getting ashore was usually slung from. The term portside came into existence to try and avoid confusion in times of storms at sea when trying to distinguish between the shouted commands for starboard and larboard.

From all I've read on naval/mariners history, Starboard originates from "steer board" as already described.

Larboard is thought to have originated from "Load Board", i.e the gangway or loading board, which was always on the port side as the steer board got in the way of docking!

Cheers, Dean

Don't know where larboard or starboard came from however.
When a right hand prop is kicked astern a vessels bow will move to starboard and its the stern to port.
This motion and the obvious braking effect meant a good ship handler could approach a wharf at a sharp angle, stop and pull the ship up parallel to the wharf in controlled manner.
So once screw propellers became the norm in the late nineteenth century anyone with a choise moored portside to.
When port is always on that side, would you call it larboard anymore?

....being called a something "futtock" whilst being waved at with a single finger . But this was years ago...my memory is fuzzy

Originally Posted by Cliff Rogers

Then there is Head-sails & check out this list of terms....
where did they get them from?????

Athwart hawse
Futtock-shrouds
Gammon the bowsprit
Garboard streak
Gimbleting
Gybing
Hawse-holes
Kentledge
Lanyards of the shrouds
Mizen-peek
Monkey-poop
Monkey-pump
Nun-buoy
Oakum
Orlop
To pawl the capstain
Pooping
Spanish burton-windlass
Swift the capstern bars
Uvrou

Originally Posted by Cliff Rogers

Then there is Head-sails & check out this list of terms....
where did they get them from?????



Hawse-holes
An Equine term for the holes in our paddocks that they dig to keep out of the wind

Now buckle your swashes Cliff, September is not far away

Originally Posted by Iain

Now buckle your swashes Cliff, September is not far away

What happens in September?

http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html

Arrh.... Oi thought that wois earlier in the year.

And here I am 17 yrs. masters pilot and haven't heard but a 1/4 of the terms used. Here goes on some of them, at least according to the US Coast Guard (which seems to change everytime I've had to test anew ).
Nun bouy- named due to the shape of said bouy. the color always red and seen on the right(starboard) side inbound in a channel.
Garboard strake- any channel running the length of a vessel. ie keel cooler ect.
Pommel the capstan-antique term for loading a capstan with stakes in order to draw in line (a capstan refers to a type of winch, usually on the bow of a vessel drawing lines/cable with a horizontal rather than vertical drum. Prior to machine power, a capstan had a four holes around the edge of the top at 90 deg. you could place long stakes in to turn it with and draw the line tight.)
Starboard - place on old vessel rudder arm was placed so steersman would have more leverage, most people being right handed, and would require always docking on the opposite side hence port side.
Abaft the beam- the beam being amidships(middle) this term refers to anything aft of this spot.

Now here's a fun one; anyone know the difference between a boat and a ship? Understand I've seen boats over 10,000 tons and a ship less than 3 meters long.





"From sea to shining sea. All the way from Bangor to mighty Maine."

Originally Posted by Capt. Zero

Now here's a fun one; anyone know the difference between a boat and a ship? Understand I've seen boats over 10,000 tons and a ship less than 3 meters long.

A buoy shaped like a Nun? Which end? And it's red? Hardly surprising; I'd be angry if I'd been dumped overboard, too!

I'd have said that a boat is something small enough to be carried aboard another vessel (ie. a ship ) but 10,000 tons would come close to ruling that definition out.

Originally Posted by Capt. Zero

Now here's a fun one; anyone know the difference between a boat and a ship? Understand I've seen boats over 10,000 tons and a ship less than 3 meters long.

Had a discussion of just this question many years ago when one of my colleagues in engineering consultancy was a naval architect. IIRC, a boat can be carried aboard another vessel, like Skew said; I think one distinction of a ship was that it could be lived aboard, but the definition was weak. Might be that the ship was the vessel carrying the boat. Still and all, one could live aboard a "ship" less than 3 meters long.

The 10,000-ton boat is a trick question. It's a submarine. Original submarines were tiny vessels launched from a ship, and the name stuck. Consider the Electric "Boat" Division of General Dynamics Corp - major builder of huge subs. Part of the consultancy I mentioned was for the Trident base on Hood Canal WA USA. I don't remember the tonnage, but the "boat" was bigggg: about 50ft (15m) diameter/beam x over 600ft (~185m) long.

[Seems I had a memory fade after about 25 years. (Imagine that!) Google says 42ft x 560ft. And as for the tonnage, allowing 500ft for the rounded ends, I calculate about 20,000 LT displacement.]

Only place I've seen a capstan with a horizontal drum was on a drop hammer for soil sampling. Not sure why, but it sounds somewhat dangerous for vessel hauling, and I see no advantage over a vertical drum. Powered capstans are dandy for moving heavy stuff; ships/boats in drydock, railroad cars, etc.

Joe