Sea Craft
Contents
Sea Craft Ranks
General Ranks
Apprentice: - The lowest rank of an educated seacrafter.
Journeyman: - A journeyman is usually going to be a lower officer on a ship, or a teacher at the Hall.
Master: - The highest rank available. These men are knowledgeable, usually captains aboard ship or teachers and administrators in a hall.
Shipboard Ranks
Captain - Officer in charge of the ship; Will be a master seacrafter usually or a senior journeyman on a smaller vessel
First Mate - Second-in-command of a ship; May be a master or a journeyman
Second Mate - In charge of navigation of the ship and charts; Will be a journeyman
Third Mate - In charge of the safety of the ship and crew; Will be a journeyman
Bosun - In charge of the deck crew and is usually a seaman of long service, but no formal education
Ship’s Cook - In charge of maintaining the galley, food stores, and feeding the crew
Steward - In charge of making sure quarters are clean, supplies are well maintained, stores are replenished
Seaman - Any man on board that does not hold rank and is usually not educated by the Hall, but has learned through experience would be referred to by this rank. However, unranked apprentices and journeymen without specific duties would also be seamen
Cabin Boy - A young boy whose responsibility it is to assist the officers and passengers of a ship, often running errands for the Captain or assisting the Ship’s Cook; Can be an apprentice or a nonranked young sailor
Ship’s Healer - This will be a journeyman healer assigned to the ship for medical purposes
Advancement in Rank
In order to advance from apprentice to journeyman or from journeyman to master, the seacrafter will have to demonstrate a working knowledge as well as spend a certain amount of time at sea. Each rank requires qualifications to be achieved. Seacrafting is more about skill and experience, than discovering a new invention or creating a new design.
An apprentice will be required to spend at least four turns at sea before they can be considered for journeyman rank as well as complete basic courses at the Hall including navigation and seaworthiness amongst others.
A journeyman will usually be required to spend at least five turns at sea before they can hope to attain master rank. This is in addition to the four as an apprentice, meaning a total of nine turns at sea before they can reach master. However, certain specialties may not require as lengthy a time away IE: shipwrights. They will also be assigned to study under a Master to learn more in their chosen specialty. Practical experience will be augmented by teaching courses and attending courses at the Hall.
Of course, while aboard ship, there are times when things can happen. This sometimes means there can be advancement in rank as the situation dictates. For example, if the Captain dies of dysentery, the First Mate would then become Captain and the others would advance in rank as well. In this case, he would be the acting Captain until formerly appointed by the Master Seacrafter. If the First Mate was a journeyman, then advanced to acting Captain, serving in that post for a turn before returning for confirmation, it is possible the Master Seacrafter would consider promoting the journeyman to Master and allowing him to continue as Captain instead of appointing another Master to captain the vessel. Cases of injury can also mean advancement aboard ship.
Specializations
Deck/Operations
These are the men that will be running ships. They will train to captain and serve as officers on an actual sailing ship
This is a very necessary art of sailing. Navigation is the means by which a ship keeps its bearing. There are many ways of doing so with tools such as sextants and chronometers.
Supply/Quartermaster
These men deal with the cargoes and the necessary stores for sailing such as foodstuffs. They are responsible for seeing to provisioning, doling out the supplies as needed, and replenishing when needed.
Shipwright
This specialty encompasses more than one discipline. It includes the shipbuilders who design and build the craft’s pride. It also includes the men who engineer structures such as piers, docks, bridges, and other necessary apparatus. Ship carpenters who repair damaged ships or do the woodwork on a new boat as well as salvage work are also within this specialty.
Repair/Salvage
Repair operations are necessary since it is costly to replace a ship when only a few small repairs are needed. Salvage can mean the use of old parts to complete a repair, as well as the art of retrieving cargo and parts from the ocean bottom with the assistance of dolphineers. Scrapping old boats and/or dredging in the shallows is common.
Cartography
These are the chart makers. Cartography is actually an art as well. Most maps will include pictures as well as latitude and longitude. Better scales are continually being perfected as well as perspectives.
Nautical Terms
There are more that a sailor would know, but this is a start to your nautical vocabulary.
Abandon Ship!- An imperative to leave the vessel immediately, usually in the face of some imminent danger. It is an order issued by the Captain or a delegated person in command. It is usually the last resort after all other mitigating actions have failed.
Aboard- On or in a vessel, usually said as come aboard, or came onto the ship
Adrift- Afloat and unattached in any way to the shore or seabed, but not underway. Refers to any gear not put away properly and/or a vessel not under control
Aft- Portion of the boat past the middle. Towards the stern of the vessel
Afloat- A vessel that is floating freely.
Aground- Touching the ground or resting on it
Ahead- Forward of the bow
Ahoy- A cry to draw attention
All Hands- Entire ship’s company including both officers and seamen
Avast- Stop what is being done
Aye aye- I have understood and will follow orders
Bailer- A device for removing water that has entered the boat
Barrelman- Sailor station in the crow’s nest
Batten down the hatches- Prepare for inclement weather by securing hatch covers with wooden battens to prevent water entering
Beaching- Deliberately running a vessel aground to prevent sinking or to load/unload
Belay- To make fast a line around a fitting, usually a cleat or belaying pin.;To secure a climbing person in a similar manner ; An order to halt a current activity or countermand an order prior to execution.
Berth- A bed or sleeping accommodation on a ship
Bosun- A non-commissioned officer responsible for the sails, ropes, rigging and boats on a ship who issues "piped" commands to seamen.
Bow- The front of a ship
Brig- A place to hold prisoners, stowaways, and to punish crew members; usually a small cell
Bulkhead- An upright wall within the hull of a ship
Capsize- When a ship lists too far and rolls over, exposing the keel. Usually means sinking
Crow’s Nest- Masthead with sides and sometimes a roof to shelter the lookouts from the weather
Dead ahead- Directly in front
Decks- Structures forming the horizontal surfaces of a ship; There will usually be several decks.
Figurehead- Symbolic image at the head of a sailing ship
First Mate- Second in Command of a ship
Fore- Towards the bow
Forecastle/Folksele- A partial deck, above the upper deck and at the head of the vessel, traditionally the living quarters
Founder- To fill with water and sink
Furl- To roll or gather a sail against its mast or spar
Galley- ship’s kitchen
Gangplank- Movable bridge used in boarding or leaving a ship
Gangway- Opening in the bulwark to allow passengers to board or leave the ship
Head- The ship’s latrine
Helm- Steering Wheel
Hull- Shell and framework of the basic part of the ship
Jibe- To change from one tack to another away from the wind, with the stern turning through the wind
Keel- The central structural basis of the hull
Leeward- In the direction that the wind is blowing towards
Mainmast- Tallest mast on a ship
Man Overboard!- Yelled when a seaman goes into the water, falling from the ship
Mast- A vertical pole on a ship which support sails or rigging
Mess- Place to eat aboard ship
Passageway- Hallway of a ship
Port- Left side of the boat
Ready About!- Called when the boat is about to tack
Rigging- System of masts and lines on ships and other sailing vessels
Sextant- Navigational instrument used to measure a ship’s latitude
Sick Bay- Ship’s Infirmary
Skipper- Ship’s Captain
Starboard- Right side of the boat
Stay- Rigging running fore and aft from a mast to the hull
Stern- The rear part of a ship
Stowaway- Trespasser on a ship
Tacking- Changing from one tack to another by going through the wind
Under way- A vessel that is moving under control
