Naval bit'n' pieces.

[masliko]

Royal Navy Glossary

Able Seaman: Knowledgeable sailor.
Afore: To the front of the vessel.
Aft: To the rear of the vessel.
Aloft: High in the masts or rigging.
Amidships: In the middle of the vessel.
Astern: Behind.
Bar: Shallow water in entrance to harbour.
Barque: Three-masted ship.
Beam: Width of ship.
Bear Away: Change direction to sail before the wind.
Bilges: Bottom compartment of ship, usually filled with waste water.
Boarding Nets: Nets strung out from ship's side to stop boarding.
Bowlines: Ropes attached to sails to pull them forward.
Bowsprit: Spar at the front of a ship.
Box Haul: Sharp turning of a ship.
Brace: Rope used to hold direction of a sail.
Brigantine: Two-masted ship.
Bring To: Slowing a ship so that it almost stops by heading it into the wind.
Bulkhead: Internal partitions of ships.
Cable: Heavy rope.
Cable (length): 240 yards.
Capstan: Large cylindrical device that sailors inserted poles into to help haul up cables.
Careen: Lying a ship on its side to allow its hull to be cleaned.
Caulking: System of using unpicked rope and pitch to seal gaps in planks.
Close-Hauled: Rigging a ship to sail directly into the wind.
Cutter: Single-masted small ship.
En Flute: A warship without some, or all, of its cannons.
Flag Officer: Admiral.
Fore: Front of a ship.
Forecastle: Small deck at front of ship.
Gaff: Yard supporting top of a sail.
Gasket: Platted rope holding sails to yards.
Halyards: Ropes to raise or lower sails.
Haul Off: Move away.
Heave To: Stopping a ship by heading it into the wind.
Jib: Triangular sail at prow of ship.
Landsman: Inexperienced sailor.
Larboard: Port.
Lateen sail: A triangular sail.
Leeward: Same direction as the wind.
Log-line: A knotted rope and piece of wood that measures a ship's speed.
Luff: Turn a ship closer to wind.
Lug sail: A four-sided sail.
Lying To: Position a ship is in after being brought to.
Mast: Vertical spar from which sails and spars are attached.
Midshipmen: Junior-ranking officers who would assist in the control of the crew.
Mizzen: Rear of a ship.
Ordinary Seaman: Sailor with limited experience.
Orlop deck: The lowest deck on a vessel.
Packet: Small, fast ship for sending despatches and orders.
Petty Officer: Included gunner's mates, quartermasters, master-at-arms, carpenter, bosun and cooper, the ship's master, chaplain and surgeon
Pinnace: A ship's boat.
Plying: Turn to windward.
Ratlines: Ropes attached to a ship's shrouds that are used as ladders.
Reef: Lessen sail area by tying parts of it to the mast.
Royals: Square sails sitting beneath the topgallants.
Sheets: Ropes attached to bottom corners of sails.
Shrouds: Support ropes attached to the masts.
Square-Rigged: A ship rigged with square sails at its bow.
Stays: Forwards and backwards support ropes for the masts.
Tack: Way of a ship zig-zagging into the wind or turning it by steering to winward.
Top: Platform around the mast.
Topgallant: Highest of the three spars used to make a mast.
Wear: Turn a ship by moving prow in direction of the wind.
Windage: How far a ship is blown off course by the wind.
Yard: Horizontal spar that holds up the sails.
Yardarm: Outer sections of the yard.


British Royal Navy Crews

RatingsWhen signed on to a ship's books, a man was given a rating according to his experience.
Freshmen to the sea were known as landsmen, those with limited experience were ordinary seamen, while knowledgeable sailors were rated able seamen.

Petty or Warrant Officers
Fromthe pool of able seamen came the candidates for promotion to higher duties.
Petty Officers and Warrant Officers included mast captains, gunner's mates, quartermasters, master-at-arms, carpenter, bosun and cooper, the ship's master, chaplain and surgeon.

Midshipmen
Midshipmenwere effectively on board a ship to help lieutenants control the crew. If good enough, they could take command of small boats or prizes. Winning promotion to lieutenant was the aim of most young midshipmen who entered service in their early teens. Some, however, were still in their lowly rank in their 30s, 40s and even older.

Lieutenants
Lieutenantswere the backbone of a ship's command structure, despite only being on the first rung of the commissioned officer classification. As a lieutenant, officers could expect a regular half-pay income, if put in reserve by the Admiralty, but had numerous tasks to fulfill for the security. They would command small boats, gun divisions in battle, oversee a watch, and were most likely to lead dangerous boarding or cutting-out parties. Depending upon the rating of a Royal Navy vessel, there could be up to six lieutenantson board.

Commander
The next step up from lieutenant was the rank of commander. Usually on remote duty, a commanderwas effectively a captain in all but official title.

Captain
The absolute ruleron his ship, a captain had the power of life or death over the crew. Some made ship-board life hell for all, while others inspired a love from those they commanded. The captain was responsible for the well-being of the crew, ensuring there were enough of them to have the ship ready for service, and even paying for extras to keep them happy. Elevation to admiral was pretty automatic for captains and depended only upon seniority based upon their date of commission.

Commodore
A commodore was a captain promoted temporarily to take charge of a detached naval squadron. Commodores on active service were usually the ones the Admiralty had earmarked for the most senior ranks.

Admirals
Unemployment on half-pay was often the lot of a British admiral. By the end of the Napoleonic Wars fewer than a quarter of those available were on duty. If an admiral went to sea, his flagship was usually that of the fleet's junior captain.



Note: An 18-pounder gun was capable of firing a shot that could penetrate nearly 2 feet six inches (75 centimetres) of oak at 400 yards and over 1 foot (30.5 centimetres) at 1000 yards.




Royal Navy pay

1793 to 1815




Britain spent more than 30 million pounds a year over the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. In 1795 the Royal Navy had 100,000 men under sail, a number that rose to 150,000 by 1813.

1793 p.a 1806 p.a 1815

Landsman

£10.60

N/A

£15.00

Ordinary Seaman

£11.30

N/A

N/A

Able Seaman

£14.00

£20.00

N/A

Petty Officers

£20-27.00

N/A

N/A

Master

N/A

£100.00

N/A

Surgeons

£60.00

£168.00

£304.00

Ship's Carpenter

N/A

£70.00

N/A

Ship's Gunner

N/A

£58.00

N/A

Ship's Bosun

£36.00

£58.00

N/A

Midshipman

£22.50

N/A

N/A

Lieutenant

£100.00

N/A

N/A

Commander

£200.00

N/A

N/A

Captain (1st Rate)

£336

£400.00

£802.00

Captain (6th Rate)

£100.80

N/A

£284.00

Ratings of Royal Navy ships

Ship Rating

Guns Crew Marines Decks Tons





First 100-112 900 100-112 3 2500 Second 90-98 750 90-98 3 2200 Third 64-84 650 64-84 2 1750 Fourth 50-54 420 50-54 2 1100 Fifth 44 300 44 2 900 Sixth 20-30 200 20-30

Sloops 24-30 125 24-30