Forecastle

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Replica of the Victoria, the only one of Ferdinand Magellan's five ships to return to Spain in 1522, showing both a forecastle (left) and quarterdeck (right).

The forecastle (

foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase "before the mast
" which denotes anything related to ordinary sailors, as opposed to a ship's officers.

History and design

The forecastle of RMS Queen Elizabeth 2

In

aftcastle, was at the aft end of the ship, often stretching all the way from the main mast to the stern
.

Having such tall upper works on the ship was detrimental to sailing performance. As

headsails and the anchors. In the Royal Navy of the 17th and 18th centuries, these roles were reserved for older seamen who lacked the agility to go aloft or take other more strenuous duties aboard.[3]

.

By the end of the 19th century, a raised forecastle had become a typical feature on warships again, in an attempt to keep forward gun positions from getting unacceptably wet on heavy seas. In addition the forecastle may provide additional crew's quarters as in the past, and may contain essential machinery such as the anchor windlass. A disadvantage of such a design is the structural weakness at the forecastle 'break' (the rear end of the forecastle with the main deck behind and below) relative to a flush deck structure.

Some sailing ships and many modern non-sail ships have no forecastle as such at all but the name is still used to indicate the foremost part of the upper deck – although often called the foredeck – and for any crew's quarters in the bow of the ship, even if below the main deck.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ Oxford dictionary search, retrieved 2013-08-22, gives "fo'c'sle"
  2. ^ Collins dictionary search, retrieved 2013-08-22, gives "fo'c's'le or fo'c'sle"
  3. .

External links