Richard Henry Dana

“ It is the common saying, that a boy does not ship to know anything. Accordingly, if any person ships as a boy, and upon boy's wages, no fault can be found with him, though he should not know the name of a rope in the ship, or even the stem from the stern. In the navy, the boys are divided into three classes, according to their size and experience, and different duties are put upon them. In the merchant service, all except able and ordinary seamen are generally upon the same wages, though boys' wages vary in different voyages. Sometimes they get nothing, being considered as apprentices ”

“ I think I may say it is the opinion of all, masters, officers, and men, that it is better for the chief mate to remain on deck. There is always a good deal to be looked after, ropes to be let go or hauled, rigging to be cleared, and the like, beside the importance of having some one to oversee the men on the different yards; which the mate, standing at a little distance, can easily do. He is also the organ of communication between the yards and the deck, and can look after the reefing to more advantage than the master can upon the quarter-deck, where he must stay to watch the helm and sails. ”

“ The moment the cry is heard, put the helm down and bring her up into the wind, whether she is on the wind or free, and deaden her headway. Throw overboard instantly life buoys, or, if there are none at hand, take a grating, the carpenter's bench, or any pieces of plank or loose spars there may be about decks ”

“ The contract which a seaman makes with the master, is not like that of a man who engages in any service on shore. It is somewhat military in its nature. [184] The master has great responsibilities resting upon him, and is entitled to instant and implicit obedience. To ensure this, regular and somewhat strict discipline must be preserved. The master, also, cannot obtain assistance when at sea, as any one can who is in authority upon land. He must depend upon the habits of faithful and respectful discharge of duty which his crew have acquired, and if this fails, he may resort to force. ”

“ No man is entitled to the rate or wages of an able seaman, who is not a good helmsman. There is always a difference in a ship's company as to this duty, some men being more steady, careful, and expert helmsmen than others; and the best quality cannot be required of every able seaman; yet if, upon fair trial, in bad weather, a man is found incapable of steering the ship, under circumstances not extraordinary, he would be considered by all on board to have failed of his duty. ”

“ The strictness of these rules should not deter the master from acting, where the interest of all requires it, but will show him the risk that is run by acting otherwise than with prudence and entire honesty. He should remember, too, that, in taking command of a vessel, he not only covenants that he will act honestly and with the best of his judgment, but also holds himself out as having a reasonable degree of skill and prudence. ”

“ In short, as to everything connected with working ship, making and taking in sail, &c., one general rule may be laid down. A seaman is obliged to obey the order of the master or officer, asking no questions and making no objection, whether the duty to which he is ordered be that which properly belongs to an able seaman or not; yet as able seamen alone can do the more nice and difficult work, the light hands, in their turn, are expected to do that which requires less skill and strength. ”

“ It is necessary that the fraud, connivance, or negligence of a seaman should be proved against him, before he can be charged with anything lost or stolen; and in no case is an innocent man bound to contribute towards a loss occasioned by the misconduct of another. If, however, it is clearly proved that the whole crew were concerned, but one offender is not known more than another, and the circumstances are such as to affect all the crew, each man is to contribute to the loss, unless he clears himself from the suspicion. ”

“ A ship should be so stowed, and have her sails so trimmed, that she may be balanced as much as possible, and not be obliged to carry her helm much off the line of her keel, which tends to deaden her way. If a ship is stowed in her best sailing trim, and it is found, when on a wind, that her head tends to windward, obliging her to carry a strong weather helm, it may be remedied by taking in some after sail, or adding head sail. So, if she carries a lee helm, that is, if her head tends to fly off from the wind, it is remedied by taking in head or adding after sail. ”

“ While he has charge of the vessel in his watch, his duties are the common ones of a watch officer; that is, to have an eye to the helm, watch the weather, keep a general lookout round the horizon, see to the trimming of the yards and making and taking in of the light sails, give the master notice of anything important that occurs, heave the log and keep an account of the winds, courses, rate of sailing, &c., and enter the same on the slate at the end of the watch. In these things the chief mate has no right to interfere, when it is not his watch on deck. ”

“ The safest rule for the master is, to bear in mind that his duty is to prosecute the voyage, and that all his acts must be done for this purpose, and in good faith. If a necessity arises in a foreign port for the repairing or supplying of the ship, he must, in the first instance, make use of any property of the owner he may have under his control, other than cargo. ”

“ In all-hands work he is mustered with either watch, according to circumstances, and the station allotted to him will depend upon his qualities as a seaman; and, as with the carpenter, if he is a good seaman, he would naturally have some more important post assigned to him. He is not expected to handle the light sails, nor to go above the topsail yards. Nor would the inferior duties of the crew, such as tarring, slushing, and sweeping decks, be put upon him. In bad weather, or in case of necessity, he may be mustered in a watch, and must do duty as one of the crew, according to his ability. ”

“ The difficulty is felt still more in the watches; as, in the case I have supposed, there would be in one watch only two able seamen instead of three, and if the delinquent was not a capable helmsman, the increased duty at the wheel alone would be, of itself, a serious evil. The officers also feel at liberty to punish a man who has so imposed upon all hands, and accordingly every kind of inferior and disagreeable duty is put upon him; and, as he finds no sympathy from the crew, his situation on board is made very unpleasant. ”

“ The common saying that to hand, reef and steer makes a sailor, is a mistake. It is true that no man is a sailor until he can do these things; yet to ship for an able seaman he must, in addition to these, be a good workman upon rigging. ”

“ A seaman should be warned against taking the law into his own hands. If the treatment he receives is unjustifiable, he should still submit to it, if possible, until the voyage is up, or until he arrives at some port where he can make complaint. If he is conscious that he is not to blame, and an assault is made upon him unjustifiably and with dangerous severity, he may defend himself ”

“ Neither the master nor mates of a merchant vessel ever take the helm. The proper helmsmen are the able and ordinary seamen. Sometimes the carpenter, sailmaker, &c., if they are seamen, are put at the helm; also the boys, in light winds, for practice. Each watch steers the ship in its turn, and the watch on deck must supply the helmsman, even when all hands are called. Each man stands at the helm two hours, which is called his trick. ”

“ It is also frequently necessary to set up the rigging in one part of the vessel or another; in which case it must be seized or turned in afresh. It is upon labor of this kind that the crew is employed in the 'day's work' and jobs which are constantly carried forward on board. A man's skill in this work is the chief test of his seamanship; a competent knowledge of steering, reefing, furling, and the like, being taken for granted, and being no more than is expected of an ordinary seaman. ”

“ By the law of the United States, in all foreign voyages, and in all coasting voyages to other than an adjoining state, there must be an agreement in writing, or in print, with every seaman on board the ship, (excepting only apprentices and servants of the master or owner,) declaring the voyage, and term or terms of time, for which such seaman is hired. [133] This contract is called the shipping-articles, and all the crew, including the master and officers, usually sign the same paper; it not being requisite that there should be a separate paper for each man. ”

“ Imprisonment.—The master has the right to imprison a seaman in a foreign port, in a case of urgent necessity, but the power has always been very closely watched by courts of law. "The practice of imprisoning seamen in foreign jails is one of doubtful legality, and is to be justified only by a strong case of necessity." [82] "The master is not authorized to punish a seaman by imprisonment in a foreign jail unless in cases of aggravated misconduct and insubordination." ”

“ A seaman is bound to load and unload cargo in the course of the voyage if required of him, and a refusal to do so is a refusal of duty. [210] If the voyage is at an end, according to the articles, and the vessel is safely moored at the port of discharge, the seamen are still bound to discharge the cargo if it is required of them. If they do not, their refusal or neglect does not, however, work a forfeiture of all their wages, but only makes them liable to a deduction, as compensation to the owner for any damage he may have suffered. ”

“ It should be remembered, however, that there are times when the very best helmsman is hardly able to steer a ship, and if a vessel is out of trim or slow in her motions, no skill can keep her close to her course. ”

“ A ship should therefore be so balanced by her sails that a slight change of her helm may answer the purpose.
If a vessel is going astern, and the rudder is turned off from the line of the keel, the water, striking against the back of the rudder, pushes the stern off in the same direction in which the rudder is turned. For instance, if sternway is on her, and the helm is put to the starboard, the rudder turns to port, the water forces the stern in the same direction, and the ship's head goes off to the starboard. ”

“ This working upon rigging is the last thing to which a lad training up to the sea is put, and always supposes a competent acquaintance with all those kinds of work that are required of an ordinary seaman or boy. A seaman is generally expected to be able to sew upon a sail, and few men ship for seamen who cannot do it; yet, if he is competent in other respects, no fault can be found with an able seaman for want of skill in sailmaking.
In allotting the jobs among the crew, reference is always had to a man's rate and capacity ”

“ If a seaman is about to do an act which may endanger life or property, and instant action is required, the officer may confine him, or use force necessary to prevent him. So, if the immediate execution of an order is important, and a seaman, by obstinacy or wilful negligence, prevents or impedes the act, the officer may use force necessary to secure the performance of the duty. ”

“ The man whose turn it is to take the helm goes immediately aft, and ought to be the first on deck, as the two hours' duty at the helm at night is tedious, and entitles a man to be speedily relieved. It is considered a bad trait in a man to be slack in relieving the helm. The relieving the helm is also the sign that the watch is changed, and no man is permitted to go below until that has been done. It is a man's watch on deck so long as one of his watch is at the wheel. ”