#nautical research

[sablearadia]

Routine on a Royal Navy Warship, Late 19th Century

Routine on a Royal Navy Warship, Late 19th Century

https://dawlishchronicles.com/2018/07/13/routine-on-a-royal-navy-warship-late-19th-century/

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[sablearadia]

Swinging the Lead

By Philip K Allan

Ilfracombe is a charming little port on the North Devon coast in England. Close to its bustling harbour is the base of the local scuba diving club, who have a large and active body of members. Many are keen wreck divers, and the busy but treacherous waters off Illfracombe provide rich pickings for their amusement. Over the centuries, numerous ships have foundered on this…

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[holmesianpose]

Just found this on my desktop... can’t remember where I found it, but anyway, I thought I may as well post it :)

[holmesianpose]

Hi sweetie!! Fist of all, I admire your work and your talent so much!! OFD is AMAZINGLY WONDERFUL I'M IN LOVE WITH IT!! I wanted to ask you something, in your post about the ship diagrams there are several books, could you show them? I'm writing a story for my niece and there are pirates and ships and things like that, and I can't find proper resources! I'd love if you could do it, because I'm really interested in your wriitng process as well!! Lots of love dear, keep being awesome!

Hi there!

Unfortunately, I have just left all my nautical books behind for six weeks of traveling so I cannot post any detailed images of the diagrams from those books- however, I did just respond to a similar research query which you can check out here for recommendations for future resources. 

Also, this is a great site for ship diagrams and models. 

Hope that helps!

[holmesianpose]

I know that there is a slim shot you'll have time to answer this, but I had to try. I'm trying to write a small novella taking place in an 18th century merchant ship, but I'm unfamiliar with the technicalities of marine culture/folktales. I've tried to do research but I really don't know where to start. Then I realized, "Who more to ask than the queen of Sailor!lock?” If you simply have some books or sites to recommend, I’d forever be grateful! It goes without say of my admiration of OFD I hope.

Oh my goodness I have SO MANY RESOURCES FOR YOU!!!!!

Unfortunately, I just left home for six weeks of traveling and all of my nautical research books are currently sitting at home on my shelves and I don’t remember all the titles off the top of my head, but I will try and tell you that I can think of that have been most helpful to me.

The East Indiamen by Russell Miller is great if you are interested in British merchant trade with India/China/Southeast Asia. It’s a great book with pictures and maps and great historical overview. http://www.amazon.com/The-East-Indiamen-Seafarers/dp/0809426919

Folklore and the Sea by Horace Beck is good for folklore at sea/sailors beliefs/tattooing/etc. http://www.amazon.com/Folklore-Sea-Maritime-Horace-Beck/dp/0913372366

The Seaman’s Friend: A Treatise on Practical Seamanship by Richard Henry Dana has been my fucking BIBILE for all things related to rigging, sails, duties on board ship, watches, bells, the division of the crew, etc. Basically when it comes to all the technicalities of life on a merchant ship this book is invaluable. http://www.amazon.com/The-Seamans-Friend-Practical-Seamanship/dp/048629918X

Now I am just going to post a bunch of random links for you to check out that have been useful to me (sorry they’re not better organized):

http://www.rmg.co.uk/explore/sea-and-ships/facts/ships-and-seafarers/life-at-sea-in-the-age-of-sail

http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Nautica.html

http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Seamanship/Seamanship.html

http://savoringthepast.net/2013/03/22/18th-century-sailors-food-ships-provisions/

http://www.thedearsurprise.com/an-introduction-to-life-at-sea-in-aubreys-royal-navy/

http://jandela.tumblr.com/

Another helpful resource is fictional works. Be sure to check out the Aubrey Maturin series by Patrick O’Brian, William Golding’s Rites of Passage, and the Horatio Hornblower novels by C.S. Forester.

Hope that helps you at least to get started!

[holmesianpose]

So in my ongoing Over Fathoms Deep research, I have returned again and again to this excellent book, The East Indiamen by Russell Miller, which is a goldmine of 18th/19th century English merchant ship research, and I just came across this passage about a young passenger onboard an East Indiamen, which is essentially EXACTLY Sherlock’s experience, from the location of his cabin to his reaction to first coming aboard:

“Seventeen-year-old Thomas Twining was one of the passengers rowed out to the Pondsbourne off Deal in April 1792, and his first few minutes on board an East Indiaman were never to be forgotten:

‘Having made a bow to the Captain and officers, whom I found upon the quarterdeck, or part between the main and mizzen masts, and glanced my eye, for a moment, upon the ship from head to stern, I inquired where my cabin was. I was conducted down a ladder to it, on the lower or gundeck, not far from the stern on the larboard side. Here, the port being shut, there was scarcely light enough for me to survey my new apartment. I soon found, also, that the ship had considerably more motion than was apparent from the boat, and that the relief which I felt in coming on board was of very short duration. For I was scarcely able to stand without laying hold of some fixed object. I also became exceedingly oppressed by a close suffocating air, and by a sickening offensive smell, to which I know nothing comparable, and can only designate it by its usual appellation on board--the smell of the ship. My head and stomach soon began to yield to this irresistible combination. I could hardly help returning to the deck to breathe a little pure air.’”

[holmesianpose]

So as a reward for finishing my first paper I think I am going to let myself actually check out some library books for Over Fathoms Deep research purposes. :D :D :D

God I am such a fucking nerd.