I thought I’d take you on a little trip into the world of ship terminology but in summary form.
The word ship itself comes from the Anglo-Saxon scip or the Gothic skip, both meaning boat. But there is also a distinction, because when we say boat we mean a small vessel without decks that is or can be transported on a ship.
At the back is the stern and at the front is the bow with the head, the ship’s toilet and the figurehead.
From Greek and Roman antiquity until long after the Grand Armada of 1588, warships carried soldiers accustomed to conducting sieges on land as an offensive force. The soldier on land felt secure in his castle, even though a castle is essentially for defence, and When one went to sea to fight battles, warships had to be equipped with castles. In fact, there were two self-contained castles in each ship, one forward and one aft, known as the forecastle and the aftercastle. From these castles, soldiers fired slingshots, longbows and crossbows. These castles almost disappeared with the advent of muzzle-loading cannons, as the weight was too great. This is almost recognizable in the galleons of the late 16th-early 17th century. Where the forecastle was only one deck high and the aftercastle still quite high. The name forecastle has survived over the years, albeit often in a shortened spelling and always abbreviated in pronunciation, the famous fo'c'sle.
In the course of the 17th century, the afercastle became the quarterdeck, the officers’ quarter, on which the wheel was located from 1740. Before that, the whipstaff was located slightly below and not on the maindeck. If there was a cabin on the quarterdeck and a deck above it, it was called the poop deck.
Between the forecastle and the aftercastle was a large area called the waist, which was open until the early 19th century. century, exposing the gun deck below. This gave sailors quicker access to the guns and reduced the ship’s weight. From 1805 onwards, it became more and more standard to close the deck and this became a whole upper deck or maindeck, with accesses and vents that were covered with gratings.
In between were the gundecks with the great cabin and the wardroom and the berth deck with the gunroom, the places where the guns and crew lived. Under this was the orlop deck, which was an ideal storage area and at the same time a recreation room for some of the ship’s crew. Since the deck did not have to be cleared or converted during combat operations, cabins and rooms placed here were permanent and could even be locked. This was also the place where the surgeon could be found.
At the bottom is the hold, the area where the ballast was stored and the barrels with the supplies. On the side of the ship were large square recesses, the gunports, which have existed since the 1520s, from which the guns were fired.
The masts, often three (mizzenmast, mainmast and foremast) from the 16th century onwards, often carried a platform. These were known as tops, which were placed halfway up the masts to provide a point of attachment for various rigging and to serve as a fighting platform; the topmen, the hands that worked at the top, were the most nimble of sailors and were considered the crème de la crème of sailors.
Before the invention of the rudder in the 12th century, a ship was steered with a long oar or sweep fitted over the stern on the right or steer board side of the ship. The Norse were the first to use a single oar; Greek and Roman ships had two steering oars, often connected and controlled by a tiller. It is not known why the Vikings had chosen the starboard side; their choice, however, became universal.
In the course of time the term steerboard changed to starboard; it has no connection at all with stars. It was found awkward to put a ship alongside a jetty on the side this oar was shipped. By preference ships were put alongside starboard side outboard. A plank was put across from shore to ship, and over it stores were embarked. This plank or board was called the ladeboard or loadboard, later larboard. There was doubtless much confusion over the use of the terms larboard and starboard, but after 1580 there was a way out. The French with their high ships’ sides devised a shortcut to handling cargo: they cut a loading door or ports its in the ship's side- known as port side. If you go near the direction towards the back it is aft and towards the front it is foreward.
