Posted by Paul Flint on March 28, 2001 at 23:40:34 from 195.92.67.72:
In Reply to: Names of ships, ranks of office posted by Bethany Nicholson on March 28, 2001 at 21:51:04:
I shall do my best to answer your questions, although particularly in the case of the types of sailing vessels the list is almost endless and in some cases complicated. Some of the main types of sailing vessels include:
a) Being rather pedantic, the term “ship” refers to a sailing vessel with square yards and sails on three or four masts (ie the sails are on yards across the line of the vessel). A clipper was typical of this design, with fine lines to the hull and sharp bow for speed, and masts which often had a slight rake. Famous for transporting tea and high value cargoes in the mid-late 19th Century. Eg Peter Duck's Thermopylae (I think!).
b) A barque differs from the ship rig in that the mizzen (ie rear) mast has fore-and-aft sails only. This means that a smaller crew can be used to handle the vessel. This style of vessel can have three, four or even five masts.
c) A brig is a two-masted sailing vessel, with square sails on both masts, a spanker on the rear mast (a fore and aft sail), and fore and aft staysails and jibs. Often used as coastal trading vessels in the past.
d) The brigantine has two masts, the foremast fully suare-rigged and the main mast fore-and-aft rigged.
e) A schooner (eg Wild Cat)is a fore-and-aft rigged vessel with two or more masts, often referred to by distinguishing features of the rig: topsail, gaff schooner, etc. On a two-masted schooner the foremast is shorter than or the same height as the main mast.
f) A cutter has one mast, and mainsail and two headsails (eg Goblin).
g) A sloop has one mast, a mainsail and one headsail.
h) The ketch and yawl both have two masts. The foremast is always taller than the mizzen (rear) mast. The two types differ in that in the ketch the mizzen mast is well forward of the stern and the rudder; whereas in the yawl the mizzen mast is behind the position of the rudder and sometimes right at the stern fixed to the transom.
The Royal and Merchant Navies differ in the names given to their officers and ratings. Eagle-eyed “salts” may notice some errors below. Let me know if you do. In the Royal Navy commissioned officers’ ranks run from Midshipman (most junior) to Admiral of the Fleet (top dog).
Royal Navy
Commissioned officers:
Midshipman (white collar badge)
Sub-Lieutenant (gold stripe)
Lieutenant (two gold stripes)
Lieutenant Commander (two and half gold stripes)
Commander (three gold stripes)
Captain (four gold stripes)
Commodore (one very thick gold stripe)
Rear Admiral
Vice Admiral
Admiral
Admiral of the Fleet (one very thick gold stripe and four other stripes)
Ratings (ie non-commissioned)
There are lots of different types of ratings, according to the work in which they specialise (eg seamanship, engineering, communications, etc). Below I have listed the names which are used in several branches and with which most people are likely to be familiar:
Ordinary Rate (eg Ordinary Seaman)
Able rate (eg Able Seaman)
Leading (eg Leading Seaman)
Petty Officer
Chief Petty Officer
Fleet Chief Petty Officer
Merchant Navy
I am not familiar with the Merchant Navy structure, and there are much better qualified people to comment on this. It does not correspond directly to the Royal Navy system, and is (or used to be) along the following lines:
Uncertified Officer (ie most junior officer rank)
Third Officer (or Third Mate)
Second Officer (or Second Mate)
Chief Officer (or First Mate)
Master (possesses a Master’s Certificate and commands a ship)
Petty Officers include the Boatswain (Bosun), Carpenter, etc. There are several different departments, each with its own terminology (engineers, cooks, radio departments, etc).
I hope that this helps, and triggers off some sort of discussion!