Boatswain

Last updated
Boatswain
Bosun2.jpg
The boatswain aboard a US merchant ship stands cargo watch as freight is lowered into an open hatch, c.1981
General
Other namesBosun
Deck Boss
Petty Officer
Chief rate
Department Deck department
LicensedNo
RequirementsTypically, able seaman certificate
Watchstanding
Watch (at sea)On smaller vessels (varies)
Watch (in port)On smaller vessels (varies)

A boatswain ( /ˈboʊsən/ BOH-sən, formerly and dialectally also /ˈboʊtsweɪn/ BOHT-swayn), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, is the most senior rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. The boatswain supervises the other members of the ship's deck department, and typically is not a watchstander, except on vessels with small crews. Additional duties vary depending upon ship, crew, and circumstances.

Contents

History

Boatswain of the Royal Navy, c. 1820 Royal Navy Boatswain 1820.jpg
Boatswain of the Royal Navy, c. 1820

The word boatswain has been in the English language since approximately 1450. It is derived from late Old English batswegen, from bat (boat) concatenated with Old Norse sveinn ( swain ), meaning a young man, apprentice, a follower, retainer or servant. Directly translated to modern Norwegian it would be båtsvenn, while the actual crew title in Norwegian is båtsmann ("boats-man"). While the phonetic spelling bosun is reported as having been observed since 1868, [1] this latter spelling was used in Shakespeare's The Tempest written in 1611, and as bos'n in later editions.[ citation needed ]

Royal Navy

The rank of boatswain is the oldest rank in the Royal Navy, and its origins can be traced back to the year 1040. [2] In that year, when five English ports began furnishing warships to King Edward the Confessor in exchange for certain privileges, they also furnished crews whose officers were the master, boatswain, carpenter, and cook. [3] Later these officers were warranted by the British Admiralty. They maintained and sailed the ships and were the standing officers of the navy. [3] The boatswain was the officer responsible for the care of the rigging, cordage, anchors, sails, boats, flags and other stores.[ citation needed ]

The Royal Navy's last official boatswain, Commander E.W. Andrew OBE, retired in 1990. [2] However, most RN vessels still have a Chief Boatswain's Mate (or "Buffer"), who is the most senior rating in the Seaman Specialist department.[ citation needed ]

The rank of cadet boatswain, in some schools, is the second highest rank in the combined cadet force naval section that a cadet can attain, below the rank of coxswain and above the rank of leading hand. It is equivalent to the rank of colour sergeant in the army and the royal marines cadets; it is sometimes an appointment for a senior petty officer to assist a coxswain.[ citation needed ]

Job description

Boatswain of Felix von Luckners yacht Seeteufel, smoking a pipe and hosing the vessel's deck Boatswain Karl Muller smoking a pipe and hosing the deck of SEETEUFEL (9611943840).jpg
Boatswain of Felix von Luckners yacht Seeteufel, smoking a pipe and hosing the vessel's deck

The boatswain works in a ship's deck department as the foreman of the unlicensed (crew members without a mate's licence) deck crew. Sometimes, the boatswain is also a third or fourth mate. [4] A boatswain must be highly skilled in all matters of marlinespike seamanship required for working on deck of a seagoing vessel. The boatswain is distinguished from other able seamen by the supervisory roles: planning, scheduling, and assigning work. [5]

As deck crew foreman, the boatswain plans the day's work and assigns tasks to the deck crew. As work is completed, the boatswain checks on completed work for compliance with approved operating procedures. [5]

Outside the supervisory role, the boatswain regularly inspects the vessel and performs a variety of routine, skilled, and semi-skilled duties to maintain all areas of the ship not maintained by the engine department. These duties can include cleaning, painting, and maintaining the vessel's hull, superstructure and deck equipment as well as executing a formal preventive maintenance program. [5] A boatswain's skills may include cargo rigging, winch operations, deck maintenance, working aloft, and other duties required during deck operations. The boatswain is well versed in the care and handling of lines, and has knowledge of knots, hitches, bends, whipping, and splices as needed to perform tasks such as mooring a vessel. The boatswain typically operates the ship's windlasses when letting go and heaving up anchors. Moreover, a boatswain may be called upon to lead firefighting efforts or other emergency procedures encountered on board. Effective boatswains are able to integrate their seafarer skills into supervising and communicating with members of deck crew with often diverse backgrounds. [5]

Originally, on board sailing ships the boatswain was in charge of a ship's anchors, cordage, colours, deck crew and the ship's boats. The boatswain would also be in charge of the rigging while the ship was in dock. The boatswain's technical tasks were modernised with the advent of steam engines and subsequent mechanisation. [4]

A boatswain also is responsible for doing routine pipes using what is called a boatswain's call. There are specific sounds which can be made with the pipe to indicate various events, such as emergency situations or notifications of meal time.[ citation needed ]

Notable boatswains

A number of boatswains and naval boatswains mates have achieved fame. Reuben James and William Wiley are famous for their heroism in the Barbary Wars and are namesakes of the ships USS Reuben James and USS Wiley. [6] [7] Medal of Honor recipients Francis P. Hammerberg [8] and George Robert Cholister [9] were U.S. Navy boatswain's mates, as was Navy Cross recipient Stephen Bass. [10] Victoria Cross recipients John Sheppard, John Sullivan, Henry Curtis, and John Harrison were Royal Navy boatswain's mates.

During World War II Bosun John Crisp RN is credited in "The Colditz Story" by escapee Pat Reid as providing, whilst a prisoner of war at Oflag IV-C, Colditz Castle, the expertise and enthusiasm to manufacture torn and then woven "bedsheet ropes", tested for appropriate strength, using his extensive maritime experience.

There are also a handful of boatswains and boatswain's mates in literature. The boatswain in William Shakespeare's The Tempest is a central character in the opening scene, which takes place aboard a ship at sea, and appears again briefly in the final scene. Typhoon by Joseph Conrad has a nameless boatswain who tells Captain MacWhirr of a "lump" of men going overboard during the peak of the storm. Also, the character Bill Bobstay in Gilbert and Sullivan's musical comedy H.M.S. Pinafore is alternatively referred to as a "bos'un" [11] and a "boatswain's mate". [12] Another boatswain from literature is Smee from Peter Pan . [13] Lord Byron had a Newfoundland dog named Boatswain. [14] Byron wrote the famous poem "Epitaph to a Dog" and had a monument made for him at Newstead Abbey. [14] The 1907 naval gothic novel The Boats of the "Glen Carrig" by William Hope Hodgson features the character of the ship's “bo'sun” as an important member of the crew and a personal friend to the narrator. [15]

Billy Bones was a boatswain in the fictional Starz TV show Black Sails .

Scouting

Quartermaster is the highest rank in the Sea Scouts, BSA, an older youth (13–21) co-ed programme. The youth can also elect a youth leader, giving that youth the title "boatswain". In the Netherlands, a boatswain (Bootsman) is the patrol leader of a Sea Scout patrol (Bak); in Flanders, it is the assistant patrol leader of a Sea Scout patrol (Kwartier).[ citation needed ]

See also

Notes

This article incorporates text from public-domain sources, including websites. For specific sources of text, see notes.

  1. ↑ "Boatswain". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
  2. 1 2 "HMS Victory". royalnavy.mod.uk. Royal Navy. Archived from the original on 2007-01-13. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
  3. 1 2 "Why is the colonel called "kernal"? The origin of the ranks and rank insignia now used by the United States Armed Forces". Naval Historical Center. United States Navy. 2005-07-20. Archived from the original on 1998-07-03. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
  4. 1 2 Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Boatswain"  . Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 100.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Oregon University System, 2004
  6. ↑ "Ship's Namesake". USS Reuben James Official Website. Archived from the original on 2007-05-09. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
  7. ↑ Naval Historical Center (1981). "Wiley". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. United States Navy. Archived from the original on 2007-11-14. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
  8. ↑ Naval Historical Center (1981). "Hammerberg". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. United States Navy. Archived from the original on 2010-12-07. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
  9. ↑ Naval Historical Center (1997). "Navy Medal of Honor: Interim Period 1920–1940". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. United States Navy. Archived from the original on 1997-07-09. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
  10. ↑ "CPO Stephen Bass, U.S.N." LegionOfValor.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-07. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
  11. ↑ See quote from "The Complete Annotated Gilbert & Sullivan" at .
  12. ↑ See quote from S.W. Gilbert in "The story of the H.M.S. Pinafore" at .
  13. ↑ J M Barrie (December 27, 1904). "Act II: The Never Land". Peter Pan or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up . Retrieved 2007-05-27– via Project Gutenberg.
  14. 1 2 Clinton, George (1828). Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Lord Byron. London: James Robbins and Company. pp.  8 . Retrieved 2007-05-27. Boatswain.
  15. ↑ The boats of the "Glen Carrig" by William Hope Hodgeson, 1907.

Related Research Articles

Maritime transport Transport of people or goods via waterways

Maritime transport and hydraulic effluvial transport, or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers) or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by sea has been widely used throughout recorded history. The advent of aviation has diminished the importance of sea travel for passengers, though it is still popular for short trips and pleasure cruises. Transport by water is cheaper than transport by air, despite fluctuating exchange rates and a fee placed on top of freighting charges for carrier companies known as the currency adjustment factor. Maritime transport accounts for roughly 80% of international trade, according to UNCTAD in 2020.

A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada, Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Kenya.

United States Merchant Marine U.S. civilian mariners

United States Merchant Marine refers to United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, and engage in commerce or transportation of goods and services in and out of the navigable waters of the United States. The Merchant Marine primarily transports cargo and passengers during peacetime; in times of war, the Merchant Marine can be an auxiliary to the United States Navy, and can be called upon to deliver military personnel and materiel for the military. Merchant Marine officers may also be commissioned as military officers by the Department of Defense. This is commonly achieved by commissioning unlimited tonnage Merchant Marine officers as Strategic Sealift Officers in the United States Navy Reserve.

LCM-8

The LCM-8 is a river boat and mechanized landing craft used by the United States Navy and Army during the Vietnam War and subsequent operations. They are currently used by governments and private organizations throughout the world. The acronym stands for "Landing Craft Mechanized, Mark 8".

The coxswain is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from cock, referring to the cockboat, a type of ship's boat, and swain, an Old English term derived from the Old Norse sveinn meaning boy or servant. In 1724, a "cockswain" was defined as "An officer of a ship who takes care of the cockboat, barge or shallop, with all its furniture, and is in readiness with his crew to man the boat on all occasions." When the term "cockboat" became obsolete, the title of coxswain as the person in charge of a ship's boat remained.

This is a glossary of nautical terms; some remain current, while many date from the 17th to 19th centuries.

Quartermaster Army supply personnel or naval enlisted rating

Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In many navies, a quartermaster is an officer with particular responsibility for steering and signals. The seaman is a non-commissioned officer rank; in some others, it is not a rank but a role related to navigation.

Boatswains call Whistle used for communication onboard naval ships

A boatswain's call, pipe or bosun's whistle is a pipe or a non-diaphragm type whistle used on naval ships by a boatswain.

Third mate

A third mate (3/M) or third officer is a licensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. The third mate is a watchstander and customarily the ship's safety officer and fourth-in-command. The position is junior to a second mate. Other duties vary depending on the type of ship, its crewing, and other factors.

Seafaring is a tradition that encompasses a variety of professions and ranks. Each of these roles carries unique responsibilities that are integral to the successful operation of a seafaring vessel. A ship's crew can generally be divided into four main categories: the deck department, the engineering department, the steward's department, and other. The reasoning behind this is that a ship's bridge, filled with sophisticated navigational equipment, requires skills differing from those used on deck operations – such as berthing, cargo and/or military devices – which in turn requires skills different from those used in a ship's engine room and propulsion, and so on.

Boatswain is the seniormost rate of the deck department.

USS <i>Cincinnati</i> (1861) Gunboat of the United States Navy

The City-class ironclad USS Cincinnati was a stern-wheel casemate gunboat in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for Cincinnati, Ohio, and was the first ship to bear that name in the United States Navy.

Buffer is the colloquial title for the senior seaman sailor in a Commonwealth of Nations navy ship. The formal title is chief boatswain's mate.

Able seaman Unlicensed member of the deck department of ship

An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination of these roles. Once a sufficient amount of sea time is acquired, then the AB can apply to take a series of courses/examinations to become certified as an officer.

Boatswains mate (United States Navy) United States Navy rating

The United States Navy occupational rating of boatswain's mate is a designation given by the Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) to enlisted members who were rated or "striking" for the rating as a deck seaman. The colloquial form of address for a boatswain's mate is "Boats".

Boatswains mate (United States Coast Guard) US Coast Guard job classification

The boatswain's mate is a position in the United States Coast Guard. A boatswain's mate is a versatile role, with those holding the role expected to be capable of nearly any job in a Coast Guard vessel. The tasks include deck maintenance, navigation duties, and navigation. They can also take the helm of a ship when needed.

Sailor Person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in doing so

A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship.

USS <i>YP-26</i> Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

YP-26 was a former U.S. Coast Guard wooden patrol boat which saw later duty with the U.S. Navy until destroyed in a 1942 accident.

British merchant seamen of World War II Military unit

Merchant seamen crewed the ships of the British Merchant Navy which kept the United Kingdom supplied with raw materials, arms, ammunition, fuel, food and all of the necessities of a nation at war throughout World War II — literally enabling the country to defend itself. In doing this, they sustained a considerably greater casualty rate than almost every other branch of the armed services and suffered great hardship. Seamen were aged from fourteen through to their late seventies.

This is a list of nautical terms starting with the letters M to Z.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.