Worm, Parcel & Serve

This is where the domain of the boatswain and the sailmaker professions overlap. Where sails meet ropes.

WORMING is winding small lines or spunyarn along the cuntline of a rope, to produce a fair surface for serving.

PARCELLING is encircling a rope, after it is wormed, with narrow pieces of old canvas, well tarred, to make a fair surface for the serving.

SERVING is winding small line or spunyarn tightly round a rope by a mallet, to preserve it from wet, &c. The line or spunyarn being wound up in a ball, two or more turns are taken from it round the rope, confining the end under the turns; the mallet is then placed on the rope, and 2 or more yarns are passed round the rope and mallet, and round the handle, then, turning the mallet (whilst another person passes the ball round the rope,) it leaves the spunyarn on the rope, and draws it tight.

General Instructions for Warrant Officers

The Warrant Officer of His Majesty’s Ships, when in Ordinary, are to examine frequently the condition of the store-rooms appointed to receive their respective Stores, and are to inform the Master Shipwright of the Dock Yard of any defects in them which may require to be repaired; that they may be fit to receive the Stores whenever the Ship shall be put into Commission; and when any Ship is commissioned, the Warrant Officers are to use their utmost endeavors to get the Stores on board as expeditiously as the other duties, necessary to equipment the Ship, will admit.

II.

When they receive Stores on board, whether at the fitting out of the Ship, or in any subsequent supply, they are to be very particular in ascertaining that they are good in quality, and that they receive the full quantity specified in the Note sent with them; and they are immediately to report to the Captain any defect or deficiency which they may discover and them.

III.

They are to indent for all the Stores they receive from His Majesty's Dock yards, as well as from His Majesty's Ordinance Magazines, before the Ship proceeds to Sea; and they are to be very careful in observing that they do really receive all those for which they indent, as they will always be considered as having received them.

They are to keep an account, according to the forms delivered to them, of the receipt, expenditure, (expressed in words, and not in figures) condemnation by survey, or supplying of Stores; always specifying the Place where, and the Person from whom, the Stores are received, or the Person to whom they are supplied.

There should not be any interlineations in the accounts of stores expended; but if an Officer shall discover that he had forgotten to insert it in its proper place the expenditure of any article which generally been expended; he is to represent the circumstances to the Master who, being satisfied of the truth of such representations, is to allow it to be inserted in the account of expenses for the next month, and to note his having done so in the Ship's Log-book, specifying in both the reason for being so inserted.

No waste of Stores not perishable will ever be allowed, except from unavoidable accidents, which are to be particularly mentioned in the Log-book, where the quantity of every article is to be specified. Two of the Principal Officers present at such accident are to certified that it happened; and if the quantity of the Stores lost be considerable, the quantity remaining is to be ascertained by Survey.

VII

If Stores of any description be lost or damaged through the neglect, or by the misconduct, of any Officer or other Person; the Officer having charge of such stores is to report such misconduct or neglect to the Captain, that the value of the Stores may be charged against the wages of the Person guilty of it.

VIII

Every Officer shall be responsible for the conduct of his Yeomen, to whom he is not to entrust the keeping of those accounts; but is to keep them with great accuracy himself. He is most carefully to avoid the stating of any Stores as being expended which has not been used, or the stating of them as having been expended for any other purpose than those to which they were actually applied.

Every Officer shall be responsible for any errors he makes in his accounts; and he shall pay out of his wages the full value of all Stores not properly accounted for, or improperly expended, unless he shall produce an order from his Captain to expend them in a manner contrary to the regulations contained in these Instructions, and the allowed practice of the service.

Officers are not to suffer the Yeoman to take the stores from the store-rooms without their express order. They are frequently to examine the quantity remaining, and if they have doubts of it being as great as it ought to be, they are to apply for its being surveyed.

When they are supplied with Stores by other Officers whether of the same Ship or of any other, they are to charge themselves with those Stores, and are to mention their having done so in the receipt they give for them.

XII

One Officer shall not supply another with Stores, nor lend any, without an order in writing from the Captain; and when he does supply or lend them, he is to demand a receipt in which the quantity of every article is to be written in words at length, and in which it is to be mentioned by whose order they were supplied: he is also to give under his hand, to the Officer supplied, a voucher of delivery, specifying the Stores with the same peculiarity as the receipt.

XIII

Officers when appropriating rope, canvas, or any other article to use, are to be very attentive to conform to the established length and other dimensions of whatever it may be intended to make.

XIV

When they convert Stores to any other use than that for which they were originally intended, they are to expend them, in their accounts, as having been so converted, and are to charge themselves with whatever they convert them into.

One Masts, Sails, Colours or other Stores are blown away or lost, they are to be very particular in the quantity they expend in that manner, as they will probably be required to make oath to the truth of that part of their accounts.

XVI

When Stores are damaged or worn out, the officer who has charge of them is to apply to the Captain for their being surveyed; and after their being surveyed, he has to be careful to apply them to whatever use the surveying Officers shall appoint, charging himself with those articles into which he may be directed to convert them.

XVII

They are to visit their store-rooms very frequently to see that they are kept clean, that they are well aired, and that the Stores are so arranged, as to admit of any part of them being easily got at when wanted.

XVIII

They are never to carry, nor to suffer others to carry, lights into their store-rooms except in good lanthorns, the doors of which are never to be opened in the store-rooms.

XIX

They are strictly charged not to put into the magazine, the wings, or any of the store-rooms, any wine or spirituous liquors; nor to keep any quantity in their cabins, except such as the Captain shall expressly permit them to keep there.

When the Ship his to be dismantled, either for the purpose of being refitted or being paid off, they are to be particularly careful in preventing their Stores, Rigging, &c. from being cut, or in any way damaged; they are to see that all the Stores they send from the Ship are tallied, and very carefully put into the Boats or Vessels which are to carry them, and to take every possible precaution to prevent their receiving damage in their way to the store-houses.

XXI

When a Warrant Officer is about to be removed from a Ship, or when he wishes to pass his accounts, which he will be allowed to do at the end of every twelve calendar Months, he is to apply to the Captain for a survey on his Stores, who will obtain from his Commanding Officer an order for the purpose, if his Ship be not alone and under such command, otherwise the Captain is himself to order the survey, that the quantity of Stores remaining on board may be correctly ascertained.

XXII

When a Warrant Officer dies, the Captain is immediately to apply to the Commanding Officer present, to order, or if the Ship be alone he is himself a order, a survey on the Stores remaining on board, one Copy of the Report of such survey is to be sealed up with the papers of the Officer who died, and another Copy is to be delivered to his Successor to be considered as his first charge.

XXIII

As all Warrant Officers may at times be called to survey Stores, they are strictly charged to perform that duty with the utmost attention, and to make all their reports with the strictest truth and impartiality, so that when called on, they may be able to conscientiously to make oath to the correctness of the report they have made.

XXIV

When ordered to survey Stores represented as being unfit for service, they are to examine every part of them very carefully, and if they find them unfit for the service for which they were originally intended, they are to point out in their report any other service to which they may be appropriated.

XXV

When ordered to survey Stores for the purpose of ascertaining the quantity, whether to enable the Officer, in whose charge they are placed, to pass accounts, or to transfer them from one Officer to another; they are not to take any account of any part of them, from the Officer who has charge of them but, as far as it shall be possible for them to do so, they are themselves to ascertain their real quantity.

Admiralty

1808 Regulations and Instructions Relating to His Majesty's Service at Sea. Winchester & Son. Strand, London.

Tall Ships Duluth 2016

Fifty members of Western Lakes Station participated in the Tall Ships Duluth event. While a final figure for attendance is yet in coming, it is estimated that over 250,000 visitors, that's right, a quarter of a million visitors were on the ground. Many visitors to the camp were very appreciative of our efforts and thanked us for sharing our knowledge.

If you are interested in joining our little band of brothers and sisters, drop us a line.

Fair winds and a following sea!

Mustering by Divisions

The Sabbath came, and it brought with it a stiff breeze. We usually made a sort of holiday of this sacred day. After breakfast it was common to muster the entire crew on the spar deck, dressed as the fancy of the captain might dictate; in blue jackets and white trowsers, or blue jackets and blue trowsers; at other times in blue jackets, scarlet vests, and blue or white trowsers; with our bright anchor buttons glancing in the sun, and our black, glossy hats, ornamented with black ribbons, and with the name of our ship painted on them (Leech 71).

Leech, Samuel

1999 A Voice from the Main Deck. Chatham. London

The electronic edition can be found here: Thirty Years from Home; Or A Voice from the Main Deck

Regulations & Instructions for the Gunner

Midshipman Swanson learning to crew a great gun with the Provincial Marine Amhurseburg.

For the Gunner
Article I

As soon as one of his Majesty's ships is ordered to be commissioned, the gunner is to apply to the storekeeper of the ordnance at the port for the established number of guns, with the proper quantity of ammunition and stores, which he is a carefully to examine before they are put into the hoys, and he is to report to the storekeeper any imperfections or deficiencies he may discover in them.

The gunner, having received directions for that purpose from the captain, is to inform the storekeeper when the ship will be ready to receive the guns; he is to attend to receive them on board, and is to see that every gun is put into its proper carriage, and placed in its proper port; No. 1 being the foremost gun on the larboard side, and No. 2 the foremost on the starboard side on each deck.

III

He is, whenever other duties will admit of it, to employ his mates and the men of his crew, in fitting the breechings and tackles, that they may be ready for the guns when they are carried on board.

He is to examine very carefully into the state of the Magazine, that he may be certain of it being properly fitted and perfectly dried, before the power is carried on board; but if he should find any appearance of dampness, he is to report it to the Captain that it be properly dried.

He is to inform the Captain when the powder will be ready to be sent on board, that the fire in the galley may be put out, before the vessel which carries it is suffered to go alongside. While the powder is taking into the ship, no candles are to be kept lighted, except those in the light room; nor is any man to be allowed to smoke tobacco. As soon as the whole is stowed in the Magazine, the Gunner is to see the doors, a light room and the scuttle carefully secured, and is to deliver the keys to the Captain, or to such other Officer as he shall appoint to take charge of them.

The powder is to be taken on board at the following places only, unless ordered otherwise on particular occasions, viz; Plymouth Sound or Cawsand Bay, Spithead, Blackstakes, Longreach, River Thames; and Ships being ordered into any port are to take out their powder before they pass either of those places.

VII

He is never to go into the Magazine without being ordered to go there. He is never to allow the doors of the Magazine to be opened but by himself; he is not to open them until the proper Officer is in the light-room; and he is to be very careful in observing that the men who go into the Magazine have not about than anything which can strike fire, and he must take care that no person enters the Magazine without wearing the leather slippers supplied by the Ordnance.

VIII

He is never to keep any quantity of powder in any other part of the Ship than the Magazine, except that which the captain shall order be kept in the powder-boxes, or powder horns on deck; and when he delivers cartridge from the Magazine, he is to be very particular in observing that they are in cases is properly shut. And whenever it may be necessary to remove powder from the Ship, he is to use the utmost caution that all the passages to the Magazine may be wetted so that accidents may be prevented.

He is not to stave, nor to convert to any other use, the empty powder barrels; but is to keep them and, when the Ship comes into port, to return them to the store-keeper of the Ordnance, who is to directed to pay him one shilling for every empty barrel he shall return in good condition. He is to mark with white paint, in legible characters, those barrels into which powder has been returned from cartridges.

He is to turn the barrels of powder once at least in every three months, to prevent the separation of the nitre from the other ingredients of the powder; he is also to examine frequently the barrels and, if he finds any of them defective, he is to remove the powder into some other barrels which have been emptied. He is frequently to examine the cartridges which are filled, that he may remove the powder from any of them that he finds defective.

When powder of various quantities shall be sent on board, he is to very attentive in using them in the order which the Board of Ordnance shall prescribe.

XII

When any extra quantity of Stores or Ammunition is supplied for Foreign Service, he is to be attentive to use those first which have been the longest time on board, unless he shall receive particular directions to the contrary.

XIII

He is frequently to examine the state of the guns, their locks and carriages that they may be immediately repaired or exchanged if they be defective; and he is frequently to examine the musketry, and all the other small arms, to see that they are kept clean and in every respect perfectly fit for service.

XIV

He is to be attentive in keeping the shot-racks full of shot; the powder horns and boxes of priming tub[e]s full, and a sufficient quantity of a match primed and ready for being lighted at the shortest notice.

Guns receive from the Ordnance Stores shall be scaled before they are loaded for service, and if it shall be necessary to scale them at any other time, the Gunner shall represent it to the Captain who is to give him an order for that purpose, in which the cause of it being done is to be particularly specified.

XVI

In filling cartridges, whether for service, or for scaling, he is never to exceed the quantity specified in the table (No. 29) in the Appendix, but he is to fill a sufficient number to be ready for quick firing, with such reduced quantities as the Captain shall direct.

XVII

When a Ship is preparing for battle, he is to be particularly attentive to see that all the quarters are supplied with every thing necessary for the service of the guns, the boarders, firemen, &c. he is to see all the screens thoroughly wetted, and hung round the hatchways, and from them to the Magazine before he opens the Magazine doors.

XVIII

He is, during an action, to take all opportunities of filling powder, that there be no cessation of firing for want of ammunition; he is to be attentive to send out cartridges with a quantity a powder reduced or increased as the Captain shall, from time to time, sent him directions.

XIX

After an engagement he is to apply to the Captain for a survey on the powder, shot and all other Stores remaining under his charge, that the quantity expended in the engagement may be ascertained.

When he is exercising the men at the guns, he is to see that they perform every part of their exercise with the utmost correctness, particularly explaining to them, and strongly enforcing, the necessity of their pointing the guns carefully before the fire them, and of spunging them well, with the touch-hole close stopped immediately after they've been fired.

XXI

He is to supply, at such times as the Captain shall direct, ammunition for the guns and musketry, not exceeding in each month, for six months after the guns are first received on board, one charge of powder and one round of shot for one third of the number of upper deck guns, in Ships of two or three decks; or one fourth Ships of one deck; and twelve charges of musket cartridge with ball and twenty-four without ball, for each man of one third part of the Seamen of the Ship's company, and for all the Marines; not exceeding, after the first six months, one half that quantity for the guns, or muskets.

XXII

He is to be careful in keeping the boxes of hand grenades and grape-shot in dry places, and to expose frequently the grape shop to the sun and wind, to prevent the bags from being mildewed. He is never to start the hand-grenades; but is to return those which are not used in the boxes in which he received them.

XXIII

He is never to allow any match to be burnt in the day, nor more than two length at the same time in the night, without being ordered so to do by the Captain. When match is burning, it is always to hang over water in tubs, and the Gunner's Mate of the watch is to attend it.

XXIV

If a detachment of Seamen or Marines shall at any time be sent from the Ship, the Gunner is to make out an inventories of the arms, ammunition and Stores which are sent with it, which is to be signed by the Officer appointed to command the detachment, and to be witnessed by the Captain's Clerk, who is to examine the quantity supplied. And on the return of the detachment, the Gunner, in presence of the Officer who commanded it and the Captain's Clerk is to examine the arms, &c. which are brought back, and to report the deficiency if any, in each article two the Captain; who, from the manner in which the Officer shall account for such deficiency, will determine whether it be proper to allow the articles to be expanded by the Gunner in his accounts, or charged against the pay of the Officer or any person under him, but whose carelessness or misconduct the whole or any part of them was lost or destroyed.

XXV

When a salute is to be fired, the Gunner is to be very attentive to take such precautions in drawing the guns as may insure there not being a shot in any of them; and if Vessels of any description be so near as to risk the[m] being damaged by the wads, he is to draw them also; and he is to lay up and point the guns so as to prevent their doing mischief, although a wad or shot, notwithstanding the precautions he is taken, may have been left in one of them.

XXVI

He is to take every possible precaution to prevent any ball cartridges been given to the men, among the blank cartridges issued to exercise.

XXVII

Whenever he shall be directed to strike any guns into the hold, he is to pay them all over with a thick coat of warm tar and tallow mixed together; and after having washed the bore of the gun with fresh water and very carefully spunged and dried the inside, he is to put a good full wad, dipped in the same mixture, about a foot within the muzzle, and is to see that the tompion is well driven into and surrounded with putty, and he is to drive a cork tight into the touch-hole and to secure it there.

XXVIII

He is to be extremely attentive in examining all the guns, in seeing them carefully drawn and thoroughly spunged before they are returned into store. He is also to examine very carefully the Magazine, to see that no loose powder remains in any part of it after the powder has been returned into store; and is to be very careful that there are not any cartridges left in the cartouch-boxes, when they are sent on shore.

XXIX

He is to be very careful of the tools he receives from the storekeeper of the Ordnance for the use of the armourer, whom he is to furnish with such only as he may want for immediate use; and he is to require him to account particularly for all those with which he shall be furnished.

XXX

He is to be very attentive to the conduct of the armourer, in his mates, to see that they discharge their duty properly; that they keep the muskets, and other small arms clean and in good order, always repairing them, when they are defective, and not suffering them through neglect to become too bad to be repaired. At the end of the voyage, or at any other time that the Ship's company is paid, he is to give the armourer and his mates certificates of their good conduct, if they shall have so perform their duty as to deserve them; but not otherwise.

XXXI

If, from any extraordinary circumstances, when the ship is on Foreign station, the small arms should be so damaged that they cannot be cleaned or repaired by the armourer; the Gunner is to represent their Condition to the Captain, who is to direct a Lieutenant and the Master to survey them, and if their report shall confirm the representation of the Gunner, he is to apply to the Commander-in-Chief to give orders for their being repaired; but as the Commander-in-Chief be not present, the Captain is himself to get them repaired by workmen on shore, being very careful not to pay more for their repair than the established price of the country; the Gunner is to attend frequently, and the armourer constantly, to see that the work is properly done; but if there be an Officer of the Ordnance at the place, the Captain is to direct him to get them repaired.

XXXII

As the Brass Sheaves and Iron Pins of Blocks for Gun-tackles, from being much exposed to Salt Water, are frequently set fast with rust, he is to be particularly attentive when this is the case, to cause the iron pins to be knocked out, to be oiled or greased.

XXXIII

He is to be very careful not to suffer the bare Gun metal Adzes, which are supplied by the Ordnance for the use of the Magazine, to be struck against the Copper hoops of the Powder barrels; but always to have the wooden setters applied to them, to convey the stroke from the Adze, there been several instances of strong sparks of fire being produced from the Collision of a Metal adze against a Metal setter, or a Copper hoop.

Regulations and Instructions for the Cook

"Cook" (Repro ID: PW5940) from the collections of the Royal Museums Greenwich - National Maritime Museum

For the Cook.

Article one.

No person is to be rated as Cook who is not appointed by a warrant from the Commissioners of the Navy, to entitle him to which he must be a Pensioner of the Chest at Greenwich.

II.

The cook is to have a charge of the steep-tub, and the meat put into it, and he is to be held responsible for any part of it which shall be lost through his want of care.

III.

He is to see that the steep-tub is at all times well secured, and he is to be particular in examining it when there is an appearance of blowing weather; but if, notwithstanding his attention, it should be washed away, or lost by any accident which he could not prevent, he is to obtain from the Captain a certificate of the manner in which it was lost, and is to make oath to the number of pieces of meat that were lost in it, but they may be allowed to the Purser in his accounts.

IV.

He is to see that the salt meat properly watered, and that all provisions are very carefully and cleanly boiled; and that they are served out to the men according to the established practice of the Navy.

When fresh meat is served, he is to be attentive and seeing the greens, and all other vegetables that are to be boiled with it, very carefully washed before they are put into the coppers; and when he serves on soup or burgou, he is strictly charged to do it without any partiality, giving to every man, as nearly as possible, in equal quantity.

VI.

He is not, on any account, to give the skimmings of the coppers in which salt meat has been boiled to the men, either to mix with their puddings, or to use in any other manner, as scarcely any thing more unwholesome, or more likely to produce the scurvy, can be eaten.

VII.

He is to clean the Coppers as soon as possible after the provisions are taken out of them; and he is to examine them very carefully every morning before any provisions are put into them, and to inform the Mate of the watch when he has done so, who is himself to examine them, and report their condition to Lieutenant of the watch.

VIII.

He is to be very careful of the fuel, never using more than is really necessary under the coppers, nor allowing more fire than is wanted to be made in the range.

Regulations and Instructions for the the Carpenter

A sailor converses with a carpenter dressed in typical fashion, petticoat breeches & thrumb cap. Published by Walker & Miller January 1807. National Maritime Museum Greenwich

For the Carpenter.
I.

When any one of his majesty’s ships is ordered to be commissioned, the Carpenter is to inspect very minutely into the state of the masts and yards, as well those which may be in store in the Dock Yard, as those on board, to ensure there being perfectly sound and in good order. He is also to examine every part of the hull, the magazine, store rooms and cabins; and he is to report to the Master Shipwright at the Port any defect which he may discover in any of them.

He is to make every possible exertion in getting his Stores on board, and he is to be very particular in observing that they are all perfectly good, and that he receives the full allowance of every article.

III

When the ship is at sea, he is,once at least every day to examine into the state of the masts and yards, and to report to the Officer of the watch when he discovers any of them being sprung, or to be in any way defective.

In ships of two decks he is frequently to examine the lower deck-ports, to see that they are properly lined; and when they are barred in, he and his Mates are frequently to see that they are all properly secured.

He is to be particularly careful in keeping the pumps in good order, always having at hand whatever may be necessary to repair them.

He is to keep the Boats, ladders, and gratings in as good condition as possible, always repairing every damage they may sustain as soon as he discovers it, that when the ship shall return to Port, the workmen of the Dock Yard may have only the material defects of the Ship to repair.

VII

He is to be attentive to the conduct of the Caulker, whom he is to employ in stopping immediately any leaks which he may discover in the sides or decks, that as little as possible may be required of the Caulkers of the Dock Yard when Ships return into Port.

VIII

He is to be attentive in observing that the oakum with which he supplies the Caulker is of a good quality and that the Caulker does his duty in a workmanlike manner; and when the ship is paid off, or at any time, when the ship’s company are paid, he is to give him such a certificate of the manner in which he has discharged his duty, as he shall think he deserves; but no better.

He is to keep always ready for immediate use shot-plugs, and every other article necessary for the stopping of shot-holes, and repairing other damages in battle; and during the action he is, with the part of his crew appointed to assist him, to be continually going about the wings and passages, and the hold, to discover where shot may have passed through, that he may plug up the holes and stop the leaks as expeditiously as possible.

If he should at any time find Stores or any other articles stowed in the wings or passages, in such a manner as might interfere with his working if required to cut out shot or to stop leaks during an action, he is to report it to the Captain that they may be removed.

He is to frequently to examine the ventilators, to see that they are in good order, and if he discovers any defect he is to report it immediately that it may be repaired.

XII

When the ship is going into Port, he is to prepare as correct an account as possible of the defects of the hull, masts, and yards of the Ship, and of the repairs she may stand in need, of which he is to deliver to the Captain two copies, one of which, when signed by the Captain, he is to deliver to the Master Shipwright of the Dock Yard. In making this report he is to be very careful not to exaggerate any defect, by which there may appear to be a greater necessity for the Ship being repaired then does really exist, nor to conceal any which may really require to be repaired.

XIII

He is to be a particularly attentive in observing the exertions, and examining the works, of Artificers sent from other Ships to assist in repairing the Ship he belongs to; and is to report to the Captain when he discovers any who, by their want of skill, or want of diligence, shall appear to be undeserving of the additional wages appointed to be paid them.

XIV

Whenever the ship shall be, for any purpose, ordered to be heel'd, he is to see that all the pumps are in good order and ready to be worked; he is to station one of his mates to observe, by sounding the well, whether any material increase of water is occasioned; he is to attend to this frequently himself, and observe also whether there be any extraordinary appearance of water in the hold; and in three-deck'd Ships he is to be peculiar attentive and seeing that the lower deck ports are well secured.

Admiralty

1808 Regulations and Instructions Relating to His Majesty's Service at Sea. Winchester & Son. Strand, London.