Aye Aye landlubbers, Yo Ho HO! barrels of rum on dead men's chests, black spots from blind Pugh and all that malarkey.
T'was with a twinkle in me eye that I sat pondering all the animal names on board a ship that are in regular use and realized that I could have a scenario where I asked the bosun, who was keeping the dog watch, to do job on the monkey island.
I would have to call the engineers to get them to flash up the donkey boiler to provide steam for the winches in order to operate the derrick booms in union purchase.
That would mean making sure that a monkeys face was fitted, but we would have to make sure to properly mouse all the shackles holding it in place.
They would need to use a goose neck scraper to clean the swan neck vent and then use a dogs leg to paint it.
If they need to rig any staging they would have to use a lizard to secure it (but not with a cow hitch) and if one end of that was frayed they could quickly put a dogs dick in to tidy things up. They could tie it up under the crows nest and if the lizard was too long they could put a sheep shank in it.
If they needed to throw a rope to the other side they could put a monkeys fist in it.
Of course, in the olden days, if they made a pigs ear of the job I could always have administered the cat.
I now understand how the myth of noah's ark was created by Chinese whispers developed by landlubbers on overhearing sea dogs having a chat over a few rums when up the road on a rabbit run.
Glossary
Dog Watch:- Normally the 1600 to 2000 split into two.
Monkey Island:- The deck directly above the navigational bridge
Donkey Boiler:- Boiler used for jobs that require steam that can be provided without diverting steam from the main boilers of a steam driven vessel
Monkeys face (or in earlier times a Dead man’s face) :- A triangular metal plate with a hole near each angle apex and when looked at resembles a simple caricature of a monkeys face. Used for attaching two cargo runners and a cargo hook in order to effect two derricks into union purchase (or yard and stay as it is sometimes called) rigging
Mouse:- To secure the end of a shackle pin to ensure that it doesn’t come undone when under load or after constant vibration during operation.
Goose neck scraper:- A double ended metal scraper about a foot long with a sharpened scraping head at each end with one of the ends bent over at 90 degrees
Swan neck vent:- A tubular vent that comes up from the deck with the top 10 or 15 % bent back on itself in a u turn so it resembles a swans neck
Dogs Leg:- A long handled paint brush about a foot long to 18 inches with the brush head at an angle of about 30-40 degrees. Known ashore as a radiator brush so I am told.
Lizard:- A piece of rope approx. 2 fathoms long with a hard eye spliced into one end and a palm and needle whipping at the other. Used when a rope such as stage gantline or bosuns chair gantline is to be run through it to prevent chaffing.
Cow Hitch:- A knot similar to a clove hitch except the running ends emerge from the center of the knot in the same direction as opposed to a clove hitch where they emerge in opposite directions.
Dogs dick:- A back splice in a piece of rope.
Crows nest:- A look out station set high on a ships mast.
Sheep Shank:- A simple knot that is used to temporarily shorten a length of rope. Often found on grab lines fitted to the keels of lifeboats.
Monkeys Fist:- A knot that can be tied in the end of a piece of rope(usually a heaving line) that adds significant weight to the end of rope allowing it to be thrown further. Sometimes nuts or lead weights are added in the knot and as you tighten the strands of the knot it grips the weights much like a monkey putting its hand in a hole in tree to grab a treat and then not letting go of what it finds.
Pigs ear:-Not a seafaring expression and in cockney its rhyming slang for Beer, but in its context of messing something up it was first used in 1950 in Readers Digest although it is thought to be a extrapolation of the 16th century saying of "making a silk purse out of a sows ear".
Cat (‘o nine tails):- A multi tailed whip made with knotted cord.
Sea Dog:- Slang for a seafarer
Rabbit run:- Going ashore with the intention of buying souvenirs but usually has the potential to (and normally does) descend into an extended tour of bars in the dock area, and sometimes beyond, with the money originally set aside for presents etc being otherwise invested into alcoholic beverages.
T'was with a twinkle in me eye that I sat pondering all the animal names on board a ship that are in regular use and realized that I could have a scenario where I asked the bosun, who was keeping the dog watch, to do job on the monkey island.
I would have to call the engineers to get them to flash up the donkey boiler to provide steam for the winches in order to operate the derrick booms in union purchase.
That would mean making sure that a monkeys face was fitted, but we would have to make sure to properly mouse all the shackles holding it in place.
They would need to use a goose neck scraper to clean the swan neck vent and then use a dogs leg to paint it.
If they need to rig any staging they would have to use a lizard to secure it (but not with a cow hitch) and if one end of that was frayed they could quickly put a dogs dick in to tidy things up. They could tie it up under the crows nest and if the lizard was too long they could put a sheep shank in it.
If they needed to throw a rope to the other side they could put a monkeys fist in it.
Of course, in the olden days, if they made a pigs ear of the job I could always have administered the cat.
I now understand how the myth of noah's ark was created by Chinese whispers developed by landlubbers on overhearing sea dogs having a chat over a few rums when up the road on a rabbit run.
Glossary
Dog Watch:- Normally the 1600 to 2000 split into two.
Monkey Island:- The deck directly above the navigational bridge
Donkey Boiler:- Boiler used for jobs that require steam that can be provided without diverting steam from the main boilers of a steam driven vessel
Monkeys face (or in earlier times a Dead man’s face) :- A triangular metal plate with a hole near each angle apex and when looked at resembles a simple caricature of a monkeys face. Used for attaching two cargo runners and a cargo hook in order to effect two derricks into union purchase (or yard and stay as it is sometimes called) rigging
Mouse:- To secure the end of a shackle pin to ensure that it doesn’t come undone when under load or after constant vibration during operation.
Goose neck scraper:- A double ended metal scraper about a foot long with a sharpened scraping head at each end with one of the ends bent over at 90 degrees
Swan neck vent:- A tubular vent that comes up from the deck with the top 10 or 15 % bent back on itself in a u turn so it resembles a swans neck
Dogs Leg:- A long handled paint brush about a foot long to 18 inches with the brush head at an angle of about 30-40 degrees. Known ashore as a radiator brush so I am told.
Lizard:- A piece of rope approx. 2 fathoms long with a hard eye spliced into one end and a palm and needle whipping at the other. Used when a rope such as stage gantline or bosuns chair gantline is to be run through it to prevent chaffing.
Cow Hitch:- A knot similar to a clove hitch except the running ends emerge from the center of the knot in the same direction as opposed to a clove hitch where they emerge in opposite directions.
Dogs dick:- A back splice in a piece of rope.
Crows nest:- A look out station set high on a ships mast.
Sheep Shank:- A simple knot that is used to temporarily shorten a length of rope. Often found on grab lines fitted to the keels of lifeboats.
Monkeys Fist:- A knot that can be tied in the end of a piece of rope(usually a heaving line) that adds significant weight to the end of rope allowing it to be thrown further. Sometimes nuts or lead weights are added in the knot and as you tighten the strands of the knot it grips the weights much like a monkey putting its hand in a hole in tree to grab a treat and then not letting go of what it finds.
Pigs ear:-Not a seafaring expression and in cockney its rhyming slang for Beer, but in its context of messing something up it was first used in 1950 in Readers Digest although it is thought to be a extrapolation of the 16th century saying of "making a silk purse out of a sows ear".
Cat (‘o nine tails):- A multi tailed whip made with knotted cord.
Sea Dog:- Slang for a seafarer
Rabbit run:- Going ashore with the intention of buying souvenirs but usually has the potential to (and normally does) descend into an extended tour of bars in the dock area, and sometimes beyond, with the money originally set aside for presents etc being otherwise invested into alcoholic beverages.
May fair winds fill your sails and clear skies please your heart
Love and peace
Bentley
Someone mentioned two me I had missed two gems so I have since added them to the tale. The sheep shank and the crows nest.
ReplyDeleteAhhhaaaarrrrggghhhhh