# apprentices



## grootondermarszeil

Hallo to all of you . In some books I've read that apprentices slept in the _half-deck_, the wet and dangerous part of the ship. But almost all ships have only a fo'c'sle deckhouse, before the main mast. Where was the accommodation for the apprentices.

regards
johan


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## Rogerfrench

What period are you asking about Johan? Apprentices' accommodation was sometimes called the half-deck, as a kind of nickname referring to older times.
When I was an apprentice in the late 1950s I sailed on a couple of ships with dedicated accommodation for apprentices in the form of a deckhouse on the boat deck. On other ships we were in among the mates and engineers.


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## grootondermarszeil

Hello Rogerfrench, the stories of the apprentices wich I read , crewing mostly on English seagoing merchant- sailing ships. The books describe the period 1890-1914
regards
johan


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## Shipbuilder

Crews usually lived in the forecastle. Just abaft the mainmast, there was often a large deckhouse that had the galley, carpenter's shop, donkey engine (if fitted), small shared sections for petty officers (Carpenter, Bosun, cook, sailmaker), and a section for the apprentices. Separate half deck (deckhouses) were often fitted between main and mizzen masts, or mizzen and jigger. Some half decks were in the forward section of the poop deck. More modern sailing ships had midship islands were everyone lived, others housed crew, POs and apprentices in midship island, but captain, officers and steward aft in the poop deck.
Bob


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## Roger Bentley

Bob, I concur with what you say about apprentices and accommodation in general. I have volumes 1 and 2 of Basil Lubbock's book titled The Last of the Windjammers. 1927 and 1935. Both volumes contain deck plans of various ships and there is no standard pattern. In one case all the accommodation for crew and apprentices is in one large deck house which abuts to the poop accomodation. Others have two deck houses, one for Carpenter etc, and one for the apprentices. An earlier deck plan still shows the crew in the traditional fo'csle with half deck accommodation amidships. The writing on the plans is tiny and difficult to read even with a magnifying glass. So there is no point submitting a small copy. Best wishes, Roger


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## Donald McGhee

Not only sailing ships, but more modern vessels treated their apprentices to sub standard accommodation. My Father, who went to sea with Nisbets in 1932, as an apprentice, told me they slept in a canvas structure abaft the funnel. Whether or not this is so remains to be verified, but he certainly was not one to exaggerate.
The company had prefixes of Blair and he served his time on Blairatholl and Blairlogie.


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## grootondermarszeil

After a few days of searching via google and in my books show that apprentices usually slept under the break of the poop BB-side in a small cabin. Some ships had a small deck-house in front of the poop, with on top of the standard compass. but whether apprentices there slept I have not been able to find. As an example read, windjammer II page 132 Laws; Ross-SHIRE regards johan


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## stein

grootondermarszeil said:


> After a few days of searching via google and in my books show that apprentices usually slept under the break of the poop BB-side in a small cabin. Some ships had a small deck-house in front of the poop, with on top of the standard compass. but whether apprentices there slept I have not been able to find. As an example read, windjammer II page 132 Laws; Ross-SHIRE regards johan


Lubbock sailed on the Ross-Shire, and complained of her particular form around the apprentices' quarters. The house serving the apprentices was on its after side a part of the quarterdeck with the protruding deck itself covering the empty space on both sides, giving the result that there was little escape for the water with the ship scending. The water at times reaching _above their bunks_. ("Round the Horn Before the Mast")


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## dave kirkham

Hi Guys,
As an apprentice in the 1970's the ship's physical structure and rank structure were closely intertwined.
The captain's cabin was always below the bridge, and a deck above everyone else! (Although the Sparky was usually slotted in behind the Captain's cabin)
Then on the deck below the Captains cabin, the Chief Engineer and Chief Mate had premier cabins with views for'd, the officers cabins grew smaller as they progressed aft through the ranks.
So far as I recall, on every ship I sailed on the deck Officers cabins were on the starboard side and the engineeers were on the port side. Was this a convention, or merely happenstance on the ships I sailed on?
The Apprentices cabins were always aft on the starboard side, often as not 2, 3 or 4 berth cabins.
The bosun and chippy were next, with cabins slightly larger than the apprentices.
Then the ordinary crew cabins were always aft.

Dave


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