# Aladdin's Cave



## John Briggs (Feb 12, 2006)

How many of you who were at sea in the 50's and 60's remember the for'd store?
To me it was always something like Aladdin's cave with the myriad of exciting and hidden items it contained. Firstly there was that distinctive smell, hemp and coir ropes, paint, tar, oils, wood and so much more. Then the visual impact, coils of wire rope, mooring lines, rope ladders, gantlines, drums of paint, buckets, blocks and tackle, etc., etc.
I was storekeeper for a period in the 50's and I will never forget that magic time. If one thing can instantly transport me back 50 years it is the smell of that for'd store.


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## billyboy (Jul 6, 2005)

sounds a bit like Dom,s store on the Golden Dreamer John...LOL


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## teb (May 23, 2008)

John Briggs said:


> How many of you who were at sea in the 50's and 60's remember the for'd store?
> To me it was always something like Aladdin's cave with the myriad of exciting and hidden items it contained. Firstly there was that distinctive smell, hemp and coir ropes, paint, tar, oils, wood and so much more. Then the visual impact, coils of wire rope, mooring lines, rope ladders, gantlines, drums of paint, buckets, blocks and tackle, etc., etc.
> I was storekeeper for a period in the 50's and I will never forget that magic time. If one thing can instantly transport me back 50 years it is the smell of that for'd store.


John you are of course referring to The Bosun's Fore Peak are you not? Everything on Top and F----- all Handy!!(LOL)


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## Roger Harrison (Apr 7, 2005)

Not to mention the rag bag, and the sundry items of female attire occasionally pulled from it - 

Roger Harrison


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## Pat Kennedy (Apr 14, 2007)

Yep, I remember it, it was the place where the bosun sent me and the other deck boy on my first trip, to oil chain slings while crossing the Bay of Biscay.
An act of pure sadism, the pair of us almost drowned in our own vomit!
Pat(EEK)


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## tsell (Apr 29, 2008)

John

On reading your post, the memories of the forepeak came flooding back. I was about to reply with my worst memory, when scrolling down I read Pat's post, which is almost exactly what I was about to describe.
His comment about the sadistic bosun is very apt as I was given every job imaginable, including soogying the monkey island in rough weather, which compounded my misery through seasickness on my first trip.
Looking back it must have helped though because after the first three weeks, I was never sick again, not even on trawlers. I still remember the forepeak smells to this day.

Taff


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## dom (Feb 10, 2006)

*dom*

yes the rag bag,choise assortment of patches for work gear,beats any fashion statement of today


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## Andrew Craig-Bennett (Mar 13, 2007)

Every Cosco ship, all 527* of them, has a forepeak bosun's store, containing drums of paint, coiled new warps, stagings, bosuns chairs, coils of wire rope, wooden blocks, coils of natural fibre rope, buckets, tar, brushes and rollers, clean rags, spare heaving lines ready made up, tools, rope ladders, and so on, all stored on wooden racks in immaculate order. We are a very traditional company!

* As of last month. It changes all the time of course.


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## billyboy (Jul 6, 2005)

truth to be told. I bet there was many an item stored in there when leaving port that the captain was unaware of...LOL


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## matthew flinders (Feb 19, 2010)

teb said:


> John you are of course referring to The Bosun's Fore Peak are you not? Everything on Top and F----- all Handy!!(LOL)


Yes and being invited by the bosun to pee in the red lead!


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## John Briggs (Feb 12, 2006)

billyboy said:


> truth to be told. I bet there was many an item stored in there when leaving port that the captain was unaware of...LOL


I was never that cruel Billyboy. I let mine live in a lifeboat!


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## jmcg (Apr 20, 2008)

The after peak was just as venerable, if not more so, for "swag" in my day.

BW 

J (Gleam)(Gleam)(Gleam)


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## Pat Kennedy (Apr 14, 2007)

John, 
Wasn't the bosun's locker aft called the lazarette?
And there was also the steering flat down there,and I seem to remember on a couple of Blueys going down there to test the hand steering gear.
Best Regards, 
Pat


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## John Rogers (May 11, 2004)

Fore Peak,chain locker,thats where the fog locker was located and also the prop wash. Yes the smell would clear up your nasal drip.


John.


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## jmcg (Apr 20, 2008)

Pat

Yes, now that you have resurrected the word, I can recall the term being used by the educated lampies. God, those fish oils you take sure do mighty good work.!! 

There was also a "doss" on the aft well deck adjacent to the contacter house (no.5 hatch). This was also a refuge for a tired or otherwise indisposed lampie or where additional swag could be stored for easy disposition.


On Hector I recall JB sending two JOS's down there (steering flat) via the poop hatch to deal with horrendously huge chains. They had to drape them over a bar before oiling and then replace them elsewhere down there. One unfortunate chap had weals on his shoulders thereafter. The price paid for giving out lip to JB.
BW

J (Gleam)(Gleam)


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## Pat Kennedy (Apr 14, 2007)

John,
On 'A' boats, at the forard stb side of the after well deck was the lamp room and next door was the carpenter's shop. Both these were normally out of bounds, and swag was reputed to be dossed in there.
On the Ascanius, we had a monkey, who used the lamp room, and one spare navigation lamp in particular, as his personal toilet. He got in and out through a vent.
I recall on 'P' and 'H' class, there was a Chinese laundry on the port side. 
Regards, 
Pat


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## jmcg (Apr 20, 2008)

Correct Pat.

These memories will never die.

BW

J


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