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Quiz about The Young Sea Officers Sheet Anchor c 1820

The Young Sea Officer's Sheet Anchor (c. 1820) Quiz

This quiz is about square-rigged ships in the Napoleonic era. Many of the questions come from Darcy Lever's 1819 book: "The Young Sea Officer's Sheet Anchor: A Key to the Leading of Rigging and to Practical Seamanship".

A multiple-choice quiz by cayugarunner. Estimated time: 7 mins.

Author
cayugarunner

Time
7 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
132,307

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
670

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Animal names abound onboard ship, and similar names often apply to different items. You probably know that the whip used for punishment was called the "cat" or "cat o' nine tails", but do you know what the "cat-head" refers to? Hint

A large man-powered winch used to hoist the anchor

The lavatory

A crane over the bow for drawing up the anchor

A short piece of rope wrapped around the shrouds

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. You may know that "springing" a mast meant cracking or splitting it, but do you know what a "spring on the cable" was used for? Hint

To absorb the shock of the anchor weight

To expose the ship's side to any direction

To power the chronometer or timepiece

To allow a yard to swing into a gust of wind so it wouldn't break

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Question 3 of 10

3. You probably know that the bilge is the flat part of a ship's bottom that collects water from the hold, but do you know what a "binnacle" is? Hint

A box which contains the compass

The tallest point of the mainmast

A small shellfish that attaches itself to the hull

A lavatory

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Question 4 of 10

4. You may know that "idlers" were the men onboard who didn't stand a regular watch - cook, carpenter, surgeon, purser, etc. What were "nippers"? Hint

The oldest men on the ship

Cabin boys

Bits of rope used to bind two ropes together

Surgeon's mates who held men down during surgery or bloodletting

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Question 5 of 10

5. You probably know that the coxswain steered the Captain's barge and controlled the barge's crew, but do you know what "bargemen" were? Hint

Landlubbers who had been pressed into service

Maggots

Long crowbars used to move a cannon

Men who loaded and stowed cargo in the hold

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. You probably know that "leeward" means "in the direction toward which the wind blows". Here's another directional question (you might need to draw a picture): if the ship is south of the equator, on a northwesterly heading, and a southwest breeze is blowing, which side of the ship is the "weather" side? Hint

South-eastern

Starboard

Larboard

North-eastern

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. "By the wind" means sailing into the wind as directly as possible. "Large" means sailing with the wind blowing from behind the ship. If a ship performed well in both situations, she was said to be a good vessel "by and large", a phrase we use to this day. Which type of ship could sail closest to (by) the wind? Hint

Square rig

Sheer hulk

Brigantine

Fore and aft rig

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Question 8 of 10

8. You may know that the system of ropes and pulleys used to roll a cannon inboard and outboard for loading and firing was called a "train", but do you know where the "truck" was located? Hint

In the lavatory

On the gundeck

On the poopdeck

At the peak of the mainmast

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. There are a number of shipboard terms that seem confusing; for example a "two-decker" actually had six decks. This one may seem confusing as well: who ate their dinner in the "gunroom"? Hint

The petty officers

The lieutenants and warrant officers

The midshipmen

The gunner and his mates

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. The sheet anchor was always kept ready on the cable so it could be dropped if the other anchors were lost, so "sheet anchor" came to mean "a resource you can rely upon in an emergency". Darcy Lever's "Sheet Anchor" became a dependable reference for many young naval officers. Speaking of anchors, which was the smallest anchor aboard? Hint

The kedge anchor

The small bower

The best bower

The stream anchor

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: A crane over the bow for drawing up the anchor

A "cat-harpin" was a short piece of rope wrapped around the shrouds to prevent them from bulging out. A "capstan" was a huge winch used to draw up the anchor. The "head" was the lavatory or "seat of ease".

2. You may know that "springing" a mast meant cracking or splitting it, but do you know what a "spring on the cable" was used for?

Answer: To expose the ship's side to any direction

A "spring" was a rope attached to the anchor cable at the bow and taken in aft. When the spring was taken up or let out (with the capstan) the ship veered left and right, allowing the guns to bear in the desired direction.

3. You probably know that the bilge is the flat part of a ship's bottom that collects water from the hold, but do you know what a "binnacle" is?

Answer: A box which contains the compass

When the ship ran dark at night, the only light that could be seen was the faint glow from the binnacle light. Never confuse binnacle with barnacle :)

4. You may know that "idlers" were the men onboard who didn't stand a regular watch - cook, carpenter, surgeon, purser, etc. What were "nippers"?

Answer: Bits of rope used to bind two ropes together

"Nippers" were used to bind the messenger - a long loop of rope - to the anchor cable. The messenger was wound around the capstan and pulled the cable in. When the messenger was taken all the way in the nippers were removed and reset further down the cable, and the men continued to work at winding the capstan.

This process continued until the anchor was "catted". Anchor cables were as much as 13" thick and couldn't be wound around the capstan; without the messenger and nippers there would be no way to take in the cable.

5. You probably know that the coxswain steered the Captain's barge and controlled the barge's crew, but do you know what "bargemen" were?

Answer: Maggots

Vermin infested everything on a long sea voyage. Sailors got in the habit of rapping their hard ship's biscuit on the table before eating - so the weevils would fall out. After a few months at sea the midshipmen were willing to pay good money for rats - the only fresh meat on board.

Answer: Larboard

"Weather" means windward, or toward the point from which the wind blows. In this case, the wind is hitting the left, or "larboard" side of the ship. "Port" (also meaning 'left') was used to direct the helmsman, because "starboard" and "larboard" sound too much alike (especially in a storm or in battle).

Answer: Fore and aft rig

The sails on a fore and aft rig are typically triangular in shape, attached to a mast and a boom (just like a modern sailboat). Many thanks to quiztaker picqero for pointing out that gaff-rigged vessels are also fore n'aft rigged. Because the boom is free to swing through a much wider range than a square rigged yard, the ship can sail closer to the wind.

A brigantine was typically square rigged at the fore and carried a fore and aft rig on the mizzen (aft). A sheer hulk had no rigging; it was a derelict hull used in the shipyards to float alongside a vessel under construction or repair.

8. You may know that the system of ropes and pulleys used to roll a cannon inboard and outboard for loading and firing was called a "train", but do you know where the "truck" was located?

Answer: At the peak of the mainmast

The ball at the top of any typical flagpole is called a truck.

9. There are a number of shipboard terms that seem confusing; for example a "two-decker" actually had six decks. This one may seem confusing as well: who ate their dinner in the "gunroom"?

Answer: The midshipmen

Yes, there really were six decks on a typical two-decker: forecastle, poop, quarter, upper, lower, and orlop, plus the hold. It was called a two-decker because it had two gun decks (upper and lower), even though it also mounted guns on the forecastle and quarterdeck (confusing isn't it?)

Answer: The kedge anchor

The kedge was small enough to be carried in the ship's launch. If the ship were grounded the kedge would be loaded in the boat, rowed out ahead of the ship and dropped. Then the capstan would be put into action to pull the ship off its grounding.

Source: Author cayugarunner

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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