This ain't Sea World, this is real as it gets

[stillsostrange]

A question for my nautically-inclined friends (and apologies if I've asked this before):

My intrepid band are on a muthafuckin' boat ship, by which I mean a generic, primarily-cargo-limited-cabin-space, Age of Sail sort of ship. Where might they go to stretch their legs, talk about backstories, and have knife-fights where they would be least in the way of the ship's crew? I can find lists and descriptions of various decks, but I'm not sure which ones would be least crowded at any given time.

Comments

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

Depends on your size of ship. And how touchy the captain is about sharing the stern deck.

If we're talking about a sloop or brig?

Provided sails are not in the process of being adjusted right that moment, there is usually plenty of space on deck forward of the main mast - depends on your size of ship, but on one a mere 70ft long, there was enough space you could wrestle, or several people lie flat. I do not recommend the foredeck for knife-fights, as it has many coiled ropes and often an anchor. And if sail is set on the bowsprit, the lines have a tendency to get in the way. Not to mention it probably moves more with the motion of the waves than the whole rest of the ship put together - or at least, that's how it felt to me.

A caravel, again, I'd say forward of the main mast is your best bet for knife-fights. On both sets of ships, you'll probably have off-watch sailors enjoying the air - there's no privacy on a ship of sail, unless you have the captain's cabin or a stern gallery, or you're willing to climb out onto the bowsprit or up into the shrouds.

Just for talking, the foredeck is probably sufficiently out of the way. Unless you're adjusting or setting sail, or tacking, coming about, or raising the boom (for these latter operations, you would generally expect to call all hands), there's not actually a lot to do on board ship directly related to sailing except maintenance. (Which is why most merchant ships in the age of sail could get away with only crewing enough sailors to raise the boom in addition to their watch-standing officers - a crew of 20 or 30, compared to a complement of ten times that on a ship of war of equal size.) So you might not actually have all that many sailors to worry about.

So, yeah. Longwinded way of saying if it's not a warship, you have plenty of space to work with on deck.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Yup, this. The poop deck is sacred to the captain; generally, if you want to keep out of the way you head as far forward as you can.

[artemishi.livejournal.com]

Also, in addition to abovedecks, there is always space for chatting (although not knife fighting) in the galley, assuming the cook is off duty or not bothered by the company. In my sailing days, it was the place to hang out and gossip (especially when the weather was bad).