Francis Liardet: Professional Recollections on Points of Seamanship, Discipline, &c., 1849.

INDEX,

A.

	PAGE
Anchoring with guns	1
Using an anchor on a dark night, &c.	2
On the best sail to bring a ship to anchor under	3
To remove a waist anchor to the opposite bow	5
To recover a vessel to an upright position	5
Remarks on three cables on end, on one anchor, &c.	6
At single anchor	7
To back an anchor with the buoy rope	8
Steadying a ship at anchor	9
Stowing stream and kedge anchors	10
Anchoring on a muddy bottom	10
On making alterations in masts, yards, sails, &c.	11
A sea-anchor.	12
Anchoring in rivers where fire rafts may be used	14
To prevent surprise at anchor	15
Sheet anchor	15
When obliged to anchor in a thronged roadstead in blowing weather	16
On anchoring broadside on to the wind in blowing weather	17
Night anchor watch in blowing weather	18
On coming to an anchor in blowing weather, with a leading wind	19
To recover an anchor by sweeping	20
Anchored in an open roadstead in blowing weather	21
Anchoring on a lee-shore, and cutting away masts.	22

B.

	PAGE
Block ships	24
On using snatch blocks	25
Boats taking in water in bulk	25
Main buntlines	26
Boat tackles	26
On boats leaving the ship from the stern where other boats are in two	26
On boats leaving vessels at sea when hove-to	27
Topsail buntlines	28
Sister blocks	28
Bobstays carried away	29
Brailing up sails	29
Bobstays cap	30
On veering a buoy astern to pick up a boat	30
Hoisting out boats	32
On boats being sent to tow vessels when on fire	32
Boats going alongside a ship at anchor	33
On hoisting boats in or out with lower yards and topmasts struck	33
Towing boats	34
In getting boats out when all the masts are gone	35
Chain slings for boats	36
Bathing	36
Block-strops, pointing	38
Sea boats' crews	38
A strong box	39
Top-gallant buntlines	40
Boats with treasure	40
Boatswain's store-room	41
Leading-blocks	41
Exercising newly raised boys	42
Boys	43
Boatswain and his mates	44
Shifting, or taking out, a bowsprit.	44
Quarter and stern boats at sea	45
The order of a ship known by her boats	46
To get boom-boats out with lower yards carried away	47
Monkey-blocks	48
Backing or shivering the mizen-topsail by the wind	48
On steeving the bowsprit	49
Stopper abaft the bitts	50
Battle -- necessary arrangements for ditto	50
Boats assisting to launch themselves	53
Boats sent to cut out at night	54
To take out a waist or bower-anchor between two boats.	55
Hoisting up quarter-boats, when a ship has much rolling motion	56

C.

	PAGE
Veering cables in a heavy squall	58
On using hemp cables	59
On coaling screw steamers	63
Courses	62
Taking in cables	62
To ascertain how the ship's hawse is, by a common compass	63
Wharping along shore in chase.	64
Courses single sheets	65
On ships of the line working their cables on the middle or main-deck	66
Coal tar	66
Commanders of ships of the line	67
Tarry canvass for stopping leaks	69
On the midshipmen's chests	69
Collision	70
Chasing an enemy	70
Jacob's ladders on lower caps	71
Bending a course in blowing weather	71
Cap shores	71
Club-hauling.	72

D.

	PAGE
To take in a driver	73
How to make a dismasted vessel's hull useful in propelling her	73
Stoning decks	74
How to ascertain when the ship is driving in blowing weather	75
Weigh and make sail with danger, &c.	75
Down-haul tackles for topsail-yards	76
Working on main-deck	77
Top-gallant yards and masts sent on deck	78
Sanding and sprinkling deck before going into action	78
On disrating petty officers	78
On using the drum	80
Rainy day	80

E.

	PAGE
Exercising midshipmen aloft, and in the duties of a seaman generally	83
Forenoon exercises, great guns, &c.	83
On general exercises	85
On the general exercises being more progressive than they usually are in ships of war	87

F.

	PAGE
Some few remarks on the fire bill	90
Flags	92
On the fore-yard being carried away in narrow waters.	92
Taking in foresail in blowing weather.	94
Setting fore and aft sails	95
Heaving-to with the fore-topsail	96
Furling the sails on the mizen-mast when right before the wind	96
Fore and main-stays	97
Fishing from the ship	97
Futtock-shrouds	98
On the fore-yard not bracing well up	99

G.

	PAGE
Taking the ground on a bold shore	101
Firing bow guns when in chase.	101
Double breeching the guns	102
Gaffs, instead of sprit-sail yards	103
For a ship to ride out a gale under the lee of a spanned spar.	104
Relative to the great gun exercise	105
On excercising the men at general quarters to fill up gun numbers, and take double duties quickly	106

H.

	PAGE
Head sails	108
Floating hawsers	108
On heaving-to with the ship's head in-shore	108
Hailing aloft in blowing weather	109
On accidents to the helm.	109
Hatchway covers	110
Hooks used for the chain cables	110
Hove-to	111
Heaving the lead in shoal water	112
On the heads of ships of the line being raised	112
Extreme heeling a ship	114
Hauling all the yards together in tacking	115
Taut weather helm	115
On clearing hawse in blowing weather	116
Hawsers	116
Hauling up or lowering down things over a ship's side	116

I. J.

	PAGE
Idlers	118
On the action of the jib	120
To take in a jib when blowing fresh	120
Junk axes, and handy billies	120
Triangular cross-jack	120

K.

	PAGE
Depth of keel	121
Kites for communicating with the shore	121
Upon the manner of kedging in the river of Ganges, Bengal.	122

L.

	PAGE
Light houses	124
Look-out men aloft	124
Luffing to the wind in square rigged vessels in squally weather.	125
Securing lower yards.	126
Lee-helm	127
Luff-tackles	127
Leadsmen in the chains prepared for action in shoal water	127
On leaks occasioned by the sun in tropical climates	128
Senior of first lieutenant	129
On the better lighting of the lower decks of ships of the line	129
Leave	129
Striking lower yards	134
Lanterns and candles, issuing to the petty officers, for the various duties during their night watches	135

M.

	PAGE
Moored with a swivel	137
Marline-spikes	137
On steam vessels having main-topsails	138
On the position of masts	139
Taut mooring	140
Mooring	141
Mates of the hull	141
Master's Assistants	142
Mizen-stays	143
A man overboard at sea	144
Spare messenger	147
Boatswains' mates	147
Mooring boats off from the ship	148
How to shorten the lower masts without taking them out	149
Taking out wedges for staying the lower masts	150
On the rolling motion with light winds, with yards square	151
Manning yards, and dressing ships with flags	151
On topmasts being struck for a lengthened period	152
Accident to main-topmast	153
With only two cables to moor, with nearly a cable each way	153
Fidding topmasts	154
Fidding top-gallant masts abaft all	155
Mustering ship's company by the open list	155
When lower masts are stripped	156
Magazines ventilating	156

N.

	PAGE
Quarter-deck splinter-nettings	158
Boarding-nettings	158

O.

	PAGE
Officers of the watch	159
Ordinary seamen	160

P.

	PAGE
Main-deck ports badly secured against surprise	162
Going in or out of unfrequented ports	163
Lower mast-head pendants	163
Pointing, grafting, &c.	163
Parrel, or parrel-lashings, of top-gallant yards carried away	164
On the necessity of sounding the pump-well more frequently when at anchor	166
On leaving port when first commissioned	168
Prisoners	170
Having show-poles above the royal rigging	171
On the single whip and pendant	173
On using the word port, instead of larboard	174
In pilot-water, holy-stoning, washing, or cleaning decks before daylight	175

R.

	PAGE
Close-reefing or furling, with the assistance of topmast studding-sail halliards	177
Reefing topsails	177
Relative wear of rope	179
To prevent rope from chafing on a rocky bottom	180
Setting up lower rigging, with rolling motion.	180
On standing rigging in tropical climates.	182
On turning in standing rigging in the winter.	183
Covering the eyes of rigging	186
Rattling the rigging	187

S.

	PAGE
Scudding.	188
Unbending sails in blowing weather	189
Stay-sails	189
Sudden shifting squalls	189
Ship on shore with the wind free, or right aft, in moderate weather	190
Ship on shore, nearly on the top of high tide, night approaching, barometer falling, and every appearance of squally weather	190
Ship on shore on a beach, without the slightest chance of saving her, wind on the land	191
Ship on shore by the wind	192
Ship in shore on a falling tide, no chance of getting her off until high tide, with weather fine	192
Shifting a topsail while the other sail is still set.	194
Topmast-stay shot, or carried away	195
Making sail from a spring on the cable	196
Scrubbing sails	107
Making sail from a spring laid out by another vessel	197
Taking in top-gallant sails	198
Taking in square-sails by the wind.	199
Wearing ship.	201
Setting square-sails in blowing weather.	202
On trimming the sails.	203
To take in a lower studding-sail, blowing fresh	205
Setting topmast studding-sails	205
On keeping a ship's head the right way in light airs or calms, &c.	206
On signals, calm	207
On bending sails	209
Fore top-gallant and royal stays.	210
After-swifters on the lower-masts.	211
To shift a bowsprit by the spars of the ship	212
On every ship helping to make her own seamen and riggers	215
On sailing along a coast with high land and deep ravines	216
Spring used, attached to the anchor or cable	217
Steering with stern-way in making a stern-board	218
Stopping-in running gear	219
On the sails to steer by when close-hauled	221
On station bills	222
On having the rating of seamen's shoemaker, for repairing the seamen's shoes	222
On making show-ships of vessels of war	224
Scrubbing hammocks and washing clothes at night	225
On steamers	227
Men going on immediate service	228
On sails being too taut up in rainy weather	229
On not carrying sail in proportion as the gale decreases	231
On ornaments to ships	232
Sunday	234
On giving the young gentlemen every opportunity of working the ship	234
Painting ship.	237
To make sure of casting the ship the right way, by slipping or cutting the cable	238
On steering. (By Gower.)	238
Spars sending on deck, and striking guns, or other weights below, during blowing weather	239
On taking the wives of seamen belonging to the ship to sea, to attend on passengers	240

T.

	PAGE
Crossing top-gallant yards	242
On tacking	242
To strike topmast when the ship is rolling heavy	244
Topsail carried away under sail	245
Tye-blocks	246
Fidding top-gallant masts in a sea-way	246
Bending a topsail in a gale of wind	246
Sending down top-gallant yards and masts	247

U.

	PAGE
Unmooring	248

V.

	PAGE
On vessels running foul of each other	249
Attraction of vessels to each other	249
Vessels are generally supposed to sail faster while new, than after they have seen much sea-service	250
On using stream or spare cables to attach floats to, for floating vessels off shore	251
Upon hauling a vessel off a steep shore, in a calm. (From Gower.)	252
Safety to vessels	253
On vessels cruising in pairs	255

W.

	PAGE
How to kill the Auger-Worm.	257
By the wind	257
Watering	258
On relieving wheel, lead, look-out, &c.	258
Water-line	259
On the working one watch against the other, or one part of the ship against the other	260
On weighing with a free wind	260
Weighing with a heavy head-sea	261
Meeting a wreck at sea, and blowing too hard for any boat to live on the water	261
When rolling heavy, with the wind right aft	263
Wearing or staying. (From the Nautical Magazine.)	264

Y.

	PAGE
Yards squaring	267
Yard-tackles	267

DISCIPLINE.

	PAGE
Black list	268
Discipline	269
Police of a ship of war	270
System	274
Corporeal punishment	276
Drunkenness	284
Difficulties incidental to men paid off in large ships	285
Gambling	287
Unguarded language at the mess-table	288
Making use of threats of punishment	289
Taunts, after punishment received	291
On officers smoking	291
On investigation of complaints	292
Smoking	293

MISCELLANEOUS.

	PAGE
Ridicule, if well applied, will save much punishment	296
To save numerous reports	297
Look-out men	297
On the arrangements of the watches by the watch-bill	298
On the petty officers messing by themselves	299
On wearing medals in the navy	300
On touching hats	301
On holydays in port	301
On the sleeping of the watch on deck	304
On the hands being turned up to dance, or to skylark	305
Pigs.	306
Sick men	306
Amusement	308
Remarks on the working room on the upper deck of a ship of the line	309
The dirty work of a ship	311
Every ship should be her own dock-yard as much as possible	312
Sprinkling decks	314
On giving certificates	314
Clothes found lying about the decks	315
Upon dead-eyes, hearts, and thimbles	316
For a boat to ride out a gale under the lee of a spanned spar	317

Francis Liardet: Professional Recollections on Points of Seamanship, Discipline, &c.
William Woodward, Portsea, 1849. 8vo, frontisp., (6), x, 319 pp, 1 col. plate of signals.

Transcribed by Lars Bruzelius

The Maritime History Virtual Archives.