This article is about the structure of a ship. For the annual music festival, see Forecastle Festival.
The forecastle (/ˈfoʊksəl/ⓘFOHK-səl; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le)[1][2] is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase "before the mast" which denotes anything related to ordinary sailors, as opposed to a ship's officers.
In medieval shipbuilding, a ship of war was usually equipped with a tall, multi-deck castle-like structure in the bow of the ship. It served as a platform for archers to shoot down on enemy ships, or as a defensive stronghold if the ship were boarded. A similar but usually much larger structure, called the aftcastle, was at the aft end of the ship, often stretching all the way from the main mast to the stern.
Having such tall upper works on the ship was detrimental to sailing performance. As cannons were introduced and gunfire replaced boarding as the primary means of naval combat during the 16th century, the medieval forecastle was no longer needed, and later ships such as the galleon had only a low, one-deck high forecastle. Sailors stationed on the forecastle, or "forecastle men", were responsible for handling the headsails and the anchors. In the Royal Navy of the 17th and 18th centuries, these roles were reserved for older seamen who lacked the agility to go aloft or take other more strenuous duties aboard.[3]
By the end of the 19th century, a raised forecastle had become a typical feature on warships again, in an attempt to keep forward gun positions from getting unacceptably wet on heavy seas. In addition the forecastle may provide additional crew's quarters as in the past, and may contain essential machinery such as the anchor windlass. A disadvantage of such a design is the structural weakness at the forecastle 'break' (the rear end of the forecastle with the main deck behind and below) relative to a flush deck structure.
Some sailing ships and many modern non-sail ships have no forecastle as such at all but the name is still used to indicate the foremost part of the upper deck – although often called the foredeck – and for any crew's quarters in the bow of the ship, even if below the main deck.
^Collins dictionary search, retrieved 2013-08-22, gives "fo'c's'le or fo'c'sle"
^Rodger, N. A. M. (1986). The Wooden World: An Anatomy of the Georgian Navy. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. p. 27. ISBN0870219871.
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Media related to Forecastles at Wikimedia Commons
January 09, 2024
forecastle, this, article, about, structure, ship, annual, music, festival, festival, forecastle, fohk, səl, contracted, upper, deck, sailing, ship, forward, foremast, historically, forward, part, ship, with, sailors, living, quarters, related, latter, meaning. This article is about the structure of a ship For the annual music festival see Forecastle Festival The forecastle ˈ f oʊ k s el FOHK sel contracted as fo c sle or fo c s le 1 2 is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast or historically the forward part of a ship with the sailors living quarters Related to the latter meaning is the phrase before the mast which denotes anything related to ordinary sailors as opposed to a ship s officers Replica of the Victoria the only one of Ferdinand Magellan s five ships to return to Spain in 1522 showing both a forecastle left and quarterdeck right Contents 1 History and design 2 See also 3 References 3 1 Notes 4 External linksHistory and design edit nbsp The forecastle of RMS Queen Elizabeth 2In medieval shipbuilding a ship of war was usually equipped with a tall multi deck castle like structure in the bow of the ship It served as a platform for archers to shoot down on enemy ships or as a defensive stronghold if the ship were boarded A similar but usually much larger structure called the aftcastle was at the aft end of the ship often stretching all the way from the main mast to the stern Having such tall upper works on the ship was detrimental to sailing performance As cannons were introduced and gunfire replaced boarding as the primary means of naval combat during the 16th century the medieval forecastle was no longer needed and later ships such as the galleon had only a low one deck high forecastle Sailors stationed on the forecastle or forecastle men were responsible for handling the headsails and the anchors In the Royal Navy of the 17th and 18th centuries these roles were reserved for older seamen who lacked the agility to go aloft or take other more strenuous duties aboard 3 nbsp Foredeck of Severn class lifeboat No 17 31 at quay in Poole Harbour Dorset England By the end of the 19th century a raised forecastle had become a typical feature on warships again in an attempt to keep forward gun positions from getting unacceptably wet on heavy seas In addition the forecastle may provide additional crew s quarters as in the past and may contain essential machinery such as the anchor windlass A disadvantage of such a design is the structural weakness at the forecastle break the rear end of the forecastle with the main deck behind and below relative to a flush deck structure Some sailing ships and many modern non sail ships have no forecastle as such at all but the name is still used to indicate the foremost part of the upper deck although often called the foredeck and for any crew s quarters in the bow of the ship even if below the main deck See also editBeakhead Bridge nautical Aftercastle Poop deckReferences editNotes edit Oxford dictionary search retrieved 2013 08 22 gives fo c sle Collins dictionary search retrieved 2013 08 22 gives fo c s le or fo c sle Rodger N A M 1986 The Wooden World An Anatomy of the Georgian Navy Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press p 27 ISBN 0870219871 This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Forecastle news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2011 Learn how and when to remove this template message External links edit nbsp Media related to Forecastles at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Forecastle amp oldid 1190419606, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
