Get Our Extension

Forecastle

From Wikipedia, in a visual modern way
Replica of the Victoria, the only one of Magellan's five ships to return to Spain in 1522, showing both a forecastle (left) and quarterdeck (right).
Replica of the Victoria, the only one of Magellan's five ships to return to Spain in 1522, showing both a forecastle (left) and quarterdeck (right).

The forecastle (/ˈfksəl/ (listen) 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.

History and design

The forecastle of RMS Queen Elizabeth 2
The forecastle of RMS Queen Elizabeth 2

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]

Foredeck of Severn-class lifeboat No. 17–31 at quay in Poole Harbour, Dorset, England.
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.

Discover more about History and design related topics

Queen Elizabeth 2

Queen Elizabeth 2

Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) is a retired British ocean liner converted into a floating hotel. Originally built for the Cunard Line, the ship, named as the second ship named Queen Elizabeth, was operated by Cunard as both a transatlantic liner and a cruise ship from 1969 to 2008. She was then laid up until converted and since 18 April 2018 has been operating as a floating hotel in Dubai.

Castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders.

Mast (sailing)

Mast (sailing)

The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the centre-line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, giving necessary height to a navigation light, look-out position, signal yard, control position, radio aerial or signal lamp. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship. Nearly all sailing masts are guyed.

Stern

Stern

The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section of the ship, but eventually came to refer to the entire back of a vessel. The stern end of a ship is indicated with a white navigation light at night.

Galleon

Galleon

Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships first used as armed cargo carriers by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal vessels drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the mid-1600s. Galleons generally carried three or more masts with a lateen fore-and-aft rig on the rear masts, were carvel built with a prominent squared off raised stern, and used square-rigged sail plans on their fore-mast and main-masts.

Severn-class lifeboat

Severn-class lifeboat

The Severn class is the largest lifeboat operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). The class, which is 17.3 metres long, was introduced in to service in 1996. It is named after the River Severn, the longest river in Great Britain. The lifeboats are stationed at 35 locations around the coasts of the United Kingdom and Ireland and can provide coverage up to 50 miles (80 km) out to sea.

Poole Harbour

Poole Harbour

Poole Harbour is a large natural harbour in Dorset, southern England, with the town of Poole on its shores. The harbour is a drowned valley (ria) formed at the end of the last ice age and is the estuary of several rivers, the largest being the Frome. The harbour has a long history of human settlement stretching to pre-Roman times. The harbour is extremely shallow, with one main dredged channel through the harbour, from the mouth to Holes Bay.

Dorset

Dorset

Dorset is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of 2,653 square kilometres (1,024 sq mi), Dorset borders Devon to the west, Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north-east, and Hampshire to the east. The county town is Dorchester, in the south. After the reorganisation of local government in 1974, the county border was extended eastward to incorporate the Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch. Around half of the population lives in the South East Dorset conurbation, while the rest of the county is largely rural with a low population density.

England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea area of the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.

Anchor windlass

Anchor windlass

A windlass is a machine used on ships that is used to let-out and heave-up equipment such as a ship's anchor or a fishing trawl. On some ships, it may be located in a specific room called the windlass room.

Flush deck

Flush deck

Flush deck is a term in naval architecture. It can refer to any deck of a ship which is continuous from stem to stern.

Source: "Forecastle", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2022, September 1st), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forecastle.

Enjoying Wikiz?

Enjoying Wikiz?

Get our FREE extension now!

References

Notes

  1. ^ Oxford dictionary search, retrieved 2013-08-22, gives "fo'c'sle"
  2. ^ Collins dictionary search, retrieved 2013-08-22, gives "fo'c's'le or fo'c'sle"
  3. ^ Rodger, N. A. M. (1986). The Wooden World: An Anatomy of the Georgian Navy. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. p. 27. ISBN 0870219871.
External links


The content of this page is based on the Wikipedia article written by contributors..
The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence & the media files are available under their respective licenses; additional terms may apply.
By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use & Privacy Policy.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization & is not affiliated to WikiZ.com.