William C. Redfield,
Secretary.
The able seaman should also know the following:
- Markings and use of the hand lead.
- Handling of a boat under sail.
- Running a steam winch.
- Slinging a scaffold plank.
- Use of the life line and breeches buoy—that is what to do on the ship end of the line.
- Use of rockets.
- Use of line-throwing gun.
- Use of the heaving line.
- Slinging a cask.
- Sewing canvas.
- International Code Flags.
- Hand semaphore signals.
An able seaman might know a lot more, but the above coupled with the things mentioned by Mr. Redfield, should turn him out as a competent American sailorman.
The following common sense advice taken from the pages of the Coast Seamen's Journal, on "Teaching Seamanship", is given—it clearly sets forth the things a modern merchant sailorman should know.
Were we asked to prescribe a course of instruction in seamanship for beginners, we should arrange it somewhat as follows:
First—Teach the pupil the names, locations and uses of the different parts of the ship, and of her spars, sails, standing and running riggings; together with the meaning of such terms as port, starboard, lee, weather, astern, ahead, abaft, aloft and alow.
Second—Show him how to box the compass and, if possible, how to steer. Explain to him the meaning of the commands, "Hard up" and "Hard down the helm," and why he must turn the wheel to port when ordered to starboard the helm, and vice versa. Also show him the marks on the hand leadline.
Third—Teach him how to whip a rope; how to make a clinch; how to tie a reef knot; how to make the bends and hitches commonly used on a ship, such as a bowline, clove hitch, sheet bend, anchor bend, rolling hitch, timber hitch, bow line on a bight, cat's paw, blackwall hitch, midshipman's hitch, single carrick bend, sheepshank, etc. Also how to put on a strop and how to shorten a cargo sling.