Posted by AnneM on July 18, 1997 at 16:46:43:

In reply to "We don't live like savages, you know." posted by Katariina on July 18, 1997 at 10:17:30

About the only thing I know is from when I went aboard a replica of the Mary Rose. They DIDlive like savages!! The Mary Rose is a tutor style ship and it was tiny. I know this time period is, what 200 earlier, but anyone crossing the sea in a sailing ship was either crazy, desperate, or just plain heroic! So there may have been changes, but this is what I remember: The common sailors slept where the cannon were stored. That "room" was painted red so they would not be startled when blood was splattered everywhere. The galley was nothing more than a corner covered with metal so a small fire could burn. They whole ship stayed damp. The "head" was the head of the ship (you know how they had the carved figures)and that was where the sailors did their business. The officers were afforded the privacy of a "balcony" at the back of the ship, off where they ate. In fact it was so small and cramped that even in dock I got queasy! I would hope that the ships later were larger, but I can't imagine the basics changing. The further down in the ship we went, the lower the ceilings. One more thing, there were these prisims, inserted in the ceiling, they provided light to the cannon deck. It actually worked very well.