Mess on an Upper Gundeck

[AThompson]

Hi, all.

Random musing; on say a standard 74 gun ship of the line, would sailors mess and sleep on the upper gundeck? (tables in between each gun, and sling hammocks, etc) All I'm thinking is that; on a 74, as indeed, most ships of the line, the upper gundeck is basically open to the elements. You have the quarterdeck to the aft, the forecastle to the fore, and the ship's boats on trestles (sometimes) above you; there's nothing but air above most of this deck, so I'm assuming, possibly incorrectly, that you couldn't mess or sleep on this deck.

Though saying that I can't imagine an entire watch messing on just the lower gundeck either.

[Byron Angel]

Hi, all.

Random musing; on say a standard 74 gun ship of the line, would sailors mess and sleep on the upper gundeck? (tables in between each gun, and sling hammocks, etc) All I'm thinking is that; on a 74, as indeed, most ships of the line, the upper gundeck is basically open to the elements. You have the quarterdeck to the aft, the forecastle to the fore, and the ship's boats on trestles (sometimes) above you; there's nothing but air above most of this deck, so I'm assuming, possibly incorrectly, that you couldn't mess or sleep on this deck.

Though saying that I can't imagine an entire watch messing on just the lower gundeck either.

Hi AT,
AIUI, crews customarily ate and slept below deck. Aboard the USS Constitution, the men slept on the 24-pdr gun deck in hammocks slung from hooks in the overhead deck beams. Ventilation could be managed by opening (or keeping shut in the case of cold weather) the gun-port lids.
I think shelter must have been an important consideration in order to maintain the general health of the crew.

Useful website - https://www.britishtars.com/2018/01/ham ... slept.html

Byron

[marcelo_malara]

Hi, all.

Random musing; on say a standard 74 gun ship of the line, would sailors mess and sleep on the upper gundeck? (tables in between each gun, and sling hammocks, etc) All I'm thinking is that; on a 74, as indeed, most ships of the line, the upper gundeck is basically open to the elements. You have the quarterdeck to the aft, the forecastle to the fore, and the ship's boats on trestles (sometimes) above you; there's nothing but air above most of this deck, so I'm assuming, possibly incorrectly, that you couldn't mess or sleep on this deck.

Though saying that I can't imagine an entire watch messing on just the lower gundeck either.

Hi! You have a mistake in the deck´s names. From up to down:

Three decker:
-upper deck
-middle deck/main deck/gun deck
-lower deck

Two decker:

-upper deck
-lower deck/main deck/gun deck

I have never read "upper gundeck". The crew slept in the middle deck or lower deck, depending in the number of deck of the ship and the capacity of the vessel. I think that in Victory they quartered in the middle deck, and the lower deck was not used for that.

[AThompson]

Really?

That's interesting, with reference to 64 and 74s I've always read upper gundeck, lower gundeck, orlop, hold

https://c8.alamy.com/comp/AEECGM/agamem ... AEECGM.jpg

This link here, shows the 64 Agamemnon, this I would call the "waist", which shows the gangplanks on each beam and these link the quarterdeck and forecastle, below the timber beams that hold the ship's boats is what I would call the upper gundeck, is that not the case?

[marcelo_malara]

Really?

That's interesting, with reference to 64 and 74s I've always read upper gundeck, lower gundeck, orlop, hold

https://c8.alamy.com/comp/AEECGM/agamem ... AEECGM.jpg

This link here, shows the 64 Agamemnon, this I would call the "waist", which shows the gangplanks on each beam and these link the quarterdeck and forecastle, below the timber beams that hold the ship's boats is what I would call the upper gundeck, is that not the case?

I took a look to my books. To be fair, upper gun deck is mentioned by Goodwin, but I do not recall reading it in other books. So, upper deck and upper gun deck are both correct it seems.