Old Weather Forum

Please post questions and suggestions for additions or changes to OWpedia and Resources for nautical and military terminology here.

A log entry mentioned "FXR gear". FXR is the code name for the U.S. version of the Foxer for which there is already an entry in OWpedia.

flying bridge

From Wikipedia:

A flying bridge is an open area on top of a surface ship that provides unobstructed views of the fore, aft, and the sides of a vessel, and that serves as an operating station for the ship's officers, such as the captain or officer of the watch.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_bridge

Referenced here:

1535 WEAVER FRED I (275-548) SA placed on report by ENS H A FEIGLESON for neglect of duty while a lookout, crouching down behind starboard ladder to flying bridge; smoking while on duty as a lookout.

https://catalog.archives.gov/OpaAPI/med ... 7_0138.JPG

messenger line

From Wkipedia:

A messenger line or just messenger is relatively light cordage used to pull a heavier cable across a gap or through a tube or duct. The term is also used for a line used to pull or lower a package along a downline or jackstay.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messenger_line

Referenced here:

1200 rigging towing gear on SS GEORGE WALTON.
1210 Fired line across WALTON, to pair messenger.
1328 Last messenger from Walton.
1355 Messenger paired from Walton to Northwind, commenced pairing towing Hawser to Walton.

https://catalog.archives.gov/OpaAPI/med ... 8_0066.JPG

This probably goes to Resources for nautical and military terminology... do we have a link to this article?
It seems interesting (found that CP stands for in 1896 US logs): https://news.usni.org/2014/12/03/brief- ... -navy-jobs

Great find!
I love having a more detailed description of some of these jobs!
I copied it to People's names, ranks & rates, uniforms & badges

Abbreviations A-Z, symbols and numbers gives a link to
https://www.history.navy.mil/research/l ... anchor4913
which gives:
CP - Construction Apprentice
(I had guessed Coal Passer)

I generally use this one (i think we already have this): https://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/docs/abbrevi ... s_Navy.pdf

It's modern, so i don't know how much is reliable for very old ranks but failed me very rarely... according to it, CP can stand both for Construction Apprentice and Coal Passer... looking to that article i'd go indeed with Coal Passer in 1896.

Yes, we do have that one. I have used it quite a bit

From USS Yorktown logs, meridian to 4pm watch: dubbing off main deck.

Robert Brindley: A Compendium of Naval Architecture, 1832.
[A vocabulary of technical terms.]

Dub, dubbing out, or dubbing down: the making fair the surfaces of the plank, inside and outside of the ship.

http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Etymo ... 1832).html


The Sailor's Word-Book, by Admiral W. H. Smyth (1867):

DUBB, To. To smooth and cut off with an adze the superfluous wood.—To dubb a vessel bright, is to remove the outer surface of the plank completely with an adze. Spotting to examine planks with the adze is also dubbing.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/26000/26 ... 6000-h.htm

I'm trying to picture walking on an un-dubbed deck with bare feet - splinters come to mind

The Onondaga 1944 log had this entry during strong winds:

Noted mousetrap projectile ready box torn from deck foundation.

https://catalog.archives.gov/OpaAPI/med ... 4_0439.JPG

Briefly the "Mousetrap" launched anti-submarine projectiles. It was designed for use on smaller coastal escort ships. This reference provides more information:
http://www.microworks.net/pacific/armam ... setrap.htm

Added

Funny, just a day or two ago I was reading about hedgehogs (no, Joan, not yours), so that image looked familiar.

Randi wrote: ↑Sun Mar 06, 2022 12:45 am Funny, just a day or two ago I was reading about hedgehogs (no, Joan, not yours), so that image looked familiar.

I got very excited by the thought of Naval hedgehogs

grapnel

From Merriam-Webster dictionary,

a small anchor with usually four or five flukes used especially to recover a sunken object or to anchor a small boat

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grapnel

pampero

From Wiktionary:

A violent wind from the west or southwest, which sweeps over the pampas of South America and the adjacent seas, often doing great damage.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pampero

battery

From Wikipedia:

"Battery" is a relatively modern term at sea. Advanced warships in the Age of Sail, such as the ship of the line, mounted dozens of similar cannons grouped in broadsides, sometimes spread over several decks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artillery_battery

following sea

From Wikipedia:

A "following sea" refers to a wave direction that is similar to the heading of a waterborne vessel under way.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Following_sea

Thanks!

I put it in OW glossary in the Sea topic.

deckhouse

From dictionary.com

any enclosed structure projecting above the weather deck of a vessel and, usually, surrounded by exposed deck area on all sides.

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/deckhouse