by Shapley » Mon Jan 05, 2004 4:25 pm
Things haven't changed much in that regard. A Oil tanker or large freighter, which is designed to be a commercial success, will have the bare minimum number of crewmen, while a naval vessel perorming the same duties will have hundreds. Of course, the naval vessel will be fitted with weaponry, which will require gunners, etc. to maintain.
Whaleships had more men than were needed for sailing the vessel, as the harpooners and boatmen were not required to be able seamen. They had to have enough to man four or five whaleboats, while still maintaining enough on board to handle the ship while the boats were out. By reading Bullen's work, you find out that this left barely enough to handle the "trying out" of the whale, so they usually let the ship drift during this manpower-intensive work. Unless, of course, they were not in open-water, where ship-handling would still be necessary even during the cutting up of the whale.
Bullen addresses the different manning of vessels in "Cruise of the Cachalot", since he has sailed on all types of vessels except warships. I recommend the book to anyone interested in whaling, ships, or even geography. It's a very good read. I thought my son might find it interesting since we had visited New Bedford and Mystic Seaport this past June.
I read "Two years before the mast" a few years ago. I have a copy at home, maybe I'll re-read it when I finish with Melville.
Quod scripsi, scripsi.
