Barrelman is in reference to a person who would be stationed in the barrel of the
foremast or
crow's nest of an oceangoing vessel as a
navigational aid. In early ships the crow's nest was simply a
barrel
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...
or a basket lashed to the tallest mast. Later it became a specially designed platform with protective railing.
History
According to a popular naval legend, the term derives from the practice of
Viking sailors, who carried
crows or
raven
A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...
s in a cage secured to the top of the mast. In cases of poor visibility, a crow was released, and the navigator plotted a course corresponding to the bird's flight path because the crow invariably headed towards the nearest land. Some naval scholars have found no evidence of the masthead crow cage and suggest the name was coined simply because the lookout platform resembled a crow's nest in a tree.
[Joan Druett, "Crows Nest", ''World of the Written World'', February 13, 2011]
/ref> As ships grew in size and complexity, that station came to be mounted on the highest mast
Mast, MAST or MASt may refer to:
Engineering
* Mast (sailing), a vertical spar on a sailing ship
* Flagmast, a pole for flying a flag
* Guyed mast, a structure supported by guy-wires
* Mooring mast, a structure for docking an airship
* Radio mast ...
of the oceangoing vessel, and it came to be known as the ''crow's nest''. The simplest construction to providing a lookout and setting course direction for the ship was to lash a barrel to the mast. A member of the crew experienced in the matters of navigation was charged with manning this perch and came to be colloquially known as a barrelman.
In Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
the term ''barrelman'' was synonymous with the word ''scunner''.Newfoundland Dictionary
See also
*
Glossary of nautical terms
References
Water transport in Newfoundland and Labrador
Marine occupations
Nautical terminology
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