![Vasa-great cabin-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Vasa-great_cabin-2.jpg)
A cabin or berthing is an enclosed space generally on a
ship
A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...
or an
aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engine ...
. A cabin which protrudes above the level of a ship's
deck may be referred to as a deckhouse.
Sailing ships
![Flickr - Official U](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Flickr_-_Official_U.S._Navy_Imagery_-_The_CNO_reviews_his_speech..jpg)
In
sailing ships
A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing square-rigged or fore-and-aft sails. Some ships ca ...
, the officers and paying passengers would have an individual or shared cabin. The
captain or
commanding officer would occupy the "great cabin" that normally spanned the width of the
stern and had large windows.
On a warship, it was a privileged area, separate from the rest of the ship, for the exclusive use of the captain. In large warships, the cabin was subdivided into day and night cabins (bedrooms) by movable panels, called ''
bulk-heads'', that could be removed in time of battle to leave the cabin clear for the gunners to use the
stern chasers several of which were usually stationed in the cabin.
On large
three decker warships in the
age of sail the captain's cabin was sometimes appropriated by the
Admiral. The captain would be consigned to the cabin below on the middle
gun-deck.
Modern warships
![Banettes mg 5182](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Banettes_mg_5182.jpg)
In most modern
warship
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster ...
s, the commanding officer has a main cabin—the in-port cabin, often adjacent to the ship's central control room (
operations room
A control room or operations room is a central space where a large physical facility or physically dispersed service can be monitored and controlled. It is often part of a larger command center.
Overview
A control room's purpose is produc ...
)—and a sea cabin adjacent to the
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
. Thus, when likely to be called from sleep or attending to administration, the commanding officer can go to the sea cabin and thereby be able to appear at the bridge or operations room immediately. The sea cabin is sparsely equipped, containing just a bunk, a desk, and basic toilet facilities. The in-port cabin is more lavishly furnished, with separate bedroom and combination
sitting room
In Western architecture, a living room, also called a lounge room ( Australian English), lounge (British English), sitting room (British English), or drawing room, is a room for relaxing and socializing in a residential house or apartment ...
/office, and more elaborate toiletry facilities.
For ships intended to act as
flagships, like the former
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
aircraft carrier —now a
museum ship—the admiral also has a sea cabin (adjacent to the captain's sea cabin) and an in-port cabin, in addition to the captain's cabins.
Officers normally have their own cabins—sometimes referred to as staterooms—which double as their offices. Some senior
petty officer
A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be super ...
s may have cabins for similar reasons.
Sailors sleep in
berthing spaces.
Passenger ships
In ships carrying
passengers, they are normally accommodated in cabins, taking the terminology familiar to seafarers. First-class cabins were traditionally referred to as staterooms, and today many cruise lines now prefer to refer to passenger cabins as staterooms or suites.
Cabin crawl
In
cruise ship
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...
terms, a cabin crawl is an event where passengers tour the cabins of fellow passengers. A cruise ship may also offer a cabin crawl of cabins or suites which did not sell for a particular sailing. The purpose of a cabin crawl is to give passengers an idea of the space and layout of various cabin options for their next cruise. Cabin crawls are normally organized prior to a cruise, through cruise-fan websites.
Spacecraft
In
spacecraft
A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, p ...
, cabins are required to fully supply food and
oxygen
Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as ...
for their crew. On missions lasting a year or longer, the cabins have to be self-sustaining, i.e. replenish their own water and oxygen. The space cabin for any long-range crewed mission is expected to be reasonably spacious, with approximately 28 cubic metres allotted to each occupant. In addition, cabins have life support systems that should have the capability to meet a variety of off-nominal conditions, including cabin fires, depressurization, and component shutdown or failure. Frequently, these conditions occur so quickly that recovery can be provided only by automatic control systems. In the late 1960s, several experimental ground facilities were developed to evaluate regenerative life support systems for crewed space flight.
See also
*
Berth (sleeping)
A berth is a bed or sleeping accommodation on vehicles. Space accommodations have contributed to certain common design elements of berths.
Beds in boats or ships
While beds on large ships are little different from those on shore, the lack ...
*
Compartment (ship)
A compartment is a portion of the space within a ship defined vertically between decks and horizontally between bulkheads. It is analogous to a room within a building, and may provide watertight subdivision of the ship's hull important in retaini ...
References
{{Reflist, 30em
Ship compartments
Nautical terminology
de:Kabine