A trywork, located
aft
"Aft", in nautical terminology, is an adjective or adverb meaning towards the stern (rear) of the ship, aircraft or spacecraft, when the frame of reference is within the ship, headed at the fore. For example, "Able Seaman Smith; lie aft!" or "Wh ...
of the
fore-mast
The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the centre-line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, and giving necessary height to a navigation ligh ...
, is the most distinguishing feature of a
whaling ship.
It is a furnace, typically constructed of brick and attached to the deck with iron braces. Two cast-iron
trypots are set atop the furnace and used to heat
blubber
Blubber is a thick layer of vascularized adipose tissue under the skin of all cetaceans, pinnipeds, penguins, and sirenians.
Description
Lipid-rich, collagen fiber-laced blubber comprises the hypodermis and covers the whole body, except for pa ...
from
whales for the recovery of
oil. The task is similar to the
rendering process for producing lard by heating or frying fatty pork. A reservoir of water under the bricks keeps the furnace from scorching the wood of the deck.
In the 18th and 19th century
New England whaling industry, the use of tryworks on whaling ships allowed them to stay at sea longer. Since they could boil out their oil during the voyage, they did not have to carry unprocessed blubber home. Slices of blubber were cut as thinly as possible for the process, and on New England whaling ships, these slices were known as "bible leaves" by the sailors. The ability to use tryworks at sea thus enabled the
Yankee whaling industry to flourish.
"Overview of American Whaling"
, '' New Bedford Whaling Museum'', New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...
References
* Melville, Herman, Moby-Dick, Chapter 96: "The Try-Works".
Further reading
* "Trying Out the Oil", chapter in the book by Peter Cook, ''You Wouldn't Want to Sail on a 19th-Century Whaling Ship!'', New York : Franklin Watts, 2004.
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Whaling implements