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ChubbyChecker posted:wouldn't all the triangular sails before the foremast be jibs? I think in this era it's typical to refer to the innermost two as the fore staysail (on the forestay) and foretopmast staysail (on the foretopmast stay).
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Jun 20, 2022 23:27
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Kestral posted:Perfect, thanks! I can handle period-appropriate depictions as long as the author isn't deliberately mean-spirited about it, like the old Sinister Bisexual trope. Now I just have to print out a cheat sheet of nautical terminology to reference while I listen to the audiobook, oh my god words There are a few evil gays later in the series, and I think it's at least intimated that some characters (not Jack or Stephen) attribute their evil to their sexuality, but by and large (note: phrase of nautical origin) I think the authorial viewpoint is pretty drat liberated for its time. Mr Marshall in particular is cast as one of the more sympathetic officers of the Sophie and, while he's not infrequently a source of comedy, that derives more from his Scottish accent than his sexuality. I can recall one officer a little later in the series whose sexuality is an open secret in the Navy; Jack only disapproves of him because he has affairs with men under his command, thereby undermining ship's discipline and efficiency.
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Jul 23, 2022 05:06
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Genghis Cohen posted:Reference the 'evil gays', yes there are two men who are in a relationship together who are villains, but they never exhibit any of the markers commonly seen on page or screen of that trope. They never leer over any straight men or exhibit particularly predatory behaviour. Sexuality does play a role in the spy intrigue that leads to their downfall, but really I think the fact they're gay is mostly in there as a marker which explains, partly, why they are willing to put themselves beyond the pale of their (British upper-class) society and become villains. I was being a little flip, there, but I pretty much agree with this. I thought it might be worth noting for two of the major antagonists of the series, though. It's something a reader could take issue with, even if you and I wouldn't.
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Jul 24, 2022 04:19
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A Proper Uppercut posted:I guess I never realized that steel and sails overlapped at any point. More iron than steel, I think. A lot of clippers were wooden-hulled on an iron frame (e.g. Cutty Sark). IIRC by the time the metallurgy for industrial-scale steel applications is mature, pure sailing rigs are mostly relegated to cheap, not fast. But pure sailing cargo vessels persist into the 20th century and you can find records of u-boats sinking them.
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Oct 12, 2022 16:01
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Arglebargle III posted:What exactly is the difference between a sloop rig and a topsail schooner rig and a schooner rig? A sloop rig is a fore-and-aft rig with a single mast. Your typical modern sailboat is a Bermuda sloop (distinguished by the triangular mainsail), whereas I think in Aubrey's day a typical sloop rig would have a gaff mainsail. A schooner is a fore-and-aft rig with two or more masts (I think I've seen as many as seven by the beginning of the 20th century). A typical schooner of Aubrey's day would have a fore and main mast (although these might be much closer in height than in, say, a brig) with gaff mainsails. A topsail schooner adds a square topsail to the foremast and possibly the mainmast, improving performance before the wind. e: corrected "closer than height" to "closer in height" OpenlyEvilJello fucked around with this message at 22:01 on Jan 14, 2023 |
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Jan 14, 2023 17:58
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I read Pride and Prejudice for the first time just last month and had the same thought. I wouldn't say Mrs. Williams is Mrs. Bennet, but they sure seem related.
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Feb 8, 2023 04:49
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I think those are actually split topsails and topgallants, common from the middle 19th century for easier sail handling, as evidenced by the unsplit studdingsails. So what we're seeing is, from the bottom: course, lower topsail, upper topsail, lower topgallant, upper topgallant, royal.
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Mar 30, 2023 15:43
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StrixNebulosa posted:It drives me perfectly insane that Jack is more concerned about clean dishes and utensils than Stephen, the doctor is. Lister's article on sepsis and the value of sterilizing surgical instruments doesn't appear until 1867. I recall accounts of earlier surgeons preserving blood and gore on their equipment as a sort of signal of their professional experience. Medicine, uh, advanced a lot during the nineteenth century.
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Sep 19, 2023 22:40
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PlushCow posted:Outside of other context it means securing the anchor to the cathead. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathead To expand, "He has catted his fish" is one of Stephen's maritime malapropisms. He's mangled the phrase "catted and fished [his anchor]," i.e., completely raised and secured the anchor ready to proceed to sea.
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Sep 25, 2023 05:17
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