Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco City and County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
The Deckhouse
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, March 4, 2017
1. The Deckhouse Marker
Caption: (lower right) THE SAILMAKER In the Tropics the ship used her oldest and most patched canvas, and on fine days during the run down to the Horn, 'Sails' brought his bench and kit up on the main hatch where he overhauled his best suit of sails in preparation for the coming battle with 'Cape Stiff.'
Inscription.
The Deckhouse. . This structure contains the galley, the carpenter's shop, as well as quarters for apprentices and the "idlers." These men, the bosun, sailmaker, carpenter, and cook were actually among the hardest workers of the crew, beginning at six in the morning and, with half a hour off for breakfast and dinner, worked until six at night. The term "idlers was given them by the rest of the crew because they did not stand watch but instead had all night in. , The deckhouse first started to appear as a feature of merchant ships about fifty years before the Balclutha was built. It replaced a tiny portable structure just large enough of the cook and his stove, called the caboose. This was lashed down wherever convenient on the deck, and occasionally in heavy weather was lost overboard with its contents, including the cook. , Even a steel deckhouse like this, marking Balclutha as an up-to-date windjammer for 1886, (until that time this house was usually built of paneled teak), was not impregnable. During the unusually heavy gales off the Horn in 1905 the full rigged ship Beacon Rock took a sea aboard that smashed in the port side of her steel deckhouse, swept the galley clean of everything, and destroyed three of the ships' four boats.
This structure contains the galley, the carpenter's shop, as well as quarters for apprentices and the "idlers." These men, the bosun, sailmaker, carpenter, and cook were actually among the hardest workers of the crew, beginning at six in the morning and, with half a hour off for breakfast and dinner, worked until six at night. The term "idlers was given them by the rest of the crew because they did not stand watch but instead had all night in.
The deckhouse first started to appear as a feature of merchant ships about fifty years before the Balclutha was built. It replaced a tiny portable structure just large enough of the cook and his stove, called the caboose. This was lashed down wherever convenient on the deck, and occasionally in heavy weather was lost overboard with its contents, including the cook.
Even a steel deckhouse like this, marking Balclutha as an up-to-date windjammer for 1886, (until that time this house was usually built of paneled teak), was not impregnable. During the unusually heavy gales off the Horn in 1905 the full rigged ship Beacon Rock took a sea aboard that smashed in the port side of her steel deckhouse, swept the galley clean of everything, and destroyed three of the ships' four boats.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Waterways & Vessels.
Location.
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37° 48.585′ N, 122° 25.346′ W. Marker is in San Francisco, California, in San Francisco City and County. It is in Fisherman's Wharf. Marker can be reached from Hyde Street near Jefferson Street, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2950 Hyde Street, San Francisco CA 94109, United States of America. Touch for directions.
More about this marker. The Deckhouse marker is found onboard the Balclutha, near the deckhouse, mid-ship, port side.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, March 4, 2017
2. The Deckhouse and Marker
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, March 4, 2017
3. The Deckhouse
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, March 4, 2017
4. The Galley
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 10, 2017, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 290 times since then and 8 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on March 10, 2017, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.