The Hammocks: I spent some time reading up on these and found an interesting thesis :
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Worth a read. What I found out Re the storage of these in a brief Grants summary:
- Each sailor was issued a hammock (later 1770 2 for hygiene purposes) and these were assigned and numbered to each sailor. Even if they moved ship they had to keep these assigned hammocks.
-Each hammock has a designated place for storage in the cranes and netting.
-Hammocks had to be lashed 7 times and rolled to a specific width. During call to arms the hammocks only required 3 lashings.
The punishment for lost, incorrect storage, incorrectly lashed or using another sailors hammock was severe.
The
storage and the use for protection of the Hammocks was a
grey area with
little information up until 1746 according to Admiralty records. Peter Goodwin identifies the use of the cranes in 1710. In 1628 the Duke of Buckingham records the use of hammocks for protection in the his expedition to Rochelle with little other documentary evidence- according to this research.
After - 1746
- the hammocks where stored in the hammock nettings at various times for the following reasons :
1. Ventilation and drying
2. Protection during battle
3. Created more space below for ship activities
4. Peter Goodwin suggests they created a windbreak for sailors
During battle the hammocks where often stacked around the quarter deck cannons, lashed to the forecastle, place on the fighting top, around weaker rigging areas and lanyards, and in the sickbay for protection. Captain Hutchinson even added another 2 layers of horizontal hammocks above the netting and cranes during battle.
In stormy seas they were also placed behind the cannon wheels if a cannon broke free.
The storage of the hammocks was a problem in inclement weather as these got soaked and achieved little. The Royal Navy from 1746 covered these with waterproof canvas being canvas covered with tar and secured down by hooks or ropes on the cranes. Shown in following photos : (the reference is shown)
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And a model in the Daily mail as “the most accurate Victory”. ( not sure the press got this right as with my very limited knowledge on this ship I can see some inaccuracies). Thus in the reporters opinion...although she did put this in “”.
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Without the canvas cover (which would look pretty ugly with the tar effect) the question : Vertically or horizontally stored in the netting ?
Prior to 1746 - who knows.
Post 1746 :
In battle there are a multitude of configurations as mentioned.
We have seen photos of drawings from the guys in the know -
@Frank48 ,
@dafi ,
@Uwek ,
@Thomas Marocke ,
@Walterone which show vertical storage. I further found this photo which also clearly shows this method (source shown)
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In my quest to find horizontal storage I failed
unless I decide Grants Victory is Pre 1746
.
However I painted it in Trafalgar colours which was on the 21 October 1805. Eish another redo
Cheers Grant
. I relaid my hammocks vertically as the guys have shown me to be correct. Not neatly I just wanted to see if it will work.
