What does it sound like to be inside a XVIII century sailing ship?

[Sperry]

I'd like to know what it sounds like to be inside a ship when it's sailing and when it's moored.

 

What are the sounds from within a ship (in the cargohold, on the different decks, the orlop, as well as the upper decks) while it's sailing?

Wood: Can one hear the wood cracking as the ship tilts on it's axis? And if so, how different is this sound on the upper and lower decks? Also, how much can one hear when people are moving within the ship? Can one hear the footsteps of someone walking on a deck above? On a deck below?

Water: Could one hear the water flowing around the hull from within? If so, does it sound like a constant low hum, or are their variations? Can one hear waves hitting the hull if standing below the waterline, or are the waves only audible if one is above the waterline? How (if at all) does the sailing speed of the ship determine what one hears from the inside?

Wind: Can one hear the ocean wind from within the ship? On which decks?

 

I'd be grateful to have feedback from anyone with experience sailing in old ships, or from any source of literature. Thanks for your time!

Edited March 14, 2021 by Sperry

[allanyed]

Interesting questions and now I have to ask, why?    I don't think you will get too much first hand experience in 2021 😁     If you had asked about 50 years ago I had an old German bosun for a teacher  from the days of sail that taught knot tying amongst other things at Kings Point who would have had the answers for you.  He went to sea at the end of the 19th century/beginning of the 20th century at the age of about 12 on sailing vessels and continued to sail for many years before taking up teaching.     

 

If you get no hands on experience here from the members, maybe consider finding someone that sailed or sails today on the ships built for various schools or movies in the 20th century such as the Rose which came about in 1970 and was then used in the film Master and Commander.     

 

Allan

 

 

[tarbrush]

here is something fun to listed to:

https://ship.ambient-mixer.com/a-sailing-ship#:~:text=Seagulls squawking as they fly past%2C the creaking,regulate the watch system and tell the time.

[Chuck Seiler]

    I disagree a little with Allan.  There are many replicas out there that would replicate the sound quite well (assuming the engine is turned off).  You didn't specify what kind of sailing vessel.  There are quite a few brigs, schooners and small vessel...larger, not so much...although there are a couple frigates that get out and about once in awhile.  Also, an 19th century schooner will give a similar result as an 18th century one.  Also, although sound attenuation will be a little different between wood and metal, I can provide some input based on years on a naval destroyer.

 

    You do not specify size of vessel or sea state.  A wooden ship at sea is an orchestration of wood working against wood.  Alot of groaning and creaking and this is increased with the increase in sea state (along with the sound of people barfing over the side).  The larger ships would have a deeper sound.

 

    Yes, you can hear the water below deck, thru the hull.  Below the waterline you can hear sounds as well.  18th century ships did not have sonar...on modern day destroyers you can hear somebody else's sonar from a distance.  I heard whales once.

 

    The sound aboard a ship inport is universal...sailors complaining about not being able to go ashore fast enough.

[mtaylor]

Just a thought... play the Master and Commander movie with the sound up.   Close your eyes and listen.  Their sound team did a good job on background noises.   It's not perfect of course, but the ship sounds are there and so subtle that you really have to listen for them. If you've ever watched it with the sound off and subtitles on, you know there's something missing.... that background noise.

[Harvey Golden]

Aside from the obvious creaking wood, flapping canvas, wind whistling through the lines, squeaky blocks, and the rush of the waterline, there would be the inevitable sound of vomiting, flatulence, belching, and profanity.  

[RichardG]

And noises from the livestock.

[Shotlocker]

Sperry,

I can't testify as to what a wooden sailing ship really sounded like at sea but I can tell you what it sounded like on the wooden ocean-going

minesweepers I served aboard. The engine noise was there, of course, but not terribly loud. In moderate to rough seas, below decks, the

noise of the waves pounding against the hull was a booming sound accompanied by some creaking and groaning of the ships structure.

Someone had drawn a vertical pencil line across two overlapping beams in the berthing compartment and it was fascinating to watch that

line separate and come back together again as the ships hull flexed. Lying on the bow in calmer weather, looking down at the bow wave,

one could only hear the wind and the hissing of the water as the bow cut through. Below decks, drifting at sea, the sound of the sea was

a gently slapping against the hull - very pleasant and relaxing. Up on the bridge a humming could be heard from the wire rigging on the

mast plus the flapping of the canvas cover over the pilot house. Not a square rigger for sure but nice anyway. Thanks for the memories

and I hope I gave you some idea of what it was like.

 

Cheers,

Gary

[popeye2sea]

Gary, I also served in minesweepers; USS Exploit MSO 440 and USS Affray MSO 511. Also with CO MINEDIV 121. 

Wooden ships and Iron men!

 

Regards,

[Dr PR]

My first ship was a wooden minesweeper USS Cape MSI-2.

 

In port, with the engines off, I could hear the lapping of the small waves against the hull. But it was a pretty low sound and things like generators and fans/vent ducts would drown it out. You could hear some things going on topside (like holystoning) but I don't recall footsteps.

 

Like Gary said, in heavy seas you can hear (and feel) waves slamming against the hull. And as he said, ships do flex a lot, so there were a lot of creaking sounds.

 

I never tried hanging over the bow to listen to the bow cutting the waves. The ship's top speed was 13 knots with a tail wind so it wasn't cutting through the water very fast.

 

On the cruiser I was on I did occasionally hang over the bow and on calm days the stem made a hissing sound as it sliced through the water.

 

I did sail on a square-rigger once (Lady Washington) and a thing I noticed was that after we left harbor under power (against the tide and wind) and were at sea, when they shut off the engine it seemed to be very quiet. The engine wasn't loud, only a low hum, but under sail in calm seas it was very quiet. Just the low sound of the wind in the sails and ringing. And a bit of creaking as the ship rolled and strains changed on the rigging.

[Shotlocker]

Henry,

I seem to recall seeing the two sweeps you served on at the naval base in Charleston, SC, is that where you were home ported?

And, yep, iron men on wooden ships. I believe our motto was something like "Where the Fleet goes, we've already been." One

more comment on the first photo I posted: it was taken as we were drifting, powerless, after the tugs engine quit. Before they

got underway again the two sweeps (I was on the Notable) had drifted together and collided with only minor damage. Both ships

were being towed to NYC for decommissioning and then onto the scrapyard. I think there is only one MSO left intact somewhere

overseas, not sure of that. Sad. They were tough little ships.

Gary

[Sailor1234567890]

Noise transmits exceptionally well through water as most of us already know. Sitting in Halifax Harbour in one of our patrol frigates, I could hear someone's Sonar Pinging. They were conducting trials of some sort and it was irritating beyond belief. In a submarine, you can hear vessels transiting overhead. Not something we like to do but when someone does sail over us (they don't know we're under them) it's quite obvious. The most interesting noise I heard from safe depth was a helicopter passing over head. Yes, the noise of the Helo transmitted through the water, down to our submarine, through the hull and into our ears. One of our Sonar Operators told of a port visit to Bermuda where he met up with a buddy from one of our frigates. He asked him what the problem was with one of the shaft lines. The buddy was flabbergasted that he knew they had sustained damage to one of the shafts because it had just happened. Apparently, it was audible and easily distinguished that ship from any of the other frigates in the area. This is all metal stuff.

Wooden ships, as mentioned above, there's a lot of creaking and groaning. You can hear the wind from below and depending on the size of the vessel, you can hear people walking above your head. Larger vessels have decks thick enough that it gets hard to hear. The suggestion of listening to Master and Commander is probably one of the best ones. It's understood by most to be the single most accurate portrayal of war and I seem to recall it was nominated and may have won some awards for sound work. The sound in that movie is amazing. The sound of roundshot coming inboard.... they filmed balls crashing through planking from downrange and used that in the movie so it's exactly what balls sound like crashing through timber. They recorded each different size of gun shooting ball, chain, grape..... each has it's own unique sound and they incorporated them accurately in the movie. Best movie ever if you ask me.  

[popeye2sea]

On Constitution you can definitely hear people walking on the deck above you. Of course, if you consider there are rather large holes in the deck (covered with gratings) then that is not surprising. Conversations can also easily be heard.

On a man-of war in the American and I think the Royal Navy no idle talking was allowed on deck.

 

One of the places where sailors were often allowed to talk was when they were getting water at the water cask. It was a butt cask with a hole let in to serve out the water; therefore a scuttled butt or the scuttle butt.  Hence, where we get the term scuttlebutt for idle talk and gossip in modern usage.

 

Regards,

[Louie da fly]

On 3/16/2021 at 6:36 AM, popeye2sea said:

One of the places where sailors were often allowed to talk was when they were getting water at the water cask. It was a butt cask with a hole let in to serve out the water; therefore a scuttled butt or the scuttle butt.  Hence, where we get the term scuttlebutt for idle talk and gossip in modern usage.

 

Like the water cooler in a modern office. Or in the Australian army in WWI they had water wagons made by J. Furphy and Sons. Though it's now dying out, the Australian word "furphy" is even today used for an unfounded rumour.

 

Steven

[mr_pullings]

On 3/14/2021 at 2:18 PM, mtaylor said:

Just a thought... play the Master and Commander movie with the sound up.   Close your eyes and listen.  Their sound team did a good job on background noises.   It's not perfect of course, but the ship sounds are there and so subtle that you really have to listen for them. If you've ever watched it with the sound off and subtitles on, you know there's something missing.... that background noise.

They really did do a great job! Master and Commander won two Academy Awards and one was for sound editing. It's quite something when watched with a decent surround sound system.

Edited March 29, 2021 by mr_pullings

[Ansley K]

I have not been inside, but I have stood next to the large wooden Schooner, Thayer, when it was docked on a windy day and the creaking was pretty loud and creepy. It creaked with every bit of wave action it encountered. Also, there was a fairly loud, really creepy hollow sloshing sound that I assume was from some sort of ballast system. The Thayer was built in 1895.