Page 168 - Nicolaes Witsen & Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age

Chapter Two
98. Also the Bulkhead before the Steering Stand
The bulkhead in front of the steering stand was made to bulge outward, and it was covered with weatherboard- ing or clink er planking. It had a door in the middle w ith a round arch, so it had a little more height. As we h ave seen, the deck of the steering stand was a step lower than the main deck.
To the left and the right of the door carved arches made the bulkhead schootsvrij (lit., “shot-free”). This somewhat obscure word did not mean bulletproof, but rather that the openings offered the opportunity to fire through them with muskets, which was c onvenient if the ship was in danger of boarding. Below these apertures to either side there was a hatch, through which light could be admitted behind the bulkhead. There a ladder descended onto the main deck.
On the exterior of the bulkhead, next to the aper tures and close to the ship’s sides, stairs led up to the dec k above the steering st and (see section 10 3, The Bulk- head before the U pper Cabin). On that deck there was a rail in the same style as the apertures in the bulkhead. This rail marked out the dec k above the steering st and and was mostly ornamental. The arch was actually a low decorative rail and c onsisted of small pi llars that were placed between a batten n ailed onto the dec k planks and a c ornice placed one foot higher. (The l abels L and M mentioned in pa ssage 58 I 5 1 are nowhere to be fou nd on Witsen’s plate—they correspond to the letters N and O referred to in passage 90 II 44.)
Figure 2.198. Plate XL. Bulwark of the steering stand.
99. With the bulkhead before the Forecastle.
(89 II 12) The bulkhead for ward, will be bulging, the hollow side on top, in w hich one or two doors are made, with portholes to th e sides. Also for ward and above. On the forecastle there are banisters, the heavi- est and most elegan t forward, because they are the most exhibited.
Apart from the portholes also loopholes are made fore and aft in to it, on men- of-war nowadays a musket-shot-free bulwark is made above all around the forecastle. The fo recastle often goes down one step, to gain heigh t, especially on ships w hich have their galleys, and berths there.
(89 I 42) 52. About the Bulkhead at the Forecastle.
1. The posts of the bulkhead at the forecastle, thick
5 inches, broad 6 inches, with a curve of 8 inches, above hanging forward, 16 inches.
2. There are two doors, each wide 2 feet 6 inches, the arches high 14 inches, thick 5 inches, broad 6 inches.
3. The portholes wide 21 inches, high 18 inches.
4. The bulkhead, with the door shot-free.
5. The frame broad 51⁄2 inches, thick 5 inches.
6. The planks inside and out, thick 1 inch, the deck
above the forecastle is at or roundish.
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