A Rating at the Futtocks Trivia Quiz

Answer: The lowest rank of officer on a Royal Navy vessel

Midshipmen were, and often still are, the lowest rank of officer on any vessel in the Royal Navy. Midshipmen were officers in training, and held a warrant rather than a commission. They were often young boys, as young as 9 or so, since they could sit for their Lieutenant's exam by the age of 20. Midshipmen often began at a young age also because they could not sit for their Lieutenant's exam until they had served as a Midshipman or similar rank for 6 years.

Answer: An undercover mutinous activity of rolling cannonballs along the deck to trip up officers

Shot rolling, in the Napoleonic-era British Navy, was a sure sign that mutiny was near or could be a threat. It was usually undertaken by sailors against officers that they disliked. Often done at night, sailors would unobtrusively roll cannonballs along the ship's deck at officers or shipmates to trip them up.

It was an underhand method of defiance and offered the best chance of undercover resistance to superiors who might be cruel or otherwise disliked. Should the offenders be caught, however, severe punishment up to death might be their fate.

Answer: A sailor's rank until he had served at least 1 year aboard any ship

Landsmen were just what the name implies: fresh recruits who knew little to nothing about a ship. Sailors were rated as landsmen until they had served in the Royal Navy for at least a year. After this time, they would be rated Seamen and receive more seniority and a higher pay. Landsmen were often looked down upon by the rest of the crew.

Answer: A type of tall hat often painted to make it waterproof

A tarpot hat was a hat common in the British Navy of the Napoleonic era. It was a tall, top hat-like hat with a small brim. They got their name because they were often painted with tar to make them waterproof at sea. They were worn particularly by Midshipmen, mostly after the uniform changes of 1812. They could also be worn by sailors on dress occasions.

Answer: A wooden device to secure ropes

A belaying pin is a wooden peg that inserts into the area below a mast. Ropes used for the masts on a ship are wound in a figure eight pattern from the bottom and top of the pin and tied off to secure it, and keep flags, sails, or whatever is hoisted on the ropes secured.

In naval culture and fiction, belaying pins are also used as easy-to-grab weapons. The term "Belay that!", meaning to stop what you are doing, is linked to the term belaying pin.

Answer: A trapdoor to enter the platform around a mast

The Lubber's hole is a sailor's term for a door to enter the platform around a mast, usually about halfway up a mast, from the bottom of the platform. This enables the climber to go straight up, rather than taking a more difficult route of climbing around the platform in order to gain it.

The Lubber's hole got its name from the term Land Lubber, an insulting term meaning someone who is not used to the sea. Hence, only Land Lubbers were expected to use the Lubber's hole; sailors were expected to take the more difficult route, or else would face ridicule from their mates.

Answer: Device for raising and lowering the ship's anchor

The capstan is a device that sat on a deck of the ship and was used for raising and lowering the ship's anchor, as well as any other heavy items that needed lifting, such as supplies and spare masts. The capstan operates similarly to a large cog, with spokes rotating out from the center which sailors push to turn it.

The turning cog wraps or unwraps ropes around itself, thus raising or lowering the anchor. A vast amount of power was needed to lift such heavy objects and wet ropes that stretched made the job all the more difficult.

Answer: The officer in charge of accounts and payroll

Pursers belonged to the wardroom class of officer; that is, they ranked above a Midshipman but not as high as the ship's Captain himself. Pursers were often the most unpopular officers aboard a ship, since they had a bad reputation for slimming rations and other accounts in order to pad their own pockets.

However, since the purser more often than not had to buy ship's supplies himself on credit, he could be at risk of bankruptcy.

Answer: The lowest deck of a ship above the hold

The Orlop deck was commonly the lowest deck of a ship, other than the hold, which was below it. The Orlop was often used for storage, as well as being the place for the Midshipmen's berth. Because it was directly over the hold, it was known for being a smelly, dank place.

However, it was often the safest place on the ship because it was below the waterline, and because of this the ship's surgeon often set up his operating theater on the Orlop during battles.

Answer: A cane used for punishment

A rattan was a thin cane stick that was often used as a weapon for punishment in the British Royal Navy. Often wielded by the boatswain, the rattan could be used to strike sailors as the boatswain saw fit, or could be used to give Midshipmen "stripes", or strikes that would often raise blood. Depending on the ship, boatswains could be given free rein to use the rattan as they wished, and thus were watched with dread by sailors.