Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="kenjib" data-source="post: 1145846" data-attributes="member: 530">Have you read Moby Dick Wilphe?  I think the passage where the ship's blacksmith forges the harpoon with Ahab's blood is the best part of the book.The boatswain, being the voice of the captain relayed to the crew, also often had an important psychological role on the ship.  He was the intermediary between the officers and the crew and on the big ships one of the few people who was expected to relate to both the officers and crew.  He was also often responsible for discipline but also morale.  In tense situations where mutiny was threatened his role could become very interesting.A reflection of his in-between role is that sometimes he was an officer, and sometimes he was considered enlisted instead.</blockquote>