What did merchants and pirates put in the poop?

[Daniel]

The poop: that odd little cabin or compartment at the extreme top and back of the ship that sits immediately above the captain's cabin, and whose roof forms the poop deck. In Falconer's diagram of a 1st-rate ship of the line, there is a large poop that is actually divided into three compartments; a room for the trumpeters, the "Captain Lieutenant's" cabin and the "cuddy," which is for "the Master and secretaries officers."

All very well, but you also see poops on large East Indiamen and other merchant ships. It seems unlikely that merchants would have had trumpeters or "captain lieutenants," which would have been a military rank. I suppose they might have put the sailing master there if the captain was not also master, but who used the poop if the master was also captain and roomed in the captain's cabin?

[Silver]

The poop: that odd little cabin or compartment at the extreme top and back of the ship that sits immediately above the captain's cabin, and whose roof forms the poop deck. In Falconer's diagram of a 1st-rate ship of the line, there is a large poop that is actually divided into three compartments; a room for the trumpeters, the "Captain Lieutenant's" cabin and the "cuddy," which is for "the Master and secretaries officers."

All very well, but you also see poops on large East Indiamen and other merchant ships. It seems unlikely that merchants would have had trumpeters or "captain lieutenants," which would have been a military rank. I suppose they might have put the sailing master there if the captain was not also master, but who used the poop if the master was also captain and roomed in the captain's cabin?

page 81 in the "BATAVIA'S GRAVEYARD" by mike dash (a large 1600's east indiamen) "Jeronimus and a half a dozen other distinguished passengers were shown to a warren of little cabins on the deck above (over the great cabin), where the quarters were smaller and more spartan".

[Daniel]

The poop: that odd little cabin or compartment at the extreme top and back of the ship that sits immediately above the captain's cabin, and whose roof forms the poop deck. In Falconer's diagram of a 1st-rate ship of the line, there is a large poop that is actually divided into three compartments; a room for the trumpeters, the "Captain Lieutenant's" cabin and the "cuddy," which is for "the Master and secretaries officers."

All very well, but you also see poops on large East Indiamen and other merchant ships. It seems unlikely that merchants would have had trumpeters or "captain lieutenants," which would have been a military rank. I suppose they might have put the sailing master there if the captain was not also master, but who used the poop if the master was also captain and roomed in the captain's cabin?

page 81 in the "BATAVIA'S GRAVEYARD" by mike dash (a large 1600's east indiamen) "Jeronimus and a half a dozen other distinguished passengers were shown to a warren of little cabins on the deck above (over the great cabin), where the quarters were smaller and more spartan".

Good research! I thought that maybe the poop could be used for passengers, but I wasn't sure.

Of course, in the case of the Batavia, you could equally call the passengers' quarters storage for spare rations.

[Fox]

Given the habit of pirates of razing ships (removing upperworks for the sake of speed and handiness) I suspect the answer for most pirate vessels would be nothing. Smaller vessels wouldn't have had a poop anyway.

[Silver]

Given the habit of pirates of razing ships (removing upperworks for the sake of speed and handiness) I suspect the answer for most pirate vessels would be nothing. Smaller vessels wouldn't have had a poop anyway.

have you ever studied the double page illustration on page 132/133 in the TIME-LIFE The Seafarers "PIRATES" book? the vessel that has been cut down has the look of a sailing landing craft.

[Capn Bob]

What rum goes best with long pig, anyway?

The poop: that odd little cabin or compartment at the extreme top and back of the ship that sits immediately above the captain's cabin, and whose roof forms the poop deck. In Falconer's diagram of a 1st-rate ship of the line, there is a large poop that is actually divided into three compartments; a room for the trumpeters, the "Captain Lieutenant's" cabin and the "cuddy," which is for "the Master and secretaries officers."

All very well, but you also see poops on large East Indiamen and other merchant ships. It seems unlikely that merchants would have had trumpeters or "captain lieutenants," which would have been a military rank. I suppose they might have put the sailing master there if the captain was not also master, but who used the poop if the master was also captain and roomed in the captain's cabin?

page 81 in the "BATAVIA'S GRAVEYARD" by mike dash (a large 1600's east indiamen) "Jeronimus and a half a dozen other distinguished passengers were shown to a warren of little cabins on the deck above (over the great cabin), where the quarters were smaller and more spartan".

Good research! I thought that maybe the poop could be used for passengers, but I wasn't sure.

Of course, in the case of the Batavia, you could equally call the passengers' quarters storage for spare rations.

[Dread Pyrate Greyhound]

I've found references to it being called the 'Roundhouse' cabin and was devided into two or even three smaller cabins for wealthier passangers.