Boat booms and boarding ladders

I've occasionally seen newsreel footage of ships with boarding ladders deployed while maneuvering in port or out of a harbor, taking a courier transfer aboard or the like, but I can't imagine them being run out at speed while underway.

Most of the photos I've seen of them stowed inboard show them collapsed - sometimes even with a canvas cover - though they'd likely be tucked away at sea.

(No naval experience, mind you; just a punter's lifetime of viewing of photos.)

Acommodation ladders just hang over the side of the ship, with some wooden blocks to act as bumpers to not scuff the ship's side.

Some naval vessels kept the davit in a swivel at the side, but, generally, the whole kit-and-kaboodle is struck down and secured (one more task for the Sea and Anchor Detail).

Boat booms are a fine bit of boatswain's art.  Traditionally wooden, but metal examples are common enough.  Naval practice is to stow them in brackets alongside the hull--but that can vary by the ship and the Navy in qestion.  Maritime ships don't bother much with booms.

General rule of thumb for a naval boat boom is that it will support a number of boats, often in proportion to the number of boats carried.  For a battleship, the boat boom might be expected to support the Captain's gig, a whaleboat, and a couple of 40' service & personnel boats.  So, it would be a long spar.  With 4 sets of Jacob's (rope) ladders strung over.

Rigging for a boat boom is a lift tackle, a forehaul, and an afterhaul at a minimum.  Longer boat booms (or those without convenient superstructure nearby) might have two topping lifts.  This is less common, as the topping lift typically has a pendant to get the block up high enough to bend the manrope above the boom about 3' above it

The cox's'ns of old sidled out the boom using the manrope for support, then scotted down to the Jacob's ladder to haul in the painter of his boat before going aboard.  Our more modern times put the cox' and motormac on belay lines while wearing lifejackets and hardhats.

Used to be a USN tradition for capital ships that you'd set two booms out.  Enlisted boarded port and for'ard; officers aft and starboard (closer to quarterdeck).  This practice could be amended, say if one side of the ship were a better lee, or if the anchorage were "contrary" (current and prevailing wind in different directions) where the ship will mind the current, but the boats will follow the wind.

Uh Oh !

 Don't forget , Tin Cans usually did this only on the Quarterdeck station , whichever side was convenient to the anchorage . The crew used the same ladder to board the Liberty launch supplied by the port in question .

The Admirals barge and the Captain's gig, to the boom, forward of the port side elevator of ESSEX, CVS-9, 1961.

Thanks, folks.  I have decided to have the booms stowed, but leave the boarding ladders out.

Jacob's ladders, what a hoot watching a boot seaman trying to climb one for the first time!!

RN seems to have had longer booms, especially on their capital ships.  Which reflects the larger compliment of boats carried.  And a need to put those boats over the side to load cargo and supplies aboard.

Having accommodation ladders over, but not booms is entirely suitable where a well-developed water taxi service is in place.

Thanks, Capt'n.

This has nothing to do with what the Royal Navy might have been doing early in the century but I will give you some incite as to what was happening in the 1960s in the amphibious navy. The ship I was on - an attack transport - had 26 boats on board. We had as I recall one boat boom rigged on the port side aft. Forward  so they would access the number one hatch were accommodation ladders port and starboard.

Now the boat boom could probably accommodate three boats and we might have had a large number of boats in the water. So the excess boats would have been nested along side with bow and stern lines and fenders out.

As for the accommodation ladders, although we had two only one would have been used at a time. They were aluminum and folded against the side of the ship outboard of the permanent rail. They were adjustable so that the steps would remain level no matter what angle the ladder was at. The bottom platform was removable. The platform was used when we were at anchor. When we were alongside a pier the platform was removed and a roller replaced it so the ladder could move along the pier depending on the tide. The ship was equipped with small cranes port and starboard that had been used to deploy paravanes. They were used exclusively to raise and lower the ladders.