No Such Thing as a Stern Pulpit!

[jwidahonurse]

HAHAHAHA too funny! amytom......you sound very experienced with the piss/puke pit

[jwidahonurse]

Originally Posted by jwidahonurse

HAHAHAHA too funny! amytom......you sound very experienced with the piss/puke pit

to thine own self be true

[amytom]

Originally Posted by jwidahonurse

HAHAHAHA too funny! amytom......you sound very experienced with the piss/puke pit

Late on a very dark night I was peeing off of the fantail of a destroyer while having a smoke. (a big no no for the Navy) another cigarette walks up to me and asks (in the Captains voice) how's the water tonight son? I say, "a little chilly sir" Mind you, we're fifteen feet off the water.


Other times we were in the north Atlantic during winter storms, everybody was puking.

[fastfilm]

from the Oxford English Dictionary online edition entry revised 2008

pulpit (n.)
b. Naut. (a) The poop of a sailing ship, from which directions are given (obs.); (b) a structure on the bowsprit of a whaler or swordfishing vessel for the harpooner to stand on; (c) a guard rail on the bow (or, sometimes, the stern) of a yacht, cruiser, etc.
1512-13 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1902) IV. 466 For ij dusane of sparris to the Gabriell to mak hir cowbryg for hir powpet. 1513 G. DOUGLAS tr. Virgil Æneid VIII. iii. 46 Eneas tho..Maid ansuer from the pulpit of the schip [L. puppi ab alta].
1888 G. B. GOODE Amer. Fishes 250 All vessels regularly engaged in this fishery are supplied with a special apparatus, called a ‘rest’ or ‘pulpit’, for the support of the harpooner as he stands on the bowsprit. 1927 G. BRADFORD Gloss. Sea Terms 135/1 Pulpit, the harpooning platform on the bowsprit of a sword-fishing vessel. 1938 Yachting Monthly & Motor Boating Mag. Jan. 207 Since the R.O.R.C. ruling made it compulsory to carry the wire rail right round the stem, various attempts have been made to evolve a rail-head fitting. But Ortac's adaptation of the sword fishing pulpit seems by far the best... Fig. 10..The ‘pulpit’ at Ortac's stemhead. 1959 W. R. BIRD These are Maritimes v. 132 We noted the ‘pulpits’ constructed far forward for the use of the man who throws the spear. 1964 Eng. Stud. 45 23 A pulpit is a raised safety-rail in the bows of a yacht or motor cruiser. 1979 Assoc. Press (Nexis) 14 May, Why was he standing after in the cockpit against the stern pulpit for so long? 1986 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) (Nexis) 1 Jan., A crew member aboard Drake's Prayer had touched the pulpit on Ragamuffin as the two yachts jockeyed for position at the start of the race. 1989 J. CASEY Spartina (1990) 51 Dick put his harpoon by the pulpit, pigeon-holed his charts and notes in the wheelhouse. 1998 Canal Boat & Inland Waterways June 78/2 The fore-deck is a good area, with a sturdy pulpit round it which serves as the stowage for the anchor.

[David M]

Originally Posted by Bash

...where a few of the members were quite insistent that spaces within the clubhouse should be referred to as if they were spaces aboard a boat rather than inside a building. The kitchen was to be called a galley, the bathrooms were to be called heads, et cetera. These same people tended to be those who were most insistent that club officers wear uniforms to meetings, that members observe naval flag etiquette, and that blazers be worn to parties. After belonging to the club for a year or two, the correlation finally became apparent to me that the folks who were most insistent on proper language, proper dress, and proper ritual were also the least likely members ever to hoist a sail or to muddy an anchor.

Marno's original post is fine.
Nowhere else in polite society is it not considered bad manners to correct someone's diction. I suggest that it's time this same standard be applied to the yachting community. You want to correct me for calling my stern pulpit a stern pulpit? Shame on you.

They obviously could not tell the difference between a boat and a building. I wonder if they also drive their cars the same way one drives a boat?

I once in a great while correct grad students when they confuse tide with current.

If I hear enough of "is the tide coming in or going out"...I correct them by perhaps saying "the current is ebbing and the tide is falling" not to be a smart ass, but because marine scientists in training really do need to know the difference between tide and current. Sometime it is really important to use the correct terms. A agree with you though, some people could use more tact when correcting others.

[cal40john]

Well if you're gonna go to OED, you shoulda typed in pushpit as well.

OED entry:

pushpit n. [humorously after PULPIT n. 3b(c)] Naut. a raised safety rail in the stern of a boat

1964 was OED's first instance of it.

John

Originally Posted by fastfilm

from the Oxford English Dictionary online edition entry revised 2008

pulpit (n.)
b. Naut. (a) The poop of a sailing ship, from which directions are given (obs.); (b) a structure on the bowsprit of a whaler or swordfishing vessel for the harpooner to stand on; (c) a guard rail on the bow (or, sometimes, the stern) of a yacht, cruiser, etc.
1512-13 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1902) IV. 466 For ij dusane of sparris to the Gabriell to mak hir cowbryg for hir powpet. 1513 G. DOUGLAS tr. Virgil Æneid VIII. iii. 46 Eneas tho..Maid ansuer from the pulpit of the schip [L. puppi ab alta].
1888 G. B. GOODE Amer. Fishes 250 All vessels regularly engaged in this fishery are supplied with a special apparatus, called a ‘rest’ or ‘pulpit’, for the support of the harpooner as he stands on the bowsprit. 1927 G. BRADFORD Gloss. Sea Terms 135/1 Pulpit, the harpooning platform on the bowsprit of a sword-fishing vessel. 1938 Yachting Monthly & Motor Boating Mag. Jan. 207 Since the R.O.R.C. ruling made it compulsory to carry the wire rail right round the stem, various attempts have been made to evolve a rail-head fitting. But Ortac's adaptation of the sword fishing pulpit seems by far the best... Fig. 10..The ‘pulpit’ at Ortac's stemhead. 1959 W. R. BIRD These are Maritimes v. 132 We noted the ‘pulpits’ constructed far forward for the use of the man who throws the spear. 1964 Eng. Stud. 45 23 A pulpit is a raised safety-rail in the bows of a yacht or motor cruiser. 1979 Assoc. Press (Nexis) 14 May, Why was he standing after in the cockpit against the stern pulpit for so long? 1986 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) (Nexis) 1 Jan., A crew member aboard Drake's Prayer had touched the pulpit on Ragamuffin as the two yachts jockeyed for position at the start of the race. 1989 J. CASEY Spartina (1990) 51 Dick put his harpoon by the pulpit, pigeon-holed his charts and notes in the wheelhouse. 1998 Canal Boat & Inland Waterways June 78/2 The fore-deck is a good area, with a sturdy pulpit round it which serves as the stowage for the anchor.

[Sailormann]

I wasted my time trying to educate myself as to the names of things on boats. I should have continued to use house names, whatever sounded right to me, or failing that, made something up that sounded right to me and people in the region of the country that I come from......

There are times and places for everything. When sailing with other sailors from the some region as yourself it is correct to use nautical terms to describe things . When you are sailing with a group of newbies, it is not a good idea to start speaking of blocks and chocks and sheets and beats.

They won't understand you and may well loosen the wrong line in their confusion. Chances are that telling them to "pull on that rope running through the pulley and tie it to that shiny thing there" will get a better result than telling them to " shorten that genoa sheet and make it fast on the stern cleat ".

Where I grew up (the east), some people used the term stern pulpit and some people used the term sternrail and some people used the term guardrail. I didn't encounter the term pushpit until I moved to uppity Canada (central).

In the navy we would have called something like that the aft rail.

So I think there are a lot of ways of saying the same thing, and it matters little which we choose to use. Personally, I think it's a good idea to know the generally accepted terms for common items - masts, sails and - of course - baggywrinkles - but a bit of emboridery and colloquialism is a good thing in my opinion.

In the end, it is our responsibility as a host to make our guests feel comfortable. If my guests choose to mangle the nautical argot (because there are precious few who can really speak it well) then I'll follow their lead and gam along. If they use terms like bed, bathroom and steering wheel, well so do I.

[marno]

OK, this topic has really taken wings. I didn't expect to create this much controversy. I have not meant to offend anyone, and some people seem to have done an extraordinary amount of research into the terms discussed (thanks). I cruised the US for six months and even though it was obvious what it meant, every time I heard the term stern pulpit it made me cringe. It was like someone was using a redundant term, maybe the nearest I could describe it would be if someone called the back of the boat the "aft stern".
I will continue to call it a pushpit, some of you will continue to call it a stern pulpit, and we will all know what the other is talking about.
I would just like to shout a round of drinks for everyone at the Red Shanks Yacht and Lawn Tennis Club in appreciation of the due care and consideration that they have paid to the subject (and if you are nice I'll get the second round too).

[jwidahonurse]

Here is a simple explanantion of tides and currents


Tides go up and down; currents move left and right

Rip currents are powerful, channeled currents of water flowing away from shore.


Tides are driven by the gravitational force of the moon and sun. Tides are characterized by water moving up and down over a long period of time.
When used in association with water, the term "current" describes the motion of the water. Oceanic currents are driven by several factors. One is the rise and fall of the tides. Tides create a current in the oceans, near the shore, and in bays and estuaries along the coast. These are called "tidal currents." Tidal currents are the only type of currents that change in a very regular pattern and can be predicted for future datesries along the coast. These are called "tidal currents." Tidal currents are the only type of currents that change in a very regular pattern and can be predicted for future dates

[Amgine]

Nautical jargon is a bit of a personal hobby for me. Through much of the 'golden age' of commercial sail there were two primary glossaries for professional sailors using the English language: Dana's 'Sailor's Friend' (US merchant marine) and 'The Sailor's Word-Book' by Smyth (UK Royal Navy).

Neither of them mention either a pulpit or a pushpit. Because commercial sail craft rarely if ever had such a structure aboard.

Sailing terms which develop today almost never gain widespread and permanent acceptance because there is not a commercial backbone which requires standardization of language and develop authority.

[zeehag]

i learned sailing and terminlogy from a tallshipman. the 36 ft gaff rigged racing sail boat we sailed had no such metal items on board--she was a 1903 built treasure--no stanchions. no rails ....no cleats no winches. i didnt learn about those things uintil a bit later in my life/ the taffrail is a taffrail--my boat has one--is wooden........this also has a bow pulpit..and a bowsprit.......i cringe when someone says the term pushpit because it connotes PUSHING the boat. if anyone wants to push my boat i will have his head, thankyou.......i didnt hear the term "pushpit" until i was associating with yacht club folks with arttitude......sorry---is truth----SAILBOATS are not PUSHED.........

[marno]

It would be interesting to see which regions use which pushpit and which use stern pulpit. Previous posts have pointed out that "pushpit" has been used in Canada and the UK. I am an Aussie and pushpit is the term that I am used to. The Yanks seem to mainly use stern pulpit. What do they use in other English speaking countries?? New Zealand, South Africa, etc....

[amytom]

Originally Posted by marno

The Yanks seem to mainly use stern pulpit. What do they use in other English speaking countries??

Yanks speak English? I noticed this morning that every sign between my house and my daughter's school was in Spanish and some also had the English version in smaller print underneath.

Brings up the next question. So I can talk to my neighbors, what is the Spanish word for the stern pullpit / pushpit / pukepit?

[Amgine]

El púlpito es una plataforma elevada sobre la cubierta de popa.

The pulpit is a raised platform on the aft deck.

Ce que nous appelons la «pont de dunette» est, en espagnol, «el pulpito».

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by amytom

... So I can talk to my neighbors, what is the Spanish word for the stern pullpit / pushpit / pukepit?

English to Spanish
Pulpit = púlpito
Stern = popa
Rail = carril
Puke = vómito
Pit = hoyo, hornacho, zanja, derrumbadero