Boatswain

Boatswain

A boatswain ( /ˈboʊsən/, formerly and dialectally also /ˈboʊtsweɪn/), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. The boatswain supervises the other unlicensed members of the ship's deck department, and typically is not a watchstander, except on vessels with small crews. Other duties vary depending on the type of ship, her crewing, and other factors.

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Famous quotes containing the word boatswain:

    The master, the swabber, the boatswain and I,
    The gunner and his mate,
    Loved Mall, Meg, and Marian and Margery,
    But none of us cared for Kate;
    For she had a tongue with a tang,
    Would cry to a sailor, ‘Go hang!’
    She loved not the savour of tar nor of pitch,
    Yet a tailor might scratch her where’er she did itch:
    Then to sea, boys, and let her go hang.
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)