NavList:

Bill B wrote:
> "I saw long dining tables (no legs) hinged to the bulkhead. The inboard ends
> were suspended from overhead lines. (Not familiar with the proper
> nautical term for that particular rope.) As a ship in those days would
> most likely stay one one tack for a good many days, the lines were
> adjusted to keep the tables level on that tack."

I am skeptical of that claim. Sounds like a tour guide tale.
If a vessel of that era did use hanging mess tables, they would only have been temporarily rigged for the mid day dinner. Immediately afterwards, they would have been stowed away until the next use.

Bill also asked:
For extra credit did the lamps used for the "candle-light dinners" burn
(whale?) oil or did they use tallow candles?

Cheap tallow Purser's dips for the crew. Perhaps oil lamps for some officers.
To put a navigation spin on the question, what was used in the binnacle at night, for reading the compass? Probably both tallow and oil.

Don Seltzer
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