An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination of these roles. Once a sufficient amount of sea time is acquired, then the AB can apply to take a series of courses/examinations to become certified as an officer .
25-510: At sea an AB watchstander's duties include standing watch as helmsman and lookout . A helmsman is required to maintain a steady course, properly execute all rudder orders and communicate using navigational terms relating to heading and steering. A watchstander may be called upon to stand security-related watches, such as a gangway watch or anchor watch while the ship is not underway. An AB dayworker performs general maintenance, repair, sanitation and upkeep of material, equipment, and areas in
50-556: A dayworker is a position granted to senior ABs, since it generally allows more time for rest and relaxation. An AB may be called on to use emergency, lifesaving, damage control, and safety equipment. Able seamen perform all operations connected with the launching of lifesaving equipment. An AB is expected to be able to operate deck machinery, such as the windlass or winches while mooring or unmooring, and to operate cargo gear. Able seamen require advanced training, including lifeboatman certification. The ship's boatswain , if carried,
75-400: A navy ship) the 4 to 8 watch. The reason for this is to enable the chief mate to assign work to the deck gang before the ship's day begins, and to inspect it before going on watch at 1600 hours. A ship's bell is used in concert with a watch system to indicate the time using bell strikes to mark the time and help sailors know when to change watches. Unlike civil clock bells, the strikes of
100-828: A ship's bell do not accord to the number of the hour. Instead, there are eight bells, one for each half-hour of a four-hour watch. Bells would be struck every half-hour, and in a pattern of pairs for easier counting, with any odd bells at the end of the sequence. Lookout A lookout or look-out is a person in charge of the observation of hazards. The term originally comes from a naval background, where lookouts would watch for other ships, land, and various dangers. The term has now passed into wider parlance. Lookouts have been traditionally placed in high on masts, in crow's nests and tops . The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (1972) says in part: Lookouts report anything they see and or hear. When reporting contacts, lookouts give information such as, bearing of
125-540: Is 2 on 4 off during the day (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) and 3 on 6 off during the night (8 p.m. to 8 a.m.). The same arrangement of watch times can also be used with a crew divided into three sections. This gives each sailor more time off-duty, sometimes allowing sleeping periods of over seven hours. Names for the three watches—instead of Port and Starboard—vary from ship to ship. Naming schemes such as " Foremast ", " Mainmast " and " Mizzen "; and "Tomato", "White" and "Blue" are common. The so-called "five-and-dime" arrangement splits
150-457: Is a method of assigning regular periods of watchkeeping duty aboard ships and some other areas of employment. A watch system allows the ship's crew to operate the ship 24 hours a day while also allowing individual personnel adequate time for rest and other duties. Watch durations vary between vessels due to some reasons and restrictions; some watch systems aim to ensure that each team takes turns to work late at night, while other systems ensure
175-414: Is consistent. For example, a member of watch team 1 will only have to remember that he is on the "4–8" watch, and knows that he goes on watch at 4 a.m. and 4 p.m. This scheme also allows inexperienced watchkeepers to keep watch from 8–12 a.m. and 8–12 p.m., when senior watchkeepers are likely to be awake and ready to assist in case of trouble. By custom, in a ship with five deck officers
200-840: Is typically a senior AB. The boatswain is in charge of the able seamen and ordinary seaman that comprise the unlicensed deck crew, and reports directly to the chief mate . The Code of Federal Regulations establishes in 46 CFR 12.05 five categories of able seaman for the United States Merchant Marine : Time served in certain training programs and school ships may be substituted for the time of service listed above. Special certificates of service are available for able seaman, Great Lakes—18 months service ; able seaman, any waters—12 months ; able seaman, tugs and towboats—any waters ; able seaman, bays and sounds—12 months, vessels 500 gross tons or less not carrying passengers ; and able seaman, seagoing barges—12 months . For
225-468: The United States Merchant Marine , the Code of Federal Regulations establishes in 46 CFR 12.05 examination requirements for the certification of able seamen, which includes: In 2004, studies indicate that a typical qualified Able Seaman (AB) sailing without an ITF contract might earn around $ 800 in total compensation; with an ITF contract total compensation is $ 1,300 per month. Some notable able seamen from
250-410: The folk-etymological able-bodied seaman . The "correct" term, able seaman, remains in use in legal documents, in seaman's papers, and aboard ship. Watchstanding Watchkeeping or watchstanding is the assignment of sailors to specific roles on a ship to operate it continuously. These assignments, also known at sea as watches , are constantly active as they are considered essential to
275-404: The ability for the ship to function. Meals are generally scheduled around the watch turnovers at 0700, 1200, and 1700; sometimes a light midnight meal known as mid-rats (midnight rations) is provided for the 0000 turnover. Various alternative watch schedules have been devised, which are typically referred to as Swedish watches . Although there is no standard for what constitutes a Swedish watch,
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#1732802520128300-450: The crime, they can nonetheless be charged with aiding and abetting or with conspiracy , or as accomplices . A lookout may be used when performing engineering works on an operational railway. They will be responsible for ensuring that all staff are cleared of the track in advance of an approaching train. This naval article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This job-, occupation-, or vocation-related article
325-406: The day into five-hour watches, with the exception of a four-hour watch from 22:00 to 02:00. The "six-hour shift" splits the day into four six-hour watches, permitting a three-section crew to maximize rest time in a three-day working cycle. Also, this watch system takes into better account the meal times (of a four-meals-a-day system), so that the ingoing team will be fed first, then keep watch, while
350-411: The deck department. This can include maintenance of the ship's metal structures such as chipping, scraping, cleaning, priming, and painting. Areas frequently in need of such maintenance include the hull, decks, superstructure, cargo gear, and smoke stack. Dayworkers also frequently perform maintenance on lifeboats , rescue boats and life rafts, and emergency and damage control gear. For many vessels, being
375-409: The first 6 hours being used for maintenance, cleaning, and entertainment; while the second 6 hours were usually for sleeping. Note that this arrangement resulted in one of the sections having two watches in one (24-hour) day, and there were no dog watches. Also, watch reliefs occurred no later than the bottom of the hour (2330, 0530, 1130, 1730). Typically, the first 30 minutes of the hour were used for
400-399: The junior third mate takes the 8 to 12 watch, the senior third mate the 12 to 4 watch, and the second mate the 4 to 8 watch. This enables the second officer, who is the ship's navigator, to take morning and evening star sights. In ships with only four deck officers, the third officer will keep the 8 to 12, the second officer the 12 to 4, and the chief mate (equivalent to the executive officer in
425-502: The late 19th century and was used by the Royal Navy and many other Commonwealth navies. It consisted of 5 four-hour periods and 2 two-hour periods. Those members of the crew whose work must be done at all times of the day were assigned to one of two divisions: the starboard or the port division. These can be further divided into two parts, e.g., First Port, Second Starboard. The Royal Navy traditional submarine three watch system
450-414: The merchant service include: Some modern references claim that AB stands for able-bodied seaman as well as, or instead of, able seaman. Able seaman was originally entered using the abbreviation AB instead of the more obvious AS in ships' muster books or articles. Such an entry was likely to avoid confusion with ordinary seaman ( OS ). Later the abbreviation began to be written as A.B. , leading to
475-489: The object, which way the object is headed, target angles and position angles and what the contact is. Lookouts should be thoroughly familiar with the various types of distress signals they may encounter at sea. By analogy, the term "lookout" is also used to describe a person who accompanies criminals during the commission of a crime , and warns them of the impending approach of hazards: that is, police or eyewitnesses . Although lookouts typically do not actually participate in
500-407: The oncoming section to eat while the second 30 minutes of the hour were used for the off-going section to eat. Some warships now use the one-in-two system, also known as 7s and 5s, for the duration of the watches. This watch system is also sometimes referred to as Port and Starboard watches. This gives the sailors a longer sleeping period than the traditional two-watch system, while still maintaining
525-497: The outgoing team will be relieved of watch, and then proceed to the mess deck. Aboard United States submarines , the crew is typically divided into three sections, with each section keeping 8 hours of watch followed by 16 hours off-watch. This schedule has been a fairly recent change to submariner work and rest routines. For nearly 45 years before 2015, submariners were on 18-hour days with 6 hours of watch followed by 12 hours off watch. The 12 hours off-watch were further divided into
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#1732802520128550-438: The safe operation of the vessel and also allow the ship to respond to emergencies and other situations quickly. These watches are divided into work periods to ensure that the roles are always occupied at all times, while those members of the crew who are assigned to work during a watch are known as watchkeepers . On a typical seafaring vessel, be it naval or merchant, personnel "keep a watch" in various locations and duties across
575-450: The same team consistently works at the same hours every day. Many watch systems incorporate the concept of a dog watch , whereby one watch is split into two shorter watches so that there is an odd number each day. Doing so allows crew members to have a different watch schedule each day. Often, the dog watches are set at dinner time to allow the entire crew to be fed in short order. The traditional watch system arose from sailing ships of
600-520: The ship, such as the bridge and engine room . Typical bridge watchkeepers include a lookout and a deck officer who is responsible for the safe navigation of the ship; whereas in the engine room, an engine officer ensures that running machinery continues to operate within tolerances. A wide variety of types of watches have developed due to the different needs aboard merchant and naval vessels. This table gives some examples: Enlisted Enlisted A watch system, watch schedule, or watch bill
625-402: The variations all feature some element of extended watches to accommodate longer time off. Like the traditional watch system, they begin at 0000 hours. Some popular variations have durations of 6, 6, 4, 4, 4 and 5, 5, 5, 5, 4. On merchant ships , watchkeepers typically keep watch for six periods of four consecutive hours. This system has a couple of advantages: it is easy to remember and it
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