Boatnerd Discussion Forum

Nearly all older ships had cabin designs that required access from outside. I believe the Supers an Maritime classes were among the earliest, but unlikely the first, built with inside access to most compartments. I believe it was not until the 1950s that ships began to be built with inside access to most, if not all compartments. The AAAs, which includes the Anderson, was based off of an earlier design developed during the late 1940s so that may explain why there is limited access to pilothouse if other ships from that era have different configurations. Sailingvon the lakes was quite different 100 years ago than it is today.

Did the next gen of Lakers like the Humphrey have internal stairways to the pilot house? I know the Canadian 730s did.

It’s how the ships were designed then. Mostly standard designs for faster cheaper construction. I was on boats where back aft crew had to go out of their cabin to use the head.

"everyone else must enter from the exterior, weather be damned."

Why is that? seems like it would be potential safety risk as well as being very unsympathetic to crew moral.

On the AAAs the mates are on the main deck forward starboard, from aft to forward: 1st, 2nd, 3rd mate's room. port side is the Wheelsman watch standers. You are correct the captain's cabin is the deck below the pilothouse on the starboard and the guest are on the port. The captain has interior access to the pilot house via his stairs, everyone else must enter from the exterior, weather be damned.

Seeing the pic of the Clarke in the Poe made me wonder was the deck under the pilot just for Captain and guests or were the mates crewed there as well