A 19th century American boarding pike

[David R]

[QUOTE=M ELEY;263093! Now...why do some say 'starboard' and others 'larboard' but they mean the same thing!?[/QUOTE]

They don't, starboard went back to the days of a steering oar on one side, and larboard was the other side. Eventually to avoid confusion the terms Port and Starboard ware adopted.
Why an international (for the most part) vocabulary, because the crews were (For the most part)!

[M ELEY]

Originally Posted by David R

They don't, starboard went back to the days of a steering oar on one side, and larboard was the other side. Eventually to avoid confusion the terms Port and Starboard ware adopted.
Why an international (for the most part) vocabulary, because the crews were (For the most part)!

Thanks for that clarification, David. I know many nautical terms came and went depending on the advancements of sailing. In my writings, I was told by one gent that the proper spelling of the front of the ship was 'bough', not bow. Yet, I haven't come across any documentation to support that unless, like our 'larboard', it is a colloquel spelling?

[fernando]

Originally Posted by M ELEY

... I was told by one gent that the proper spelling of the front of the ship was 'bough', not bow. ..Yet, I haven't come across any documentation to support that

( The Oxford Universal Dictionary Illustrated, 1933)


.

[fernando]

Originally Posted by M ELEY

... Now...why do some say 'starboard' and others 'larboard' but they mean the same thing!?...

Originally Posted by David R

They don't, starboard went back to the days of a steering oar on one side, and larboard was the other side. Eventually to avoid confusion the terms Port and Starboard ware adopted.
Why an international (for the most part) vocabulary, because the crews were (For the most part)!

Was the link in my post #45 a wrong source ?...

[David R]

Possibly a more authoritative source.... https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/port-starboard.html

[David R]

Originally Posted by fernando

Was the link in my post #45 a wrong source ?...

Not at all. Sometimes stuff just gets repeated.