Where Were The Bathrooms On Old Sailing Ships?

In sailing ships, the toilet was placed in the bow above the water line with vents or slots cut near the floor level to allow normal wave action to wash out the facility. Only the captain had a private toilet near his quarters, at the stern of the ship in the quarter gallery. The ships toilet was typically placed at the head of the ship near the base of the bowsprit, where splashing water served to naturally clean the toilet area. Modern sailors still refer to the bathrooms on ships as the head, which refers to this practice of going to the bathroom at the bow, or head of the ship.

By the late 17th century, most sailing ships, including the Tranby, provided only basic toilet and bathing facilities. Authorities complained that even these were under-used, and sailors often had to wash the upper decks. Life at sea during the Age of Sail was filled with hardship, cramped conditions, disease, poor food and pay, and bad weather. Lavatory facilities were situated on either side of the bow for the crew and in the stern area or quarter galleries for the captain and officers of the vessel. There was little difference in form or function apart from those in the stern, allowing more privacy for the higher-ranking officers.

Baths were taken in one of two ways: water was lifted from the ocean and poured into a tub on the deck. When full, the sailor would get in the head. The name “head” derives from sailing ships in which the toilet area for regular sailors was placed at the bow. In the aft part of the wooden ship, there were rods-rounded overhangs on the sides at the stern, one of which was the various marine supplies. Only the captain, aft in his cabin, had anything like a private toilet, and even then, it was really tiny.