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Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left” and “right?”

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Re: Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left” and “right?”

#151

Post by chewzerita »

CalChris wrote: post #143

An additional starboard/port issue is right of way for sailboats. Suppose that you're going upwind and two close hauled boats are crossing. Who has right of way? When boats are on opposite tacks, a port-tack boat shall keep clear of a starboard-tack boat. Rule 10. A boat is on the tack, starboard or port, corresponding to her windward side. RRS Definitions.

Also a convenient way to remember right of way while on the water is to use the port/starboard lights of the approaching boat. If you see green (their starboard side) that means you have the right of way, and red means they have the right of way. Just like traffic lights :)

Re: Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left” and “right?”

#153

Post by cromulent »

For those who think left/right is enough: When you are racing sailboats, a boat on your “left” (or “right”) can have “right” of way because the wind is hitting their main sail from the “right” and yours from the “left”.

They will yell “starboard!” at you, rather than “left” or “right”. Easier that way.

Re: Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left” and “right?”

#154

Post by Etrnl_President »

hinkley wrote: post #96
dan-robertson wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a great question imo but I struggled to find anything very good. I found a forum post, https://www.sailnet.com/threads/double-ended-ferries-which-e... and between the trolling it seems that fore/aft and port/starboard switch when the direction reverses, including eg navigation lights (red for port, green for starboard). And they tend to also have a one end and a two end or an A/B end, and those labels don’t c…

Does that mean when you file a maintenance request they have to number everything on the ship since "aft 2nd floor" doesn't narrow things down much?

Spars and ribs (frame) are usually numbered, often based on distance, like interstate exits.

"Ten sequential rivets debonded on aft starboard #273 spar" would then be a writeup.

Re: Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left” and “right?”

#155

Post by stametseater »

xiphias2 wrote: post #95
CardenB wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are not distracting. There are many intense situations on a boat, and a crew is required to cooperate in order to survive. This means you must have extremely precise wording to quickly explain what needs to be done. This vocabulary is important for this reason, and is able to sharpen focus, rather than distract. It requires a process of learning, and that is intentional.

If you look at statistics, most deaths occur in small boats with a crew who have no idea what these words mean, because they don't have a license. These are the most common reason of fatalities: - Not wearing a lifejacket or PFD. - Falling overboard. - Capsizing, swamping, sinking, or running aground. - Being involved in a collision. - Operating a pleasure craft while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The goal…

Maybe boat lingo improves safety by keeping people in the mind-frame of being on a boat.

Re: Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left” and “right?”

#156

Post by tomohelix »

wpietri wrote: post #131
tomohelix wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Haha no, I think you misunderstood. I meant the underlying reason for human to have a preferred "side" is probably the same reason that life has a preferred "side" for chemicals. Both humans and enzymes can be chiral, i.e. asymmetrical so I think they might be connected. Don't worry, I am not an atom-ist or a chiral-ist. All sides are equal! (except the ambidextrous master race :D )

What is the reason you have in mind? I suspect it's different, in that I expect the reason for people is something like "handedness makes people better at violence". Whereas I suspect chirality is more like driving on the right/left side of the road. Which one you pick doesn't matter, but picking is less chaotic than not picking.

I actually don't know. Like I mentioned above, there have been a few theories about how life is so strongly asymmetrical but nothing concrete or proven yet. In fact, it is a bit counterintuitive because all natural chemical reactions produces racemic mixtures and only life produces specific stereoisomers. It also means life has evolved to give up nearly half of the natural resources available, a very strange thing in terms of evolution.

Not all enzymes are stereospecific though. Some of them can take any configuration of a chemical and convert them to other type of isomer. But these are rare and usually an exception, not the norm. Still, it makes it harder to figure out why chirality is so important in life and not so much in some other parts of life.

Maybe your explanation about handedness makes sense. But then it would fail at explaining ambidextrous people since they are definitely better and yet still so rare. Life is really difficult to figure out.

Re: Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left” and “right?”

#157

Post by rcme »

noduerme wrote: post #139
jdietrich wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the automotive trade, a vehicle has a "driver's side" and "passenger side". This only partly solves the ambiguity, because of course some countries drive on the left.

I thought it would be difficult when I bought a car in Australia to manage shifting with my left hand, but it turned out to be surprisingly easy. I had been under the impression for some reason that the clutch would be controlled with the right foot. Thank God the pedals are in the same places.

Is 1st gear still in the top left position?

Re: Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left” and “right?”

#158

Post by rcthompson »

antognini wrote: post #89

It's interesting to compare how different professions handle the ambiguity in left/right. In the maritime world they went with an approach at one extreme, where they just use two completely separate words, "port" and "starboard." (Though that's far from the only case where there's a special word for something on a boat.) At the other extreme you have the medical profession where the first thing you learn in medical s…

The advantage of using separate words for the frame of reference of the boat is that you can still use left and right with their normal meanings as well.

Re: Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left” and “right?”

#159

Post by compiler-guy »

azepoi wrote: post #142
antognini wrote: post #89

It's interesting to compare how different professions handle the ambiguity in left/right. In the maritime world they went with an approach at one extreme, where they just use two completely separate words, "port" and "starboard." (Though that's far from the only case where there's a special word for something on a boat.) At the other extreme you have the medical profession where the first thing you learn in medical s…

In french theatre has specific words for left and right. Côté cour et Côté jardin. Courtside and garden side. In geography left and right banks of a river are always in the direction of the flow

Which makes for some very confusing situations when the river is twisty. There are different places in New Orleans where the West Bank is south of you, west of you, and east of you.

Re: Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left” and “right?”

#160

Post by knifie_spoonie »

rcme wrote: post #157
noduerme wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought it would be difficult when I bought a car in Australia to manage shifting with my left hand, but it turned out to be surprisingly easy. I had been under the impression for some reason that the clutch would be controlled with the right foot. Thank God the pedals are in the same places.

Is 1st gear still in the top left position?

Yes, the shifting pattern is exactly the same.
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