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

oceanservice.noaa.gov

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

#191

Post by jjav »

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…

> Though that's far from the only case where there's a special word for something on a boat.

Understatement of the week... pretty much everything on a boat has a different word for it. Often for practical reasons, sometimes purely traditional reasons. It is nice because it binds one to nautical tradition leading back centuries/millenia.

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

#195

Post by atorodius »

alibarber wrote: post #189
mr_toad wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But usually the wipers and indicator controls are reversed, which can be embarrassing.

Coming from the UK to Aus / NZ I was feeling smug ;) - but of course, this caught me out. To be clear in the UK the wheel is on the right but the indicator is still on the left side of the wheel as in a European LHD car, just to keep things different.

Lohe this. Reminded me of the wild complexity in our global society

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

#196

Post by omegabravo »

gav wrote: post #165
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.

If you're giving directions to somebody driving, like when reversing into a tricky spot, you can tell them to "turn driver" or "turn passenger" so there's no ambiguity.

I've heard the term "left hand down", aka turn left but much more explicit.

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

#197

Post by usr1106 »

gkoberger wrote: post #34
fishtoaster wrote: post #26

Because you need to differentiate between "my left when facing the boat" and "my left when on the boat facing forward" or really, left from any other perspective. And any time there's a multi-word phrase like that that gets used a lot over many years, it gets shortened.

Of course, but this article explains what each word means. Starboard => Means "steering side of the boat" (b/c the oar was on the right side due to sailors mostly being right handed) Port => The side that faces the port when docked

Port makes sense, never thought about it. Ships I see rarely, so I couldn't tell which side they use (or even both depending on the harbor) But for passenger planes it's definitely left.

In German starboard is steuerbord, steuern = to steer. No shifting over the centuries.

However, port is still backbord. I am not familiar with Northern dialects (where they have a coast), back does not tell me anything. Maybe packen = to pack/load)??? Interestingly enough the English argument that the 2 words should not be too similar has not been applied. Maybe because there are already 3 vs. 2 syllables? Whereas English had 2 and 2 so they changed to 2 vs. 1 to make it make obvious what was said even in a big storm?

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

#198

Post by ace2358 »

leipert wrote: post #181
knifie_spoonie wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, the shifting pattern is exactly the same.

Sibling comment mentions indicators and wipers being switched. Anecdote 1) In NZ I saw a car in the middle of a busy roundabout, wipers on, passengers visibly confused and crying. Anecdote 2) A kayak guide also mentioned, that if you see someone entering a roundabout, windshield wiping, on a sunny day, you just wait and let them do their thing. Anecdote 3) After a month in NZ I came back to Germany and actually muscl…

It gets even worse when some cars put the indicator shaft on the left of the steering wheel and others put it on the right haha

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

#199

Post by anilakar »

wpietri wrote: post #67
lsaferite wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In English "right" is one syllable and "starboard" is two. All things considered, using right/left is more concise. If you are aware enough of your orientation on a boat to know where port and starboard are located, you are also aware enough to know where left and right are located.

Concision is way less important than clarity.

Clarity stems from brevity i.e. concise, carefully chosen words that leave no room for ambiguity.

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

#200

Post by bluefirebrand »

fargle wrote: post #135

When I was a kid in Minnesota we needed to learn port/starboard and the colors red/green. A trick that helped me remember is that "LEFT", "PORT", and "RED" are all the shorter words and "RIGHT", "STARBOARD", and "GREEN" are the longer words in the respective pairs. FWIW.

This would probably throw my girlfriend off.

She has some kind of right/left dyslexia. When she's driving and I'm giving directions I have to tell her "short turn" or "long turn". Long turn being left, longer because it's across a lane, right turns are shorter.

But if someone told her that left is shorter than right for remembering purposes, it would probably mess her up more when following driving directions.

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