General Shipboarding Weapons:

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

Belaying Pins

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A belaying pin is a device used on traditional sailing vessels to secure lines. Their function on modern vessels has been replaced by cleats, but they are still used, particularly on larger sailing ships. A belaying pin is a solid wood or metal bar with a curved top portion and cylindrical shaft. It is inserted into a hole in a wooden pinrail, which usually runs along the inside of the bulwarks as shown (although free-standing pinrails are also used). This means that if a line needed to be released in a hurry, the belaying pin can be lifted out and removed, releasing the line. Belaying pins were apparently commonly used as improvised weapons on both military and civilian ships, as their shape and weight made them a short but formidable club.

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

Boarding Axes & Tomahawks

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Boarding Axes, with a two or three-foot handle and a combination of sharp blade and blunt hammer side, were used to cut the ropes of boarding hooks, bring downs masts and rigging, and generally tear through anything that stood in the way of the loot, like doors, hatches or locks. They could at times help steady the weight of a boarder if needed for climbing from a smaller boat to a larger vessel (a portable handle). The boarding axe however, had other very important duties. It was used in fire fighting to chisel out hot cannon balls that could ignite ships' timbers. The broad blade end was used to cut through downed rigging and as a hook to drag the rigging and debris out of the way.

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

Boarding Hooks

(a.k.a. Grappling Hook, Grapple, Grappler)

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A Boarding Hook (or "grappling hook") is a composite hook attached to a rope, designed to be thrown or projected a distance, where its hooks will engage with the target. Grappling hooks were originally used in naval warfare to catch the rigging of an enemy ship so that it could be drawn in and boarded. The most common design consists of a central shaft with a hole at the base of the shaft, called an "eye" to attach the rope, and three equally spaced hooks at the end of the shaft, so arranged that at least one is likely to catch on some protuberance of the target.

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[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

Caltrop

(a.k.a. Crowsfoot, Calthrop, Jack Rock, Star Nail)

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The artifact shown on the left is a caltrop that was unearthed in an excavation near Jamestown, and is a great example of the simplistic design of a caltrop. The weapon was generally crafted from scrap iron and forged into shape with 4 iron points. This design insured that no matter how the caltrop may land, 1 point will always project upwards. Since most sailors tended to work barefoot on board a ship to avoid slipping on wet decks and for general comfort, Pirates would sometimes toss caltrops or crowsfeet onto the deck of a ship they were preparing to board. The spikes could inflict terrible injuries or extreme pain if trodden on, and at the very least add confusion and chaos to a ship as it tried to defend itself. The military device, sometimes written and said caltrap, appears to have been named after one of a number of plants with spiny burrs. For obvious reasons it’s another name for the star thistle (Centaurea calcitrapa). It’s a local name for the curled pondweed (Potomageton crispus), which produces lots of winter seeds that are hard and burr-like. A plant called the water chestnut (Trapa natans) is also known as the water caltrop, which has fruit with two spines that are hard enough to penetrate the hooves of stock as well as human feet. The word derives from the Old English calketrippe, for any plant that tended to catch the feet. In turn this comes from the medieval Latin calcatrippa, a compound either of calx, “heel” or calcare, “to tread”, with a word related to “trap” that came from one of the Germanic languages. The military sense of the word probably came into English from French usage.

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

Marlin Spikes & Hand Fids

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The Marlinespike (or "hand fid" if made of wood) held the Most Favored Weapon status among those with mutiny on their mind. They were pointed iron or steel hand tools carried by deck hands (Boatswain’s Mates particularly.) Normally no shorter than 6 inches and no longer than 18, marline spikes are used in various shipboard tasks including separating the strands of heavy rope lines and prying open diverse shipboard containers. Marlinespikes were also used as hammers, paint-chippers, eating utensils, tea and coffee-stirrers, and to repair sails. Although very useful and invaluable tools for maintaining a ship in the age of sail, they also made excellent weapons. Made of hard, durable materials and fashioned to a point they hade either good blunt instruments good for cracking a skull or as an impromptu dagger.