Life Below Decks Quarterdeck and Forecastle: The Social World of the Ship In France’s sailing navy of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries each ship was a complex and self-contained social world. The largest warships of the day were only two hundred feet long but had a crew of eight hundred officers and men. Strict rules governed the use of the crowded space aboard ship. The commander had large quarters to himself at the very back or stern of the ship. The other officers had single and shared cabins just forward of him. The remainder of the crew lived on the gun decks of the vessel, sleeping in hammocks suspended from the deck beams above. This division of space below decks held true on the main deck as well. The rear section of the ship was the exclusive domain of the officers. Sailors could not enter this section of the deck unless ordered to do so. Hardtack and Leeches: Food and Health at Sea Officers and men ate separately. The commander often dined alone, although he could invite other officers to join him if he wished. The rest of the officers generally ate together in the wardroom. The food for the commander and officers was prepared only for them and was of much better quality than that of the crew. The crew was fed on a diet of dried, salted, or pickled rations that they were served in tubs on the gun deck. When in port, the crew’s rations were often supplemented with fresh ingredients. The health of the crew was the responsibility of the ship’s surgeon. The hard physical work of manning the lines and going aloft would have kept the surgeon busy with a steady stream of minor and major injuries. Surgeons were supplied with a kit of surgical tools and medicinal concoctions that were supposed to treat a wide variety of ailments. Disease and injury often led to more deaths aboard ship than battle. Above: Equipage dans une batterie (Crew in a battery), ca. 1890 (detail), Julien Le Blant (1851-1930). Oil on canvas. 67 in. x 109 in. Related Links National Maritime Museum of England's fact file discussing life aboard ship during the age of sail