{{Short description|Colloquialism for a lookout stationed in the masthead of a seavessel}} {{For|other uses of "Barrelman" or "Barrel man"|Barrel man (disambiguation){{!}}Barrel man}} thumb|right|Manning the crow's nest.
'''Barrelman''' is in reference to a person who would be stationed in the barrel of the foremast or crow's nest of an oceangoing vessel as a navigational aid. In early ships the crow's nest was simply a barrel or a basket lashed to the tallest mast. Later it became a specially designed platform with protective railing.
== History == According to a popular naval legend, the term derives from the practice of Viking sailors, who carried crows or ravens in a cage secured to the top of the mast. In cases of poor visibility, a crow was released, and the navigator plotted a course corresponding to the bird's flight path because the crow invariably headed towards the nearest land.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20061121232616/http://www.navy.mil/navydata/traditions/html/navyterm.html#crow navy.mil]</ref> Some naval scholars have found no evidence of the masthead crow cage and suggest the name was coined simply because the lookout platform resembled a crow's nest in a tree.<ref name=druett>[http://joan-druett.blogspot.ca/2011/02/crows-nest.html Joan Druett, "Crows Nest", ''World of the Written World'', February 13, 2011]</ref> As ships grew in size and complexity, that station came to be mounted on the highest mast of the oceangoing vessel, and it came to be known as the ''crow's nest''.<ref>[http://www.nautilus571.com/naval_terms.htm Naval Terms] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928083943/http://www.nautilus571.com/naval_terms.htm |date=September 28, 2007 }}</ref> The simplest construction to providing a lookout and setting course direction for the ship was to lash a barrel to the mast. A member of the crew experienced in the matters of navigation was charged with manning this perch and came to be colloquially known as a barrelman.
In Newfoundland the term ''barrelman'' was synonymous with the word ''scunner''.<ref>[http://www.heritage.nf.ca/dictionary/azindex/pages/3977.html Newfoundland Dictionary] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603225807/http://www.heritage.nf.ca/dictionary/azindex/pages/3977.html |date=June 3, 2013 }}</ref>
== See also == * Glossary of nautical terms (disambiguation)
==References== {{Reflist}}
Category:Water transport in Newfoundland and Labrador Category:Marine occupations Category:Nautical terminology
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