boatswain's flute

The Boatswain's call, bosun's whistle, or as Boatswain's Mates call it - a pipe, goes by many names and was heavily used in naval past. “The pipe was historically used to communicate on any deck in open weather,” said Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Ryan McWilliams.

The word boatswain has been in the English language since approximately 1450. It is derived from late Old English batswegen, from bat (boat) concatenated with Old Norse sveinn (swain), meaning a young man, apprentice, a follower, retainer or servant.

The use of the boatswain's call in English ships can be traced back with certainty to the days of the Crusades, AD 1248. It was worn in English ships and fleets as an honoured badge of rank, probably because it has always been used in passing orders.

A Boatswain's Call can be tuned by scraping away and enlarging the wind edge of the hole on the buoy, until the note sounds sharp and clear. This can be achieved with a fine grade emery cloth. A shriller note can be achieved by closing the top of the lip of the hole a little, on the buoy.

A boatswain's call, pipe, or bosun's whistle is a pipe or a non-diaphragm type whistle used on naval ships by a boatswain. The pipe consists of a narrow tube (the gun) which directs air over a metal sphere (the buoy) with a hole in the top.

The Boatswain's call was predominantly used to issue orders during times when voices could not be heard over the rumbling sea. Early on, the pipe was a symbol of rank, perhaps due to the fact that these were worn by high-ranking officers to signal orders to the crew.

Examples of boatswain The boatswain dropped the third boat quick as a flash, got free from the ship and began picking up the swimmers. The boatswain grinned in a knowing, mirthless way, that his assistants seemed to understand, for they responded in kind.

“Bosun” – is a short form of “Boatswain” and is used as a nickname for Boatswain's Mate.

A tuned pipe is a part of the exhaust system of some two-stroke engines. Tuned pipe can also mean: In acoustics, a resonator, particularly but not only a tubular resonator. In music, an organ pipe. In music more generally, the resonator of any aerophone.

A pitch pipe is a small device used to provide a pitch reference for musicians. Although it may be described as a musical instrument, it is not typically used to play music as such. Technically, it is a harmonica; however, it lacks many characteristics of harmonicas. Modern set of pitch pipes for guitar tuning.

boatswain's whistle Fact: Georg von Trapp summoned his children with a boatswain's whistle because it was the best way for them to hear him in their large house.

It's also good to know how to call the boat in and out of ports using VHF and other communication methods with the bridge and port control. People skills are by far the most important aspect to being a successful bosun. So sharpen those skills, get to know your fellow crew and learn the lessons of leadership.