As you can see this is not a very big ship and in the days when the original Niņa sailed most of the people stayed "topside" and the cargo and animals stayed below decks. Not very pleasant below after a few days!
This is the aft view and shows some areas that were used to navigate the ship and a couple of access hatches to the lower deck. The covered object is a manditory inflatable lifeboat to meet the rules of the U.S. Coast Guard.
Looking forward toward the bow or front of the ship we can see the main hatch. It is covered by a grill to allow some fresh air below decks. In stormy weather it would be covered with watertight canvas. We can also see that the rigging of the sails can be complex by all of the ropes and lanyards.
This is a view looking right down the rudder's steering lever. You can imagine the job it is to mahandle this large pole to manuver the ship, especially in bad weather. The red object is another Coast Guard rule, it is a fire extingusher. This area is covered by an upper deck and is only about 12 x 12 feet ( 4 x 4 meters ) wide, the height is only about six feet.
Next we will look at the area where the captain had his quarters. Click here to continue.
