beakhead

The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea | 2006 | 600 words | Copyright

beakhead, the space in a sailing man-of-war immediately forward of the forecastle, and where originally a ship's figurehead was erected. In those days the forecastle was built across the bows of the ship, from cathead to cathead, and the beakhead was open to the sea. There were short ladders down to it from the forecastle deck, while the doors from the forecastle itself led directly onto the beakhead. This space was used in warships as the seamen's heads. In some later warship designs the beakhead was decked with gratings so that the sea, breaking through them, helped to keep the space clean.

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