Capstans in American ships were quite works of art according to some descriptions. Contrasting woods such as varnished mahogany and locust made up the main body, with brass whelps, and were topped with a polished brass dome together with composition metal rims for the handspikes and the base pawls. The British capstans, more often of iron, had the bright brass domed top but the remainder was painted biack, white or green. Skylights and companionways were beautiful examples in teak or mahogany of the ship joiner's craft.

  The mortices, tenons, dovetails, framing and panels were all thoughtfully designed to lock together for strength and durability against varying temperatures and salt water soakings. Hardwood gutters were let in under all opening joints, such that any water that entered was drained out again through miniature spouts. Items like these wheelboxes, vegetable lockers, flag and rope lockers, etc. were so well made that they outlived the ship even when neglected, and some survive today. I have seen them used as gardeners' lockers.

  Apart from the panels, poop fronts could be found with elaborate carved figures as corbel supports under the deck overhang, and dolphins often decorated the cathead knee and the bulwarks at the hances where the levels changed. Even the butt ends of spare spars lashed to the deck or on the skids were painted with an emblematic star or diamond.

  All this elaboration throws an interesting light on the personality of the men who owned and operated these craft. If the sole object in operating was the desire to make money, the ships would have been stripped down to bare necessities. Many of the owners were themselves retired mariners, or small personal syndicates not yet grown to the stature of the bigger , hard-headed, economy minded shipping companies. They were more like rich yacht owners, whose sole motivation was to own and sail a beautiful ship, and they were able to indulge in this pleasure by making her earn enough money, any extra profits being gladly acceptable. They had a concern as well, with few exceptions, for the men who joined them as crews in the adventure. The conditions for the seamen were good, when we consider the miserable housing from which many of them came in industrial England. The chief drawback was lack of adequate clothesdrying arrangements.
The true forecastle space in the bow was the poorest arrangement in British ships, as it sometimes, if on the upper level, accommodated the windlass and other gear as well. On the lower forepeak level this was avoided, but at the expense of space, being narrow and triangular and not too well ventilated.

  American bow forecastles were larger and had more deck height, the upper deck level sometimes being set down to achieve this, but the deckhouse in the waist (also called 'forecastle') which superseded that in the bow was healthier and lighter, although it was often flooded out in bad weather.