Keelhauling

Keelhauling (Dutch "kielhalen", German "Kielholen"; "to drag along the keel") was a severe form of corporal punishment meted out to sailors at sea.

The sailor was tied to a rope that looped beneath the vessel, thrown overboard on one side of the ship, and dragged under the ship's keel to the other side. As the hull was often covered in barnacles and other marine growth, this could result in cuts and other injuries. This generally happened if the offender was pulled quickly. If pulled slowly, his weight might lower him sufficiently to miss the barnacles but might result in his drowning.

Keelhauling was legally permitted as a punishment in the Dutch Navy. The earliest official mention of keelhauling is a Dutch ordinance of 1560, and the practice was not formally abolished until 1853. While not an official punishment, it was reportedly used by some British Royal Navy and merchant marine captains, and has become strongly associated with pirate lore.

Today keelhauling can refer to the spinnaker sheets getting stuck under the hull after dowsing the sail. This occurs especially in dinghy sailboats such as Laser 2 because nothing prevents the sheet from being pulled under the bow.

Keelhauling on Film

In the 1962 film Mutiny on the Bounty a shipman is keelhauled as punishment for punching the Captain. He is killed by a shark during the operation. The incident helps lead to the revolt of the crew.

ee also

*Birching
*Caning
*Cat o' nine tails
*Hanging
*Walking the plank
*Operation Keelhaul

References

* [http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Etymology/German/Roeding(1793)/Kielholen.html "kielholen" entry] in: Johann Hinrich Röding: "Allgemeines Wörterbuch der Marine in allen Europæischen Seesprache nebst vollstændigen Erklærungen". Nemnich, Hamburg & J.J. Gebauer, Halle, 1793-1798.

External links

* [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_239.html The Straight Dope] on keelhauling and drawing and quartering