Deckhand

The Salted Fist

Deckhands were the muscle of the age of sail, common sailors who hauled lines, reefed canvas aloft in screaming wind, and manned the guns when merchantman or man-of-war was brought to action. Toughened by salt, hardtack, and the lash, they brawled cutlass-to-fist in any boarding fight and lived crowded between decks where the sea was master and the next port was never certain.