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A comment on Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left” and “right?”. Parent comment

Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by nostromo on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @03:21AM (#35625312)
A toilet on a boat is called a head because it was historically placed at the front of the boat.

You’ll still hear folks say “hit the head” referring to using the restroom.

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Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by Macha on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @04:15AM (#35625685)
Regional usage maybe? Never heard that expression in my life
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Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by gerad on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @04:21AM (#35625717)
And it was put at the front of the boat because that was downwind of everything else on a wind powered boat.
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Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by cycomanic on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @05:01AM (#35625977)
I'm not sure that is true, sure the tacking angle of old boat was nowhere close to modern boats, but I would be surprised if they couldnt sail up wind.
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Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by pmontra on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @05:45AM (#35626234)
To go upwind you need a keel (viking ships did) or something that prevents the wind to push the ship away [1]. Sailing against the wind was very important for battle ships. What we have now compared to them is better materials and centuries of improved design which turned into tacking closer to the wind and much better maneuverability. We can change direction in a very short space. However our sailing boats are much smaller, closer to the viking ships than to the galleons [2]

[1] https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/56264/when-did-h...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galleon

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Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by sergiosgc on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @05:49AM (#35626250)
You never sail at 0 degrees upwind. When going upwind, the angle is about 30 degrees minimum. Closer than that and you can't inflate the main sail, thus get no power.

30 degrees should be enough to prevent toxic hazards. Sitting on the head on a tilting ship, during upwind sailing, is prone to other hazards though.

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