For millennia, ships have been used to fish, transport passengers and cargo, and bring divers to particular locations to harvest sea life or to salvage wrecks. Ships are thus places of work. Anchors must be raised or dropped; rigging adjusted; cargo brought on board, stowed, and ultimately off-loaded. The ship must be navigated and steered to its destination despite the vagaries of wind and wave. It may be necessary to communicate with other ships or with the shore. Fishing and diving gear and methods had to be devised in order to exploit underwater resources.

This book examines innovations in hardware and methodology, which relate to work on (and under) the sea from both a scientific and historical perspective. With a rigorous and technical approach, this study focuses on how things work, analyzing the evolving technology and techniques of centuries of work on a ship. This thoroughly illustrated work presents a deep exploration of a dynamic history, with a grounding, technological perspective that paints a clear, scientific portrait of an ancient practice.