Bed

This term applies to many things; pieces of wood placed under the quarters of casks so as to keep the bilge clear of the floor; a vessel makes a bed or cradle for herself when she settles in the mud; extra pieces of timber placed on decks like a platform, for raising the guns above the port sills when the latter are too high for the battery; a bed is made for the bowsprit, where it rests upon the stem and apron.