There are several different types of the historical ship's bell. The ship's bell has shouldered a number of different responsibilities such as: keeping time, ceremonial duties, and alarming other ships. Because of its productive uses the ship's bell is a valued possession for many model ship collectors. Ship bell nautical decorations are sometimes made in chrome or brass. Ship bells are strongly tied to the nautical culture, as you can see by the number of ship bell nautical decorations available today.

What's more, the ship's bell serves to alarm the crew in cases of emergency or drill practices onboard. The ship bell's loud ring was unmistakable in times of emergency. Also, in the case of a fire, the ships bell was rung hard and loud for five straight seconds. The rings that followed informed the crew of the location of the fire. If the fire was in the front, the bell would be rung a single time; if it was in the center, the bell was heard twice; and if in the rear, the bell was rung three times.

The ship's bell was integral to keeping time at sea before the chronometer came along. A half-hour glass with a ship's bell was used for regulating time intervals. The ship bell was sounded whenever the hour-glass was turned over to signal the start of the next half-hour. Completion of a full hour called for the ship's bell to be rung twice. After the first hour, two more bell strikes were added on for the following half hour. The watchman working a four hour shift relied on this ringing of the ship's bell to keep track of his duties. Even in modern times, the ship's bell is still integrated into the US Navy's daily routine.

It eventually became mandated that all ships sound their bell when passing through low visibility situations to keep other ships from running into them. The ship's bell was loud enough to penetrate the thick fog and get the attention of nearby ships in the area. Maritime law called for all ships to have a functioning ship's bell on board at all times. During the Revolutionary War the Americans began to use the ship bell in similar ways to the British. The USS Constitution, the oldest surviving ship in American history, had been fixed with a 242 pound bell.

The unintended effect of one of the ship bell's standard uses led to one of the American Navy's greatest sea victories during the War of Independence. The Jamaica Fleet used their bells when sailing through fog, inadvertently alerting the Americans to their position. When the Americans heard the bell, they were able to blindside the Jamaica fleet which would end up becoming their biggest prize catch of the War of Independence. The Jamaica Fleet was forced to relinquish about one million dollars in cargo and other prizes after the battle.

The history behind the ship's bell makes it a perfect candidate for a nautical decoration. Many online nautical decoration stores have authentic ship bells for sale. Because of the aforementioned historical and traditional significance behind the ship's bell, it deserves a place in any dedicated collector's nautical decor collection.

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