Deck prisms are a clever example of early nautical engineering. Set into the deck of a vessel, the flat surface sits flush with the planking while the pointed prism extends into the cabin below, capturing sunlight and refracting it into the space beneath. The Michigan Maritime Museum’s replica 1810 sloop, Friends Good Will, features deck prisms as part of its traditional design.
Common from the mid-1800s through the early 1900s, deck prisms provided a safer way to illuminate cabins and workspaces below deck. Before electric lighting, sailors depended on candles or lanterns—both risky aboard wooden ships—while deck prisms allowed natural daylight to safely illuminate the space below.
Michigan Maritime Museum deck prisms are created exclusively for the museum by Michigan Hot Glass Workshop.
Deck prisms are a clever example of early nautical engineering. Set into the deck of a vessel, the flat surface sits flush with the planking while the pointed prism extends into the cabin below, capturing sunlight and refracting it into the space beneath. The Michigan Maritime Museum’s replica 1810 sloop, Friends Good Will, features deck prisms as part of its traditional design.
Common from the mid-1800s through the early 1900s, deck prisms provided a safer way to illuminate cabins and workspaces below deck. Before electric lighting, sailors depended on candles or lanterns—both risky aboard wooden ships—while deck prisms allowed natural daylight to safely illuminate the space below.
Michigan Maritime Museum deck prisms are created exclusively for the museum by Michigan Hot Glass Workshop.
