# Do Navy ships provide a off-duty rec area topside? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 12, 2025, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-navy-ships-provide-a-off-duty-rec-area-topside/1015497 "2025-03-12T22:27:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-navy-ships-provide-a-off-duty-rec-area-topside/1015497/21 "2025-03-13T19:07:06Z")
I have read several accounts of WW2 warships, and in the tropics it wasnt uncommon to rig a salt water pool on deck for the sailors to cool on in. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-navy-ships-provide-a-off-duty-rec-area-topside/1015497/22 "2025-03-13T19:14:56Z")
There was that tank of saltwater one doused oneself in at the end of shellback initiation, but that’s another topic entirely. Way back when, navy swimwear was UDT shorts, which had to be worn with skivies underneath for obvious reasons. Back when military booty shorts were a thing in the US navy, the French Foreign Legion and the Rhodesians. [![](https://grandpopsarmynavy.com/cdn/shop/files/UDT_-1_1400x.jpg?v=1722027312) ](https://grandpopsarmynavy.com/cdn/shop/files/UDT_-1_1400x.jpg?v=1722027312) ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-navy-ships-provide-a-off-duty-rec-area-topside/1015497/23 "2025-03-13T23:26:03Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I distinctly recall touring the _USS Lexington_ as a kid while it was still in commission as a training carrier in the Gulf of Mexico out of Pensacola, and seeing moveable basketball hoops/backboards on the hangar deck. I was stationed on the Lexington probably about the time you visited. And yes, we had the b-ball goals in the hanger bay along with several weight rooms scattered throughout the ship. Also, the hanger bay deck had a sort of “running track” outlined on the outer edges with distances marked. When traversing the bay during normal operations, you were expected to defer to the runners. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > They called it “Steel Beach Day”. The approved uniform was swimsuits, beach towels, and work boots. Turns out dark colored steel decks get kinda hot in the blazing tropical sun, and the greasy roughly textured deck was not friendly to bare feet. “Steel Beach Picnic” on the Lex. They had some “homemade” (really the machine shop made them) grills made out of 55 gallon drums cut in half that they’d bring up with a bunch of chips and sides from the galley along with a bunch of canned soda, sweet tea, and bug juice in big dispensers, etc. The officers were expected to grill burgers and dogs for the crew. The CO always made sure to be seen cooking. The XO, the Air Boss, and ChEng were always there as well. Obviously, more junior officers did the bulk of the work. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pirviii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pirviii/32/3233_2.png) [@pirviii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pirviii)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2025, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-navy-ships-provide-a-off-duty-rec-area-topside/1015497/24 "2025-03-14T04:12:55Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > jokingly recalling his “combat” duty in Viet Nam. Basically they lay several miles off the coast and lobbed in shells. My father uses the same quote about his time in the Navy during Viet Nam. That is all he ever said about his service. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2025, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-navy-ships-provide-a-off-duty-rec-area-topside/1015497/25 "2025-03-14T12:05:27Z")
My dad was in [Underwater Demolition](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_Demolition_Team) in WWII so swim trunks were part of his uniform. Scroll down a bit for a pic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-navy-ships-provide-a-off-duty-rec-area-topside/1015497.md?page=1)