Any ship is a total institution; a sailing ship on the open seas, being dependent on the winds, is especially isolated; in the age of sail, the technology of shipboard life and the lack of technology for communicating emergencies and of timely means of rescue made ships the probable epitome of the total-institution problem (with the most arguable alternative being space stations and outer-space exploration vehicles).

For example, naval sailing ships ' stores included not just stored food and tons of cannon, but livestock on the hoof, shot and powder, great quantities of distilled liquor, and of fresh water in casks that would be restocked at every opportunity, supplies of cordage of various dimensions, sailcloth, and (sometimes in multiples) replacement spars (especially masts, which were indispensable but could in a sufficient emergency be cut down to sizes suitable for other uses), boats of various kinds, and probably spare anchors. Personnel included cooks, a highly skilled specialist carpenter, a blacksmith, a surgeon (who would seldom be a physician) capable of performing amputations, diagnosing to some extent, and administering purges, personal servants of officers, and marine soldiers whose likely duty ran to anti-personnel fire against the crews of other ships, shore sorties against lightly defended targets, and enforcing the naval officers' authority. Sailors, besides their obvious physical labors in controlling and maintaining the sails, spars, and rigging, and in handling anchors and land lines, repaired their own clothing, operated pumps routinely and in emergencies to remedy leakage, and (with degrees of accuracy, speed, and safety that varied enormously with their individual experience and the skill and inclinations of their officers) loaded, aimed, fired, and cleaned the ship's armaments. The only life-support problem eased by that environment was sewage disposal: the ship's head (an area adjacent the bow ), in most conditions of sea, wind, and sail, is generously washed by sea water, and the term head in the sense of toilet has not only out-survived the practice, but spread beyond nautical contexts.

In most waters during the age of sail, privateering during international hostilities, private piracy, and/or often state-sanctioned and often race-neutral slave-taking, dictated that even commercial ships carry cannon, even if escorted by warships.