Aboard ship, wine and water were stored deep in the hull, and the distribution of these beverages to the crew was done using a small portable container known as a bidon. The daily ration stipulated in the 1689 naval armies decree was three quarters of a pint of wine (0.69 litres), mesure de Paris , watered down with the same amount of water.
For some time, archaeologists have questioned the function of keys and perforated disks, made of oak, that have been found on serveral occasions on wrecks from the Battle of La Hougue (1692) as well as on the Dauphine. In 2004, the excavations established the link betwen these two peculiar objects and, in 2005, solved the mystery of how they were used. A serrated disk was used as a fixed lid for the mess-kid, while a perforated disk acted as a moveable lid. The key was fitted into both lids and then rotated in order to lock it. This system meant that the mess-kid could be hermetically sealed and then lifted for transport. By solving this 14-years-old mystery, archaeologists also were able to provide a comprehensive explanation for how mess-kid were transported.
A very different system was discovered aboard the Aimable Grenot, however. It had no locking device, and recipients were carried by means of a simple cord threaded through two holes on either side of the round cover. The mess-kid on the Aimable Grenot were also less complex, but no doubt also less expensive to produce than those aboard the Dauphine.
