The fishermen slept in pairs in box beds. ⁹⁵ The base of the beds consisted of a wooden frame with an interwoven spun-yarn surface: "The bottom of their beds is made of ropes that they thread like a racquet, but the gaps are much wider. In the middle of each bed there is a pole that separates the two men and keeps the ropes taut to prevent the men from rolling onto each other at night". ⁹⁶ The mattress was sometimes filled with straw. To prevent fires, the admiralty of the port of Saint-Malo banned the use of straw mattresses on ships. Mattresses used by fishermen from Saint-Malo were stuffed with tow. But fishermen from Normandy, at least those from Granville, seem to have continued to use straw. They covered themselves with whatever they had. Many of them had only an overcoat. ⁹⁷ Some fishermen did not have a chest in which to store their possessions; they kept their clothing in bags that served as pillows. ⁹⁸