A guard ship waiting near port could request sailors from an incoming merchantman once it was close to shore under reduced sail. Under a responsible naval officer, the merchant captain first had to discharge the men and give them their full wages. The guard ship then offered a bounty for volunteering and took the recruits into naval service. The distinction between merchant discharge pay and a naval joining bounty explains why paperwork mattered to the transfer.
Chapter · 29:07-30:03
Guard ships could insist on merchant wages before enlistment
A responsible guard-ship officer required merchant sailors to receive their discharge wages before offering them a naval joining bounty.