How did whipping, flogging, and the starter differ?

Would it be preferable to be flogged or whipped under age-of-sail naval punishment?

Neither was safe, but a whip could cut deeper and a flog could scrape a wider area; the wooden starter might cause less penetrating skin damage.

A whip could penetrate more deeply, while a flog spread damage and scraped across a wider area of skin. The preferred alternative in the answer is the starter, a wooden cane that could strike hard with less risk of the same cutting or scraping wounds. The distinction concerns the mechanism and likely injuries of each punishment. This comparison does not endorse corporal discipline.