The sailor's sea chest was once a ubiquitous object on everything from Navy to whaling to merchant vessels. Traditionally, a highly personalized and prized possession, a seaman's chest would have held clothing, bedding, books, and all matter of personal objects collected along the way. Their use as storage seemed to be secondary in many cases, as pictures also show them being used as dining tables, chairs, dinner buffets, and even as a checkers board. It was the catch-all furniture piece, built for abuse. I pulled this description from the Smithsonian website about a chest in their collection:

"Dating to the 1790s, this sailor’s sea chest would have been one of the owner’s most important possessions. The crew on sailing ships typically owned little property—perhaps only what would fit into a chest like this one. Not only did his chest store a sailor’s personal belongings, but it also served as his table, his chair, his bank and his bureau. These chests also gave a sailor an opportunity for personal expression through carvings, paintings, and decorations."