companionway: a stairway or ladder that leads from one deck to another on a ship
stairway: a way of access (upward and downward) consisting of a set of steps
wood rat: any of various small short-tailed rodents of the northern hemisphere having soft fur grey above and white below with furred tails and large ears; some are hosts for Ixodes pacificus and Ixodes scapularis (Lyme disease ticks)