so did you have hot bunks on the big boats, where machine oil would scent your pillow indescribably?

"Hot bunking" is when there aren't enough bunks for all hands, so you have to take turns. We all had our own individual "racks" (not bunks) -- a metal frame that was lashed up to the bulkhead during the day, and pulled down at night, providing a stack of three racks (canvas lashed to the framework).

But if you used fresh to hose down the ship, did that not delay having to rust-pick and scrape it before repainting?

The Providence was only ship I was ever served on that saved up its fresh water supply to wash down the ship. The reason given was to make the ship look sharp when we pulled into port. Can't have the admiral show up in a grimy ship. My other ships and cutters always took care of the crew first.

My only complaint about the food in the Navy was the lack of fresh milk after the first few days at sea. Powdered milk was provided on extended deployments, but I can't stand powdered milk. But, hard to believe, I actually got to where I liked the reconstituted eggs. And the rest of the chow was first rate.