What is the philosophy about life and love of the sailor in Canterbury Tales?

Answer 1

For a good solid analysis, see Smart Sailor or Seditious Smuggler?
[The Shipman in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
© Copyright 1994, Skylar Hamilton Burris]

"Chaucer-the-poet reveals that the shipman's trade is not what it appears to be to Chaucer-the-pilgrim. This contradiction invites the reader to compare the shipman with another pilgrim of dubious profession. The Manciple, like the shipman, earns his livelihood by stealing from those he is supposedly serving."