OneGuyFromBarlick

Stanley,
My first thought was, things can't be that bad. Life will get better. LOL.
I have been there, mainly on oil fired boilers for pre inspection. Tube cleaning, Dirty horrible job, but necessary.

Stanley,
It makes the job far easier when you have guys you can rely on.
That is what the ticketing system was intended for. Examinations to a level of competency.
Though there one or two who slipped through the net. However it wasn't long before they were caught out.

Stanley, You just brought back a memory. I was on a reefer once carrying bananas from South America we were in the Western Approaches when the sparks got an order to weigh anchor. We anchored for four days, and then fuel for the generators was starting to get low. The decision was made to knock off ...

Stanley, As the guys got promoted, to 4th and 3rd engineer, they were pretty well grounded in their watchkeeping duties, there was great peace of mind knowing that. So, it appears not much difference, between shore based engineers Donkeyman. boilerman. Oilers and greasers, etc etc All engine room ra...

Stanley, That is interesting ! When I joined the M.N. as a Junior Engineer, we used to stand to attention, when talking to a Chief, and sometimes to a Second Engineer. Discipline/Supervision, is good for control. However, when you have subordinates, who are Mavericks, it was my ticket on the line. A...

Stanley.
Well you learn something new everyday.
I always thought that mill engineers were ex navy men, Royal and Merchant navy.
I am extremely surprised to learn that there wasn't any formal qualifications involved.
Surely that would affect insurance?

That has all changed now Stanley. When I did my tickets it was all under the B.O.T examiner of Marine Engineers auspices. You started with a second class part A, done at a nautical college. Then Part B. Done on board a ship. Second Engineer. This of course done over a number of years. Then you went ...

Stanley. The new shipowners used to own a canal cruiser company somewhere in Yorkshire. They wanted to bring their previous shore based engineers, on board, no tickets or seagoing experience. The engineering superintendent who had spent his life in a canal based boatyard, had never been to sea, and ...

The last time I was in the Gallon Can. there was Myself, the bosun, Colin, and John the third engineer. The owners of the ship wanted me to manufacture a reason to fire the third engineer, because they saw him as a liability, due to his age. As far as I was concerned his ticket, and paperwork, were ...

Stanley, Good post, when I joined it was a male dominated profession. both Deck and Engineers. I have met a few female officers, and they can give it as well as take it. The Landlady of the gallon can, a public house in Great Yarmouth, and frequented by hardened sailors, she held a masters ticket. I...

Stanley.
Have I been blocked?

Dont Know about that Stanley,
There is quite a lot of Media about cruise ships anchored in Weymouth harbour,
Cunards three queens, plus carnival ships.
Their not making a penny. Return to Southampton every couple of weeks, for bunkers.

Tizer,
Very impressive. Rule Britannia.
Lets see what happens in the years to come,
History has a tendency to repeat itself. We just don't learn!!

Stanley,
I think back in the day, most ships especially Royal Navy ships were given feminine names, i.e. Mary Rose, Marie Celeste. etc.

Tizer,
I went on board the Hermes in the seventies, I think she was still carrying buccaneers then. Remember, she is over sixty years old, not bad for an old lady.
Merchantmen would have been scrapped many years ago.
Still sad to see her go.

Stanley,
I am pretty sure they would have used some of the timbers in new build.

They don't get any special treatment, they have a scrap value just like any other ship. Really sad, but that's the way it is. Same paradox with steeplejacks. They needed chimneys to create the draft from the boilers to get the best coefficient from the coal to create steam. When King Cotton lost it ...

Stanley,
There isn't much chance of that gear accidently disengaging is there?

10 out of 10 Stanley. When the engine starts the prop turns. The force is on the prop shaft itself, until the vessel starts to move then some of the force is taken off the shaft. However, there is always force on the prop itself. Either forward or astern. So in essence a thrust bearing/block is a sh...

Someone sent me an E mail today. They asked what a thrust box was. I tried to explain that if a ships engine didn't have one. The engine would end up in the forecastle.

I remember when I was a junior engineer. A chief engineer said to me that when he joined the M N, that there where wooden ships and iron men.
Today we have iron ships and .......

LOL LOL

That is true China. They had a small engine to get them off the dock into open sea. Back in the day they had longboats to pull them off.

Stanley, More years than I care to remember ago. The shipping company I was with did a swap over. I joined a tall ship called the Winston Churchill. The Tall ship company sent their crew to my shipping company. When I arrived on board the Winston Churchill, the First Officer, asked me my rank. He sa...

https://youtu.be/sWjMBSnq2es Opposed piston oil engine Doxford. The theory is that you create more Horse Power with fewer cylinders thereby reducing engine size dimensions. There are of course many downsides to the theory. These engines allowed more cargo capacity, because of their compactness, less...

Reminds me of Nont Sarahs
The panels from the Mauratania were used to furnish the bar.
I think it was the Mauratania.