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Thread: Wires

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    Default Wires

    Bill Morrison.. Bill can you refresh my memory other post on subject seems to have been closed down. The towing wire and working wire on their respective drums on the anchor handlers , were they the same sized wires ?. They were by this time measured in metric and it was their diameter that was quoted wasn’t it ? I seems to have a figure of 40 mm in my head. You must have spent many hours driving these big wires up and down the deck , so your memory should be better than mine. I know as mate when lifting the work wire off the deck with crowbars to get the pelican hook. On the wire it was a sod of a job. Cheers JS

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    Default Re: Wires

    When I saw the Header JS thought it was going t be about!

    https://www.wires.org.au/
    Senior Site Moderator-Member and Friend of this Website

    R697530

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    Default Re: Wires

    I was on quite a few anchor handling supply ships. When lifting the rig anchors the tugger winch was used to lasso the buoy. When the buoy was on deck the anchor pennant was trapped by the pelican hook. The buoy was disconnected and dragged down the deck by the tugger winch. The pennant was connected to the towing winch wire to raise the anchor from the sea bed and onto the deck. The pelican hook was used again to trap the wire anchor cable and the pennant disconnected , the anchor cable was then heaved on board while the ship came astern. When under the rig the anchor and pennant was taken on board the rig by the rigs crane. The anchor cable was then heaved off the towing winch using the tugger winch , the cable was flaked out on the deck to be passed back to the rig.

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    Default Re: Wires

    Can see you are conversant with the job Louis.when I left the North Sea was rare to see rig anchor buoys in use and recovery was with a chaser. The pelican hook was only there as an emergency one hoped , as the sharks jaws were fitted in later years. You needed experienced people on deck when working rig anchors and could see the glazed look come into some eyes who were new to the job, some didn’t stay too long. Was a shock to the system going from deep sea into some of the jobs offshore, I had to cut my teeth with Wimpys on the little Wimpy Seawolf, what a come down I thought at the time, but beggars can’t be choosers. It seems that British seamen have always been the forerunners in most maritime industries , and when things get easier they are mostly discarded and other cheaper labour sources employed. Not only was the MN the forgotten force., it was the most abused and misused bunch of men amongst all the other let down industries of our times. Used and discarded. No longer required on passage. Cheers JS
    Last edited by j.sabourn; 21st September 2018 at 09:23 AM.

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    Default Re: Wires

    Quote Originally Posted by j.sabourn View Post
    Can see you are conversant with the job LouisNot only was the MN the forgotten force., it was the most abused and misused bunch of men amongst all the other let down industries of our times. Used and discarded. No longer required on passage. Cheers JS
    It has been going on for a long time, chasing ever cheaper sources of labour. My good friend was a mate on a British registered tanker which was taken over by N. Koreans. The new mate still had no idea how to work cargo even after several weeks handover (running between Egypt and Israel so many opportunities to learn ).
    Last edited by Doc Vernon; 21st September 2018 at 09:36 PM.

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    Default Re: Wires

    Reading my post everything seems straightforward and routine but this was a very dangerous job which could go wrong.
    To lasso the buoy three men stood on the stern rollers with a long wire strop, the skipper came astern as close to the buoy as possible. Two men threw the lasso and the third man in the centre with a boathook shoved the strop over the buoy or the crucifix on top. Many times waves were crashing over the stern making the job even more difficult. When the anchor was buried deep in the sea bed the winch was working at full capacity with the tow wire singing and bouncing on the deck under great strain. The skipper was always under pressure trying to keep his men safe while the toolpusher on the rig was on the radio urging him to hurry.
    It was a different life than we had been used to but the leave system was far better , no bull.... and everyone worked together as a team.

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    Default Re: Wires

    Quote Originally Posted by j.sabourn View Post
    Bill Morrison.. Bill can you refresh my memory other post on subject seems to have been closed down. The towing wire and working wire on their respective drums on the anchor handlers , were they the same sized wires ?. They were by this time measured in metric and it was their diameter that was quoted wasn’t it ? I seems to have a figure of 40 mm in my head. You must have spent many hours driving these big wires up and down the deck , so your memory should be better than mine. I know as mate when lifting the work wire off the deck with crowbars to get the pelican hook. On the wire it was a sod of a job. Cheers JS
    Hi John. 40mm dia. wire sounds about right. Ia'm still pounds, shillings & pence so about 2". I did a lot of anchor and towing jobs with Seaforth. I have some photos of one on the Conquer hope they post.
    Bill
    Attached Images Attached Images

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    Default Re: Wires

    Thanks Bill. That looks like a small Bruce anchor and not one of the bigger rig anchors. It’s not the usual 20 tonner. Looks more like the Clansmans 2 ton self mooring Bruce anchors. Although Louis refers to using the tow wire, this is a misconception that anyone would make, it was the work wire, on the work drum. To get pennents and shackles on to the towing drum would soon make a mess of your tow wire which was worth a lot of money. No riding turns on your tow wire and had to be spooled on to prevent damage to the wire. Don’t think Seaforth would appreciate having to replace too often. We had a 4 point mooring system on the Clansman and used to lay them ourself , unless too much clutter on the seabed like wellheads etc. then someone had to run them for us, which wasnt very often. As regards Louis s taking seas over the stern roller whilst trying to lasso the buoy spent more time on your backside travelling up the deck and finishing up under the big winch. Bet you had bets on the bridge how far would get up the deck before hitting some obstruction. The introduction of the chasers and doing away with the buoys was the answer to many a sailors dreams. And the Sharks Jaws was pure ecstasy. The crash barrier must have saved many lives just to be able to cling to it. Definitely a young mans job, with something to prove. Weight for weight a Bruce anchor is supposed to have twice the holding power of the admiralty stockless anchor. Your work wire was only a fairly short wire to reach the stern roller and keep about 6 turns on the drum, if wanted it longer used 50 foot pennents or whatever was available to extend it. Your tow wire was over a mile long in most cases. Cheers JS.
    Last edited by j.sabourn; 22nd September 2018 at 01:18 AM.

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    Default Re: Wires

    Speaking of anchors as some have mentioned on this thread brings to mind something I was told on a cruise ship last year.
    many go to ports of call where tenders are used as no quay available.

    The anchors is dropped but that is not what holds the ship in place, the chain length is what does hold it steady.

    Is this correct?
    Happy daze John in Oz.

    Life is too short to blend in.

    John Strange R737787
    World Traveller

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    Default Re: Wires

    #9 The weight of the chain and the friction between it and the bottom is given as one of the reasons. Usually as a rough guide on dropping a ships anchor it was said 3 times of chain as the depth of water. The more length the greater holding power. However today a lot of specialised anchor work requires the likes of four point mooring that is anchor wires from both bows and both quarters on wires. The ship moves around as required in this position by use of the anchors so the wires are tight and anchors have to hold , Bruce anchors and other types have been developed for these jobs whose flukes dig into the sea bed and hold. Much more so than the conventional anchor. JS.
    Your ordinary ships anchors on a supply boat used to have 28 or 29 shackles on each bower anchor compared to 8 or 9 on an ordinary commercial vessel. This was because in mainly the old days you dropped an anchor before steaming into the rig turning around and taking two mooring lines to to the stern of the ship to tie up , then heaved the anchor tight and hoped it held. Today this is rarely done and one is expected to hold the ship in position using ships engines and thrusters etc. so depending how modern your ship is , depends how good you are. The British shipowner was always the last to improve the working conditions of the seaman be it food or modernisation of vessels. Was all done by magic , And think most people thought this also. Cheers JS. Ps It is called snatching when you don’t tie up. It is nearly all snatching today the excuse given is there is too much interstucture to damage on the seabed now. But suspect the bigger reason is the time for tying up involved. Time is another name for money in the oil industry. JS
    Last edited by j.sabourn; 22nd September 2018 at 07:37 AM.

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