JUST A BIT OF FUN

[John Pruden]

how many elf and safety rules would have been broken on a working ship in the 50s 60s by todays standards? just see how many you can come up with??jp

[E.Martin]

First one come to mind making yourself fast in a Bosun's Chair,then over the side on a stage especially when bowsing in on the bow or stern.

[Tony Wilding]

Painting the inside of the funnel casing, hanging on with one hand, painting with the other, no safety lines, in a fume filled atmosphere, Engine running full ahead on a Ship in Ballast and pitching and rolling her guts out North Atlantic Winter. another was trying to unblock the Oily Water Separator on TSS Ceramic, was filled with Chemical Cleaners, Clenetol, we had to climb in the man holes trying to find the blockage, gagging on the fumes, after 2 minutes gasping for air with your head outside, carrying heavy gash buckets up the ER ladders in rough seas,to dump them aft,hanging under the ER Deckhead on a Plank soogying and painting, more fumes, no safety net, was a long drop, more later.

[John Pruden]

we can't tie up the deck is slippy how could you work the drum end and topping out is a no-no??jp

[Captain Kong]

Working down at the bottom of a 60 foot sometimes a 100 foot deep oil tank, digging out the sludge which released the gas, no breathing apparatus, and after ten minutes have to stagger up a very long and high ladder dizzy with the gas, stand on deck, the Mate gives you a large tot of Rum and down you go again. It is a wonder a lot more men were not killed falling off the ladders.
Leaping aloft with a gantline over the shoulders and shinning up the last twenty feet, 100 feet above a swaying deck, gripping the mast with your knees and trying to reeve the gantline , quite heavy using both hands , through the sheave before your knees started to slide down. Bowsing in under the Flared Bows of a big Star boat whilst hanging on to a stage, all hands bevied from a lunch time session and some falling off into the oggin.
No safety harnesses in those days.
Conjunctivitous of the eyes painting with carcinoma paints like PF4. that burned the skin off your hands and your throat,
The only safety boots we had was a pair of flip flops., No cold weather gear in the arctic winters, no storm gear.
Rigging big Jumbos, up on to the mast table then trying to climb up the jumbo away from the mast and again with gantlines to heave up the topping lift blocks and guy blocks, sliding around with grease covered hands, I actually fell off the jumbo of the TARKWA breaking both legs and my right arm, doing just that,
Working down the hatches sweeping up after a dangerous cargo of bagged chemicals that had spilled out, including Carbon Black that got into you Lungs and Bronchia and Nasal cavities, and into the pores of your skin, it lasted for days coughing up black crap out of the lungs and the skin turning black after several showers. How many Seamen got the Cancer from the dangerous cargoes.?
Crawling along the bilges , full of human crap and urine, cleaning out the strum boxes,
The risk of Malaria, Yellow Fever, Black Water Fever, Typhoid, Smallpox, Dysentry, Tropical Ulcers and many other exotic tropical diseases.
Shipwreck, drowning, ship board fires, getting attacked in some foreign ports by the local Natives who hated the white man. Also the dreaded crabs and guns off the Native girls.
How did we survive all that lot. How many other safety features did we not have.
EXPLOITATION, HEALTH AND SAFETY, they dont know they are born today, I say, they dont know they are born.
Brian

[Lou Barron]

I use try and dodge all those dicey and dirty jobs i was a bit of a softy AH AH

[Tony Geeves]

Painting the inside of an upright 12 foot high air compressor tank in a Blue Star engine room with some wierd coating. Came to after someone had dragged my head out of the very narrow manhole at the bottom of the tank. 2nd. Eng. wanted me to finish it, I gave him the paint brush.

[Peter Trodden]

Now the other side of the coin. My first Job Offshore as a Rigger and one day I was told to release the lifting Legs off a empty stores container,so I put a 3mtr ladder up against the side and climbed up to release the first shackle. My name came Booming out of the Tannoy,telling me to stop working and report to the OIM in the Control room right away. He gave me a minor bollocking an reminded me I wasn't deep sea anymore and had to follow all offshore procedures regarding work. First I needed a Work Permit,so I stood in a queue with Welders and Scaffs and after a long waite I got to the Desk where a young Kid started asking me questions from the Permit, Describe the Job and Tools I will use,who will assist me ? I told him my Tool is a Marlin' spike and my mate will give me a hand. HE- What is a Marlin' spike ? decribe it,and what is your mates name. Will this Job take you all shift,if not bring the Permit back and I will sign it off. When I picked up my Permit he then said to me, join that queue and fill out a Risk assesment
When I finally got back to the job, I had to place the ladder against the container,Lash the top and bottom,put on a safety harness and have my mate foot the ladder. Release the the lashings and move the ladder 3 more times. This was a 5 minute job that took most of the morning to do. elf & saff,? there were times when I wondered how we got anything done on time.
ttfn.Peter.

[Captain Kong]

My step daughters husband has just returned from a Rig in the North Sea, Tern Alpha.

He said it takes three hours to change a light bulb.
With a permit for leaving the deck, two feet, is the ladder equiped with a safety certificate, How do you fix the ladder, Risk assesment forms to fill in, is the electricity cut off while the job is underway, will there be security on the light switch so no one can switch on while the bulb is being exchanged, is the bulb the right voltage , amperage, and wattage for its position. a safety harness will be worn whilst climbing the ladder , two feet high. Are you dressed in the correct safety clothing. will there be a stand by man to hold the ladder. etc. He has given me his 66 page Safety Book.
.
.
Here is me on the top mast and my old school mate Ted on the table. Good Hope Castle, No Harnesses, no safety nets, Just shorts and flip flops of bare feet. NO Safety Clothing.
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Me hanging off the span wire Dunedin Star No harness, no safety net.
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and me painting mast on Manchester Merchant again no harness and no safety nets.
How could we ever do jobs like that today??
.
Brian.

[John Pruden]

sorry chief i can't work in an environment that is not at a constant temperature of between 60/70 degrees?jp