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During the build costs were much more than expected and as usual the builders and the owners needed to reduce costs or abandon the project. The Chief Engineer to be kindly offered to forgo any air conditioning in the engineers quarters to help the cause !! His boys did not need A/C, that was for pansies. However his own suite was exempted on the grounds that he needed A/C because he would be entertaining passengers !! Regards Peter in NZ.
On some migrant ships such as the one my brother in law and his wife came out on women and chidlren were put in serarate cabins to men. Not popular with the passengers but limited berths meant it was the only way to make sure the ship sailed full.
The reason for no A/C in Enginers accomodation was said to be they would catch colds due to the heat in engine room. During the build the Chief Engineer said ok but deck officers cant have it ether and stopped the ducting short. Only Chief and Captain had it installed later Staff Chief was added.
GWB
George that is something not likely to have seen out here on the coast the short time I worked out here. All ships manned by Australian crews and run through the maritime unions had to have A/C. As regards the UK as to offshore work, I sometimes think that only the crews who manned the shipping must have had any ideas of the suitability of some of the vessels brought into service in the North Sea. Ships built for the Gulf of Mexico and sticking them into the North Sea in winter time could be very scary. Some were built with their funnels and exhausts. Starting from main deck level and not one of the upper decks, so one always thought of getting a Sea down. Wheelhouse window glass not having the same armour plating strengths as those purpose built. I could go on. Then people today talk about safety. However talking about A/C I see no. Reason why seamen should. Have to suffer in this day and age of going without. If it’s good for one its good for all . Cheers JWS
Took this photo of the "Southern Cross" 1955 in Melbourne, I believe it was her maiden voyage.Attachment 25297Attachment 25297
I know Australia is upside down.. but this is rediculous....spelt wrong ? having a bad day. !!!!!!
I thought although they look very identical in northern Star was around 4000 tons Bigger
The big problem with Northern Star was the choice of boilers -- she had two B&W Selectable superheat boilers, operating pressure 600 PSI and superheated to 900' C. However the tubes were very tightly packed together in order to save space but this was the problem. The fuel used had a very high vanadium pentoxide level and this caused heavy slagging of the gas passages. This was so violent that the boilers almost shook themselves to pieces and was felt all over the ship. All this slag had to be removed manually by chipping away with picks any whatever sharp chisel type tool available. My last trip as Inter second engineer was a nightmare, the final leg homeward bound was Lisbon to Southampton, we would steam for a few hours and then shut down one boiler in order to get inside and manually chip this slag. We ended that trip on one boiler, we had so many ruptured tubes in the other boiler that it was just too risky to run at full pressure. The ship was scrapped just months later. Cheers, Peter in NZ -- very hot today, 27'C
I've never sailed on the selectable superheat Babcock boiler but from what you've described it I don't think I missed a lot
On some migrant ships such as the one my brother in law and his wife came out on women and chidlren were put in serarate cabins to men. Not popular with the passengers but limited berths meant it was the only way to make sure the ship sailed full. HD John
When I was on the Troopship GEORGIC, in 1955, we carried 3,000 immigrants from Liverpool to Australia, £10 Poms.
all the families were separated, all females in a cabin for ten people and all the males in a cabin for ten people
Most had No Ports, all inside cabins. there was No AIR CON.
the ship was an Oven in the Red Sea, and five young children died between Suez and Aden due to the heat. we had to bury them into the Red Sea,
a Sad end to a new life.
The next voyage we went around the Cape as it was a cooler route.
Captain, Sailing times to Fremantle from the UK is only a five or six hours difference going round the Cape or via the Suez Canal so why pay a quarter of a million to use the Canal ?? Regards Peter in NZ.