Box beams, Bilges, Grain and Rats.

[j.sabourn]

One of my most disliked jobs at sea was after and during discharge of grain on a conventional cargo ship. As after discharge it was nigh on impossible to get access to the box beams, except by extendable ladder, the grain on the box beams had to be swept off as the grain level went below them. The bilges although covered with sack cloth or whatever always managed to be full before completion of discharge and had to be dug out before completion. Always one seemed to encounter rats with grain as were probably loaded via the shutes with the grain in a lot of cases. Some people seemed to be under the delusion that ratguards were there to supposedly stop rats coming aboard, as far as the port health was concerned it was to stop them going ashore. I remember seeing a photo in an Australian magazine of a rope ratguard on a ship, painted on this some wag had put Dear Rat please use gangway. The bottom of gangways were sometimes painted white in the belief that a rat would not cross. I have my doubts about this. Another was wrapping tarred sack cloth around the rope or wire, that was on the poorer ships which had no ratguards. I have no doubt that the port health would insist on proper ratguards nowadays. Anyhow Rats always have given me the creeps. Cheers John Sabourn

[John Arton]

Carried grain on bulkers only and we never had any rats. Even on the Beaver boats running out of Vic. Docks we managed to stay rat free.
The biggest rat I ever saw was in Petit Couronne (river Seine) and it lived in the stonework underneath a tanker berth of all places, we used to discharge wax there.
Hate the blighters myself though I do know one person who keeps them as pets, though she is quite strange anyway.
Rats...ughhh
rgds
JA

[Captain Kong]

The last time I saw Rats on a ship was on the URMSTON GRANGE in 1958, we loaded grain in B.A. and homward bound
The Chippy laid traps around the deck and every morning there would be big Yellow grain rats in them , He would then open the cages and drop them into the ocean. A long swim back to B.A.
The banana Rats on the Banana boats we got in Tiko, Camaroon, were small black ones with a bushy tail like a squirrel.
Never got Rats on VLCCs, I wonder why?
.
At home here, I live right next to a lake and in winter I get water rats coming into my garden and trying to build nests under my patio. Now they come in a variety of colours and are spotlessly clean, I have a job to get rid of them, the local cats do a good job for me.
Cheers
Brian.

[j.sabourn]

What was the South American monkey called was it a marmaset. I remember the ch.Eng. had one on one ship. Believe this animal was a ground dweller. Looked to me like a rat and sometimes acted like one when cornered. Cheers John Sabourn

[Tony Wilding]

hI John, the Marmoset is a true Monkey, lives in the upper canopies of tropical rain forest, the biggest Rats i ever saw was in Buenaventura Colombia, were extremely bold, so many there on the quayside in broad daylight , never seen one so big since, MARMOSET.jpg

[Louis the Amigo]

Hi shipmates, I worked in between trips once I worked in a flour mill on the 5th floor stacking sacks of flours 144lb 12 height on a pallet, 8am till 4 pm in the morning you would ride the man lift, open platform step with handle to hold onto to your workplace, and put on the lights if you were the first one there, The Rats hundreds of them mosly brown in colour ,would dive for cover and you never saw one all day, but on the ground floor they were much braver and seem to do as they wanted? They were much bigger and could take on a cat, and win in a fight ,the only thing they worried them was me with a shovel. I had to do something in my lunch time to past the time? the canteen food was not good ,The rats were so fat and slow it was easy to kill them The other workers in the mill were afraid of them, some use to run away from them or used them as target pratice for air guns and the flying vermin roadies but they were allways more the next day My time at sea never saw one rat? but did put out rat gaurds in a few ports .I played a few tricks on people with live rats, {not at sea} but I was young and would do anything for a laugh in them days. only worked in the flour mill for 8 weeks before back to sea.

[Captain Kong]

The BIGGEST RATS I ever saw were trying to attack me.
I had my leg crushed between the platform and the Dolphin on Sea Island in the Gulf, I had gone ashore to read the draft figures, the mercury indicators had conked out, the gangway had been removed so I had to climb onto Sea Island to read them fore aft and amidships. It was Dark after Midnight, just completed loading 250K of crude, The ship was ready for sailing and I really had to get to Hospital quick so an Arab in a boat was called and he took me ashore to Ras Tannurah. He moored the boat and went for help. My leg was bleeding profusely through all the dressings. I sat in the boat waiting and saw my ship sailing past bound for Singapore, felt very lonely .
Then I saw them coming, dozens of them Big Black Furry Rats, looked bigger than cats, they could smell my blood. I found a brush in the boat and sat there fighting these animals off, I thought if they got me that would have been the end I would have been eaten alive. For around twenty minutes I was battering them with the brush then a car arrived on the boat jetty and the headlights shone on the us and the Rats ran off.
After a few more adventures I arrived in hospital in Al Khobar a few hours later and nearly lost the leg, Those Rats were very scary.
Brian

[Dennis McGuckin]

Most I ever saw was while tied up in Caracas, The place was crawling with them.
I used to sleep on deck, but never too comfortable. Keep thinking I may get a few as bunk mates Ug.
Den
We had a post on rars some time ago.

[happy daze john in oz]

................ I have a job to get rid of them, the local cats do a good job for me.

You do realise I hope that by allowing the cats to eat the rats you are depriving your neighbors of their dinner?

[Dennis McGuckin]

Carried grain on bulkers only and we never had any rats. ......

There was a guy on the ski hill who had one as a pet.
Used to ski with it on his shoulder.
Once had the dubious pleasure of riding the chair lift with him and his pal.Had the urge to dump them both half way up the mountain.
They were finally banned from the resort.
Den.