Steering

[Captain Kong]

I was on the `BEECHFIELD`. built before Noah built his Ark. Coal Burner,
Had Chain and Rod Steering, A wheel of six feet in diameter and if a sea hit the rudder it would spin and if you hung on it would throw you over the top of it, Just let her spin then she would be all over the place.
Open wheel house, wind, snow and rain hitting you in face , Oil Skins and sea boots on. hands frozen to the wheel.
They were the good old days, They dont build ships like that anymore.
Cheers
Brian

[Tony Wilding]

am amazed at some of the ships you had to sail on, seems un believable now, how did they get crews ?

[Tony Wilding]

medina princess was once owned by ben line, must have been maintained then. 2 photos of her, as built then aground somewhere.EMPIRE_TUDOR.jpgempiretudor1.jpg

[Gulliver]

medina princess was once owned by ben line, must have been maintained then. 2 photos of her, as built then aground somewhere.EMPIRE_TUDOR.jpgempiretudor1.jpg

I think that second picture is of when she was called MEDINA PRINCESS-beached off DJIBOUTI 1964.


You can read my post # 9 above which refers....

[Colin Pook]

Hi Trader, I was on the Esso Chelsea and I endorse every word you said. On one trip going from Milford to Stanlow we passed the same light 3 times, and coming down the M.S. canal in ballast in a gale of wind we walloped the side of one of the road bridges.
Regards,
Colin.

[Tony Wilding]

you are quite correct, apparently according to Mirimar she went aground there twice, a couple of years apart, very strange. ?

[E.Martin]

Most ships big or small steer reasonably well,no doubt in my mind the worst ship I ever had to steer
was a WW2 Chant you just had to do the best you can.
We loaded stone in Porthoustock bound for Deptford Creek,you load the stone while grounded when the
tide came in and we floated we were very much down by the head and it was impossible to steer anything like a straight course,when you took the wheel it was 2 hours of hard work.

[Tony Wilding]

when you see the shape of a Chants hull, not suprising they would be pigs to steer.

[Don Rafferty]

medina princess was once owned by ben line, must have been maintained then. 2 photos of her, as built then aground somewhere.EMPIRE_TUDOR.jpgempiretudor1.jpg

Any idea what the strange rig is on the bows?

[Tony Wilding]

i dont know how it worked, but it was for streaming paravanes used to cut moored mines, most WW2 merchant ships were so fitted. this ship has booms for anti submarine torpedoes also, maybe another member knows how they operated.cliffsparavanegear.jpg