By registering with our site you will have full instant access to:
268,000 posts on every subject imaginable contributed by 1000's of members worldwide.
25000 photos and videos mainly relating to the British Merchant Navy.
Members experienced in research to help you find out about friends and relatives who served.
The camaraderie of 1000's of ex Merchant Seamen who use the site for recreation & nostalgia.
Here we are all equal whether ex Deck Boy or Commodore of the Fleet.
A wealth of experience and expertise from all departments spanning 70+ years.
It is simple to register and membership is absolutely free.
N.B. If you are going to be requesting help from one of the forums with finding historical details of a relative
please include as much information as possible to help members assist you. We certainly need full names,
date and place of birth / death where possible plus any other details you have such as discharge book numbers etc.
Please post all questions onto the appropriate forum
As I feel there are quite a few on here that have NOT updated their Email addresses, can you please do so. It is of importance that your Email is current, so as we can contact you if applicable . Send me the details in my Private Message Box.
Thank You Doc Vernon
Please log in with your username and password
-
8th October 2013, 08:00 PM
#51
Re: Then and Now

Originally Posted by
Captain Kong
I tride to claim for deafness, yes I do have a hearing aid, No Chance.
They told me there is no one left to clain against, all the shipping companies have ceased to excist.
I heard a guy telling his mate that he had applied for Industrial Deafness three weeks ago.His mate asked him "Have you heard anything yet"
Regards.
Jim.B.
-
Post Thanks / Like
-
8th October 2013, 08:48 PM
#52
Re: Then and Now
Get in touch with one of the well known union so9licitors, they handle claims for asbestos related diseases, and deafness, vibration white finger etc, I believe they often sue the insurers of long gone firms, if the firm no longer exists, worth a try maybe.
-
15th April 2014, 05:19 AM
#53
Re: Then and Now
Aids to Navigation.... Was sure there was a post on this somewhere. A further aid to navigation was the old canvas sea bucket and thermomoter. Apart from weather ships which were supplied with if you were a designated weather reporting vessel, most ships entered the sea temperature the same as the engineers in the log book every 4 hours. However for navigational means the one taken with the canvas bucket was relied on more, as were looking for ocean currents which in different parts of the world were quite strong, the best indication of these if were looking to keep in or out of was by sea temperature. They could make quite a difference on passage time between ports. I very much doubt such methods are used nowadays with being able to fix the ships position so accurately, no one would think about sea temperatures, would think they knew by what speed the ship was doing over the land ( between 2 points). JS
-
Post Thanks / Like
-
15th April 2014, 06:36 AM
#54
Re: Then and Now
Remember those buckets well John, especially in PSNC, very useful to the meteorological people with having so many ships on the same run, they would have had a constant stream of information on sea temperatures and all the other readings we used to take, Lat/Long/time, sea state, wind direction/force, wet and dry thermometers etc. From what I'm reading in some of my journals sea temperature still plays a very important part of forecasting, but with so many structures around and in our seas perhaps moving ships are no longer required to send readings as they have all these stationary stations now. The things we used to do, brought alive again by our meanderings and which we had forgotten.
-
Post Thanks / Like
-
15th April 2014, 06:49 AM
#55
Re: Then and Now
I often wondered how accurate we were when estimating the height of the base of the lowest cloud. I would be surprised if 2 ships in the same area came up with the same info. Cheers John S
-
15th April 2014, 07:40 AM
#56
Re: Then and Now

Originally Posted by
j.sabourn
I often wondered how accurate we were when estimating the height of the base of the lowest cloud. I would be surprised if 2 ships in the same area came up with the same info. Cheers John S
I suppose some may have worked it out with HOE to horizon, sextant angle to base of cloud and assuming RA at horizon to base and a few algebra equations, but by the time I could have worked it out the clouds would have lifted.
-
15th April 2014, 08:48 AM
#57
Re: Then and Now
#54... Is that the long thin narrow hard rubber ones supplied by the met office, would have made good sample bottles, often had my suspicions if the lookout on the wing of the bridge. The canvas ones used to make ourselves with the round wooden top, only trouble was used to float until got enough water in to sink them to usually about 10 to 12 feet, depending how deep you expected the current flow to be. The engineers sea temperatures think most would have been taken deeper. A mate of mine was Ch. Engineer working for an Iranian Company during the Iran/Iraq war, the only guard they had against heat seeking missiles was to put the hoses on the funnel which is what the exocets went for. When I said what about the sea temperatures they would have just made it hotter, he just laughed and said it was just to keep everyone happy and show them how prepared they were. Same bloke died in 1989 was lost over the side the day after I left the ship. Got the usual 30,000 pounds which was was put on a mans life in the shipping side of the North sea, not much for those left behind to bring up a family. They say seamen are overpaid, you couldnt over pay them for some of the jobs they have to do. These 2 squibs off the 2 ex. pollies trying to work off their fathers names, they should be sent to sea for 20 years to teach them the facts of life. Before they ever entertained the idea of trying to run a country. I sometimes as get older often think of all the good men now gone who would dance rings around some of these would be wanna bes . Cheers John S
---------- Post added at 09:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:36 AM ----------
1.15 X square root of the height of eye in feet, equals the distance in miles. Theres one side of the triangle Ivan. Would be knackered now if they wanted it in metres. Another thing given to the frogs. The yanks still retain theirs I notice. Cheers JS
Last edited by j.sabourn; 15th April 2014 at 08:43 AM.
-
Post Thanks / Like
-
8th August 2018, 09:59 AM
#58
Re: Then and Now
Maybe it varied from ship to ship I worked in the mid too late 70s for houlder bros I was on the Westbury and the Ocean transport both general cargo boats running between the UK and Buenos Aires we used our own derricks in S.A. so stripped everything down, checked and double checked all blocks and tackle ropes, wires on the way out and painted her from top to bottom on the homeward trip..It was hard work at the time but they were also the best times of my life..
-
Post Thanks / Like
-
9th August 2018, 06:40 AM
#59
Re: Then and Now

Originally Posted by
j.sabourn
#54... Is that the long thin narrow hard rubber ones supplied by the met office, would have made good sample bottles, often had my suspicions if the lookout on the wing of the bridge. The canvas ones used to make ourselves with the round wooden top, only trouble was used to float until got enough water in to sink them to usually about 10 to 12 feet, depending how deep you expected the current flow to be. The engineers sea temperatures think most would have been taken deeper. A mate of mine was Ch. Engineer working for an Iranian Company during the Iran/Iraq war, the only guard they had against heat seeking missiles was to put the hoses on the funnel which is what the exocets went for. When I said what about the sea temperatures they would have just made it hotter, he just laughed and said it was just to keep everyone happy and show them how prepared they were. Same bloke died in 1989 was lost over the side the day after I left the ship. Got the usual 30,000 pounds which was was put on a mans life in the shipping side of the North sea, not much for those left behind to bring up a family. They say seamen are overpaid, you couldnt over pay them for some of the jobs they have to do. These 2 squibs off the 2 ex. pollies trying to work off their fathers names, they should be sent to sea for 20 years to teach them the facts of life. Before they ever entertained the idea of trying to run a country. I sometimes as get older often think of all the good men now gone who would dance rings around some of these would be wanna bes . Cheers John S
---------- Post added at 09:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:36 AM ----------
1.15 X square root of the height of eye in feet, equals the distance in miles. Theres one side of the triangle Ivan. Would be knackered now if they wanted it in metres. Another thing given to the frogs. The yanks still retain theirs I notice. Cheers JS
John if it helps 100 Klm is 62.3 miles roughly.


Happy daze John in Oz.
Life is too short to blend in.
John Strange R737787
World Traveller

-
Post Thanks / Like
-
9th August 2018, 08:26 AM
#60
Re: Then and Now
Often wondered where the Heat of the beat equaled the angle of dangle came into pythagorus “s equations. Know about the square on the hippopotamus one though. Cheers JS
-
Post Thanks / Like
Tags for this Thread
Posting Permissions
- You may not post new threads
- You may not post replies
- You may not post attachments
- You may not edit your posts
-
Forum Rules