Words we will never use again.

[Bob Hollis]

John, i remember we had two of these on a ship I was on but what the hell we used them for has mostly gone from this oul head. I do remember we had the most awkward tween deck iron lids, they were hinged in the middle, hydraulic, and would open OK, as the bow rose and perhaps there was a slight list on, no way would they close. We used a tirfor each side and and gently pulled the lid until the motor started.

[Doc Vernon]

Now come wid me, me dearie,
An’ I will stand ye treat,
I’ll buy ye rum and brandy, dear,
An’ tabnabs for to eat.

[judith george]

Baa Baa Black Sheep

[gray_marian]

#103, Judith apparently you have to say chalk board now instead of black board! I'm not conforming, to blooming ridiculous for words

[judith george]

its annoying Marian a white board is acceptable a white lamb is ok but a blk board and a blk sheep are not

[Bob Hollis]

I remember my granny's last words to me ... "Robert, you're not as black as you're painted".

[j.sabourn]

#94... Rigging of a union purchase with 5 or 10 ton derricks. As to the use of preventers they were usually the best bits cut out of old runners. I admit to being a bit unsure as to how they should be used in the rig of such for cargo work and think a lot used to toss a coin. Some Mates and Bosuns insisted that the Preventer wire carried the weight and others that the guys should. I always tried to take the easy option and spread the weight between the two. The breakage of any wire between the 2 of them the cheapest would be the preventer and a guy pennant unless had ready made spares was harder to replace in a hurry. Those that advocated the preventer carrying the weight argued that the guys were used to position the derrick and the preventer to hold it in that position. Getting the preventer tight was usually by raising the derrick after the preventer was fast and the guys usually hand tight, therefore it was deemed by most that the preventer took the biggest burden of any stress. JS

[Ivan Cloherty]

Used to spread the weight, rig as tight as you can by hand, and adjust by either lifting a weight so the weight is even or fasten the hook to the deck and bring the derricks to where you want them with the winch slacking off the outboard guy to even the preventer and then whilst the load is on the hook tighten the inboard guys or schooner guy if that was the rig for inboard.

[Roger Dyer]

John S., in general terms, I think your description of a 'preventer', it's use and purpose, is correct. ....hells bells! I'm not about to question the experience of seamen such as yourself, Brian (Kong), Ivan, John Arton and others. However, I hope you will not mind a young A.B. from the 60's adding his two-bobsworth. In those days it was my understanding that, to serve it's purpose when working cargo, a 'preventer' was placed to advantage support to whichever 'guy' was deemed under most stress. As you rightly imply, their construction was often make-shift and when it came to their maintenance, a 'preventer' was the 'poor relation' of cargo working gear. Unlike the care we paid to the maintenance of runners, topping lifts, guys. blocks, etc, they often received scant attention and as I recall always seemed to be covered in rust. From my own experience, many of the lads on deck regarded them as an emcumberance and of little value, however, perhaps they, we, were wrong.

Should you read this Ivan I know you will forgive me, but however mistaken we are, like Terry (RLT), I too recall some seamen refer to a 'preventer' as an 'insurance wire', but then again I could be wrong.. it was all so long ago, wasn't it?

Roger

[Ivan Cloherty]

As you say Roger a long time ago, but a preventer was an important, if not essential, part of the rig of union purchase operation and no self respecting mate, 2/m or 3/m would have attempted to work cargo without them being rigged: they were always used in conjunction with the outboard guys on the derrick plumbing the hatch and the outboard guy of the derrick plumbing overside. They were an encumberance only in so much as being made from worn runners they tended to curl up when slack and had to be run down the deck to try and unturn them, and of course as you turned them up on the cleats they tended to curl up and whip and strangle your arm much like a snake would, and they also had snags in them, I bear the scars to this day. But 'unimportant' far from it, they were absolutely essential to the safe working of derricks rigged in Union Purchase and of course to the people working below the suspended loads under the hook. On the ships I was on they were never rusty and received the same care and attention as the guy pennents, the better oiled they were the easier to handle they were. They were of course an 'insurance wire' only in so much that they acted as a back-up in case a guy failed, (which it should never do if the preventer is 'brought-up' to the guy) but I never personally heard a mate or bosun say to deck crowd, make sure the insurance wire is rigged, it was always (on the ships I sailed on) make sure the preventer is rigged and brought-up).

The 'Insurance Wire' (commonly referred to as the 'Towing Wire') under the foc'le was always run, or flaked out and then made fast (if it was ever used at all). But of course other ships may have had different terminologies for different actions as we know that Blue Flue (and a couple of others Glen etc) had different names for things, cabins were always 'rooms' they rang one bell for something sighted on the port side, and two bells for something sighted on the starboard side, which was quite contrary to all other vessels sailing the oceans.