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Thread: Then and Now or maybe Now and Then

  1. #1
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    Default Then and Now or maybe Now and Then

    The merchant Navy Training Board.

    Having had recourse to clear out my last place of rebode and still doing so , have had recourse among all the old tax statements etc. etc. come across papers and such like going back as far as 1954. The 1 and only exam papers I received during my apprenticeship and had to sit in a spare cabin under the watchful eye of the second mate amongst all the ships dirty linen. Although the question papers arent there my answers are with the Examiners Report. I will have to assume what the questions were . But one in the navigation paper I remember clearly was Prove Departure Upon Dlong Equals Cosine Latitude. As one post many moons ago stated no proof of formula was ever required , this proves in 1954 it most certainly was.
    the subjects for a first year apprentice were ... Mathematics.Seamanship, Navigation, General Science, Ship Construction and Stability,
    What the subjects were in the next 3 years I havent got a clue as the exam papers never caught up with the ship, and we only did 10 knots with a following wind and tide.
    marks for each subject were Maths 84% Seamanship 71% Navigation 96% General Science 53% Ship construction and stability 78% . 4 years later the exam for 2 mate the failing mark for the whole cabboodle was 50 % for the English Language. I wonder what it is today. JS
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    Default Re: Then and Now or maybe Now and Then

    Very informative JS and yes its amazing just what one keeps and for so long, but those kind of things hold good and sometimes bad memories.

    Thinking back now (and not to do with Seamanship etc) i at times wonder why i threw a Book away that took me 18Monts to compile when i was on the Gold Mines in South Africa. That is how long the Course took us and the amount of Data and Drawings ,some very intricate as well, it was a work of sheer hard work, and i am still proud to say that i came in 2nd amongst a Group of 30 Trainees with a very good pass mark of some 98% the winner had 99% so not far off at all
    Yes that Book would really have been something to hold on to, but in haste in clearing away stuff (Also in Moving) i did the silly and unforgiveable thing! Oh Damn!!!
    Cheers
    Senior Site Moderator-Member and Friend of this Website

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    Default Re: Then and Now or maybe Now and Then

    I did a Browns gyro Course at Watford Junction staying in an Hotel in Watford and commuting daily with the factory. In those days the Second mate had to do all the maintainance and repairs on such. Have also pulled to the light of day the Tracing troubles of same of which there are over 50.
    Taking one as an example at random.
    Compass wandering excessively. Probable cause, Red stop not lifted. Case flexes touching each other intermittently , leakage of mercury from from worn rings causing intermittent short circuits between them.
    mercury rings rubbing against the top spindle.
    fouling between sensitive element and frame.
    Generator brushes defective.
    Loose connections to A, B, or C lead.
    Then follows a spiel on what to do.
    Today Gyro compasses are a sealed unit and the biggest problem is unscrewing the unit from the chart desk to send ashore.
    This was only one of many other jobs of the 2/mate. was the upkeep of the gyro compass if you were lucky enough to have one.
    Makes one wonder when one found time to consume the large quantities of beer we were supposed to do.
    the only consolation is at least we had beer to consume time and place permitting.
    Today I wonder what they do at sea today with all the spare time on their hands.
    Maybe its tea and biscuits and more tea Vicar.
    Cheers JS

    As regards your near miss for merit Vernon I came no way near it. On the back of the exam folder on instruction 4 It says " Should the work of the candidate come within the zone of consideration for the Merchant Navy Training Board Certificate of Merit or for other special Award , a Red Label will be attached", I still cant find it. Cheers JS
    Last edited by j.sabourn; 14th October 2020 at 07:35 AM.
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    Default Re: Then and Now or maybe Now and Then

    Good one JS. I also did Browns Gyro course but I am 594520 so you were probably before me. Also did the Sperry course and I preferred he Browns as you did learn some maintenance where as the Sperry was all theory and virtually no hands on.
    Sailed with both and did prefer the Browns. Did manage to muck up a Sperry, leaving Newcastle NSW the compass repeaters all went in opposite directions to ships swing. Master not amused but got off lightly as had got married while in port.
    During my apprenticeship, one 2nd mate was having great trouble with the Browns compass which regularly broke down. He asked MS for new one, but no luck, so during the next voyage he thought he would amend said gyro so they did get a new one by filing the spindles and bearings. Compass worked perfectly all the way home and did not need to call for maintenance.

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    Default Re: Then and Now or maybe Now and Then

    Then and now.
    Anyone remember going for a short back and sides fifty years ago ? Or sometimes better known as short backsides ? The barber shop was the usual place for the dispensing of french letters without the embarrassment and putting on your 5/- each way on the 2.30 at ascot. As the government drecried illegal gambling.Today you can buy your rubber balloons in the supermarket, and put your gambling urges over your mobile. Your barber is just as likely to be a girl , and the only embarrassing moment may be if your not up to speed and don’t understand the modern lingo for haircut , which I must admit caught me out when it started , “ What can we do for you today Sir a number 1 2 3 or 4. , “ . I must admit I knew what No.1 and 2 were so had a look around for where the toilet was , and at the bathroom language coming out of the mouth of such an attractive lady., and took me ages to learn that it was a number 4 I really required . Everywhere we look today it is the same then and now. JS....
    Last edited by j.sabourn; 9th April 2021 at 03:16 AM.
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    Default Re: Then and Now or maybe Now and Then

    No longer the hair dresser, now called the Barber Shop. With pictures of the styles you may have.
    So many to chose from including a two day beard growth, special rates for seniors and one near us even has happy hour on Friday when you can have a drink while your hair is cut.

    Then go next door to the nail bar or have your eyebrows tweeted.
    All there in all the good shopping malls.
    Happy daze John in Oz.

    Life is too short to blend in.

    John Strange R737787
    World Traveller

  7. Likes j.sabourn, N/A, Denis O'Shea liked this post
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    Default Re: Then and Now or maybe Now and Then

    'just a trim' is very different in the UK to what it is in Spain, in Spain I came out the chair bald, my wife was not a happy woman, didn't look too bad after the tan started to appear. The Spanish barber spoke English and I spoke Spanish, perhaps a diagram would have been better!!

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    Default Re: Then and Now or maybe Now and Then

    #4. Just noticed #4 . Sorry Colin it pays to go back sometimes and see what have missed . Think it was 1957 that did the Browns week , and as only third mate but suppose the company had a spare slot at the time and making sure that I knew what I was responsible for. The first one I sailed with was the B type so had no repeaters so was an easier christening ceremony, I think it was in the 60s that they discovered that carbon tethachloride was not conducive to ones health but by that time had passed the job to someone else. With the B type compass was on a DC ship and had the carbon pile to assist which used to screech at times like a maiden in distress. Cheers JS.
    Last edited by j.sabourn; 9th April 2021 at 09:14 AM.
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    Default Re: Then and Now or maybe Now and Then

    What a change in times for us oldies, when i was a nipper living in a village in Surrey, with a single line steam railway, long gone now, Mum used to send us with a bob, ie shilling, down to Fred the signalman, who would cut our hair in the signal box, occasionally stopping to ring some bell of some sort. When the line closed down, Fred opened a barbers shop in the village until he retired. i also came to hear the 1,2,3,4, and had no idea what they meant, and i still ask for a light trim. Notice how many young men these days are bald, one wonders why that is, at 80 i still have a light thatch, and very grey, kt
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    Default Re: Then and Now or maybe Now and Then

    [QUOTE=Keith Tindell;373322]. Notice how many young men these days are bald, one wonders why that is, /QUOTE]

    In our day you only deliberately had that type of haircut for three reasons, ringworm, impertigo or you'd just come out of prison. Nowadays it's just laziness or they think it makes them look tough.

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