Titanic artefacts exhibition

[jimmys]

Just to explain about tillers on steamships. When Mr Murdoch sighted the berg he could turn the head to port or stb. depending on easiest passage. The orders were as far as I know.

Mr Murdoch _ hard a starboard
Helmsman_ turn the wheel fully anti clockise ie to port
Steering gear_ turns tiller to starboard causes rudder to turn to port and this turns vessel to port.

This is the traditional tiller where the tiller comes forward from the stock and the rudder comes aft from the stock.
As we went to duplication and the tiller was duplicated to port and starboard from the stock. A forward and aft tiller could not work due to leverage problems. Tiller orders were not used after about 1930.
I would expect Mr Murdoch to watch the helms man and watch the head carefully, but first of all to sound the general alarm. He should have picked up a mistake right away.
As soon as Mr Murdoch interferes with the propellers he interferes with the steering which relies on flow of water across the rudder, no flow, no rudder force, no steer.

regards
jimmy

[robpage]

Although I copied the post ( previous ) my concern with yet another Titanic story , is there is yet another book to sell . There is also no one alive who can dispute the family secret . I put it there for information . it does sound plausible though

[jimmys]

When we consider we would expect the steering engine to go from hardover to hardover in either direction in thirty seconds even at that time. There is not much margin for error.
Any mistake is difficult to correct.

regards
jimmy

[happy daze john in oz]

There are a number of books written about that night, one claims that Lightoller was at the helm. The fact is he was below decks at the time and Hitchens was quatermaster at the time with Moody and Murdoh the two officers on the bridge with him. I find it hard to believe that Hitchens would have made such a simple basic mistake. It was not until 30 June 1931 that article 41 international convention on steering came into being.
There is now considerable opinion that this is just a ploy by the lady to sell her book. Somehow with all the confusion on thta night I doubt there was much detailed conversation recorded. There is no way the alleged conversation with Ismay took place can be verified so it may well be a case of what was percieved to have happened, not what actually happened.

[jimmys]

Mr Hitchens, the helmsman had the same view of the iceberg as everybody else. If he was in a panic he would have turned and ran after seeing an iceberg dead ahead at that speed. He stood his ground and I would expect he did his job.
The steering convention as John said did not come until nearly twenty years later and it is unlikely Mr Hitchens would have any training in later conventions.
The helmsman on old steering systems is constantly correcting the heading, I have sailed and tested the Brown Bros. patent steam tiller, this is what was going at the time. Its on The PS Waverley. The sailor who conned it had arms like Popeye. That system could steer a ship nothing wrong with it. Just old.

regards
jimmy

[robpage]

I don't think it is a book I shall buy , Why accuse the dead who cannot defend themselves . I just cannot believe that such a basic error was the cause of the collision . I would think that if an astern movement had been given the steering may have been rendered less effective . I think this is a case of i have a story , buy my book .

If 2nd Officer Lightowler failed to correctly fill the lifeboats , then he may have wanted to deflect blame , as he may have saved a few more soles from the North Atlantic.

I have little time for novels about such things , they tend to get believed , even though the story is flawed .

[happy daze john in oz]

At the 1912 Senate investigation report it is stated that 6th officer Moody was with Murdoch and Q.M. hitchens to his left when the order to change coures was given. The order was then repeated by Moody to murdoch. The exact story will never be known so let sleeping dogs lie and learn from the mistakes of the past.

[Charles Mintoff]

I and my Family had the pleasure of seeing the Exhibition when it came to Manchester a very moving experience
I still have the tickets and the boarding passes they gave you could also purchase small amounts of coal from the ships bunkers.