Shipyard Memories

[Tony Taylor]

Sembawang I found good, took the a big job into their new drydock in 76. Sasebo was ok but yhe men up to typical dodges you see world over.
I met a guy from Whitleu Bay who worked for Hawthorn Leslie as a turbine specialist was sorting an Italian ship in dock. He told me the Japs were poor when it came to turbine repairs, they were good with new ones. He said they had a guy at Mitsubishi for two years and they were still no good.

[j.sabourn]

#12 Tony did you serve your time in one of the yards on the Tyne ? My Father in Law , was a foreman in the gear cutting shop at Parsons Marine Turbine, when I was courting his daughter he always seemed to have a visitor or visitors , young sea going engineers coming to see him. If I was a worrying type , I would have been worried, but it was him they came to see. Anyhow his name was Leslie Dunn, died at the ripe old age of 66, far too soon , shortly before all the gear cutting machinery was transferred to Holland , it was his last duty to site all the big machinery, think it was the only time in his life he had been out of the country. Cheers JS

[john walker]

There was an excellent documentary on last nights BBC 4 called. ''The men who built the ships .'' it is/ was part of a series. This episode followed one called the men who built the Liners. It was a very well researched and unbiassed story of the various Scottish Ship builders over about the last century the whole series is under tthe B.B.C. Four Timeshift ,Series 9 and can be down loaded on bbc iplayer. I strongly recommend it.

[vic mcclymont]

Drydocking in Govan drydocks with the Clan MacIntyre, after standby was over and safely in D.D. summoned the the C.E., where these two shipyard workers were waiting.
One was about 6foot six thin as a rake the other 5 foot six, with a rollup stuck in the cleft of his lower lip. You the leckie, shorty asked me yes, right son when yir in oor dock yae dae nuthin, right, if yie dae ra ships blacked. Me, what if a lights goes out, rats ok, yie change, ye change a fuse, but nae investigations, Chief looked at me ad nodded,me, fine.
I noticed that every now and then the earth light on the mainswitchboard would flicker, sometimes glow constantly.
The day before were due to leave the dock the 2E. ran up another gennie, the earthight was flickering and after the transfer the earthlight had gone out. I asked him to put the other gennie on the board and immediately the earthlight flickered.
Gennie was shutdown, and we felt all the stator field coils, one was loose and obviously the insulation was damaged causing the earth fault.
Short and his mate were called, informed of the problem, its ma bingo nicht the nicht, fix it at sea, me no you fix it now 2nd backed up left both shoreside leckies cursing.
Met both the next morning, you ya barsteward, we mst ra bingo last night cause o' you, finished at midnight.
Me, ou set the ground rules I just followed, maybe next time you'll before you cact, left both cursing and swearing.
Vic