Duties of Deck boy /JOS

[j.sabourn]

Most on here talking about steering certs. Are talking about the old telemotor system of steering . Where in applying wheel or rudder either to port or starboard and watching the amount on a helm indicator, judged themselves when to bring the wheel back to midships to maintain the course. Releasing the wheel being held over it returned itself to the midships position. Today that system of steering is rare and the steering mechanisms are mostly electric and maybe a tiller or buttons and you bring the rudder or rudders back amidships the same way you put the helm on. Every ship you may go on may be a different system. The picture you see on your tv screens of a man standing in the steering position is usually on a passenger ship , on a conventional working ship that would probably be the master or one of the mates. To have a man on the wheel today it would probably be an old clapped out vessel and the only way to do it. Having a helmsman and two or 3 officers around must look good to the passengers that’s the only reason I would give. Also a lot of ships today don’t have rudders they have azimuth thrusters . When manouvering a lot of different types , if on a ship with Becker rudders I never used just
Put them both facing inwards so had the least affect if going backwards using the props or thrusters and the bowthruster as your rudder . Can get over complicated when trying to use 5 tools to do one job with one pair of hands. JS...

[happy daze john in oz]

I do not know much about pay rates now for crew on container ships or bulk carriers, tankers etc.
But I do know the crew of them are mainly Asian.
As to cruise ships, from what crew have told me there are variations between the various companies.
Some look after the crew very well, others not so good.
Nothing has changed really when you think about it.

As to steering tickets, the only tickets I ever got were either bus ones or for speeding.

[j.sabourn]

It all sounds very efficient Rob as it’s meant to be. That’s. The equivilant of about a weeks seatime. Maybe less in some cases. Does it specify on what type of steering ? No magnetic compass I supposed ? That’s the old reason why seatime was once considered a must. Today I believe people go to sea as watchkeeping officers without even knowing if they are going to suffer from mal de mere. I don’t have too much faith In modern methods, but there again I don’t worry anymore , just too pleased to be clear of any future and present day misfortunes. Cheers JS

[Red Lead Ted]

Hi Ken.
I never heard of it until I think Terry mentioned it a few years ago, I assumed I got my steering ticket while at the Vindicatrix on the launch in 49
Cheers des

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Hi Peter.
Do you know if your dad went to a sea school? He may have gone the the most prolific one the Vindicatrix in Sharpness.
Des

hI, Des, I think you will find we all had our steering ticket or those who went to sea via a sea school, I got mine in Gravesend, But it was one of those things you had to put into practice so to speak and yes I got mine aboard the Trevaylor first trip and yes the ticket is signed by the ships Master. If you remember it was usually left in the back of your book and when you joined a ship it proved you had done it at sea, A bit like boat drill I had a boat ticket when I left Gravesend, You couldn't really do the full drill under sea conditions on the Thames, So we done it most Sunday mornings all in the learning curve and for your own good and the souls that where aboard with you Terry.

[John Arton]

Nothing to do with the duties of a deck boy/J.O.S but regarding the steering certificate. This was in the front of the B.O.T deck officers watch keeping log book that was used in calculating sea time before going up for 2nd/mates certificates as against your discharge book that only recorded times on articles. Your watch keeping log book, signed by the master, recorded the number of days and hours in those days that a person had been in full charge of the watch or had been assisting in the keeping of the watch. It recorded the name of the vessel, whether it was foreign going or coastal and the masters comments on how you well you had performed your duties. Still have my log book.
I got my steering ticket on my first trip and once I had completed the required number of hours steering at sea and under pilotage I was always on the wheel under pilotage, which was nice at times when berthing in col wet weather being inside a nice warm wheelhouse or when up the gulf and being inside the air-conditioned wheelhouse. When steering under pilotage whenever possible you ignored the compass heading and steered on a fixed prominent shore object.
I ended up in an argument with a poncy Mersey pilot one time as a cadet. We were fully laden bound for Tranmere and once we got close enough to be able to spot a prominent shore object, once steadied on the compass course requested by the pilot, I found a prominent building dead ahead and instead of watching the compass heading kept the ships head pointing directly at my land object. Soon the pilot started berating me for steering a few degrees off the compass heading he had given me and it was only when the captain stepped in and pointed out that maintaining the ship pointing at that distant object was I actually keeping the ship following the required track over the ground as opposed to track through the water by keeping to the compass course given by the pilot, which would have meant that due to the tidal stream, we would have been pushed towards the edge of the safe channel, did the pilot recognise his error, no apology given though.
As an afterthought the difference between track over the ground as against track through the water is something that I found that many of the junior officers I had with me when I was master, failed to understand.
This was particularly important when crossing traffic separation zones where regulations say you cross at right angles to the general flow of traffic, which means that if crossing an East/west heading zone you head on a north/south heading which you maintain without making any compass heading (i.e. course steered) to counteract any effect that tidal currents may have on track over the ground.
Rgds
J.A.

[Stan Carter]

I too do not remember getting a steering ticket, or even hearing about one. As stated in #27, I still have my lifeboat and EDH tickets in my discharge book

regards, stan

[j.sabourn]

Stan such legislation was never in force in our time. If you had gone up for a cert. of competency as a watchkeeper all you would of had to produce was your seatime as an AB or EDH. A steering ticket was as much use as a cash receipt from a cash book. As an apprentice who had no discharges in ones book our seatime was on the back of our indentures. What the BOTdid ask to see was your lifeboat ticket. Those who didn’t have some said they lost it and were believed . I was more honest and said I didn’t have one, so was examined in the orals on the lifeboat. If remember correctly you had to produce a valid St Johns ambulance cert. also in first aid. What J.A is talking about as regards his personal. Log was a watchkeeping book of certs. Signed by the master of every trip confirming what was in your Dis. Book and giving ref. To your sobriety..This may well have been different than his copy. I never even used . The discharge book was good enough for the following certs. and if wanting collaboration there was always the BSF or the owners you had been with. The more paperwork you get entangled in the less meanng it has. Cheers JS..

[kenneth goode]

alright mr cappy here you are discharge book number R861626,retired two years ago after 49 years at sea and not a tooth left.

[Peter Ashworth]

Hi Ken.
I never heard of it until I think Terry mentioned it a few years ago, I assumed I got my steering ticket while at the Vindicatrix on the launch in 49
Cheers des

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Hi Peter.
Do you know if your dad went to a sea school? He may have gone the the most prolific one the Vindicatrix in Sharpness.
Des

Yes he went to Vindicatrix Feb -May 47 found his group photo in my mums photo collection .

[j.sabourn]

#44. If you retired 2 years ago in 2017 would be interesting to see what ships you were on , must have been a good age when retired ? Just on mental arithmetic it puts you down as going to sea in 1968. That is of course not bringing your dis. No. Into the equation. Reckon on them figures you are 67. Would be easier to just put on your dossier. That is the main reason most come on site. To find old shipmates. I’m one up on you regarding teeth, I have one left. Your place of abode Fort William used to know the place reasonably well as there used to have a de- saturation tank there belonging to the naval people stationed there , for the use of de-compression of deep sea divers, is it still in operation.? Cheers JS.