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Thread: MacGregor Hatches.

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    Default MacGregor Hatches.

    MacGregor hatches ... my local knowledge who anyone going to sea and living in the Whitley Bay Area May be able to vouch for, was that in the 50s most of us were used to ships with wooden hatch boards or steel pontoons , both being covered with tarpaulins and wedged around the side and locking bars placed on top , a long and at times laborious job in bad weather. The MacGregor hatches started very small in a small shop in Monkseaton, Front Street a suburb of Whitley Bay. That was the official front for the advertising and sale of such. I met the person in charge of this operation who approached me whilst on local transport and started to give me a sales pitch on this new invention. I was more interested in getting to the pub. If I had listened and gone along with him in his idea I could of been sitting here today rich beyond belief. They went on to become well known a world wide feature and a good investment for the shipowner . Very true to the saying big oaks from little acorns grow. JS

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    Default Re: MacGregor Hatches.

    Hi John.
    What a difference they made for seamen, instead of being muscle bound lifting countless hatch boards; and humping three huge tarps per hatch, having to help the chippy belt in thousands of wedges, it now came down to dropping and running alongside a series of moving steel hatches on wheels, providing you pulled the steel pin out and the wheels dropped in time, else you had to lift them up with the derricks from behind the hatch, not that it happened to often. I can't remember a NZ coastal ship with hatch boards, unless I'm getting senile.
    Cheers Des

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    Default Re: MacGregor Hatches.

    #2. Also did away with all the king and queen beams in the coamings of main and tween decks a big job in itself. The structural strength in the hatch itself replacing the strength of the beams , which served as a strength factor as well as the medium necessary for the hatchboards . One of the minor faults was I always felt uncomfortable when had to open a lid art sea for surface ventilation with coal cargoes , especially if the ship was moving around. A small price to pay for all that labour necessary with the hatch system .Did you ever see one come off at sea ? And if so how did you get it back ? Cheers JS
    Last edited by j.sabourn; 12th May 2020 at 06:16 AM.

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    Default Re: MacGregor Hatches.

    They made a huge difference to the carriage of grain. The high coamings and the cubic of the hatch area replacing the manual construction of feeder boxes. On bulk carriers also the cubic of the hold allowing for not having to have shifting boards. Should have left the pub alone that day in the 1950s and paid heed to what I was being told. The difference for loading grain on a general cargo ship and a bulk carrier was like chalk and cheese.
    JS
    Last edited by j.sabourn; 12th May 2020 at 06:20 AM.

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    Default Re: MacGregor Hatches.

    Ha the Macgregor hatch, yes certainly a boon in ease of operating, not quite as muscle building as domino hatchboards, but turning the wheel lever on the elliptical axle required a certain amount of power when raising them and putting the pin in, and being careful when lowering them when the weight of the hatch came on the lever and if not careful could crack you on the head as it (the lever) lowered. Night duty, one oow and one deckie (or cadet , but never both) and it rains to close all hatches, not all that easy either, as rigging the wire through various sheaves to winch (different ships=different systems) could be dangerous when dragging a wire across hatch lids in wet weather, then if vessel was trimmed aft the for'd hatch sections belting down the runway, the aft sections having to be hauled up tight and the wheels lowered on the haft section to stop them running back, the hatch coamings always being 8 -10 feet above deck level which meant walking on a narrow wet ledge to perform your lever duties. Hatches off runways were a frequent occurrence, alright in port with derrick assistance, but on a rolling vessel at sea, meant a few jury rigs as raising derrick nigh on impossible. A mistake with a hatchboard rarely fatal, a mistake with a 1 -2 ton steel hatch invariably fatal or life changing, but we did what we had to do. Preparing for sea definitely quicker and you knew what weather to expect, when the Ramcheck tape came out to seal the joints.

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    Default Re: MacGregor Hatches.

    Quote Originally Posted by j.sabourn View Post
    MacGregor hatches ... my local knowledge who anyone going to sea and living in the Whitley Bay Area May be able to vouch for, was that in the 50s most of us were used to ships with wooden hatch boards or steel pontoons , both being covered with tarpaulins and wedged around the side and locking bars placed on top , a long and at times laborious job in bad weather. The MacGregor hatches started very small in a small shop in Monkseaton, Front Street a suburb of Whitley Bay. That was the official front for the advertising and sale of such. I met the person in charge of this operation who approached me whilst on local transport and started to give me a sales pitch on this new invention. I was more interested in getting to the pub. If I had listened and gone along with him in his idea I could of been sitting here today rich beyond belief. They went on to become well known a world wide feature and a good investment for the shipowner . Very true to the saying big oaks from little acorns grow. JS
    They were still in that office in Monkseaton in late 80s, I used to visit them while working for hydraulic engineers building power units for them .

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    Default Re: MacGregor Hatches.

    Them bloody bars you used to lift the wheels knocked me spark out, hit me right on the bridge of my nose, blood everywhere.
    The response I got from the chief mate was very touching, "Go and wash it" then he gave me a plaster to put on the wound. Kind of him !
    Had a headache for days.
    Graham R774640

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    Default Re: MacGregor Hatches.

    I got one of my fingers on my right hand caught for a couple of seconds before managing to pull out .the nail has never grown back normally , and that was over 50 years ago. Lucky I didnt lose the finger , otherwise the most could ever Order would have been 9 beers . JS...
    Last edited by j.sabourn; 12th May 2020 at 10:21 AM.

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    Default Re: MacGregor Hatches.

    #6 Tony , never noticed it last time back. However did notice the Black Horse, The Monkseaton Arms, and The Ship we’re still going strong without my custom . Cheers JS
    ,

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    Default Re: MacGregor Hatches.

    Quote Originally Posted by j.sabourn View Post
    #6 Tony , never noticed it last time back. However did notice the Black Horse, The Monkseaton Arms, and The Ship we’re still going strong without my custom . Cheers JS
    ,
    long gone John, used to be on Marine Ave. just down the road from Monkseaton station. They have some sort of spares place on Tyne Tunnel Ind est. currently. Part of huge group now, everywhere except here (small set up in Aberdeen and Peterhead).

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