CHAPTER XXI

SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE MAINTENANCE AND UPKEEP OF

STEAMERS AND OTHER MATTERS

MAINTENANCE and Upkeep of Steamers-Seasonal Restrictions— Coaling-Combination of Cargoes-Finance-Coasting Trade.

THE subjects referred to in this chapter have been incidentally touched on elsewhere in the book, but a few hints on practical aspects will doubtless be found of value.

Maintenance and Upkeep of Steamers.

To those who have to undertake the management of ships this subject is of the utmost importance, and most certainly has a vital bearing on the annual balance sheet. The amount spent yearly on the upkeep of a vessel including what is usually termed "stores may be money well spent, or, as is frequently the case, simply money wasted, due in great measure to want of sound technical supervision.

To begin with the skin or shell of the vessel both inside and out, in many cases it is found that serious scale or rust has been allowed to accumulate on the outside of the vessel. This formation of scale particularly between "wind and water," or boot topping, and round the "run" of the vessel, has quite a serious effect on the vessel's speed when loaded; therefore, when the vessel is light, and awaiting cargo, the services of the crew should be utilized in chipping the various rusted plates, getting a clean and smooth surface, and coating with good red lead paint; this should be done as every chance offers. Weather-exposed steel decks, bulwarks, waterways, etc., very soon take on a coating of rust which becomes quite noticeable, particularly under winch beds, deck steam and exhaust piping and ventilator coamings and hatch coamings, and it should be insisted that these portions of the vessel should receive the periodic attention of the ship's captain and chief officer. Again, "casings" and their tops, by which is meant saloon houses, engine casing, poop house, fiddley top, coal shoot, etc., are in most cases left to look after themselves until the enemy, "rust," takes revenge by causing holes, and then

it is found that the plates are generally too thin to patch, and renewal is necessary.

With regard to the interior of the vessel, it is frequently found that the under sides of the decks and their beams, and the sides of vessel with frames, stringers, etc., receive little or no attention from one survey until the next survey (viz., four years), so advantage should be taken of the many opportunities for the ship's crew to be put on the work of scaling and painting, a part at a time; as this work, whilst not showy, is of the greatest importance. When cleaning down holds, clearing limbers, etc., every chance of chipping and scaling bracket floors, tank margins and frames and also the lower portions of all bulkheads should be taken. The fore peak tank, bo'sun's locker, and after peak tank are all portions of the vessel's interior which are often neglected, and with little or no reason. These, on account of sweating, soon get a coating of rust, and, unless chipped and scaled at intervals, the scale becomes serious and soon begins to affect the scantlings of plating, frames, etc. Tween-deck bunkers and coal shoot are a fruitful source of worry from rust, and, when these are empty, the shell and frames should receive periodic attention with chipping hammer and paint, unless, as in some cases, such parts are protected by a bitumen solution, which is undoubtedly a saving in the long run. To turn to the portion of the vessel's hull under the charge of the chief engineer, viz., from forward stokehold bulkhead to after engine room bulkhead and including the interior of tunnel or tunnels, after-well, etc., and also double bottom tanks in way, the same remarks apply, viz.: scale should be removed at every opportunity and the surfaces kept well painted or cement washed in way of bilge water.

The foregoing precautions, whilst quite simple, are in actual fact very frequently neglected, and the lack of acting on them is invariably shown in the repairers' bill when survey has been gone through, as all classification surveyors, on observing rust or scale to any extent, recommend the surfaces to be scaled and painted, and this apparently simple recommendation usually runs into a lot of money, which could be avoided if tackled intelligently by the ship's chief officer and crew. Further, the fluctuations of shipowning frequently call for the sale and purchase of ships, and the well looked 20-(1803)

after vessel, either from the seller's or from the purchaser's point of view, will invariably be the better proposition.

This brings in naturally the question of stores (as apart from provisions) and, if the above recommendations are to be carried out, the vessel should always carry a reasonable amount of paint, oils, brushes, etc.; an owner should not jump to the conclusion that, when he sees his ship in an apparently dirty condition, either his paint has been wasted or not applied at all, as most of the above recommendations have reference to the interior and partly inaccessible parts of the vessel; it is only the technical expert who can tell at a glance what condition the vessel is really in (white painted deck houses look very well but mean very little).

Derricks and their necessary running gear, together with the steam winches, form no small part in the smooth and economical running of a ship; winches particularly are put through very hard work, being handled without sympathy by practically every class of unskilled labour in all parts of the world, and it is really marvellous how much abuse these cargo engines stand. It follows, therefore, that a good quantity of the spare parts of winches should be carried, so that the failure of a winch or winches need not raise the question of demurrage, and endless letter-writing, often months after the alleged breakdown. A careful scrutiny of derrick topping lift blocks and pins, heel blocks and pins and wire runners, should be periodically made, as a neglect of this may lead to an accident involving loss of life, and if, as often happens, the accident takes place abroad, the owners or their solicitors have no end of correspondence, and months elapse before either a settlement takes place or the usual action at law commences.

The steam steering gear or engine is a very important part of the deck machinery of all steamers, and those vessels not using the telemotor type of gear still depend on a steam gear governing the rudder through rods and chains; anyone who has had the misfortune to make a winter voyage in the North Atlantic can appreciate the stresses the gears and chains are put to, and the serious consequences of the failure or breakage of a chain; so that at least two lengths of annealed chain should always be carried, and kept in a handy position, not stowed away in the fore-peak or some other equally inaccessible place.

It is perhaps needless to mention the matter of life-boats and their appurtenances, as the Board of Trade take quite an interest in these matters, and their surveyors are usually on the watch when the vessel is in port, and there is little room for doubt that they see the boats and gear, lifebelts, etc., are in conformity with their requirements. The one point we wish to bring out is that the davits should swing easily in their sockets, and not be allowed to freeze, and the rope "falls" should not be too big for the sheaves or they will jamb when exposed to rain, etc. This is often the case, and the chief officer, knowing his business, will make this vital matter his personal hobby; but it is really astonishing how frequently the above points are overlooked, and this the more so, as boats, falls, davits, etc., were so important during the war.

PROVISIONS AND STORE ROOM OR LACK OF SAME. In the more modern vessels, to the matter of providing adequate room and fittings for perishable goods has generally been given some thought, but in the older vessels the provision for storage of flour, tea, peas, beans, potatoes, etc., not to speak of canned foods, etc., did not seem to worry any one, and the percentage of waste in such cases is, therefore, considerable. Even in a vessel where no suitable storeroom is fitted, it is a very sound policy to build one and see that it is of good capacity, well ventilated, lock-fast, and, if at all possible, rat-proof. It is most annoying for an owner or a superintendent to go into an alleged storeroom and find himself standing up to the ankles in flour mixed up with canned foods, etc., where no provision for stowing and lashing the stores has been provided; and the steward's explanation that the weather was too bad to go aft has to be taken for granted.

MACHINERY. The machinery of any steamer or motor propelled vessel is obviously of primary importance. The object to have in view is to keep the machinery running whenever, and for as long as necessary; breakdowns, renewals, etc., should be, theoretically, unknown. This, however, in practice cannot be attained, and therefore provision has to be made for carrying such spare parts as experience has proved to be necessary, so as to avoid any repair bills abroad, which generally have to be paid by the brokers before the ship sails, after which it is too late to protest. Now a fair

amount of bills incurred abroad could be avoided by providing the vessel with a sanely thought-out amount of spares. To deal with the boilers first, a good amount of spare firebars, bricks, clay, etc., should always be provided, and where there is forced draught, front-baffle plates, both left and right-hand and top plates should be carried, and mica sight plates for ashpit doors. The forced draught engine and fan should always be provided with an ample supply of spare parts, as this invariably is a very hard worked machine, and to buy spare parts abroad, means heavy expense and delay. The spare parts should always include piston rings, top and bottom-end brasses, spare eccentric straps and a set of main bearing brasses.

The main engines of most cargo vessels are still the reliable triple expansion type, and if, as is usual, a set of spare gear as stipulated by Lloyd's is carried, this extra gear, in case of trouble, usually allows the vessel to reach a home port without incurring serious foreign repair bills. It is, however, in the auxiliary machinery that the trouble is, and longstroke independent feed pumps, dynamo engines, ash ejectors, centrifugal pumps, etc., are very often entirely bare of spare parts. Whilst running clear of trouble for long periods, this machinery, sooner or later, gives out, and the repairer has to be called in, so that on the whole it is sound policy to keep a vessel provided with spares, especially as in normal circumstances these can be provided cheaper at home than abroad.

INVENTORIES. An inventory of the ship's gear and stores should be made at least every six months, and sent to the owners, and should contain the following

Deck Gear. Life-belts, gear, etc., oils, ropes, wires, tools, etc. Steward's Department. Bed linen, crockery, cutlery, galley utensils, unbroached stores, tools, etc.

Engine Room. All Lloyd's spare gear, general tools, spares, etc., such as firebars, tube stoppers, paints, oils, etc.

This, if regularly done, is of much assistance to an owner, for he may wish at any moment to sell his vessel, and these items all mean so much hard cash, and if his vessel is well provided with spares he can naturally ask more for her. Further, an owner may be buying and if the seller can show a good inventory of genuine stores, it gives the buyer confidence that he is not buying a skeleton, and