Author Topic: Old time vessels  (Read 2883 times)

Offline Gordy

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Old time vessels
« on: December 16, 2010, 04:50:58 AM »
Hi folks, just to note to say I am really enjoying the number of older vessels being posted at the moment. My father went to sea in 1940 right up until 1981 with his last ship being the Howard Smith vessel the "Macedon"...he was there 17 years, I spent two of those years with him aboard her. He collected ship artefacts for years and when he passed away last year he left them all with my brother Woz and I. It seems to have grown on us both so its good to be able to post up a part of his collection of old war time, pre war and later day ships dad left behind.

My first love are for the real oldies, I love sharing pics with whoever and whats more, I was extremely lucky to have spent some time on them (old ships) also, some namely being the old Iron Monarch, Iron Duke, Iron Baron, Barwon etc...very heavy jobs, hatch boards weighed a ton, tarps too, one on the wood, two on top...a forest full of sticks, the old guys would know what I mean.

Stripping hatches on arrival etc was no problem, the home porters couldn't get ashore quick enough...squaring up to prepare for sea was though.  Especially when a majority of the crew was full of turps, so very frustrating, all debating the best way to do things lol, sheesh those were the days!

Anyway, back to the site...been a great influx of vintage ships of late and I am really enjoying them. Keep it up guys.

Cheers and GB

Gordy
« Last Edit: December 16, 2010, 01:31:13 PM by Gordy »

Offline walhalla

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Re: Old time vessels
« Reply #1 on: August 26, 2014, 01:54:31 AM »
you were right gordy about hatches and beams and the tarps
you didn't mention the top tarp seams as only us old blokes
would know about i:e river boats
                      regards walhalla

Offline Gordy

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Re: Old time vessels
« Reply #2 on: August 28, 2014, 02:17:52 PM »
Yep I remember, the seams had to point aft (like the wedges)so they couldnt be damaged by the oncoming sea. Those were great old days, no one will ever experience those times again, we did. I was on a stack of old ships, including 4 chieftain class, the Barwon, the Minkara and a heaps of other old timers, I am glad I was.

I am like you I experienced all that old time history, tarps and batons, beams, span and chain gear, ratchet gear, climbing aloft clamping and lowering the derricks out of their crutches. We spent days once rigging the jumbo to set it up to lift Le Torneau westinghouse trucks onto the hatches to take them to Rapid Bay for the mines.

Before that we dropped all the blocks including the gin blocks and took them all apart cleaned and overhauled them, put them back up rigged for the guys etc for to lift those heavy trucks. It wasn't so good at the time but I remember all that stuff. What a fantastic time period of our lives.

The young guys today wouldn't know what we were talking about doing all that stuff...we wouldn't have missed it all for quids, amazing times eh, hats when sailors were sailors.

Cheers and all the best

Gordy

 

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