Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Some Assembly Required

 



15 comments:

  1. No wonder there was an ammo shortage a while back.

    Bear Claw

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  2. Doesn't matter how well it comes out of the shop, still will to have that one spot "too high" and it won't fit without a little filing and a hammer.

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    1. No kidding!
      Standing on deck of my sloop, the horizon is about 6nm distant. The first time I saw a super tanker on open waters, the hull was visible from >6nm. At first I hadn't realized it was supersized, it looked like a 'normal' sized ship.

      Talking with her captain to arrange a crossing, he said he was just under 10 miles away. That means he was about 12 mile out when her hull first hove into view. I was amazed. Even the laden hull stands above the typical distance to the horizon.

      I was further surprised how massive her size. It seemed it took a long time for her to cross our bow at less than 2 nm. Even though she sat low in the water, the hull still stood thirty feet or more above the water surface. Too, given her impressive size, it looked like her speed was low. In reality she was making more than 20 kts. Further amazement is he was still suggesting he could make a hard course change to suit me even though he was about 5 nm out. To me that speaks of maneuverabilty. A super tanker, ladened, at speed, turning sharply at small distance? Wow!

      I figure 80% or greater was below the surface. I think the first iteration of super tanker had draft of 40 or maybe sixty feet.

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    2. Hmmm, my comment was meant as reply to John V.

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    3. Rick, I'd have to pull out my old Navy Bluejackets manual to review the rules of hull down on the horizon, etc. in order to recall the rules of thumb for the distances you note in viewing that supertanker at sea, but what you've related just goes to show on large of a vessel that was. As to its maneuverability at sea at speed, that's pretty impressive.

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    4. The JARHE VIKING was 1500 ft long.

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  3. If you think a ship looks big on the water, there's a whole new perspective when it's in drydock.

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  4. The screw head by his elbow in the 2nd picture: a Slotted screw? Really? Seems there could be better choices.

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    1. Room to hammer it to loosen it would be my guess.

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    2. Possibly a threaded hole (there's 2) for lifting points when the screw is horizontal? Just plugs for the holes, likely never to see the light of day again?

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    3. I was thinking they're just plugs for something, too - not something that has threads under a tension load.

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  5. I wonder how many foot/tons it takes to secure that.

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  6. Tapered shaft. Would there be a key as well?

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    1. I wondered the same. If you open the photos in a new tab and zoom in you can see the key and the slot.

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  7. Really good story: "Ship killer", by Justin Scott. Was supposed to be made into a movie, but never turned up?

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