"Full Ahead" - the Bridge. Part 2

This is the second part of the MV Doulos bridge.  Read Part 1 if you missed it.  I have had many memories and stories about my former workplace from helmsman throwing up into a bucket (or over the side, "yucks"), to new helmsman steering the ship in a snake-like path.  I'll post those stories up in another time.

As I've mentioned before, the Doulos bridge is very old.  Most of the fittings and style were left 'as-is' from the Medina and the newer bits were added along the way.  At times when I walked her passage ways and working areas, I inadvertently felt whether she could still hold.  But the Doulos was strong!  Well, reporting for duty means entering from the boat deck into the Deck Office.

Deck department office. - www.doulos1914.blogspot.com

I would have to walk past the office and climb up a short flight of stairs and passing the captain's cabin, I come to another stairwell which lead me to the bridge.  If it's in a day watch, you would hear the usual conversation between deck watchmen and the officer on duty.  Quite the opposite, the night watches were a little 'toned down'.  You'd hear the radar and radio units quite clearly with the 'whirring' of electrical fans in the background - plus some chattering by those on duty.

www.doulos1914.blogspot.com

A scenario of what watch-keeping looks like.  Two 'look-outs' alternate being on the helm every hour for the duration of the watch under the supervision of a duty officer. - www.doulos1914.blogspot.com

Notice in the picture above, prior to the conversion of the ship's electrical power from DC to AC systems, the bulkhead behind the helmsman position is still lined with electrical cables.  These would be discarded during the major electrical project to upgrade the vessel in accordance to the maritime rules and regulations.

 Behind the helm position is the chart room. Another radar unit and other essential navigation equipment are located here.  Not forgetting the all-important coffee machine. - www.doulos1914.blogspot.com

 Look at those wires - most of it has been there since the 'Roma' and the 'Franca C'   www.doulos1914.blogspot.com

Another view of the wiring and cables aboard the MV Doulos.  To my left is a Marconi Radio Beacon Locator. - www.doulos1914.blogspot.com

Here's what the Doulos bridge looked like after the electrical conversion project a few months after I had left the ship.

 The chart room looks more 'sharper' now.    - www.doulos1914.blogspot.com

 Equipped with computerised Chart plotter. What a change from my earlier days. - www.doulos1914.blogspot.com

The wires and cables are out of sight!   - www.doulos1914.blogspot.com

Look at those gauges on the top bulkhead. - www.doulos1914.blogspot.com

My former cabin, near the "No Entry" sign, the cabin with the porthole.  I was a Deck Cadet then.  Provided by www.ssmaritime.net

"Piloting" the ship, (a term commonly used by professional mariners) from this vantage point was quite steep learning experience for me.  I have served under a number of Chief Officers, 2nd Mates and two Masters (captains).  From coffee-making, polishing the brass wares, sweeping the decks to supervision of new helmsman, 'shooting' the stars and downright navigational duties.  I felt I was part of her history and pitching to high seas.  When I first came aboard, It took me three months to get over my seasickness - then I was enjoying riding the waves as she went, be it under the heat or in the driving rain outside.  More stories coming up!  Look ahead.  Something is on the horizon.  Feel free to leave comments and let's enjoy sharing.

- www.doulos1914.blogspot.com

"Full Ahead" - the Bridge. Part 1

- www.doulos1914.blogspot.my

We have journeyed so far, yet still so much to discover.  If you missed my previous posts, do click Two Years After the Titanic to read them.  And now, continuing past the waterline and up we go to the place where you'd hear commands passed and repeated back between officer and watchmen - where most newly joined deckhand wants to be.  The Doulos bridge - the heart of navigating the still and stormy waters.

Traditionally called the quarterdeck, where only officers or high-ranking personnel and appointed seamen stood during watches.  On this deck, parties and occasional ceremonies were held only for the selected few.  The place was a respected and well-regarded cove.  Most people would be familiar with Captain Barbossa and Jack Sparrow from the well-known Hollywood movie, standing there and shouting out commands - that would be from the quarterdeck.  As ship designs and steering systems evolved throughout the seafaring age, the helmsman's position and quarterdeck, merged and raised higher in order to have an elevated position in which to commandeer a vessel.

- provided by www.ssmaritime.net

The helmsman who steered the ship would be in the wheelhouse and the officer would be on the bridge.  Helm orders were ‘passed down’ to the enclosed wheelhouse (where the helmsman operated the ‘wheel’) and repeated back for verification.  This practice is still used till today.  It serves as a ‘safety-indicator’ that orders were understood and duly executed.  In the old days, some bridge were the ‘open-air’ type - they were exposed to the physical elements.  But gradually, commands could be issued from a sheltered enclosure. These two positions would later merge as one which the term used interchangeably known as pilot house, or bridge.

The all-brass and wooden compass binnacle and the modern joystick 'wheel.'

www.doulos1914.blogspot.my

In larger powered-motor vessels, engine commands would be relayed to the engineer in the engine room by an engine telegraph which displayed the captain's (or duty officer’s) orders on a dial.  There would be two ‘dials’ - one on the bridge and the other, down in the engine room.  The central command of a ship lies in the bridge itself.  All ship navigation and controls are handled from the bridge where the duty officer and his bridge team make and issue commands to ensure a safe voyage possible.

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The Doulos bridge is no different from the others.  Well,...only one fact.  Unless there is another one outside a museum, and floating - it is old and (if not for certification sake) still functions.  As mentioned in my post Underway - 1914, the compass binnacle was acquired for another ship that time, but it was put on the SS Medina instead.  The ship was christened in 1914 and logically speaking, the binnacle would had been made earlier.  This would make it (other than the hull itself) one of few items that were originally fitted on the Medina as she launched off the dock that year.
Underneath the coats of paint and modern innovations that went ‘on top’ of each other, the bridge is like a historical strata of information and composite - much like a prized archeological artefact.  I can testify to this, as a deckhand chipping rust off the hull, applying primer and paint afterwards, the chunk of paint that came off was as thick as a piece of bread!

More to come!  Hope you're standing on the top of the mainmast, when you see land...you'll know my next post is not too far to wait!

The Riveted Hull.

"Full Away!"  And the order 'steady as she goes' is being repeated back as we see that rudder slowly responding to the command.  Where were we?  Right!  Thought I'd lost you at my last post the Back End.  But let me draw your attention to the most obvious - rivets!  They're all along the hull of the MV Doulos, it is the aesthetic part of her that cannot be hidden but only to marvel.

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Like the stern design of the Medina, so was the use of rivets on the construction of this ship.  Fastenings used in traditional wooden boat building, like copper nails and clinch bolts, work on the same principle as the rivet but were in use long before the term rivet came about.  Hence, that technology 'overlapped' into the steel and iron industry - those 'nails' just got bigger.

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A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite the head is called the buck-tail. On installation the rivet is placed in a punched or drilled hole, and the tail is upset, or bucked (i.e., deformed), so that it expands to about 1.5 times the original shaft diameter, holding the rivet in place.

Because there is effectively a head on each end of an installed rivet, it can support tension loads (loads parallel to the axis of the shaft); however, it is much more capable of supporting shear loads (loads perpendicular to the axis of the shaft). Bolts and screws are better suited for tension applications.  It is said that the older-riveted ships were more 'flexible' in rough seas than the modern welded hulls.

These are original riveting done when Medina was laid to keel in 1914.

You are looking at it in present times, how exciting! -  provided by www.ssmaritime.net

"Me" and Joe Saemala (Bosun). There was a little 'hole' we found this bilge section. We had it cut out and welded on with a new plate.  You can see the original construction using rivets in this photo. - www.doulos1914.blogspot.my

The story of the picture 'above' was that one day a few of us including myself was assigned to 'needle gun' the bilges in Hold No.1.  In other words to clear the area of rust, prepare the area concerned with coats of primer.  I was using the needle gun on a particular spot of thick rust and managed to remove a big chunk of it - there I noticed a dark, wet patch on the hull.  Sea water!  Mind you the Doulos was tied-up in port - that's the sea a few inches the other side of that steel plate!  "Oops!!"  I left that job for another.  We had it 'patched up' during dry dock in Hong Kong not long after that incident.  You can clearly see the rivets in the photo of the 'cutout'.

Hall of Names.  'Medina', just above the line and 'Franca C', behind the name 'Doulos'.  - www.doulos1914.blogspot.my

The three names of the ship from 1914 to 1977.  The name 'Roma' was not found here unfortunately.  It may have been 'painted' on the hull and replaced after that (we'll never know, but probably is), unlike the other 'three' which was welded on the hull.

The hull of the 'Medina' (MV Doulos 1991).  Hull thickness was astounding, it 'passed 'many certifications all through the years to continue sailing.  - www.doulos1914.blogspot.my

Today, in heavy steel fabrication, welding has almost completely replaced riveting as a means of making connections.  Welds require less preparation of the metal, do not reduce the effective cross-section, and take a minimum of space.  The miracle repeated itself year after year, one certification passed and then another - "Fit for service!"  The dock certifiers found that the thickness of the hull was still the same thickness of when it left Newport News in 1914!  Now that's a WOW!

We Were There.

An 'old' look of us during drydock in Kaoshiung, Taiwan.

No, it's not the RMS Titanic!  This ship was built in 1914, 2 years after the Titanic sank, she's the MV Doulos.  What a privileged to have sailed on her for two and a half years.  A tribute to her toughness.
Built as 'The Medina' in 1914 and sold as the 'Doulos Phos' in March 2010.  She was bought by a businessman and plans are to transform her into a floating hotel and restaurant-cum-museum in Singapore.  Thank God that 'our' ship is saved.  Saved for all to enjoy walking her decks again.

Caulking the decks - my specialty.  Drydock Hong Kong 1991

The last time I was on the Doulos was a few years back.  By then the wooden decks were long gone, replaced with steel deck plating.  I recalled my earlier days of learning to caulk the decks from one dark, tall and (this is true) strong old seaman, Gunnar Stokke - our bo'sun.  He was a fisherman in Norway before he joined the ship.  This tall and gentle 'giant' was so smooth in his speech and character that I didn't dare to offend him.  I just listened and swallowed everything he taught me.  'Hook, line and sinker!'  That's the way.

By the way, I still have the mark on my forearm from a drop of hot melted pitch!  I was caulking one day and the pitch (or bitumen as some would say), dripped out of the large 'spoon' I was holding.  It would not 'run' off but I had to wait and endure the searing pain until it was hardened enough to be pulled off - along with the skin, of course!  Ever seen the 1979 sci-fi movie 'Alien', where the creature's blood dripped onto the floor??  Yeah, like that!

More coming up!  Look out for more postings and other accounts shared about this incredible ship.  Anything to share?  Post it in the comments section.

Underway 1914.

YES! The MV Doulos was built 2 years after the building of the ill-fated Titanic was started.  That's what it means.  It took 26 months to complete the Titanic and we know what befell it right? The difference was that MV Doulos survived till the present time.  A miracle! 

I've been at sea for two and a half years from a 'green-horn' deckhand to a cadet officer on board the MV Doulos (1990-1992). The experiences of the Zamboanga Incident have been one poignant and victorious highlight of my time together with my ex-shipmates ever since.

I do not wish to displace or duplicate any account written and published by any individual or organisation, but this is purely my side of the passage.

All photos are my own unless specified and through permission 

I'd like to acknowledge Pastor Reuben Goossens (www.ssmaritime.net) for providing me some of his photos from his own research, which I would never have the opportunity to pursue.   And this is one ship you'll want to know about, especially to those who have walked her decks.  This is my 'boarding pass'.

    provided by www.ssmaritime.net

Built and ordered by the Mallory Steamship Company, her keel was laid on the very docks which in the future, some of the greatest warships, and biggest aircraft carriers will be built - the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydocking Company.  Officially named "S.S. Medina" on the 22nd of August 1914 and a month later delivered to her owner for immediate operations.

    provided by www.ssmaritime.net

The Medina (named after a Texan river, River Medina) was later converted to a tramp steamer, surviving the Great Depression of the 1930s with little changes.

All throughout the two wars, the Medina served in various flotillas.  Bearing many little scars, she eventually returned to the United States in 1946 a 'heroine'!  Even after its years of hazardous duty, the ship was not allowed to stay idle for long.

    provided www.ssmaritime.net

There is also evidence that between 1918 and 1919, the Medina made a voyage to Bordeaux.  A signed document in which Roy W. Forbes was the First Mate is seen in the picture below.  He later became a Captain.

      provided by www.ssmaritime.net

After the War, work began again to refit it.  After the hammering, chipping, and polishing, it left the dock in May 1949 looking quite attractive and bearing a new name, Roma.

Compass Binnacle

Fast forward to the MV Doulos, one of the places I worked was on the Bridge.  Pictured above, is the steering station, and in front is the binnacle.  Originally meant for another ship, this compass binnacle (which houses the ship's magnetic compass), was put on the Medina's bridge instead.  And it has been there all throughout its life.  Thus, making it older than the ship itself!  The 'all-wood and brass' Bridge was the 'look' of its era and brings a sense of nostalgia to anyone who enters here.  Except for the 'modern-looking' joystick for steering, you won't see a working Bridge like this again, anywhere for that matter!

For most of my time on board, I stood here during watches with the others.  Depending on who's the OOW (Officer of the Watch), sometimes we, the bridge lookouts would take turns polishing the brass fittings.  After that, we'll make sure no one touches our 'artwork'!  There was that sense of pride nevertheless, it was, after all, we had touched the Medina.    During my last one year as a deck cadet, my cabin was just one staircase away, aft of the Bridge.

Note: Want to know what goes on in the ship's Bridge? Well just go to "Bridge Logbook" on my blog's sidebar on the right. 

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