Just like about any job anywhere, you’ll have those who really want to get it done without being micromanaged and those who do sweetFA unless directly observed and occasionally kicked in the ass.
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When I was ECO 30 years ago. There was a certain ship there run by a mutation of a captain.
There was a time clock in the Chief Mates office. You were expected to turn out for work in the morning punch in on the time clock, clock out for meals and breaks, when you accrued 12 hours on your time card you could knock off for the day.
Someone reported the practice to the department of labor, they threatened legal action so Chouest had to stop doing it. They were really pissed that they had to actually pay people to eat meals and drink coffee.
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If I read the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) correctly the company could make one “clock out” during meals but not breaks. On the (union contract) ships I typically worked the meal hour was not part of the 8-hour day for a dayworker.
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Mariners are generally “exempt” under the FLSA and similar state laws. No holiday pay or overtime required. No nothing.
The unions should be lobbying to change this.
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I would say it comes down to how the vessel reflects itself. Ship shape and squared away or dirty and neglected. We aren’t work yachts. But hey pride in ownership. Of course leaderships starts at the top. So lead by example. In my humble opinion. We all work hard, I hope. We all spend a good portion of time away from family and friends. So keep your work home in good shape. We are all on call 24/7 in case of need.
And hey. Try not to be a d$@k if you can. We all are stuck together until we choose not to be.
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Pretty much every shoreside job that cares what hours you work does not include lunch, standard is an 8.5 hour workday with 0.5 hours for lunch.
That said you mostly don’t into your rack at 0200 and called back out at 0230 for some emergency.
Does anyone know a sport where a game lasts longer than Gridiron? There was an outburst of mirth down here when the commentator said the Chiefs were looking tired being on the field so long.
That said on 6 and 6 the only time I saw the mate was when he came to take the watch.
I’m with Hogsnort. When I was Mate on a seismic ship the Second Mate and I worked 6 and 6 for 28 days straight, every minute of it watchkeeping, taking care of a two mile cable. It was diabolical. The captain could easily have eased the burden but he told us he had to be available at any time if needed. You could select for him any of the names used in this thread for captains you have not liked. When I was master the whole crew, including the engine men and the cook, would work whatever hours were necessary to do the job, cargo handling, anchor work etc, and take it a bit easier when conditions allowed. However, I was interested in the description of the unnamed ship which was on DP, the captain was on the bridge chatting to the mate and the guys on deck were grafting away for 12 hours a day more or less, chipping and painting, washing down etc. How was watchkeeping carried out, did it have DP operators and what was the ship doing?
6 posts were split to a new topic: Gridiron?
I’m just making a wild assumption here that the Captain probably knows you guys are going to hide and slack off for half of the day and do a piss poor job at whatever it is, so he’s giving you Hell hoping to get at least a little bit of maintenance completed.
If the deck crew on that boat were worth half a damn I bet he wouldn’t bother you so much. Don’t think he trusts you to do your job and that speaks more about the deckhands than the bridge crew.
My guess is the Mates are also having to set up the daily projects for you and hold your hands to make sure you’re on task.
You’re getting paid for 12 hours, there’s no reason the Captain shouldn’t expect at least 11 of that to be productive work at his discretion, minus bathroom breaks obviously, or 10 minute water breaks if it’s very hot.
Just learn to pace yourself, have a good attitude and find ways to stay busy and I guarantee he will lay off a little when he sees you’re actually trying.
I try to tell new guys…(which is usually met with laughter and rolled eyes) that they should invest at least 3-4 hours per day into some sort of maintenance project and 1-2 hours of cleaning and they’ll never have a problem on any boat they find themselves on, it’s more about consistency than quantity in my eyes, but these days that’s some serious overachieving…
If you feel like you know how to manage a ship or crew more efficiently…when you get sick of busting your ass 11 hours per day… and tired of your knees and back aching at the young age of 30 years old, then do like others in your place have done and get licensed and off the Deck.
Being an Deckhand on an OSV, MPSV is some of the most mind numbing and simplest work you can do in this industry.
More, you’re on a boat that’s on DP all the time so you’re not mooring, throwing your back out trying to catch lines on bits, not slinging pipe and rigging cargo…hell you probably have a cook too…lol! and you’re getting paid $500 a day for it.
But hey if you’re unhappy you could roll the dice and ask the office for a transfer, or find another company even. But chances are the problems you have are going to follow you wherever you go until you straighten up and find some work ethic and pride in your boat.
Trust me, I’ve been in your shoes, at the same company and with Captains who are not only more strict but even (at other companies)
verbally and physically abusive…so please take that for what it’s worth I’m just trying to help you out.
By the way, I wasn’t able to watch the Super Bowl, was to busy driving the boat…But the Deckhands and Engineers did.
Good luck!
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∆∆∆∆
This!
No commute to work, breakfast ready a few steps away, all the coffee/water you can swill, satellite TV, …and yet, and YET, doing 10hrs of labor each day (for 1/2 the year with regular time off to go home and recharge) is too much for some people.
If the Old Man, Chief, and Mate seem grumpy some days, it is because at the end of it all they are one that have to answer for why the boat looks rough or PMs were not complete.
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If you’re going to get caught doing something, make sure it’s work.
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True words
Both Qmeds put in transfers today. Said they were not gonna put up with this shit.
This boat only has one deckhand per shift by the way, because there’s nothing to do he, captain on the other side, said as much, and they are as chill as can be, but not this guy
If you don’t like the boat, then go do the same thing.
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Is he a retired navy chief?
In any case you should ask for a transfer as well. I’ve worked on boats with captains like that and it’s a miserable existence.
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Good luck with the transfer. I ultimately left HOS for another company because they drug their feet transferring me to another boat. After 6 weeks of being bullshitted i moved on. I had different reasons than yours though.
I find it odd that you are saying the qmeds left because of this capt. They having a problem with the chief or is the capt involved in the ER?
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42/21 is that a regular rotation? I thought OSV’s were doing even time?
You can do whatever.
You will run into occasional Captains who are on a power trip, or half crazy.
Some Captains and companies just like to keep the crew busy with exceptional cleaning and repainting things that don’t need more paint.
Sometimes a boat gets run down and needs a Captain that will push the crew to get the boat back in shape.
Maybe the easiest thing to do is just finish your hitch, and then volunteer to come in early to a different boat.