I think I have a good in for deckhand, I’m well on my way to AB but have no experience outside the dinner boat and ferry world so I’m thinking this job might be a great way to get some more experience on the resume while getting seatime.
So any opinions of Coastal Transport, they go between Alaska and Seattle. I’m sure it’s cold work but that’s not much of a bother to me.
[QUOTE=tank3355;100824]I think I have a good in for deckhand, I’m well on my way to AB but have no experience outside the dinner boat and ferry world so I’m thinking this job might be a great way to get some more experience on the resume while getting seatime.
So any opinions of Coastal Transport, they go between Alaska and Seattle. I’m sure it’s cold work but that’s not much of a bother to me.[/QUOTE]
You will work your tired ASS OFF for pathetically low pay humping box after box of frozen fish in the minus 20 hold! If you want to work that hard get on a tug working in Western Alaska this summer where you’ll get cargo time for working on the barge!
Otherwise, the ships are nice little two hatch breakbulkers.
[QUOTE=c.captain;100828]You will work your tired ASS OFF for pathetically low pay humping box after box of frozen fish in the minus 20 hold! [/QUOTE]
You nailed it. I did it for two years. I was going to sail as Capt but the other fella ran it aground north of Unimak Island before I got the chance.
well would you recommend it strictly for experience, doesn’t sound to thrilling but I’m 28 and really need to get on something commercial to start moving up in the world. I could happily do with the 185 a day though, may be bad hourly but not so bad overall. . .
[QUOTE=tank3355;100834]well would you recommend it strictly for experience, doesn’t sound to thrilling but I’m 28 and really need to get on something commercial to start moving up in the world. I could happily do with the 185 a day though, may be bad hourly but not so bad overall. . .[/QUOTE]
The Coastal Transportation job is higher tonnage then the tug. It’s hard work when you load but it’s only for a couple of days.At sea the routine is a little easier. It depends on the individual. I threw wood pulp and hay bales around in Maine before I went to sea so the work didn’t bother me as much as some others.
I wouldn’t give anyone career advice but the trips are not that long. If you take the job and don’t like it you can get off back in Seattle.
Well since you have real time experience what is a day like there? I don’t mind the hard work, i currently work 3 jobs over 80 hours a week, 7 days a week! I get 10 dollars an hour at two of them and am biting the bullet and doing it simply for experience and sea time. Nothing glamorous!
I’d say take it and learn what you can from it. It’s a good stepping stone into something better after.
[QUOTE=tank3355;100844]Well since you have real time experience what is a day like there? I don’t mind the hard work, i currently work 3 jobs over 80 hours a week, 7 days a week! I get 10 dollars an hour at two of them and am biting the bullet and doing it simply for experience and sea time. Nothing glamorous![/QUOTE]
It’s hard work low pay. Alaska is a tough place to work. I did it for two years till the company went out of business.
[QUOTE=tank3355;100844]Well since you have real time experience what is a day like there? I don’t mind the hard work, i currently work 3 jobs over 80 hours a week, 7 days a week! I get 10 dollars an hour at two of them and am biting the bullet and doing it simply for experience and sea time. Nothing glamorous![/QUOTE]
I have real life experience and it is BALL BUSTING hard work at places like Dutch Harbor, Saint Paul, Naknek and Sand Point. You work cargo at all the Alaskan ports including down in the hold tossing and stacking boxes if that’s what you want to do as an AB.
You will do better than $10/hr with Coastal Transportation and compared to what you are doing now sounds like a step up so take it.
[QUOTE=tank3355;100824]I think I have a good in for deckhand, I’m well on my way to AB but have no experience outside the dinner boat and ferry world so I’m thinking this job might be a great way to get some more experience on the resume while getting seatime.
So any opinions of Coastal Transport, they go between Alaska and Seattle. I’m sure it’s cold work but that’s not much of a bother to me.[/QUOTE]
There’s always Crowley Alaska, they’re a pretty good sized operation from what I hear. They work 6-months a year straight bringing petroleum products to every little town and village in the great Alaskan wilderness that can’t otherwise be piped or reached by tanker truck. Crowley has plenty of other stuff going on up and down the west coast as well, humping frozen fish-sticks back and forth isn’t the only game in town around there.
Take it. Take it. Take it. Alaska provides hard work and excellent old school experience.
[QUOTE=Kennebec Captain;100849]I wrote about here.
It’s hard work low pay. Alaska is a tough place to work. I did it for two years till the company went out of business.[/QUOTE]
I remember the SNOWBIRD! I almost went to work on here back in 1986 or 87. My recollection is that she was a very tired old lady. If I am not mistaken, she became a crab catcher processor?
[QUOTE=c.captain;100864]I remember the SNOWBIRD! I almost went to work on here back in 1986 or 87. My recollection is that she was a very tired old lady. If I am not mistaken, she became a crab catcher processor?[/QUOTE]
The engines were strong, cargo gear was ok. The last two trips I made on there in 87 the gyro compass gave out but the iron mike worked off the magnetic.
Tough little ship. I learned a lot on there. Towed the Sunmar Sea
[QUOTE=Kennebec Captain;100868]The engines were strong, [/QUOTE]
I can’t remember, did she have the original Clevelands or did she have Cats?
I worked on a couple of ex US Army FS’s in my time. Remember the VICEROY and WEST ONE? The original COASTAL TRADER was also an FS.
[QUOTE=c.captain;100882]I can’t remember, did she have the original Clevelands or did she have Cats?
I worked on a couple of ex US Army FS’s in my time. Remember the VICEROY and WEST ONE? The original COASTAL TRADER was also an FS.[/QUOTE]
When I was there she had two cats. I think they were 12 cylinder. We ran at 12 kts but she could do 14kts. We used to pass all the other ships on that run.
The other ship they had was the Sea Producer.
I remember the Coastal Trader the other two names seem familiar but I can’t recall what they were.
Do you remember the Western Pioneer?
[QUOTE=tank3355;100834]well would you recommend it strictly for experience, doesn’t sound to thrilling but I’m 28 and really need to get on something commercial to start moving up in the world. I could happily do with the 185 a day though, may be bad hourly but not so bad overall. . .[/QUOTE]
It’s very good experience…
Not sure they would hire him w/o a AB ticket.
I used to sail as relief chief on the Coastal Sea. That was back when it had the “U-boat” engine and it was like going back in time with manually oiling the rockers. It was a piece of crap at the time, I could see the engine room through a hole in the deck of my cabin (a piece of cardboard kept the noise and hot air out) but it was truly a great experience, I loved it.
We went to interesting places and met interesting characters. It was a mini version of tramp steaming. The deckhands worked their butts off for not a lot of money but they learned a lot and I believe Coastal was the training ground for a lot of people who moved up in the industry or learned that they should move out of it.
Go for it if you are offered a job. As I recall they are fairly particular and don’t waste much time on non-starters so be prepared to go that extra bit.
I sailed mate on the COASTAL MERCHANT. great old Danish coastal refer ship on a trip in the late 90s. I worked harder as mate on that boat than I ever did as AB deep sea. Take the job if offered! You will learn more useful seamanship on those old ships than tossing a gob line on a tug. It’s a young crowd on those ships. The crew I had on the CM were all in their twenties, except the old cook. The Master was out of Cal Maritime was in his late 20s. The Chief Mate was a piper out of the big NOAA ships was maybe 28. I was 39 and felt like an old man. Glad the cookie was in his 50s so I didn’t get the nick name of Pop!
It sounds like you would be a good fit for that company. Good sailing to ya!
[QUOTE=Steamer;100925]I used to sail as relief chief on the Coastal Sea. .[/QUOTE]
Just looked it up, that’s the old Sunmar Sea. We towed them up in the Shumigans one time. I also ran the cargo gear for them one time in the Duwamish River The fwd body was all new and the aft end was narrower then the forward part.