I’m with Capt Nemo & smell a rat, C.Captain caught a whiff of it as well at the start. Poser with two first names gives us no background on what part of the working world he comes from. Also, an excellent chance the poser, dammit, I mean poster is a an academic or professional student who couldn’t get on his regular porn site and has chosen to jerk us off instead. I’m willing to believe that his Uncle may be a harbor master or Admiral at a fabulous yacht club. But I’ve been running in fog all day on the Chesapeake so perhaps I’m just grumpy…Dammit!
You guys worry too much. Even if the OP is a poser, so what?
Heck, I ask meself that question couple times a day.
[QUOTE=AHTS Master;94175]With 40 years at sea I say NO it’s not worth it.[/QUOTE]
40 years at sea ~
And you from Alabama ~
Shoot, in those 40 years it’s a good possibility we sailed together.
Do I owe you money on a long ago bet?
[QUOTE=JamesJim;94178]Sweat-n-Grease, I honestly don’t even know how to answer that… Did you have a [I] reason [/I] for wanting to go to sea? I’m sure there’s plenty of things I could say, but they wouldn’t translate to well from my thoughts to text, so I’ll spare you.[/QUOTE]
No problem, JamesJim, even the best writers admit there’s a challenge from thoughts to text. Me, as I look back, it was the perfect life for an 18th century pirate. Not many of us around these days.
[QUOTE=“rshrew;94202”]I would say it’s worth it but you truly have to have a passion for what you are doing in my opinion.[/QUOTE]
I second that! I have worked with plenty of miserable people at sea. They didn’t have the passion, but they didn’t feel they could quit because they were addicted to the money.
[QUOTE=fullbell;94503]I second that! I have worked with plenty of miserable people at sea. They didn’t have the passion, but they didn’t feel they could quit because they were addicted to the money.[/QUOTE]
or they seriously needed to get away from their wives (or very angry boy friends). 
or both ~
I spent a little time offshore and when I came back my wife acted like we had just started dating and actually missed me! If I didn’t have two young kids I’d be offshore right now. I loved every minute of it and if I could have actually gotten paid to be in the wheel house I’d probably never leave. If you are young, I’d say go for it. You will take some great life experiences that translate into any other career if you switch later, and you will meet some pretty interesting people. Some will become life friends and some you hope you never see again… Good luck!
Yeah. It was worth it. It got me where I am today, which ain’t saying much.0
Besides, I never did anything else, so it would be a waste of wishful thinking to dream about what could have been.
What a ride it has been.
[QUOTE=catherder;94487]Have you had the immense pleasure of standing knee-deep in grey water in the shower area trying to find the deck drain (by feel) with a t-wrench and 20 to 30 screaming hens are all around you demanding that you “DO SOMETHING?” Dayum wimmenz…my own gender can be our own worst enemy sometimes.
One of my ships backed up grey water and sometimes black water (!) EVERY time we pulled into port. Don’t ask me how many times I had to give the “DON’T flush your paper ponies” lecture!!
I have visited cruise ships on business but I can’t imagine the grey and black water headaches. Imagine with 4000 pax how many toilet issues you will have in a day.
Yikes.[/QUOTE]
I have some real horror stories about the sewage system on the ol’ SEA SKIMMER. Nothing like a shit shower while balancing on a handrail over the port gear box. You wouldn’t BELIEVE what gets left on one’s hair. One of my assistants came running out of the engine room on one occaision and spent the next 5 minutes over the rail. For some strange reason, he never came back after his hitch ended. . . .
What about the old Humphrey cascade box systems? I still have flashbacks of those things!
[QUOTE=cmakin;94549]I have some real horror stories about the sewage system on the ol’ SEA SKIMMER. Nothing like a shit shower while balancing on a handrail over the port gear box. You wouldn’t BELIEVE what gets left on one’s hair. One of my assistants came running out of the engine room on one occaision and spent the next 5 minutes over the rail. For some strange reason, he never came back after his hitch ended. . . .[/QUOTE]
I had a new wiper on a San Clemente class tanker clean the grease trap on the Black water line. He informed me after he puked he was going back to West Virginia to the coal mines instead of this sh–!
If there is a special hell for engineers, it will be in a compartment with a Microphor system.
[QUOTE=injunear;94556]If there is a special hell for engineers, it will be in a compartment with a Microphor system.[/QUOTE]
I wonder if Crowley still has those on the Invader class tugs. . . .
[QUOTE=injunear;94556]If there is a special hell for engineers, it will be in a compartment with a Microphor system.[/QUOTE]
Yeah a Microphor with the huge settling tank and the weir relies mostly on bacterial action to work and that means everyone must be mindful about what goes into it.
All the Type IIs work better if the paranoid clean freaks would refrain from pouring gallons of Lysol or bleach down the toilet. And pour good bugs in once a week or so. You don’t need the marine type sold in a big pail; Rid-x will do in a pinch. But cleaning should be done with an approved product for MSD use. I know I’m preachin to the choir, but just in case folks don’t know, it ain’t yer momma’s terlit.
Hey OP, still wanna do this for a living?
[QUOTE=catherder;94643]Yeah a Microphor with the huge settling tank and the weir relies mostly on bacterial action to work and that means everyone must be mindful about what goes into it.
All the Type IIs work better if the paranoid clean freaks would refrain from pouring gallons of Lysol or bleach down the toilet. And pour good bugs in once a week or so. You don’t need the marine type sold in a big pail; Rid-x will do in a pinch. But cleaning should be done with an approved product for MSD use. I know I’m preachin to the choir, but just in case folks don’t know, it ain’t yer momma’s terlit.
Hey OP, still wanna do this for a living? :-D[/QUOTE]
I see you know your $hit! You left out the part about the systems are usually mounted in such a place that is impossible to service.
[QUOTE=EbbTide;94495]I’m with Capt Nemo & smell a rat, C.Captain caught a whiff of it as well at the start. Poser with two first names gives us no background on what part of the working world he comes from. Also, an excellent chance the poser, dammit, I mean poster is a an academic or professional student who couldn’t get on his regular porn site and has chosen to jerk us off instead. I’m willing to believe that his Uncle may be a harbor master or Admiral at a fabulous yacht club. But I’ve been running in fog all day on the Chesapeake so perhaps I’m just grumpy…Dammit![/QUOTE]
I don’t exactly know how my post conveys me as a poser. All I’m doing is seeking insight on this career. I have no other way of getting real insight than speaking directly with sailors, and even better, anonymously so they can share freely about how they actually feel regarding their career choice. Out of the few who actually answered my questions, thank you.
It never over flows when your at the dock. Our msd is tucked up in the stbd e/r overhead, directly over the 2nd generator, so its not bad enough that its literaly “raining shit”, but then it gets blown around the engine room by the blowers, and bakes onto the running generator.
James,
All the sh*t tank jokes aside you have to visualize what it’s like to be at sea. There’s no monday night football or running to Taco Bell for a post night drinking. How will you react after 70 something time changes awake at 1 am missing your wife, kids, or friends if your in that age group. There are a number of negative and positive factors that no one on here can portray to you via a forum site. It’s just something you’ll have to learn with time. Good luck what ever your decision may be.
[QUOTE=injunear;94644]I see you know your $hit! You left out the part about the systems are usually mounted in such a place that is impossible to service.[/QUOTE]
Once in awhile you get lucky. The microphor systems on the Cape May and Cape Mohican are in a fairly open area. Knock on wood for those guys. It was a cinch for them to plumb in a chlorine pump and pail for the NPDES requirements (you can’t really control the pool pellets)
On the Watson class LMSRs they have an Orca plant with a big retention tank and it’s all fairly easy to access.
Others, not so much. 
Okay, enough with the doo doo. James, what MFOWelectrician said. It is what you make of it. Good luck-
Worked with a female 1st officer. She worked cruise ships as a 3rd mate out of CMA. She told me some idiot passenger asked her, “What time is the midnight buffet?” I could only imagine the complaints from such an enlightened bunch: too hot , too cold, noisy, my room is too small, blah, blah blah. Corn countin and turd herdin isn’t so bad after all.