I swear Deep Sea Diver has come back to curse this site.
5 Likes
“The sailors did not like or appreciate… their harsh language.”
Their ****** language was too feckin’ harsh for a ***** sailor?
6 Likes
Snipes is very appropriate. I still love em.
I’ve known guys to do it in both directions but usually only if they saw some particular niche they wanted to be in. 20 years in the engine room is a lot of skills and connections in the industry, so why not if you can afford it?
Exactly my point whiz. 20 years of experience is worth a lot.
Snacks for Snipes!
Galley always open for snipes and others. I always wondered, where did the term “sniping” come from?
“shoot from a hidden place,” 1773 (among British soldiers in India), in reference to hunting snipe as game, from snipe (n.). Figurative use from 1892. Related: Sniped; sniping.
1 Like
You scalawag. Today is the five year anniversary of El Faro.
Politenessman’s going to knock you out with his steel hankie.
I’m a hawsepiper, have been doing this over 20 years. Keep in mind most of my career is based on the tug and osv culture, i can’t speak for deep sea.
I’ve bounced back and forth between engine and deck, and hold licenses for both. I upgraded my deck license around 6 years ago, and shortly before that, got my first engine license…since then, i’ve only worked in the wheelhouse about 2 of the last 6 years, and have yet to really get a financial return on my upgrade. My engine license has provided many more opportunities and unless something changes, i don’t see myself working in the wheelhouse ever again (especially since without DP or a master of tow my deck license isn’t worth a phuck.)
To start over now and hawsepipe ? Yeah, you are crazy…but i suppose you have to go with your heart. Deep down i’m a boat handler and i used to get my jollies that way…but with age i have become less competitive and figure let all the kids coming out of the academies chomping at the bit with their hands in the air going ‘me me me!’ have at it.
4 Likes
Thanks you all. Maybe I’ve just had some rough trips recently. I’m on a new boat now, and it is full of ab’s with licenses. I’ve never seen that before, kind of eye opening.
The economy still isn’t great right now, there are more deck licenses than available jobs.
2 Likes
True, for some time now.
Why not?
If it’s what you want to do.
Having an Engineer watch keeping cert. And a deck watch keeping cert.
You will always find work
sounds like a mid-life crisis … it’ll pass but my question is: with 20 yrs. in the eng. dept. why do you feel compelled to ask such a thing.
On the other hand I think a engineer by nature would avoid the deck but i certainly sympathize with just getting sick and tired of it all. I’ve switched careers before.
Thats what i was told, and what i thought when i made that goal for myself.
I know of at least two prospective employers that saw it as a negative though. One HR person said i must be having an identity crisis and another one said, in response to me saying sometime in the future i’d like to get back in the wheelhouse, ‘we need a dedicated engineer and someone who wants to grow as an engineer.’
Back in 2016 when i was laid off and took a job as capt on a 100 grt boat making wages i was making in 2006, my boss said ‘i got a bargain with you! Two for the price of one!’
4 Likes
In the Navy they are also called the Black Gang and at one time their White Sailor hats were black.
To some people, diversified interests and an inquisitive mind are dangerous qualities. I’ve been thrown out of more than one interview and told I needed to focus on a career goal and on one occasion told that my resume looked like a dog’s breakfast. Some people dedicate their lives to boredom as if it were a religion.
4 Likes
I hold dual licenses as well and I agree it is often seen as a negative.
I’d say I get work 80/20 slanted towards the engineering side. I’m still glad I put the work into getting my Masters license though. I can serve in that position when needed, instead of potentially chiefing for an inexperienced and incompetent Captain that was needed to fill the seat and had the ticket.
1 Like