When I started on tugs, there were “Professional Deckhands”.
Guys that worked on deck and never intended on moving up.
They were professional about their jobs, as stated by Cappy in the OP.
Guys that would take a job from dispatch, let the lines go, drive to the job and wake the captain or mate when we got there.
Guys that NEVER missed a line, monkey fist through the chock every time.
Guys that could walk an eye from horn to horn or bit to bit from 30-40 feet away, and make it look easy.
Luckily, I got to work with several and learned a lot.
But all those guys are gone now.
Now, every deckhand is a “mate-in-training”.
But although professional deckhands are gone, professionalism in the deck department doesn’t need to disappear also.
DEMAND excellence from your crew, if it’s wrong, make them do it right,… again and again and again.
It seems like an easy thing to make ALL watchstanders bring cell phones , laptops and game stations to the captains stateroom for their watch hours.
“You won’t be needing these during your watch, I’ll keep them for you”.
Good leadership and it’s benefits are solely the captains responsibility.
People simply are different. Didn’t need to read the rest of the thread to say that simply people don’t value their jobs or take pride in their work anymore. Boat trash will pervade as much as those who think they are excellent deckhands when all they are is half assed maintenance-men. Quite a shame that the art is gone, save for the few people who truly treasure their heritage or those of which they have entered. Modern-day tug work doesn’t require the skill, nor do the docking pilots or required barge moves. Gate lines, sailing a barge off the dock on the wire, running lines aft are a thing of the past that only a few of us could barely manage and take pride in. Good memories to all of us who remember and know what it like to run a boat…and run it like a man.
I can say that most companies in the GOM look at deckhands as “guys who know nothing” and therefore usually paid accordingly. And most of you guys are right that for every deckhand employed there are 5 that can replace him. It’s unfortunate because there are lots of really good deckhands who won’t be anything more and don’t desire to be anything more. These guys should really be identified and paid better because their value to your company can’t be seen from behind a desk. I will admit that at times I sit behind my desk and don’t think much about deckhands some days and it’s usually because the bad ones put a blackmark on the rest. You know, the guys who call at midnight to see when they can expect a raise, when crew change is next week, etc…
I was fortunate in a previous life to have some wonderful deckhands/AB’s employed on our vessels and it showed in how those particular vessels were kept up. The market has created a gold rush for guys wanting to make top pay and iother areas have suffered because of this.
The past 50 years have seen a dramatic evolution of the maritime professional but pride in ones work and knowledge of how to get the job done right still exists among many.
There are some outstanding guys working on deck that do not get recognized for their value, and are shamefully paid the same as the lazy lot. Companies should recognize the value of the man not the title.
What bothers me most is the inexperienced academy mates that have NEVER spent time working on deck are by the grace of their 3rd mates being put in positions to rule over deck teams. Result: We have the blind leading the blind.
Experience on deck should equal higher pay/respect.
I have to agree . I take pride in my work and love my job they’ve made a decision for me to run Tha deck … Theres a few ppl that are lazy and don’t get told nothin bout it but actions speak louder than words
The argument could also be made for deck officers. How many of us actually do proper voyage planning, DR, keep a compass log by amplitude or calculate the time of sunrise/sunset, fix by celestial means? I’ve got a hunch that most don’t do most of these things because its much easier just to press the button! That said I’d like to add: There USED to be professional Deck Officers!
I believe I read somewhere that “back in the day” a good deckhand would fire up the engines, let the lines loose, steer to the job, and then wake the captain and pilot. When working I always talked about being the best deckhand I could be and someone told me about this as well and called people who used to do this “a boatman”. I told him that this is something I was striving to be but he said nowadays you can not do such things because of either company policy or coast guard rules that dont allow a deckhand to do all this without a license mate/captain in the wheel house. My question is what is your experience with a deckhand who did such things or would you be comfortable with this going on if you trusted your deckhand enough. I am a academy cadet and understand that I am going to need atleast one year on deck, or however long it takes to be able to run a boat from the wheelhouse and be able to explain to my deckhand exactly what needs to be done safely before I even bother trying to upgrade to the wheel house.
A pilot once asked me, “What do you want in your future here at __________.” I told him right away I wanted to be a pilot. He asked why and I quickly responded as an 18 year old would, “Well to start the money is phenominal.” His response was your never going to make it, just get the f*** off the boat now. I was very disappointed as I was hoping to have this man help me in the future with my pilotage. He did give me one piece of advice before he left the galley. “If you really want to be good in this industry, throw atleast 100 lines a day and practice until your hands are raw.” Ever since then I have put my priorities in check and if I was asked the same initial question nowadays my response is “Well I dont know exactly where I will be in 10 years but right now I want to earn the respect of my shipmates and be the best deckhand I can be.” You better believe not one day goes by that I am not out on deck throwing atleast 100 lines and practicing throwing monkeys fists on deck of the ships after getting a line secured. Once I feel ive conquered line handling I guess I will start working my culinary skills! A well fed boat is a happy boat!
There used to be professional captains also example tug Pathfinder I mean really this guy just picks a waypoint and does not even look at a chart I am relatively new to this game and even I know that is a big no no.
No doubt, you’ll go far!!
But that’s the point of this thread.
You won’t stay a deckhand, you’ll move up.
Gone are the days when a good deckhand stayed his entire career on deck.
It’s not a bad thing to want to advance.
It sucks that the world has changed where a working-man can’t earn a living wage anymore.
NY deckhands pre-'88 made enough money to have their wife stay home and raise kids,
could afford to buy a decent home in a good area and had enough left over to save a few dollars.
The real wage of working Americans hasn’t gone up since the late '70’s.
Instead of increased wages, we all just got access to easy credit.
But these aren’t just Maritime issues, they’re American issues.
AB’s make $65k to $80k depending on even time or 28/14. That’s what I was making working as chief engineer just 6 years ago. My wife stayed home then and I still live in the same nice house. I even drive the same car. Inflation has gone up in the last six years but not that much. If that kind of money isn’t a decent wage I can think of plenty of unemployed people who would beg to differ. The younger generation working deck now want the instant gratification. They don’t wanna learn their craft and progress from there. They don’t even get the concept of paying their dues. It’s a shame an 19 year old kid thinks scrubbing a toilet is beneath them. There are plenty of adults that would scrub a toilet for the $150+ he’s making and be glad to do it. When you try to explain something to them they either stare blankly or yeah yeah yeah yeah you.
My biggest gripe is these instant “AB’s”. The OSV rating has ruined what used to be a major accomplishment for a deck crew member. It’s all about getting that 300/day for doing deck work. My guys understand that the day they get on the boat with an AB rating my performance expectations increase as their day rate did. No longer should I have to follow behind them like an OS.
Heck, the sea time requirement combined with our 12hr = 1.5 sea days makes most AB OSV’s still green behind the gills. If you started in spring or early summer, you haven’t even survived your first winter!
Guess I just feel like being a true, professional AB should be more of a honorable career choice and accomplishment than the OSV rating has made it.
This has been an interesting thread for me to follow in that I am trying to get into the field myself. I’m no spring chicken and I don’t bring a lot of Maritime experience to the table but my overall experience I think would be an asset it’s just proving that to somebody. My FIL has been a Captain for a very long time and he’s been helping me work on changing careers and getting into the business. His comments are identical to what you’ve been saying. The problem with his crew has been cell phones and computers and this bizarre sense of deservedness that has no basis in reality. But I can’t agree more with Seadog in that it’s a problem that isn’t isolated to just the Maritime industry. It’s absolutely everywhere.
Back in the days of sail, an ordinary seaman had to “learn the ropes”.
After YEARS of service, he would be judged by his peers as to whether or not he was an Able Seaman.
There was an awful lot more to it than counting days and some multiple choice test.
A man had to pay his dues, be a good shipmate and earn the respect of the existing AB’s to even be considered for advancement.
[QUOTE=curtgetz;78876]Gone are professional deckhands?
The past 50 years have seen a dramatic evolution of the maritime professional but pride in ones work and knowledge of how to get the job done right still exists among many.
There are some outstanding guys working on deck that do not get recognized for their value, and are shamefully paid the same as the lazy lot. Companies should recognize the value of the man not the title.
What bothers me most is the inexperienced academy mates that have NEVER spent time working on deck are by the grace of their 3rd mates being put in positions to rule over deck teams. Result: We have the blind leading the blind.
Experience on deck should equal higher pay/respect.[/QUOTE]
My thoughts EXACTLY!!! I cant count all the times I have been micro-managed by an inexperienced mate. They think I’m being a smartass if I roll my eyes when they tell me to hand-sand all the bulkheads with 200-grit sandpaper, wipe it all down with thinner only to have to explain why we have run out of thinner for actually thinning the paint! What overkill! we aren’t painting a 1973 Corvette Stingray! It’s just an effing ship! but of course, my experience knows how to prep, paint, do a NEAT job quickly and without waste, and clean and stow everything when I am finished. And, make sure the paint sticks so I don’t have to do it all over again 1 month later!
Working the 4-8 watch meant for me to clean up and do damage-control on the mess the dayworkers made before the sun set. One observant AB asked me how I was able to do such a great job so efficiently. I explained that you only know through experience how much time it takes to do a job properly. How much time it takes to gather your tools, prep for the job, do the job, finish the job at a point where you are not leaving it for the next shift, which will make the next shift hate on you. Clean up, stow everything, return the tools you borrowed from the engineer so the engineer does not hate on you. The CE will save your ass when something serious breaks down on deck, so stay on his good side, and tell him that you returned that 7/16ths wrench you borrowed.
To sum up, have some pride and be accountable in your work. Efficiency comes through experience, and experience comes from doing it the hard way too many times.
Issac reminded me of some professional ABs I sailed with.
In 1971, I was 17 years old. This was my second year sailing and I already knew everything about everything. I had one of the best jobs ever conceived. Oiler! We were delivering workboats all over the world. The crew consisted of a captain who was about 40. The mates were retired United Fruit Co captains in their late ‘60s. The Chief was retired from Texaco and the ABs were retired NMU. The cook was a retired pimp. This was the best floating classroom.
On one trip from Port Arthur to Peterhead , Scotland, we were dodging a tropical system. Weather forecasting was marginal as was communication equipment. The voice weather broadcasts were difficult to receive. Being a Ham operator, I was called twice a day to copy the weather forecast broadcast in CW. The mates plotted the weather systems and gave me a lecture on meteorology.
After I called the watch, the old ABs were not impressed with my dissertation of the weather forecast while they were drinking their coffee. After about a week, one old AB was obviously irritated as I was going on with my weather forecast. He said, “Boy, we’re on a 165’ mudboat in the middle of the Atlantic. It makes no difference where you are, the weather is always coming at you!!”.
[QUOTE=Fraqrat;78986]AB’s make $65k to $80k depending on even time or 28/14.[/QUOTE]
Not on Tugs Bro.
I have been throwing lines @ 2am on the rear deck, about 14 throws of the 2 inch @ 15 feet and flipping off the h bit and I’m shot.(I need more excercise) Cleaning everything, Hell I was polishing the deck drains and step thrus. I’m a freakin toilet cleaning tornado. Hell I got in trouble for using the wrong cleaner on the toilets, you supposted to use the “pink” stuff and I was using the bleach water.oops. Now I know after the mate pointed it out to me. High dusting,cieling cleaning with a swiffer. 100% mop and sweep everyday. Cleaning the damm microwave,Arranging the refridigrator.Also who leaves empty packages in the pantry?? WTF? I guess I’ve been doing a good job as I realyy have to work just to find some dirt. I take pride in making sure you never see any dirt or crud in the cracks of anything. I found an old toothbrush to take back so I can clean the wooden edge of the counters when I get back cause it’s nasty. I “dipped the eye” on the last line I secured on the tug before leaving.
One thing that happened on my last hitch was I was off waiting to shower when somebody plugged the toilet.(then a 2 hour engeneering job ensued) I was brushing my teeth in the lounge sink and the mate came down looked in the head and told me to go up and use his shower. I did not know it then but the other ab’s were suprised that he did that.(maybe I did a good job as I clean his shower as well) When I mentioned that. Made me feel good.
I know that I have a shitload of stuff to learn before I can even think about advancing. Like splicing and making sure the guy on the dock has a firm hold of the line before letting it loose so I don’t yank him off the dock. Prob a 100 other things as well before I’m truly “Able” I’m also one of those “Instant” AB’s as well, I used my Navy time to turn it into a license added some schooling to make myself more employable. As it seemed that almost all the big companys want at least an AB for any job. I was lucky enough to land a job with a good company WITH some help from a few great guys who stuck their necks out to help a noob get on. (TKU)
Just a tug noobs thoughts. I hope that someday I can be included in the Proffesional deckhand group. I don’t know for sure but I think the Tug guys work alot harder than the OSV guys, for less $$$.(and NO ice cream machine!) I could be wrong.