Couldn’t find another thread on the issue, but figure it something worth checking out.
I’ve always wondered the reason behind some people/crews changing the watch a half hour/15 minutes early…its really not early if you do it on both ends, still the same number of hours! My educated assumption is that its from “starting” the watch changeover a half hour before with the understanding it could take a while to get up to speed, that way the off-going watch wouldn’t have to stay up beyond there off-watch time. One ex-navy guy I worked with would not step foot in the wheelhouse until a minute or two before the hour. Usually we can switch watch in a minute or two unless we’re in the middle of sailing/docking a barge, and even at that the second we’re clear of the berth or things are “looking good” we are comfortable to switch. On occasion if things sound like a handful from the galley the old man and I take our time more than normal getting up to the wheelhouse.
One boat I worked on the guys swapped out at the half hour, but that became on the quarter, which became on the hour, so what the hell why not just call it 1700-2300/2300-0500 if thats the case? You’re not gaining anything!!! We currently relieve eachother at the half-hour, which gives us some leeway around dinnertime 1700-1800.
So for professional banter, how do you guys do things…
[ul]
[li]How much earlier than the normal time?[/li][li]Dinner relief on a 2-watch boat?[/li][li]Switch things up with DST so guys on the overnight can get in the rack before the sun comes up? Surprisingly few people will accommodate this.[/li][li]What kind of watch change issues do you run into in the engine room?[/li][/ul]