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FrozenVent
May 1, 2009

The Boeing 737-200QC is the undisputed workhorse of the skies.

Goodtime Pancreas posted:

Because my job is not as easy as you would think. Pretty much once your signature is on the report after doing an inspection or any work it is a legally binding document, if anything goes wrong, especially if anyone is injured you will most likely end up in court.

That's also pretty true if you go to sea as an officer or engineer. You name and signature goes on a metric shitton of stuff. i don't know anyone who's had a botched inspection come back to haunt them so far, however - Probably because I don't know anyone who's gotten into a bad accident.

Goodtime Pancreas posted:

This kind of responsibilty is ridiculous considering the low pay. I've been working with the company for a little over a year and i'm still at 12 an hour, although i can not work jobs by myself. but most engineers are at like 18 dollars an hour. And everyone in the shipyards and on the ships think we are making gobs of money so they end up really trying to make us work for it.

Jesus almighty, I figured you guys were at 30+ bucks an hour. Are you fixed in one port, or do you have to travel on top of that?

Goodtime Pancreas posted:


I'm glad i've never had the pleasure of riding one.

Me too. The closest I've gotten is strapped in with the door closed and the safeties removed... Then the Chief Mate, thank God, chickened out. And gently caress working inside them. Just the thought makes me queasy, I just find it disorienting on top of the angle being unpractical. Then there's the thought that a single loving hook is the only thing keeping you from a 10-20 meter plunge into the loving sea.

And holy gently caress, 55m? As in 175 ft? And the boat survived that? gently caress that poo poo.

FrozenVent fucked around with this message at 23:46 on Aug 10, 2012

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StopShootingMe
Jun 8, 2004

I can't believe I spent $5 on this title.
I've gone down in a freefall lifeboat, it was fun. Just don't smash your knees into the dash. Goodtime Pancreas, does your company work on "torpedo launch" lifeboats?

FrozenVent
May 1, 2009

The Boeing 737-200QC is the undisputed workhorse of the skies.

StopShootingMe posted:

"torpedo launch" lifeboats?

I never heard of those things before. It sounds like a James Bond thing and a thing that will get people killed at the same time. OFF TO GOOGLE!

Fake edit: Meh, it's just a free-fall shaped like a dong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu2jr5LlVDA

I was hoping for rocket boosters or hidden launch tubes or something. "Offshore is no longer a risky business" is a pretty :laugh: slogan, though.

I do have to say that fully-enclosed with air and sprinklers are pretty awesome. It's like an escape pod.

Goodtime Pancreas
May 31, 2007

Two Finger posted:

Hey dude,
What are your thoughts on this awful accident? This was my last ship, though I was not there when this happened.

http://www.google.co.nz/url?sa=t&rc...Mv4lJZ6paf2_B7A

The wire-rope certificates are usually only valid for 4 or 5 years, so they were well beyond that, that strikes me as odd though because cruise ships are usually the most proactive about keeping all of their poo poo up to date. Whoever installed it really just must have missed greasing that area somehow, whenever we install wire-rope we grease it as it goes on to prevent that.

It's not really likely for the grease to just rub off on that side as it's the fixed side. Coincidentally I heard that Lloyd's has a new rule that everytime we do an inspection we need to clean off all the old grease and install new grease( which is horse poo poo) maybe that came because of this.

FrozenVent posted:

Jesus almighty, I figured you guys were at 30+ bucks an hour. Are you fixed in one port, or do you have to travel on top of that?
We have a shop that we do lengthier work at like refurbs and fiberglass work but for the most part we are usually travelling a lot, we do get federal per diem rate, but the company takes a 15% administration fee out. the plus side is that we get overtime, lots and lots of it.

And you use the safety chain and pin when you are working inside your freefall right?

And no I don't believe we are working on torpedo boats, most of our efforts is going to freefall, and new hooks for the new IMO regulation. Are you guys in the know with all of that jazz?

FrozenVent
May 1, 2009

The Boeing 737-200QC is the undisputed workhorse of the skies.

Goodtime Pancreas posted:

And you use the safety chain and pin when you are working inside your freefall right?

Oh yeah, the harbor pin. Forgot about that, it's been years since I've been anywhere close to a freefall. Still, not the best place to work in.

Goodtime Pancreas posted:

Are you guys in the know with all of that jazz?

Something to do with on-load release? I vaguely heard something about that recently, but I can't say I'm fully up to date on the matter.

What's the logic behind on-load release, anyway? So you can let go the falls even if the weather's bad or something? It just seems to me like it's an accident waiting to happen; it's just a matter of time before a cruise ship IT Tech or dishwasher panics and hits "Bombs away!" instead of "Start engine!" or whatever.

(Yes, I have a pretty low opinion of cruise ship hotel staff...)

Goodtime Pancreas
May 31, 2007
Pretty much to do a normal release, water enters into a little pathway under the boat, that pushes up a little gasket, that moves a lever that will allow you to release the boat. In bad weather the swells will usually cause that to malfunction so the on-load release is really just a hydrostat override.

But the whole system of hooks, handle, and hydrostat is all connected with push-pull cables in a normal system. The cable will move a lever, that turns a cam that allows the hook to open. When you adjust the cable you are supposed to make it so the flat of the cam lines up exactly with the flat of the hooktail, creating a semi-safety. But as the hook gets older the bushing holding the actually part of the hook that swivels begins to deteriorate, so it won't sit exactly flush anymore, we measure this and the measurement is called an air gap. But because the hook will push on the cam now that they are not exactly in tune you will also be able to feel the weight in the handle as the cable has force on it.

We also measure the leading edge of the hooktail for the metal rolling over, called the radius. If either of those two measurements are too large then the hook must be replaced. The new IMO regulation wants to get rid of there being parts that wear like this on new hooks, also wants there to be no extreme force on the cable, and also there should be a secondary safety in case the hook release cable breaks.

So essentially, almost every hook system on every ship will need to be replaced by 2019 assuming your flag/class follows the new imo.


EDIT: If my explanation is a little confusing i might be able to draw a picture or something?

Stratafyre
Apr 3, 2009

:stare: :supaburn: :j:
I finally got to ride our free-fall lifeboat down during my last work tour.

They aren't kidding when they say to keep your head firmly against the headrest. I was lucky I didn't get a concussion.

In other news, I was hoping to get switched over to the Midnight to Noon watch when the other third mate left. No dice :shepface: 8am to Midnight it is!

FrozenVent
May 1, 2009

The Boeing 737-200QC is the undisputed workhorse of the skies.
0000-1200 is a watch that exists? :shepface:

8-12 isn't *bad*, I mean your sleep pattern is almost regular. It just suck for going out at night, but then the only one that doesn't suck for that is the 4-8, and even then, you gotta be up at motherfucking 3:30 AM, so...

Goodtime Pancreas posted:

EDIT: If my explanation is a little confusing i might be able to draw a picture or something?

Personally, I understand how it works (And your explanation is pretty good, thank you), it's the why I don't really get. I guess I do, it's just... One of those things I don't feel right about?

Admittedly, most of my experience is with open lifeboats without on-load release, so...

FrozenVent fucked around with this message at 06:09 on Aug 11, 2012

Comrade Blyatlov
Aug 4, 2007


should have picked four fingers





FrozenVent posted:

0000-1200 is a watch that exists? :shepface:

8-12 isn't *bad*, I mean your sleep pattern is almost regular. It just suck for going out at night, but then the only one that doesn't suck for that is the 4-8, and even then, you gotta be up at motherfucking 3:30 AM, so...


Personally, I understand how it works (And your explanation is pretty good, thank you), it's the why I don't really get. I guess I do, it's just... One of those things I don't feel right about?

Admittedly, most of my experience is with open lifeboats without on-load release, so...

Are you the 6th officer from the loving Titanic or something?

As far as I knew, enclosed lifeboats with an onload were pretty much standard, that's what I was trained for, goddamn.
Onload makes a lot of sense to me, especially for cruise ships, but you can bet your sweet rear end I would not be letting a dishwasher or whatever take charge of my one...

FrozenVent
May 1, 2009

The Boeing 737-200QC is the undisputed workhorse of the skies.
Great lakes. Most lake boats don't even have life boats. The ones that do are from the late seventies/early eighties, or earlier, so they still have those white rowboats.

You haven't worked on an old boat until you've had to inspect a life boat sail. At least we got to throw out the emergency life boat radio. You know, the one with hand pedals and a wire antenna, that transmits on 500 cycles CW.

FrozenVent fucked around with this message at 06:40 on May 13, 2013

shovelbum
Oct 21, 2010

Fun Shoe
Jesus, oldest lakes boat is what, like 1906. There's still up-and-downers on the lakes, though I don't think anything open crank is running. There's still coal in ferry service and I know guys who sailed on coal fired freighters not too long ago in the grand scheme. We haven't really learned anything BUT big white rowboats in school and I was genuinely surprised to see that salties didn't have any. What are these ORANGE things? Why don't they have oars or hand cranks or sails? Some of the faculty worries, if I recall, that there is no instruction in proper lifeboat sailing.

edit: do Canadians practice with the sail going through school?

shovelbum fucked around with this message at 10:01 on Aug 11, 2012

FrozenVent
May 1, 2009

The Boeing 737-200QC is the undisputed workhorse of the skies.
We put it up once in the pool at CFMU. I don't know about the other schools.

I'd love to try sailing one of those boats, but it's gotten to the point where nobody wants them in the water because they're afraid the boat'll sink or break. The oars certainly will anyway.

Come on, guys, wipe that :stonk: of your faces. We got life rafts! Nobody's even gonna take the grips off the boats if those things go down.

Because the ship'll snap in two and go down too fast for that.

sharkytm
Oct 9, 2003

Ba

By

Sharkytm doot doo do doot do doo


Fallen Rib

FrozenVent posted:

0000-1200 is a watch that exists? :shepface:

Sure does, that was my shift in the gulf. Two shifts a day, and mine was the worst. Best part was sunrise. Worst part was midnight meal, which was a joke... Not that the other meals were much better.

Stratafyre
Apr 3, 2009

:stare: :supaburn: :j:

Stratafyre posted:

Second Mate: Watch - 0530-0800, Overtime 0800-1200, Watch 1200-1730
Third Mate 12x4: Watch - 2330-0530, Overtime 0600-0800, Watch 0800-1000, Overtime 1000-1200
Third Mate 8x12: Watch 1000-1200, Overtime 1230-1630 (Or 1300-1700, doesn't matter.), Watch 1730-2330.

We're not actually on watch the whole time, that's just the twelves hours we work. Specifically, the twelve hours where no one else is awake.

Apparently my captain just gave up caffeine :shepface: Fun times ahead.

FrozenVent
May 1, 2009

The Boeing 737-200QC is the undisputed workhorse of the skies.

Stratafyre posted:

Apparently my captain just gave up caffeine :shepface: Fun times ahead.

Hide his smokes, it'll make it a lot easier for him!

localized
Mar 30, 2008
Our training ship still has open lifeboats. Two diesel powered, two sail/oar powered, and two RHIBs with 90hp Yamahas on the back. They just had all of the lifeboats refinished this spring. When our ship anchored for the day in the US Virgin Islands we deployed the diesel lifeboats and the RHIBs, so the guys on those crews got to go for a boatride around the nice islands. O course I was on one of the crews for the sail/row boats and had to watch everyone else have fun while I chipped paint.

shovelbum
Oct 21, 2010

Fun Shoe

localized posted:

Our training ship still has open lifeboats. Two diesel powered, two sail/oar powered, and two RHIBs with 90hp Yamahas on the back. They just had all of the lifeboats refinished this spring. When our ship anchored for the day in the US Virgin Islands we deployed the diesel lifeboats and the RHIBs, so the guys on those crews got to go for a boatride around the nice islands. O course I was on one of the crews for the sail/row boats and had to watch everyone else have fun while I chipped paint.

We just have a fast rescue and a set of life rafts. Whatever deck upperclassman is unfortunate enough to have anything to do with the training ship is usually in charge of the lil orange feller. They sure do like to drive it around.

FrozenVent
May 1, 2009

The Boeing 737-200QC is the undisputed workhorse of the skies.
Water-jet propelled rescues are awesome as gently caress to drive, once you figure out how to do a zero velocity turn. It's the nautical version of spinning real fast around a baseball bat, and if you don't enjoy it you're a lame person.

RHIBs are just always awesome and should be driven all the time. Especially if there's a few waves.

Bawjaws
Aug 5, 2012
Anyone remember that bulk carrier that was hijacked in Swedish waters by guys posing as Swedish police officers a few years ago? The last I remember hearing about it was that no one knew where the ship was.
Well apparently it turned up off the coast of Cape Verde a few weeks later.
The wikipedia page is like the plot for a Tom Clancy novel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Arctic_Sea

I wonder what the real cargo was, and I wonder why Russia is so desperate to keep it quiet.

Tide
Mar 27, 2010

by FactsAreUseless

FrozenVent posted:

Jesus almighty, I figured you guys were at 30+ bucks an hour.

Speaking from the point of view as a ships agent, shore personnel are hilariously underpaid considering the nature and responsibility of their jobs.

I started out as an agent, and have since been promoted to port manager covering 5 ports. Had I been willing to move, I could have taken a position with a few owners or charterers in various capacities (port captain, super, operator).

Love this thread, btw

Tide fucked around with this message at 19:40 on Aug 12, 2012

FilMoolah
May 30, 2010

shovelbum posted:

Yo Ghost of Orbo, I'm an academy cadet right now, mid-20s, got some degree action going, I can lay it down for you how it is if you want to know, if you have aim or something I'm "tragedymule" on there. If you want to know the long and the short of it on the Academy route I can tell you how it works pretty well.


I'm 27 years old got about 70 college credits and just recently got my TWIC and MMD, would you recommend me to,

A.Hawsepipe it.
B.Finish up a quick BA in a degree completion program like "Thomas Edison State College" or the likes then go for the Masters with License options or 3 year 2nd BA.
C.Work a hitch as a deckhand if I can find a job and then transfer into a Maritime Academy?

How exactly will I be able to support myself during the years in the Academy, what are the odds I will want to actually make a career out of this? It seems like it's cool and fun at first but after a few years you get sick of being out in the sea every other month.

FrozenVent
May 1, 2009

The Boeing 737-200QC is the undisputed workhorse of the skies.

FilMoolah posted:

How exactly will I be able to support myself during the years in the Academy, what are the odds I will want to actually make a career out of this?

Statistically speaking, 30% or so.

FilMoolah posted:

It seems like it's cool and fun at first but after a few years you get sick of being out in the sea every other month.

More like two months out of three. Or three out of four. Three out of four is closer to what I've been doing for the past few years, with the occasional longer period of unemployment.

FilMoolah
May 30, 2010

FrozenVent posted:

Statistically speaking, 30% or so.


More like two months out of three. Or three out of four. Three out of four is closer to what I've been doing for the past few years, with the occasional longer period of unemployment.


From looking at the Maritime academies advertising practices their strong points are strong employment rates for graduates, but I was thinking...If the jobs become scarce what actually makes you any different than the next guy with the same license as you and similar experience as a deck officer? Also can foreign nationals use their licenses in American flagged ships?

FilMoolah fucked around with this message at 20:40 on Aug 15, 2012

FrozenVent
May 1, 2009

The Boeing 737-200QC is the undisputed workhorse of the skies.

FilMoolah posted:

From looking at the Maritime academies advertising practices their strong points are strong employment rates for graduates, but I was thinking...If the jobs become scarce what actually makes you any different than the next guy with the same license as you and similar experience as a deck cadet?

Experience, side certificates like the SSO and whatever. Otherwise, uh... The willingness to ditch your life at a moment's notice.

FilMoolah posted:

Also can foreign nationals use their licenses in American flagged ships?

Nope.

FilMoolah
May 30, 2010

FrozenVent posted:

Experience, side certificates like the SSO and whatever. Otherwise, uh... The willingness to ditch your life at a moment's notice.


Nope.

That's good so the jobs can't be outsourced. what's your opinion on the workboat academy?

FilMoolah fucked around with this message at 20:54 on Aug 15, 2012

FrozenVent
May 1, 2009

The Boeing 737-200QC is the undisputed workhorse of the skies.

FilMoolah posted:

That's good so the jobs can't be outsourced.

:laugh: This is the most outsourced industry ever. They just flag the ships in third world country, and voila! 10x reduction in wages!

FilMoolah posted:

what's your opinion the workboat academy?

I'm not in the US, so I don't really know the academies all that well. Pick one that doesn't do the paramilitary thing, with the cheapest tuition you can find, is pretty much my advice.

FilMoolah
May 30, 2010

FrozenVent posted:

:laugh: This is the most outsourced industry ever. They just flag the ships in third world country, and voila! 10x reduction in wages!


I am looking into ways of having free time to travel, but giving up 3 months for 1 month of freedom is awful.

I'm going to try to get a gig here as a deckhand for a few months and take it from there, I contacted Texas A&M to enroll in the upcoming semester.. but I guess no smart man invests into something he knows nothing about, I will have to put it off until next Fall and go to sea first.

FilMoolah fucked around with this message at 21:00 on Aug 15, 2012

FrozenVent
May 1, 2009

The Boeing 737-200QC is the undisputed workhorse of the skies.

FilMoolah posted:

I am looking into ways of having free time to travel, but giving up 3 months for 1 month of freedom is awful.

If you can't handle a three month stretch, this is not the career for you. I did two five-and-a-half months as a cadet, and I've done multiple four-monthers since then. I've pretty much burned bridges with a company because I wouldn't work more than seven months a year.

And personally, I'm on my rear end the first week after I come back, in between trying to get back to a regular sleep pattern and fixing up all the problems that cropped up while I wasn't home.

FilMoolah
May 30, 2010

FrozenVent posted:

If you can't handle a three month stretch, this is not the career for you. I did two five-and-a-half months as a cadet, and I've done multiple four-monthers since then. I've pretty much burned bridges with a company because I wouldn't work more than seven months a year.

And personally, I'm on my rear end the first week after I come back, in between trying to get back to a regular sleep pattern and fixing up all the problems that cropped up while I wasn't home.

Is there working Internet in commercial ships?

FrozenVent
May 1, 2009

The Boeing 737-200QC is the undisputed workhorse of the skies.
Sometimes. It's not required, so it's too expensive. A few companies have discovered it's really convenient, so they installed it... Some of them realized it had a positive impact on crew morale, so they allowed the crew to use it.

It's slow as all gently caress, however. Think 56k. If you're on the lakes or a coastal run, you can tether your phone to your laptop and enjoy the future, tho.

Comrade Blyatlov
Aug 4, 2007


should have picked four fingers





I think you need to understand this is a very, very lonely way of life. It is not a coincidence marine engineers have the highest suicide rate of ANY career - I believe it is over triple that of the average.

It is very, very difficult to have a normal life (wife, kids, etc) and work at sea. There are people who make it work, and some people marry among cruise ships, which can work for them, but honestly - forget having a normal life.

I'm a headcase and more importantly, I don't have anything to tie me down, so it suits me ok, but when I want to have a family of my own, you can be pretty sure I won't be staying at sea.

FrozenVent
May 1, 2009

The Boeing 737-200QC is the undisputed workhorse of the skies.

Two Finger posted:

It is very, very difficult to have a normal life (wife, kids, etc) and work at sea. There are people who make it work, and some people marry among cruise ships, which can work for them, but honestly - forget having a normal life.

Yeah, this. It's not a job, it's a lifestyle. This isn't something you do to find yourself. This isn't something you do to fund your traveling.

This job is your life. All of it.

Your friends will forget you ("Oh, I didn't realize you were in town!") and who can blame them? Your girlfriend will dump you ("It's not that I don't love you, I do, I really do, but you're never home. Maybe if you had a different job... I do love you..."), and really who can blame her?

Cause you're never home. And when you are home, you don't do nothing all day, you lazy sack of poo poo, and you keep talking about poo poo nobody understands.

At some point, either you break and just... Go with it, I guess. Accept your fate, keep shipping out more and more until you make Captain or Chief Engineer, leaving a trail of child support checks and rusted cars behind you. Or you buck, and depending on when you buck, you end up in college again with a cool story of how you were, like, a pirate, man, for a while or in an office or power plant somewhere.

Or, you know, installing windows in bumfuck nowhere because you were too old / in debt for college yet not experienced or certified enough for an office job. But waking up at 5:30 AM everyday to go install windows for $15/hr, well... That beats working on a boat.

This job will ruin your life as you know it. We loving mean that.



Hey, Two Fingers, did you get my PM?

FilMoolah
May 30, 2010

FrozenVent posted:

Yeah, this. It's not a job, it's a lifestyle. This isn't something you do to find yourself. This isn't something you do to fund your traveling.

This job is your life. All of it.

Your friends will forget you ("Oh, I didn't realize you were in town!") and who can blame them? Your girlfriend will dump you ("It's not that I don't love you, I do, I really do, but you're never home. Maybe if you had a different job... I do love you..."), and really who can blame her?

Cause you're never home. And when you are home, you don't do nothing all day, you lazy sack of poo poo, and you keep talking about poo poo nobody understands.

At some point, either you break and just... Go with it, I guess. Accept your fate, keep shipping out more and more until you make Captain or Chief Engineer, leaving a trail of child support checks and rusted cars behind you. Or you buck, and depending on when you buck, you end up in college again with a cool story of how you were, like, a pirate, man, for a while or in an office or power plant somewhere.

Or, you know, installing windows in bumfuck nowhere because you were too old / in debt for college yet not experienced or certified enough for an office job. But waking up at 5:30 AM everyday to go install windows for $15/hr, well... That beats working on a boat.

This job will ruin your life as you know it. We loving mean that.



Hey, Two Fingers, did you get my PM?

If a individual is making $9,000-$15,000+ a month while out in sea + whatever investments he has going on... I don't think that person will end up installing windows for 15 dollars a hour?


You are pretty much coming out of each work contract with enough capital to get something going outside of the industry?

FrozenVent
May 1, 2009

The Boeing 737-200QC is the undisputed workhorse of the skies.

FilMoolah posted:

If a individual is making $9,000-$15,000+ a month while out in sea + whatever investments he has going on... I don't think that person will end up installing windows for 15 dollars a hour?

It's not on a boat. Boat skills aren't very marketable when you don't want to ship out anymore.

There's also guys taking oddjobs on their vacations to pay for that jet-ski or whatever.

FilMoolah posted:

You are pretty much coming out of each work contract with enough capital to get something going outside of the industry?

Take out taxes, other deductions, whatever... It's a lot less money. Now if your hypothetical dude was entirely rational, didn't get married (And then divorced), didn't buy a brand new car / house / both, a big screen TV, a boat, a... Whatever, then yes, dude would have tons of money after five years. If said dude was smart, he would invest in some sort of business and set himself up or whatever.

You won't do that, tho. What would you do if you'd just spent three months on a boat, not seeing anyone, not buying anything, not doing anything interesting, and suddenly found yourself with nothing to do for a month and 30k in your checking account?

Some guys do manage their money pretty well. I'm doing good, I think - No debt, decent retirement egg, six months emergency fund - but I've still accumulated a shitton of useless crap. On the other hand, some people make 100k a year and can't make ends meet. Heck, I worked with a guy who budgeted $300 a day for his vacation. He made about $220, gross.

In theory, yes, it's possible to sock away tons of money and start your coffee shop / bookstore after a few years. In practice? I've never seen it happen.

lightpole
Jun 4, 2004
I think that MBAs are useful, in case you are looking for an answer to the question of "Is lightpole a total fucking idiot".
You lose 40% or so off the top. The next $40k goes to your wife(s) and kid(s). If you spend $19k on bottom shelf for vacation you will still have $1k for food for the year.

Anything over $100k just goes to the next wife/kid.

Comrade Blyatlov
Aug 4, 2007


should have picked four fingers





FilMoolah posted:

If a individual is making $9,000-$15,000+ a month while out in sea + whatever investments he has going on... I don't think that person will end up installing windows for 15 dollars a hour?


You are pretty much coming out of each work contract with enough capital to get something going outside of the industry?

Easy to say. If you are amazingly disciplined, then yes.

Wait until you've been away from home for four months, you come home and can't relate to half your friends anymore, you don't know how to function socially in regular society, and you have nothing but an empty house. That bottle starts looking real attractive.
It's not a coincidence that so many seafarers are drunks.

From my own experiences?
I have ONE friend who is not a seafarer or family friend. We are close, but she can't and never will understand my life.
I am lucky in that my brother is also a marine engineer, and we have a lot of friends who are also seafarers.

At the risk of calling up the old Vietnam cliche, 'you weren't there, you don't understand.' You really don't.
Wait until you're at sea and have been for four months, and you get a panicked message from your mother saying that your brother has been airlifted off his ship due to what they think is a heart attack. Realise you are off the coast of Mexico, 10000k away from home, with NO means of contacting anyone to get any more information.
I spent three hours pounding the poo poo out of my wall.

FrozenVent posted:


Hey, Two Fingers, did you get my PM?

Yeah, I did. Pretty interesting reading.
Exposed rockers!

I've asked to be on one of the ships on the Atlantic side next contract.
We going to get a beer?

lightpole
Jun 4, 2004
I think that MBAs are useful, in case you are looking for an answer to the question of "Is lightpole a total fucking idiot".
gently caress you two that poo poo is really loving depressing me now. My grandma had poor health when we left the states and died when we were in the Red Sea on the way back. The wedding invitations just keep piling up along with my apologies for missing them. You could always get married but just realize its a temporary situation as long as you are shipping.

I try to make it a point to visit with my friends when I get back but your existence is totally irrelevant to just about everyone except your mom. Last week my dad drove 10 hours in case there was a chance that I could climb out of the steam drum early enough to get off the ship so we could get to a notary to sign power of attorney. I am still waiting to hear if I actually own a house I have never seen. My room mate watches my poo poo and my dogs and isnt too crazy and knows my dad (we rent from him). I am incredibly lucky to have people I can trust this much with my entire life. I sure hope you do too.

Anyone know anything about Chevron? My chief offered to talk to people for me but I would have to stay five years to make it worth it.

I have a dog at home I've never seen.

lightpole fucked around with this message at 11:45 on Aug 16, 2012

StopShootingMe
Jun 8, 2004

I can't believe I spent $5 on this title.
Don't let these guys bring you down, it can work fine. I've been saving like a motherfucker since I got my first ticket five years ago, and have over $300K in the bank, I'm not planning on starting a business, but I am planning on having a house with no mortgage owed in a few years time. I also plan to start a distance ed uni course soon, so maybe in five or six years I'll have a house paid off and a degree so I can leave the sea. I'm looking at Geology, that way I'll be a long way from sea, tapping rocks with a sharp hammer :)

Or I could end up getting sent back to sea on seismic survey ships, except not as marine crew, that would be funny :)

*EDIT* But just to clarify for those considering going to sea: I am single, and have basically no friends ashore, and would think very hard before getting involved in a relationship and extraordinarily hard before having kids in this line of work. It's not for everyone, but I was weird before I went to sea, so.

StopShootingMe fucked around with this message at 12:25 on Aug 16, 2012

Stratafyre
Apr 3, 2009

:stare: :supaburn: :j:
Going to have to agree with everyone that's saying you basically become irrelevant to anyone not in the industry. I'm looking for a way out, but short of a complete career change ( Which is probably coming sooner, rather than later :shepface: There's only so many more times I can hear people on boats talking about the boating they're going to do when they get home. ) I'm pretty much stuck here.

I've got a cool car and the money to do whatever I want on my vacation, but I've pretty much only ever wanted a dog. I'm not sure how I picked the only industry where I couldn't get one. :saddowns:

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lightpole
Jun 4, 2004
I think that MBAs are useful, in case you are looking for an answer to the question of "Is lightpole a total fucking idiot".

StopShootingMe posted:

Don't let these guys bring you down, it can work fine. I've been saving like a motherfucker since I got my first ticket five years ago, and have over $300K in the bank, I'm not planning on starting a business, but I am planning on having a house with no mortgage owed in a few years time. I also plan to start a distance ed uni course soon, so maybe in five or six years I'll have a house paid off and a degree so I can leave the sea. I'm looking at Geology, that way I'll be a long way from sea, tapping rocks with a sharp hammer :)

Or I could end up getting sent back to sea on seismic survey ships, except not as marine crew, that would be funny :)

*EDIT* But just to clarify for those considering going to sea: I am single, and have basically no friends ashore, and would think very hard before getting involved in a relationship and extraordinarily hard before having kids in this line of work. It's not for everyone, but I was weird before I went to sea, so.

Why would you do that that's retarded. You should easily be able to get a 3% 30 year mortgage which is basically free money. With property in the shitter you should be able to pick up some decent stuff where rent more than covers the expenses. Once you put equity in the house you wont be able to earn on it except for appreciation. You could get the loan then take the rest and find a 4-5% dividend and make money.

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