Does anyone know what this could be off?

[Wedg1e]

A bit of old chat I found

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?2845-What-type-of-drive-on-Brave-Challenger

So I was only 8000SHP out
The owner was on board but Gunwharf is a private marina so although I could get within about 20 yards it seemd a tad uncouth to shout 'Oy mister, giz a look round yer boat...!'

IMHO the now-enclosed bridge ruins the lines a bit.

 

[Wedg1e]

Can well believe it. We had 3 offshore patrol vessels built for the Middle East by BAe and then turned down by the buyer -long story- moored up in the docks. There was a skeleton crew on board to keep them running until a buyer was found and occasionally they took them out for a run. We could manage about 25-30kts on the pilot boat and when these things opened the taps they'd pull away like we were stood still

Was this within the last handful of years? One of them was still in 3 Basin last time I was in the dockyard.
Couldn't miss them; the Arabic numbers on the stern were a bit of a giveaway
If I recall the story I was told, there had to be a major redesign so that no pipes, cables or whatever were visible on deck... a right fanny-on by the sound of it.

 

[normspanners]

A lad that used to work for me got a maintenance job on a private soudi owned yacht a bit like a hotel on water, his job was to check and maintain, every day, the toys on board boats jets skis etc etc he came back after 10mths to visit I ask where he had been, he replied most of the med and australia etc etc
ME --what is the boss like then,---- he said I dont know he has not been on board!!! we just sail off to wherever he is likely to possibly be, and sit and wait, in case he fancy's a sail round !! what do you eat? he said the best food you could imagine the chef has to get fresh food everyday just in case. so it gets eaten by the crew, Wages were not great but what a job. It cost nothing to live and if it aint broke dont fix it!

 

[Tinbasherdan]

Was this within the last handful of years? One of them was still in 3 Basin last time I was in the dockyard.
Couldn't miss them; the Arabic numbers on the stern were a bit of a giveaway
If I recall the story I was told, there had to be a major redesign so that no pipes, cables or whatever were visible on deck... a right fanny-on by the sound of it.

yep, certainly in the last 5 years. Why were you doing in that neck of the woods?

 

[daleyd]

Destriero, the boat that held the record for the fastest transatlantic crossing for some years (May still hold it in fact??) was in Devonport for a number of years in one of the basins just outside the Frigate Refit Complex.

Should have stuck a few 30mm's on that, would have made an awesome patrol boat (Not sure we could have afforded the fuel bill though..)

 

[Wedg1e]

yep, certainly in the last 5 years. Why were you doing in that neck of the woods?

We've done a number of projects on the dockyard from inspection of pipelines, tracing the routes of long-lost pipes, cleaning and cutting up diesel lines no longer used etc.. Some of this was tied into the new carriers, there's only one berth long enough for them to tie up and they need all new services laying in the quayside service tunnels, such as telecomms and power (415V 3-phase - at 60Hz, to align with Yank equipment of course - an entirely new supply will have to be laid in to the yard just for this one berth and though it sounds ridiculous, the MOD has to get planning permission from the local authority!). I don't think the carriers need land sewage connection, they reprocess on board!
The old steam lines were all stripped out last year, I think the last boats that needed it were Intrepid and Fearless. We did tender to remove a pair of redundant oil tanks on Northwest wall but either someone else got it or the MOD stopped spending money... the tanks are like lace, I genuinely thought I was going through the roof of one of them and my safety line was clipped onto a handrail that had as much structural integrity as a drinking straw.
We've also been 70 feet down in the tunnels under the drydocks and refitted the air systems that allow the dock gates to float so they can be moved.
On the opposite side of the bay we've inspected most of the lines at the old Gosport supply base and tank farm, the tanks there predate WW1 and are rivetted together! Let's hope there are no passing icebergs..

 

[Wedg1e]

Destriero, the boat that held the record for the fastest transatlantic crossing for some years (May still hold it in fact??) was in Devonport for a number of years in one of the basins just outside the Frigate Refit Complex.

Last time I was in Devonport they were refurbishing the drydock used by the last long-deck carrier Ark Royal (i.e. not the bathtub toy they've just scrapped) - the JCBs and dumper trucks running around in it looked like Tonka toys
They built a reprocessing plant to handle the nuclear contaminants on the subs, I recall there was a massive crane they had to move in case some fundies decided to fly a plane into it and topple it onto a docked sub.

 

[daleyd]

Ships supply has been 60 hz for donkeys years, something to do with nato standardisation I believe.

Last time I was in Devonport they were refurbishing the drydock used by the last long-deck carrier Ark Royal (i.e. not the bathtub toy they've just scrapped) - the JCBs and dumper trucks running around in it looked like Tonka toys
They built a reprocessing plant to handle the nuclear contaminants on the subs, I recall there was a massive crane they had to move in case some fundies decided to fly a plane into it and topple it onto a docked sub.

Those bathtub toys didn't do bad considering they were conceived as through deck cruisers not carriers and were on the verge of being canned altogether when the country was broke!! The giant crane removed from the sub complex just wasn't needed, not sure where the stories about terrorists come from. That thing hadn't moved in 3 years that I was based in devonport!

 

[Tinbasherdan]

We've done a number of projects on the dockyard from inspection of pipelines, tracing the routes of long-lost pipes, cleaning and cutting up diesel lines no longer used etc.. Some of this was tied into the new carriers, there's only one berth long enough for them to tie up and they need all new services laying in the quayside service tunnels, such as telecomms and power (415V 3-phase - at 60Hz, to align with Yank equipment of course - an entirely new supply will have to be laid in to the yard just for this one berth and though it sounds ridiculous, the MOD has to get planning permission from the local authority!). I don't think the carriers need land sewage connection, they reprocess on board!
The old steam lines were all stripped out last year, I think the last boats that needed it were Intrepid and Fearless. We did tender to remove a pair of redundant oil tanks on Northwest wall but either someone else got it or the MOD stopped spending money... the tanks are like lace, I genuinely thought I was going through the roof of one of them and my safety line was clipped onto a handrail that had as much structural integrity as a drinking straw.
We've also been 70 feet down in the tunnels under the drydocks and refitted the air systems that allow the dock gates to float so they can be moved.
On the opposite side of the bay we've inspected most of the lines at the old Gosport supply base and tank farm, the tanks there predate WW1 and are rivetted together! Let's hope there are no passing icebergs..

Wrong end of the country I was in BAe barrow

 

[Wedg1e]

Ships supply has been 60 hz for donkeys years, something to do with nato standardisation I believe.

Sorry, my cockup... it's 11kV 60Hz, not 415V. I thought there was something wrong even as I typed it. All the other boats run 415/60, the carriers need a lot more poke hence the 11kV but they won't run the generators in port, hence the shore supply being oddball. It has to be 60Hz as even though it gets transformed down onboard, all the equipment is designed to run at 60Hz as you say.
The ship's gennies are powered by gas turbines but they don't want to rack up the hours un-necessarily. And let's face it, based on recent experience (T45 :cough and future cost-cutting, the boats are going to spend more time alongside than on tour

 

[Wedg1e]

Wrong end of the country I was in BAe barrow

Ah right... same three Omani boats then?

Last time I was at Barrow was to fix a 6000A MPI unit used for crack detecting on tank gun barrels - moved from Nottingham when they closed that site about 10 years back.

 

[daleyd]

Yeah I could see the 11kv being an issue!! (Wouldn't want to be connecting those shore cables up )

 

[Wedg1e]

The giant crane removed from the sub complex just wasn't needed, not sure where the stories about terrorists come from. That thing hadn't moved in 3 years that I was based in devonport!

I'm beginning to think I shouldn't believe a word anyone tells me...

 

[daleyd]

I'm beginning to think I shouldn't believe a word anyone tells me...

Well, i certainly wouldn't believe anything a Jan dockie tells you for a start...

 

[Tinbasherdan]

Ah right... same three Omani boats then?

Last time I was at Barrow was to fix a 6000A MPI unit used for crack detecting on tank gun barrels - moved from Nottingham when they closed that site about 10 years back.

That'll be RO in middle yard. All but closed now, when I left RO was down to a skeleton crew