engsol wrote in
:

Even if the skipper had let the anchor(s) go, I'm wondering how long
it would take to bring a 500 foot ship to a halt?



My friend Larry, master of SeaLand "Performance", a 950 ft containership
with a 38,800hp 7-cyl single diesel turning one screw directly at redline
around 110 RPM claims he can stop "Perfomance" in "Oh, around two and a
half miles, give or take some." He also says they can turn it around in
under 2 miles!...Without a tug!

You think you got trouble in the current at your marina, imagine being 950'
long, loaded to the bridge windows with containers all the way to the bow,
in a 30 knot crosswind and ONE SCREW....well, and a "few thrusters" that
are the size of your house...Don't tie up where it says not to...

To back down, you simply stop the engine, hit the airstart into "Astern"
and hope she cranks the 2-cycle diesel backwards......in time. I didn't
see any glow plug preheaters looking at the top of it, but the heavy oil it
runs on passes through the exhaust stack to melt it, before they send it to
injectors I couldn't pick up.

I wanted to crank it while we were standing there, but he said it would
just rip the piers away from the peninsula so we'd better not... It
doesn't have a "neutral"...no transmission, clutches, gears, just some huge
bolts holding the bus-sized shaft to the flange on the back of the 3-story-
high motor. I noted, too, their packing gland doesn't leak or drip like
ours does. Wonder if that big nut around it is how you tighten it? Must
take a big wrench! Some smartass put a single-lever Mercury outboard motor
control on the side of the helm.

Only burns 75 tons of oil a day at econocruise, 75 RPM. He said it makes a
reassuring thumping sound when you're layin' in your rack tryin' to fall
asleep....quite a few decks right above it. "Fill 'er up 'n check the oil,
son. Here's my VISA card. You got 200 bbl of lube oil in that tanker?"

What's hull speed on 950' with a 42' draft?

Wonder what heavy oil is a gallon, now? Diesel for my truck is STILL
$2.23/USGallon and isn't dropping this summer like it does when the Yankees
quit heatin' their houses with it.....dammit.

--
Larry

We could see 7 simultaneous fireworks shows from the middle of Charleston
Harbor aboard "Lionheart"....and 800 small power boats racing about drunk,
some even with running lights!