I belong to the Navy Yacht Club of Long Beach, which is made up mostly of retired Navy people, although all services are welcomed. Most of the guys have double hearing aids from being in the engine rooms, firing weapons, being on deck of aircraft carriers, pressure in the subs, etc. This is one group of people who understands how to communicate with others, like myself (I'm deaf in my left ear), who have trouble hearing.
One member, a WWII vet, still runs the engine room of one of the last liberty ships, Lane Victory, which is berthed in L.A. Harbor. (He's almost completely deaf.) They take the ship out for a ride to Catalina Island about 3 times a year. Fewer people are qualified to run these relics because of the years it takes to learn how to run them and the fact that there aren't many of the steamships left.
lanevictory.org
(The main power is derived from two [2] Babcock & Wilcox Boilers. These are forced draught, water-tube type boilers with superheaters and economizers. They perform at a pressure of 450 P.S.I. at 750 degrees Fahrenheit, and they each have 6000 sq. ft. of heating surface, plus an additional 2400 sq. ft. provided by the superheaters and economizers.
The power derived from the boilers is used to run the main turbines. The turbines are cross-compound driven, double reduction gears which drive a 16" by 166' shaft.) |
