" Sea Stories" Steering by the stars.

[canaljim]

Great story! I've steered by the stars a number of times before auto-pilot, a lot easier than watching the compass for hours, still kept an eye on it though. The original manual steering had a keyed tube at the top of the rudder you inserted an emergency tiller through a deck hole you would turn by two sets of block and tackle. Took that off when we switched to hydraulic steering.

[captrmetz]

Good job Chris, I will keep this picture !E

[ChrisW]

I took a shot at correcting the photo of the crew. Hope it works.

[guest]

Another wonderful story. Amazing how you can do things on the fly! I have similar stories with Lykes.

[guest]

Another great story Cap, talk about pulling a rabbit out of your hat. I am a deep sea engineer and this is one of the best!

[Paul A]

Great story Cap. and fun discussion.
I remember those walky-talkies. The public version was in the CB band (11 meter HF or short wave) and the licensed commercial version was in the 10 meter HF band.

[beecher]

I remember those type of walkie talkies. They had about 20 batteries that did not last very long (no alkaline) and the antennas were really long. Breaking the antenna was common. We used them in service and construction in the mid 70's.

[Guest]

As I was steering on one star the Captain was in the wheelhouse keeping her on course. When I was off course he would give me a new course to steer and I would pick out the nearest star to steer on; this went on all night. And yes the Thomas Wilson had walkie-talkies. The crew and you can see the walkie-talkie hanging from the 2nd mate. We had an emergency steering wheel on the stern and we tried to move it but it had not turned in years. We had a cargo of coal for the Great Lakes Coal Dock in Superior and when the tugs helped us tie up Frazier was there and they repaired the emergency wheel. At first we tried to hook the cable to the tiller bar but the tiller would not move. That's when we put the boats over the side and hooked the cables to the rudder.

That's ingenuity and tenacity ! Great story !

[captrmetz]

As I was steering on one star the Captain was in the wheelhouse keeping her on course. When I was off course he would give me a new course to steer and I would pick out the nearest star to steer on; this went on all night. And yes the Thomas Wilson had walkie-talkies. The crew and you can see the walkie-talkie hanging from the 2nd mate. We had an emergency steering wheel on the stern and we tried to move it but it had not turned in years. We had a cargo of coal for the Great Lakes Coal Dock in Superior and when the tugs helped us tie up Frazier was there and they repaired the emergency wheel. At first we tried to hook the cable to the tiller bar but the tiller would not move. That's when we put the boats over the side and hooked the cables to the rudder.

[Guest]

Most of the boats built prior to 1960 had emergency steering atop the stern deckhouse. If you look on the Sykes, Anderson, Callaway, Clarke and others, they still have them.

[Ben Larson]

Could have saved you a little work had you been on 600 & some footer built in the 1920s. Besides regular steering, the Telemotor & the two big emergency Wheels at the stern; they had what I call an emergency rudder-control bar. A round post came up to the Main Deck at the Stern. It had a bar abut 8' long atattched perpendicularly to it (it ran parallel & 6" above the deck). There was a hole at the end to run winch cables through if all other methods of steering failed. When I worked on Inland's Philip D. Block we had one. If you were on deck with it, it was always fun to jump over it as the Rudder moved. You had to stay out of it's way. It didn't have a brain, but a lot of power. The Strs. Lemoyne & George M. Carl had them, and I think the Matthew Andrews, Henry Ford II, Benson Ford, Ashford & Harry Coulby did too.

The Irvin Hulst watson an Miller they also had a rudder control bar ive seen the one on the irvin

[Nighthunter]

Great story Captain! (steering)

[PDBLK25]

Could have saved you a little work had you been on 600 & some footer built in the 1920s. Besides regular steering, the Telemotor & the two big emergency Wheels at the stern; they had what I call an emergency rudder-control bar. A round post came up to the Main Deck at the Stern. It had a bar abut 8' long atattched perpendicularly to it (it ran parallel & 6" above the deck). There was a hole at the end to run winch cables through if all other methods of steering failed. When I worked on Inland's Philip D. Block we had one. If you were on deck with it, it was always fun to jump over it as the Rudder moved. You had to stay out of it's way. It didn't have a brain, but a lot of power. The Strs. Lemoyne & George M. Carl had them, and I think the Matthew Andrews, Henry Ford II, Benson Ford, Ashford & Harry Coulby did too.

[Rustyrivet]

I guess the earth stayed still while you held a steady course between a couple of stars all night?

[sailorone]

Walkie talkies on the Thomas Wilson in 1964????

[Guest]

Love this story!

[shirlohio]

"And the stars to steer 'her' by". That is another great sea story. Thank you, Captain!

[Don_Detloff]

Capt. - I always enjoy your sea stories.

- Don

[captrmetz]

In 1964, I was a deck hand aboard the S/S Thomas Wilson. Early one morning we were called out by the deckwatch to hit the deck because an emergency had happened. We all got up and dressed and out on deck we went. I noticed the ship was dead in the water and the out of command lights were on. What is wrong we all wondered? It was not long and we found out. The mate came down from the wheelhouse yelling everybody back aft. The night was clear and calm just off Devils Island light in Lake Superior. We got back aft and the chief engineer told us the steering gear had failed and we could not steer the ship. We were ordered to the boat deck to use the emergency steering wheel. The chief had put the gear in and with a walkie-talkie said for us to try to move the big brass wheel. Two men on each side of the wheel trying to make it move but it was frozen in place because it hadn't been used for years. Another upbound steamer had slowed down and was ready to take us in tow. However, the chief said to the old man he had another idea and he would like to try it. The Captain said OK.

The Wilson was equipped with six steam-mooring winches. The two back aft were to be used to steer the ship by running the wire cables from each winch around the stern of the ship and to attach one wire to the rudder from the port side and the other wire around the starboard side of the ship back to the rudder. The chief put a small punt (small boat) into the water and we hauled the wires around back to the fantail. We lowered the eye of the port wire down to the men in the punt; they attached the eye of the wire to the rudder by using a clevis. When that wire was secured to the rudder, we handed him the starboard wire and the same procedure was performed. Job finished, the chief reported to the captain that we were ready to get underway. The old steam engine belched out a plum of black smoke and we started ahead very slow.

The idea was to have the captain up on the bridge giving compass heading for Duluth. The mate sat between the two winches and operated the steam valves from each winch. The captain would say over the walkie-talkie come to port so many degrees, then starboard so many degrees. The plan was not working out very good. The ship was going up the lake like a wounded duck side to side. I sat with the walkie-talkie giving the mate courses to steer and I came up with an idea. I said to the mate I would take over and he could rest a bit. My first idea was to keep the ship going from side by side keeping both steam valves cracked open just a touch. When the captain yells a new heading, I would close one valve to cut the steam off on one winch and keep the other valve cracked open. By doing this, she started to steer on the heading given. It was a clear night with all the stars shinning. I notice one star in line with the course every time the forward mast was in line with that star. I’ll steer on that star I thought to myself. I sat between the two winches steering with the mast on one star and then another star to keep the ship on course. The mate said he would put me on over time if I stayed on the winches, he said I was doing pretty good. Most of all the tired captain could relax. Early the next morning, two Great Lakes tugs came out to tow us in to the shipyard. I was tried by then and the mate gave me the day off with pay.

I started to wonder how long has it been since a ship steered by the stars on the lakes. I was a hero to my shipmates for a day.