JB Ford hatches

[Gary Schweitzer]

Having been aboard her while she was in Chicago I seem to recall that the hatch coamings were simply cut down. I recall seeing the original outlines of the hatches. In the unloading tunnel you were actually walking on the old tank tops complete with the many dents and marks from being unloaded with Huletts over the years.

[sh71382]

Was she built originally with wooden hatch covers? Or did she have leaf covers? Did she ever have single piece covers in her lifetime before her conversion to a cement carrier. Also when they converted her to a cement carrier, did they do similar to the Medusa Challenger and simply cut the coamings down to the deck level and plate over and add the new loading connections and hatches leaving a big wide open deck with visible signs of where the hatches went, or did she recieve an completely new deck? Thanks.