advice for your first sea phase as an engineering cadet

[jonnysmith123]

Hi guys , I'm starting a cadetship next week at stc in engineering. I'm quite familiar with the college phase as I've just completed the pre cadetship course. I'm just looking for some advice for my first sea phase like whatiI should and shouldn't do , what I should take with me etc. Thanks in advance and sorry if its in the wrong section

[Bulman]

Be your self, work hard, play hard

Helpful links for stuff to take to sea: http://www.officercadet.com/content....for-sea-phases (Hatchorder pretty much covers every thing quantities may be different for you)

and the thing i regret not taking most is some speakers!

[Lewis]

Watch the pilot episode of scrubs expect to feel like this for first few days.

[Clanky]

Ask lots of questions, but ask them at appropriate times.

Make a list of the maintenance / operational tasks that you need to complete for your TRB, leave it in the engine control room and ask the engineers to involve you if they are doing any maintenance on that equipment, the third engineer on here has just overhauled some compressor valves and because he didn't know that the cadet needed to be inviolved in this he did it while on watch during the night.

You will probably spend a lot of time shadowing an engineer and doing fairly menial tasks to start with, but try to think of the big picture, if you are told to go and open the big blue valve at the bottom of the stairs then find out what it does and why you have to open it, don't just go along and open it.

If you are following an engineer around and (s)he is taking soundings of tanks, find out which tanks (s)he is sounding and what system they are part of. if you take soundings every day and they change, find out why they are changing, what is going into the tank or where is the contents of the tank going to.

All of these basic things will make it far easier for you to understand the big things when you start getting involved in them.

Hope you have a great trip.

[jonnysmith123]

Thank you all for the replies. They are really helpful

[Pilot Chris]

Don't be late
Dont get caught
Act Keen
Dont be drunk
Dont fall in love

[GuinnessMan]

As an engineer, I can not stress this enough, learn your pipework!

That doesn't mean take the drawings and follow it, it means get a load of scrap paper and find out where each and ever pipe within the ER goes, what each valve controls, what type of valve, etc.

[bobofinga]

Dont fall in love

haha brilliant

[Blondie]

Why speakers? I'm just curious as I'm looking at getting better ones and trying to figure out if I'd get any use from them at sea.

[EH75]

Ships are noisy so speakers are good if your laptop speakers are a bit crap. I didn't bother though, just used headphones instead. On that same point, earplugs are useful for sleeping with all the noise.

[Chiefy]

Engineers dont wear ear plugs to sleep in, you may miss the alarms, especially if you are duty cutie, this tends to anoy the chief. Also I wouls advise agains putting earphones on under your ear defenders.....if you cant cope for an hour or 2 without music its a sad world

[Bulman]

My laptop speakers aren't the best neither my phone, my roommate had speakers and it was soo good being able to listen to music while getting ready, doing work or in the shower, once he got off I wasn't able to do it so I really missed it!

I just love my music though...

[Hatchorder]

My son bought a pair of JBL Jembe 2.0 speakers a year ago and they were ?50. They were so good my daughter paid ?30 for them back in August. I notice they are ?20 in Curry's right now - that is a steal at that price if they are in stock near you:

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computi...41394-pdt.html

If not find them elsewhere for about ?30.

Just checked and Nottingham Trinity Square has some in stock.

Ian.